LET'S OPERATE FROM FAITH... AND NOT FROM FEAR



 
















Photograph coutesy: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff.com


I was in Parel area, yesterday. Life seemed as frantic and as normal as ever… The trains, buses, taxies, posh cars and men in formal attire, the hawkers and  traders, the school children and policemen,  the beggars and slum-dwellers… It never struck to me, even for a fraction of a second, that, barely a stone-throw away from where I was standing, the horrendous crime – the gang rape – had taken place. Nobody was talking about it… Life buzzed as it always did…

But, at home, when I opened the newspapers and switched on the TV, it sounded as if this city had gone down in ruins just the way the Shakti Mills compound – where the heinous crime had been committed – had. For a while, my mind believed in the horror story and I saw myself slipping into a kind of depression…

Yes, for a while, I failed to see the reality around the ruins of Shakti Mills… I failed to see the buzz, the glory of mighty skyscrapers, the wealth, the hope, the freshness and yes, faith… I failed to see a million good, trustworthy souls…

The young girl has been traumatized… We can understand the pain and the sorrow the family is going through… The grief has to be experienced fully and there is no way out… All that each one of us around the affected family can do is, that, we can stand by them in their hour of sorrow and silently help them regain their faith in life, in love, in hope… in dignity and grace of living with head high…

What else can we do?

Blaming the government and the police cannot solve the problem… Even if the accused are hanged in the public street by the mob, except for a release of our pent-up anger, it would not change the reality… It would not reduce the pain and sorrow of the traumatized girl and her family…

The only thing, the sensible thing, now needed is: to experience the grief fully, asking God to help overcome it soon, and help move on with life with dignity… With hope and courage…

I am sure, the brave young-girl and her family will…



The media survives on only sensational stories… It wants to tell us - and wants to do that desperately - what is not right with the society, its people… what is wrong in this world, in our lives… How we are exploited, done injustice with and so on. If the media starts reporting about the goodness of people, the glory of life… the reasons why we should not lose faith, trust, hope and love… why we should not lead our lives in fear and anxiety… Yes, the day they start writing ‘inspiring’ stories about life and living, that would be their death knell!

And, they know it well!

My deepest sympathies and solidarity are with the grieving family… I pray for the courage and grace… and, I hope, the girl will bounce back soon and find a greater purpose of life… 




Courage is grace under pressure… 

The early we learn to regain our composure, 

our faith, and our hope… the better…




Let’s not buckle down under the pressure, whatever be it…

Let’s operate from faith, from love… and, not from fear…

It would inspire!




GERALD D’CUNHA




Comments

Wasan T. said…
Yes, you said it: Life is never as bad as it made to appear. Great inspiration. Keep it up.
- Wasan
August 27, 2013 at 1:37 PM
Pallavi Sharma said…
Too good and too stimulating!!!! Pallavi
August 27, 2013 at 1:38 PM
Hitesh R. said…
Superbly written! Hitesh
August 28, 2013 at 10:10 AM
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