THE BOOK OF JOY













“Yes, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?”

- From the song ‘Blowin' in the Wind’ by Bob Dylan.


There are some people around us… a few moments in their company triggers joyful feelings in our hearts. Their mere presence is enough… It is just infectious. Yes, there are such people around us… They maybe not many, I agree. But, there ‘are’ such people.

For years, I have admired Dalai Lama (the Tibetan spiritual head) and Desmond Tutu (the Archbishop of South Africa). These men are not ordinary men… They have stood the test of great adversities in their lives - stress, threats, danger, harassment, banishment, fear, anxiety and hopelessness and despair. These men have defied these challenges and remained infectiously joyful in their hearts… unpolluted and undefeated… free from hate, vengefulness, cynicism and revenge… Yes, Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu have inspired millions of people, all around the world, just by being infectiously joyful in the face of great adversities…

No surprise therefore, that both these wonderful souls – who call themselves ‘spiritual brothers and friends’ - were honored with Nobel Peace Prize… They really deserved it. On Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday, Desmond Tutu visited Dharamsala, Dalai Lama’s spiritual abode, and their weeklong discussion on the subject of joy was chronicled in the form of a book by the title ‘THE BOOK OF JOY’ (put together by Douglas Carlton). I haven’t read the book, yet… I have only read the reviews. And, I tell you, there is already an enormous sense of joy oozing inside me… And, that’s how these people – the joyful people – are, that’s how true joy is…

It is infectious!


Incidentally, yesterday, I was delighted to hear the news that one of my favorite singers and songwriters, Bob Dylan, had been honored with the 2016 Noble Prize for Literature… I said, “Wow”!

I do not know much about how Nobel Prize is decided… I do not know how to evaluate and rate literature… All that I know is this: I had always loved the lyrics of Dylan’s songs… particularly, yes… of the timeless anthem – ‘Blowing in the Wind’. So, the news brought back the lyrics to my heart and I found in me that simple joy… Here is how the song goes…

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind…

Joy is so, so simple… It is there for all of us, so freely blowin’ in the air!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Internet
                                                                                            

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