Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Rohit Makhija I t is a human tendency: If my present life-situation is pleasant, I want it to last… Last long so that I can enjoy it more and more. On the other hand, if the present life-situation is unpleasant, I want it to go… pass as quickly as possible. But, Eckhart Tolle says in his acclaimed book, ‘The Power of Now’, that our present life-situation - the situation in hand – is right there before us to provide us with the experience we need the most. He says: “Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.  How do you know this is the experience you need?  Because, this is the experience you are having at this moment. No matter how much I try to avoid the unpleasant experience of my present life-situation, the truth is, that, it ‘is’ there, right before me! Whether pleasant or unpleasant, when it is there, I have to accept it as a godsend… as something God wanted me to experience, r...

Pic.: Asha D'Souza I was talking to this young-man, last evening, who is presently pursuing his post-graduation. He and his girl-friend, both, studied with me some years ago. The thing I liked the most about both of them was this: they kept their relationship very, very personal… Never made any show of it. After many years, when I met him, yesterday, I enquired about the girl. He told me that they were still in relationship and she had started working. Then, I mentioned to him what I had admired about both of them. What this young man said in response made me think and, yes, blog today… “Sir, my dad and mom have been married for nearly forty years, now,” the young-man said, “As their youngest son, I know how much they are in love with each other; but, they never, ever had to display before their children – let alone the world – how deeply they were in love with each other. Yet, we knew how pure and intense their love was.” My thoughts went to my ow...

Pic.: Alwyn Mathias E arly this morning, my brother, Rony, called up. “Congratulations Rony,” I wished him, “Sorry, I am wishing you late.” Rony is a popular Konkani singer, now based in Kuwait. A week ago, he had been conferred with the honor – ‘The Best Male Konkani Singer in the Gulf'’. “Thank-you dattu* ,” Rony said, “Don’t worry about the delay; I can understand.” “I am in Mangalore,” Rony said. Till then, I was under the impression that he was calling me from Kuwait. Melvin Peris is one of the oldest and most popular Konkani singers, whose 100 th Konkani musical-nite was scheduled to be staged last night in one of the best open-air venues in Mangalore. About six-thousand people, including my mom, sisters-in-law, nephews and nieces, who are based in Mangalore, had been in the audience. Rony had been specially flown in from Kuwait by Melvin to sing at his momentous occasion. Many noted individuals, from different spheres of life, too, had been ...

Pic.: Vinod Krishnan I was on way to my Tai Chi class, this morning. While waiting at the signal, my eyes fell on a large banner relating to health drive. “TAKE STAIRS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY.” Well, of the many things written on that banner, I could read this one, in that brief moment… “If you can give at least 15 minutes, every day, for your body’s health, that is the greatest service you could do to yourself,” a lady told me, later in the class, “Our health should be in our own hands, not in our doctors’.” How true it is! We run to doctors for silliest of the reasons… spend thousands of rupees on tests, swallow loads of pills… All this makes our situation only worse! But, then, why blame doctors for our own sins? My own doctors have repeatedly advised me – with all the gentleness and honesty in their hearts – to follow these very basic and simple things in life: Eat sensibly… Exercise – whatever way it may be – for at least 15 minutes a day… Tak...

Pic.: Vinod Krishnan T here are only two ways in which I can save myself from falling in a ditch: One, by heeding to the wise and well-meant advice of my well-wishers – parents, teachers, friends and such… Two, by ignoring their advice and falling in the ditch, itself! “Sir, my son will never learn from my advice or your advice,” the mother of a 19-year-old told me, one day, over the phone, “he will learn only from falling in the ditch.” The ‘ditch’ was young-man’s T.Y. B’Com exam! The mother was right. Both parents were highly qualified and worked very hard to give the best to their son… including the best of advice… But, then, but then… Here, in my class, I, too, did the same thing. Besides the best teaching in their subject, I would give him and others the best of advice, as well… Yes, wise, kind and well-meant advice... “You guys are not doing well, not because you are weak,” I would remind my students, repeatedly, “It is because you d...

Pic.: Vinod Krishnan T here is plenty for all of us, there out… All that we need to do is ‘see’ it, ‘appreciate’ it and ‘desire’ it… very, very deeply, sincerely and passionately. Now, is it what the famous ‘Law of Abundance’ all about? Last morning, I saw the above picture shared by my friend, Vinod Krishnan. Now, I said, my ‘friend’… Well, Vinod and I haven’t met anytime. Ashok, my dear friend, is a dear friend of Vinod, too. They, both, are photographers and share the same passion… So, that’s about my friendship with Vinod… But, then, there is a deep connect, which goes beyond the realm of our physical meeting… We both ‘see’ what is there out… free and in abundance to all of us… Vinod captures them through his lenses… I through my writings… He stops to ‘appreciate’ the brilliance in the wild, the wayside… I do the same… as I walk by… Vinod lays his claim on the glory-in-the-mundane… desiring it deeply and passionately… I,...

Image  courtesy : Internet M eeta, my friend, shared an inspiring quote this morning: “Your best teacher is your last mistake.” But, the next moment, I was wondering if it was:  ‘Your last mistake Is your best teacher.” A ttitude. Perspective. Outlook. Paradigm… Call it by whatever name you like. But, they all boil down to the same essence: In Life, you only see what you want to see… You only hear what you want to hear… You only learn what you want to learn… The moral of the story is what you like to draw from the story… Yes, what ‘suits your fancy, your imagination’! One of the earliest motivational books I had read was ‘Your Erroneous Zones’ by Dr. Wayne Dyer. He starts with this story: “O nce a very famous motivational-speaker – they call themselves ‘Life-coach’ these days – had come to transform the lives of a group of chronic alcoholics. It was believed that the man, with his charm and power, would compel the addicts to...

Pic.: Rohit Makhija I had watched the movie, ‘The Mission Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol’ when it was first released, some years ago. Last night, they were showing it on T.V. and my eyes happened to fall on the action scenes in Dubai. When I had first watched it, I don’t remember the Dubai scenes evoking the same thoughts they were evoking in me, last night… Now, I was thinking… Many, many years ago, Dubai was not as prosperous and as vibrant as it seemed now… It was a God-forsaken desert  inhabited  by the poor and illiterate locals… As time passed by, someone spotted oil and began to dig wells… The oil brought big, big money… and, money made not only their king wealthy, it made, almost, everyone who set foot on this land wealthy, too… We know, the oil-wells have come with an ‘expiry date’. They will, soon, dry-up… and, the land will be barren, again… But, that’s how it is for every land on this earth… The tre...

Pic.: Rohit Makhija T his Post is about ‘Good-morning’. The first person to greet me ‘Good-morning’ is our doodhwala boy. The door-bell rings around 6.15 every morning and I open the door to take the milk. “Good- morning sir,” the greetings come before the milk... “AHHHH!” I can feel the positive vibe, “Good-morning beta ; thank-you,”  I give the vibe back to the young-boy, who, after doing the morning milk-rounds, goes to do his regular job as an office peon. Honestly, I feel very, very happy about this young-man, who must be up on his feet before 5 every morning and goes about doing his door-to-door service by giving every resident more than what his line of duty expects, calls for… He lives in one of the slums in our vicinity and has studied till twelfth.. So, every time I close the door, I shake my head in a pleasant disbelief and ask, “Who must’ve inculcated this value in him?” W hen I reach my classes, invariably, a group of young-students ...