THE LEGACY WE LEAVE BEHIND

















This morning, a young boy was speaking on the topic - ‘What Money Means to Me’. He quoted Bill Gates:





“If you are born in poverty, it is not your fault;

But, if you die in poverty, it certainly is.”





I had come across this famous statement of the Microsoft founder long before. Today, as our young-man was speaking on the stage, I found myself saying in my mind: “Hey, why poverty, is it not true everywhere else, too?”



We really can’t do anything about the condition we are born into. But, we can certainly do something about the condition we choose to live in… and, particularly, about the condition we leave behind, when we leave.



Just think about it, again…



Think about any area of life, any condition…



Yes, what we leave behind is always our legacy…



There is an old spiritual principle, whose beauty is concealed in such a legacy. This age-old principle urges all of us that when we leave any place, we should strive to leave it a lot better than how we found it when we first walked in…



Any place that is...

 Be it the company we keep or the company we work for…


Be it the colony we come to live in or the family we plan to raise…


Be it the institution we join to learn or teach or be it the relationships we weave around…


Be it the bed we sleep over, or the plates  we eat from… or, even the toilets we use!




As our young-man was using Bill Gates’ famed lines to make his point, today, I could see the wider and deeper significance of those words in all walks of life…



The condition that I walk into is never in my hands; it is neither my choice nor my fault…



But then, the condition that I walk out from, always, is…



Yes, it is in my hands… It is my choice…



It is the legacy I choose to leave behind.





GERALD D’CUNHA 


Pic.: Gloria Pinto

Comments

Nitin Kant said…
True sir, absolutely. Nitin
May 24, 2013 at 4:39 PM
Usha Suvarna said…
This spiritual principle is indeed powerful, yet simple. Love.
....... Usha
May 24, 2013 at 4:41 PM
Anonymous said…
Inspiring as always!------ Ishna
May 24, 2013 at 5:56 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...