Gerald D'Cunha

        The people who take walks in the morning, the people who attend satsangs or daily morning mass in the church, the people who do yoga, laughter sessions or gym… These people are very proactive people. It takes a strong will to do that… and, do it every day, for a long, long time. Making a small promise to yourself and keeping it is the best way of building up your self-esteem. When you make a promise to get up early every morning and take walks, do yoga, attend satsangs or Mass… or, do laughter sessions in the park or workouts in the gym, it really means, you are taking charge of your mind. And, when you follow up, keep your promise, you have to feel good about yourself. Your self-esteem soars up by a few notches every time you do that… This morning, I was on my way to my class. I had to take a class at 8. Just outside my classes, I met a friend of mine, an advocate, who was coming back from his walking-laughing sessions. We stoo...

                    One of the Biblical messages received by me, today – Holy Good Friday – was this: “The Lord will fight for you; You need only to be still.” EXODUS 14:4 On a day like Good Friday, this message does make a lot of sense. We Christians believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. But, we also believe, that when He lived His life here on this earth, He did it exactly as we did: He laughed and cried, He wondered and surprised, He braved and feared, felt wounded and healed… worried, hoped and loved… Yes, He went through the whole gambit of human experiences which any one of us would. When the most grueling time of His life was nearing, He was wrought by the same human conflict: to fight or flight. He found no strength left in Him to fight… He was tempted to ‘give up’ the fight… and flight. Yes, He was wrecked by fear, sorrow and loneliness. Final...

“How can I be self-confident?” This was my question as a young-man. And, that is still my question, even now, when I am in my mid-fifties! Like thirst of my body, which keeps recurring and makes me fulfill it, the thirst of my mind and heart – the need to be self-confident – keeps recurring and seeks fulfillment. There isn’t any soul on this planet who is free from this thirst… There isn’t any time in life, when he doesn’t feel this deep thirst. From coming Monday onwards, I shall be conducting series of sessions to some college-students to help them build their self-confidence. So, the question comes to my mind: “What will I tell them?” The first thing I am going to tell them is this: We all are already self-confident in many  areas of our lives. Like, in my case, I am very confident when it comes to helping students in their Accountancy subjects. But, even there, I am confident only in those chapters which I am familiar with, which I have been repeated...

I am writing this Post early in the morning. It is dark outside… very quiet… I am absolutely undisturbed by any outside happenings… Mind is not agitated; it is able to watch itself without getting clouded or bogged down… Mind tells me: That, there is enough strength in me to deal with any challenge, any uncertainty… That, there is a way out of every maze Life throws before me… That, no matter how harsh and hell-bent many a people seem, there is, always, some way by which they come around… That, the challenges are the only medium through which, we are able to tap our creative resources… Discover our strengths, explore new paths and stretch our limits… That, it is not prudent to decide when mind is numb with fear… That, it is not sensible to judge people, label them, when mind is wounded… That, patience pays… That, wisdom prevails… The storm ends… The ocean calms down… The skies turn brighter… The heart, hopeful… New, rene...

It was past mid-night. I was fast asleep. Someone called me at this time… and, it broke my sleep. After the call ended, I went back to sleep… but, for about half-an-hour, I just couldn’t catch a wink! I want to sleep… but, I can’t get sleep. This is a peculiar situation. Well, for me, this situation came about by this freak phone call. It was a pleasant discussion; still it robbed me of my sleep. I knew, that ‘struggling to get sleep’ works exactly in the opposite way: the more you struggle, the more you remain awake, frustrated. Sometimes, the whole night long! In the past, I have done many things to deal with such a problem: read a nice book, write something, complete a pending job, take a warm shower, drink a glass of warm milk, watch a programme on TV, put on the head phone and listen to some soft music… yes, I have tried many things like this whenever my sleep was broken and I had problem regaining it… Invariably, as I kept reading, writing, watching a program...

