Gerald D'Cunha

O ne of the hardest lessons – and a valuable one – I had to learn in life was not to wrestle with people who think too much of themselves, those who suffer from too much of self-importance. There were days, actions of these people – their comments, behavior and provocations – would bring about acidic reactions from me; but, I see reacting less to such people these days… I find myself remain composed… and let them be. Self-importance comes from low self-esteem. Almost all of us have some areas in our lives where we behave from this space. This means, all of us are human beings and have some insecurities and fears, envy and greed – yes, from this deep-rooted space, we tend to behave the way we do, trying to show to people around us how important we are… Frankly, I find no need to do that now… And, when others do it, I am able to see them with more compassion… I n last couple of days, I had plenty of occasions to get caught up in this vicious whirlpool of ego-has...

M eanwhile, the Sun came up from the East, as usual, this morning… The birds woke up, sang for some time and left in search of their breakfast, as usual… The sky wore a fresh attire for the day… bright, warm and thriving… Clouds passed by as if they had the best Sun to guide… Far away, the Moon went about doing its usual business of glowing, and the Stars just did what they were best at… being still and shining… Meanwhile, here on Earth, someone is busy asking for my ‘explanation’… I have an option: to go in rounds, and rounds and rounds, explaining… or just ‘be’… Meanwhile, someone here is busy conspiring to defame me, destroy me… I have an option: to fortify myself against his attacks… or just ‘be’… Meanwhile, someone, here, wants to be ‘counted’, given credit to… wants me to think he is ‘important’… I have an option: to heed to his demands to be in his good books… or just to show him the forests raised by little squirrels through their legendary absentmindedness...

D eepak Chopra was waiting in the lounge of Denver airport when, on the morning of September 11, 2001, the terror struck from the skies and brought down the iconic twin towers in New York City. Just as the horrendous images numbed all of us, it left the famous spiritual teacher numb, too. Right there, yes right in the midst of frightening devastation, he got down to pen the core message for his book of healing – ‘THE DEEPER WOUND’.  It was sixteen years ago. And, it seems, Donald Trump has leant nothing from this tragedy. Nothing from the images of the mammoth towers melting down and taking away thousands of lives in a few moments… later, the retaliation of the US… later the retaliation from the terror outfits… later… later… later. Yes, later! Donald Trump has not only invited unimaginable trouble for himself, he has done it to innocent people – lakhs and lakhs of them – all over the globe. I see no difference between Donald Trump and a hardcore terrorist… The mi...

“ The world won't get more or less terrible if we're indoors somewhere with a mug of hot chocolate .” ―  Kamila Shamsie ,  Burnt Shadows I have not blogged for ten days now. “That’s okay,” I keep reminding myself… After all, do I owe anyone any explanation? Why should I be apologetic about it? Well, I am not trying to reason out. I really do not have to explain anyone anything for the simple reason that nobody’s life depends on reading my blog. In life, we assume so many things. One of them is: the world needs us… our work, our service, our help and so on. But, the bare truth is: the world can very well function without our active role in it. Simple. So, time to time, I consciously abstain from doing what I am passionate about, including my daily blog. It is a spiritual exercise… just like fasting. Meanwhile, I was occupied with putting together my next book to be published on 4 th February, 2017. It will be a book on hea...

B ruce Barton’s poem – ‘TWO SEAS IN PALESTINE’ – once again, appeared before my mind, today. “There are two kinds of people in this world… There are two seas in Palestine.” Yes, this is how the poem ends… Every time I read or listen to this poem, I am challenged to ask this: “To which kind do I belong?” There are two kinds of people in this world: those who build walls… and those who break walls! A t 7:30, this morning, as I opened our house door to leave for work, TOI newspaper was placed outside the door. In a hurry, I just glanced through some headlines… “Donald Trump, who hasn’t even taken his oath, was bragging about building wall – “Nobody builds a wall like I do… I will do it inexpensively… and I will make Mexico pay for it, mark my words!”…. And, there were his provocative statements about Germany, NATO, Russia and the whole world for that matter…. “What a kind of leader he is?” I regretted pausing for those few seconds to read the headlines… That was...

