NEVER TO GET BOGGED DOWN BY MEAN FORCES








Pic.:Alwyn Mathias

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…
It is about learning to dance in the rain.”
- Unknown

The day of Dassehra signifies the victory of good over evil. In other words, it signifies hope… It urges us never to lose our faith in humanity, the goodness of life and people… It urges us to be patient, keep doing the good work… never to get bogged down by evil forces…

Yes, that’s something very reassuring about Dassehra… That, the battle of good over evil has been there since origin of time… That, even Gods were not spared of this battle… That, no matter what havoc and destruction the evil forces unleash in our life, finally, it is the Good which triumphs…
On the one side, there is the Legend of Lord Ram destroying the demon king, Ravan. Now, if Lord Ram himself was not spared of the torture and trauma from evil forces, how can you and I expect a life free from evil forces? Life, therefore, cannot be free from evil forces… And, if it cannot be free from evil forces, the only option left for us is to fight it with our good force… and, the story of Lord Rama, does assure us that Gods will be our allies in this battle…
Thus, to me, Dasserha is a constant reminder of this divine assurance… The Good ‘will’ triumph, in the end!
On the other side, there is the Legend of Goddess Durga slaying the demon Mahishasur. When this demon had tyrannized the world, the Gods had galvanized their energies to bring forth Goddess Durga. She was blessed with ten hands and many Gods had armed her with weapons to help her destroy the demon Mahishasur. As the Legend goes, the battle between Goddess Durga and demon Mahishasur had raged on for nine days and nine nights… and, finally, on the tenth day – on the Dassehra day - she had destroyed the demon!

Today is Dassehra. On my one side, I have people celebrating the victory of Lord Ram over demon Ravan… On the other side, I have those celebrating the victory of Goddess Durga over demon Mahishasur… Both are legends of triumph of good over evil… Both promise me hope… and fill me with strength to keep doing my good work… never to get bogged down by mean forces in life… never to be mean myself…
Happy Dassehra to you all… May the Good triumph in your life, too.

GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

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...