For some days now, I have been watching these little birds building their nest, just outside here. They have set their goal: to build a home for themselves… and, they are so faithful and committed to the task of realizing it. I am fascinated by their team work, their strong faith in the consistent work done in almost molecule size – go far and wide in search of one tiny straw, at a time… drop it here… and go back to fetch the next one…   and, then, another… then, another… In every season, I have seen them doing it here, unfailingly. When the nest is ready, it leaves me speechless: “What a craftsmanship… What a masterpiece!” I marvel. And then, some one like me, a human, comes and ‘clears off the mess’, in one single sweep… Gone! Just like another Emperor invades the city of Agra and pulls down Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal… Yes, as soon as he has finished building it! In what way is the work of these little sparrows less superior to Shah Jahan’s? And, in wha...

What is good with my nation? Our news channels don’t tell me this. They tell me, what is wrong with it… and, they tell me this relentlessly, remorselessly… every night, everyday. They install a dozen experts to tell me why everything is wrong with my nation and its government… Why we should grumble, complaint, protest, ask or revolt. Turn to whichever channel you wish, you get the same thing: half-a-dozen men and women arguing and going nowhere. Their arguments are predictable, and the anchors impatience, too. It is night time… Nine p.m. It is supposed to be an hour of my night prayers or supper. Instead, it has become the ‘News Hour’… No, it has become the ‘Noise Hour’! They need something bad, something very, very bad, everyday to happen in my country… so that they can ‘feed this into my mind’, each night, before I go to sleep… Just as, when I was small, my loving mother gave me a glass of warm milk to drink before she put me to sleep, ev...

A snake sheds its skin, time to time, in order to facilitate its constant growth… to make way for new skin. It has outgrown the old, doesn’t fit into it, any more… So, it knows that the time has come to discard its old robe… it rubs itself to a hard surface, starting from its nose till the skin comes off its tail… It is one of Nature’s incredibly amazing scenes to behold... And, yes, it is, also, one of Her most priceless lessons to us, the humans. There is another reason why a snake sheds its old skin: to do away the parasites along the old skin. The parasites feast on snake’s body… drinking its blood, eating up its skin and flesh. So, if the snake is unwilling to let go of her old skin – however dear and beautiful it is - it should be prepared to bear the consequences: suffer and perish! Now, imagine, someone is skinning this snake… The way a chicken or a goat is skinned by us, the humans, to eat! Holding on, in our minds, to anything...

“A hunter, who has only one arrow, does not shoot with careless aim.” In life, the accountability comes only when we realize the limitations within which we are expected to operate. The Law of Abundance makes sense only when we respect the limitations set upon us… when we respect them. A dear student did not respond to my last evening’s message… Just a while ago, she called me to say, “Sir, I am very sorry for not replying… There was no balance!” But, it doesn’t mean, she comes from a poor family… In fact, it is to the contrary! Even if I possess with me a credit card with which I am able to have a good time now, I know the consequences of blowing the money that way. Once bitten, twice shy…! Many of us have learnt this precious truth the hard way…and, therefore, we think a hundred times before flashing cards crazily anywhere. The car that I drive may run at 200 kmh, even 400. But, I know where I am driving…...

There was an interview in the newspaper, today, with Amish Tripathi, the author of the sensational Shiva Trilogy. It was the typical last question: “What is your advice to aspiring writers?” This young author is currently in news. The 5-crore advance deal, even before Amish has decided on the theme… is no small deal. So, the answer he is expected to give assumes importance. The answer is something like this: “When you write, just focus on writing… Literally shut yourself from every other concern or thought… including the selling of your writings, the money and the fame. Write with total devotion… and, once you're done with, try to sell it with equal devotion.” As I said, Amish’s answer, though not in these words, conveyed the same message: Just write with all your heart… Don’t worry about the money and the fame. It will follow, if you really deserve! And, this afternoon, I had with me my 19-year-old student Advait. He is very fond of f...

                   “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” ― Isaac Asimov I was teaching a young boy yesterday. “We say, an asset is ‘taken over’ by a partner, while we say, a liability is ‘assumed’ by him,” I explained to him. I have been teaching Accountancy for over three decades, and, the above explanation is so routine that it goes without any student questioning to me – “Why so?”… “Why can’t we say that an asset and liability both ‘taken over’ by a partner?”… “Why we need to say that a liability is ‘assumed’ by him?” Yes, everyone ‘assumes’ it is so… and, therefore, it is so. It goes… Goes with the flow of teaching and learning! But, it didn’t, with this young boy, last morning. He asked me “But, why?” So, I had to e...