IN A HOBBY, THE HEART MEDITATES... THE LIFE IS CENTERED!







Pic.: Pradeep Nanda


“In Life, if we can turn our hobbies into our professions,” the famous line reminds us, “we do not have to ‘work’ at all!”

 But, many of us may not be so lucky. We do have our hobbies; but, they aren't our professions…

So, I, always, tell my friends and students this: “Never ever give up your most intimate hobbies… They will help you enjoy your work; they will help you do away with your stress; they will keep you, always, childlike with curiosity and zest… they will keep you, forever, young and spiritual… Yes, they will give you a good reason to live, hope, work and love.”

A hobby is the only thing that we do with our total heart… Our passion, enthusiasm and dedication go into it completely… No one needs to coax us to do it, let alone force… Money and reward are not at all the concerns; there is nothing to prove to anyone, anything… Out hearts prompt us to do it, and we just do it… Yes, often, without being worried about our hunger and time… Without being worried about the grades and validations…

In a hobby, the heart meditates… the Life is centered!

In today’s world, with all the power of technology and connectivity, if a person like me who wants to write as a hobby, or my friend, Pradeep Nanda - who lives in far away America - and who loves to captures lovely images through his camera just as a hobby... or my friend, Sudha, who loves to draw and create artifacts, or my friend Mavoureen who loves to cook and bake – yes, if any of us gives excuses for not being able to pursue our hobbies, in today’s world, we are simply some lazy idiots!

We should never let our hobbies die. The day our hobbies die, the reason to work, hope, live and love, all of these,too, will begin to die… That's for sure.

This morning, I just wrote this to Pradeep Nanda, after going through this Travel Photography…


“Hi Pradeep, honestly, I had missed out on all this... In deed, it is a visual feast, so captivating! You have been blessed with this sensitive eye and a golden heart; else, it would not have been possible. Please don't give up capturing magic through your lenses... Keep doing it just for the joy of it, just for the love of it... It is a reward in itself... It will keep you, always, happy... always childlike, filled with wonder... It will, also, keep you incredibly spiritual, connected to the great Creator...
I am really impressed by your work... May God bless you, dear Pradeep.

I will be blogging on this subject today, using some of your travel pics...  May it inspire many, many more to do such good work...

With loads of wishes and love.”

Photography is not the bread-and-butter for Pradeep in the US. He is forty-plus and doing well in a large corporation out there. But, for so many years, and even after going so far in life, if he still keeps the child in him alive… there has got be a reason for it. In the introduction on his Photography Page, Pradeep has written:

“I love traveling and I've developed an interest in photography the last few years. I take photographs to define my experiences, to capture these moments and share the earth's most extraordinary places with my friends and family. Time is the most precious commodity we own. Enjoy every moment of it and live your dreams.”


So, as promised to Pradeep, I bring you, here, some of the images from his travelogue… May it inspire you to keep your own hobbies alive…






NOTE: I have randomly picked, here, some of Pradeep's travel pics. I strongly urge you to visit his FB Page - 'PRADEEP NANDA TRAVEL GALLERY'.



GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Shilpa Deshmukh said…
Great images by Pradeep and the post has inspired me to keep my own hobbies alive. Thanks.
December 29, 2014 at 1:15 PM
Neena Pinto said…
Huge talent of photography! Doing it as a hobby withour caring for reward is grace and blessing, in deed! Hats off Pradeep.
December 29, 2014 at 1:32 PM
Madan Lal said…
A hobby is God-given gift; so, when we follow it, we follow God. Great images and great post, thanks.
December 29, 2014 at 1:48 PM
Gerald D'Cunha said…
Thanx Shilpa, Neena and Madan. Love.
December 29, 2014 at 4:54 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

"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 painful that
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 does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...