M y son was watching the last night’s India vs. England ODI. He called me to watch the presentation ceremony. That’s when I learnt what had actually happened! My son is a massive fan of Virart Kohli. I am particularly happy for that… Call me selfish or call me over-optimistic about one’s children, it’s okay… Let me reason out as to why young-ones – leave alone my own 24-year-old – yes, let me reason out as to why young-ones, today, need an icon like Virat Kohli, the present Indian Captain in all three formats of cricket… 1.       FOR BEING FAITHFUL TO HIS CHILDHOOD PASSION FOR CRICKET. I find a few young -ones remaining steadfast to their passions. Be it studies, sports, music, acting,  business, politics, writing, teaching, social work, even relationship,  whatever… young ones get distracted very fast, these days… they get carried away by changing fads… the commitment, integrity, dedication, a long-term vision… and, above all, the...

O ften, Jiddu Krishnamurti used to say, “Fear exists only in relationships.” I had heard that before from other teachers, too… when they said, that fear stemmed from our attachments. As a young man, I would appreciate the deep meaning of this wisdom. However, like the vast majority around me, I would find it extremely difficult to go about my life by detaching myself from the world around me… The world around me included my nearest and dearest ones… my friends and relatives… my associates and neighbors… my community people - religious, political, social - etc. Well, my world was not made up of only people… It included all my possessions… my dreams, beliefs, ideas, opinions, even feelings… Yes, as a young man – why as a young man, I want to say as a human being on this planet – I would wonder whether it was possible for anyone to live life without creating around him this web called ‘relationships’. The very post that I am now writing is a clear proof for what I...

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.” – Lao Tzu I must have been 21 or 22 when I first came across William E. Henley’s famous lines in Napoleon Hill’s books:   “I am the master of my fate I am the captain of my soul.” As a young struggler in Mumbai city, it had immediately filled me with strength. Ever since then, I have always believed in taking responsibility for my own affairs… never to blame my fate, circumstances or people around me… never to allow myself to suffer from self pity, regrets or guilt… I have learnt to take a call and follow it all the way… Yes, it has helped me, immensely. Henley himself was 25 when he penned his inspiring poem, ‘Invictus’ (in Latin means Undefeated) which he had ended with those famous lines. It would inspire us even more if we can know its backdrop… At a tender age of 12 – that was in 1863 - Henley was inflicted with tuberculosi...

A week ago, we – a group of twelve men – were around Kala Ghoda area in South Mumbai. It was around 4.30 in the evening; so, we decided to walk into a nearby Irani restaurant for a cup of tea. “Something to bite?” our host asked us. “Bun maska,” was the unanimous choice! “Divine!” This was the unanimous verdict on savoring the Irani tea and bun maska. Some things in life are simply irreplaceable… Like Irani keema pav, or omelet pav too! L ast two days have been extremely cold here in Mumbai with mercury dropping close to 11 degree Celsius! At 5.30 when I went out for my morning walk, today, I could particularly feel the chill in my bones. We Mumbaikars are not used to a cold weather of this kind unlike people in Delhi and other parts of North. For us, this is too much! Today, I was walking with three-layers covering my body. My ears were protected with an ear muff and feet with a nice pair of walking shoes. When I saw our night security guards, who had be...

“W hat was your reaction to the Bangaluru molestation incident?” asked someone, yesterday. I did not answer. “You have not answered my question,” he reminded me. I did not answer. In a few seconds, I moved away from this person. My reaction was my reaction. It was not something for public debate… I did not want to say anything for effect, for attention… There was a strong, intense feeling inside… and I knew that if I expressed it before some people, it would lead us nowhere… except a useless debate! No one seems to remember a Nirbhaya or a Shakti Mill compound, today? In fact, when I was talking to someone this morning, he was blissfully unaware of both these imageries! Not his problem, you see… Public memory is exactly like that: It is short! So, now on the New-year night, we have this new imagery to fuel our minds… the Bangaluru Molestation in public! Just a few days – perhaps a few weeks or months from now… this too shall be forgotten! But, the que...