EVEN THE RAREST ECLIPSE SOON ENDS













“Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle
to the growth of a true democratic spirit.

- Mahatma Gandhi

If the same Sun and the same Moon give us light in the day and in the night, if the same stars sparkle over the same sky, if the same oceans, mountains, fields and deserts lay before all of us… if the same breath and the same blood keep us alive on this planet… then, there must be the same Creator behind all these designs…

A hundred divisions in my own religious faith, Christianity… and a hundred divisions in my fellowmen’s – be they Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, or Jews.

How can the God I have chosen to worship be a superior God? I simply can’t understand.

Live and let live.

Let my prayers and the Holy Book not be the basis on which I evaluated people. Who am I, by the way, to evaluate and judge others? Who has given me that right?

We are the quintessential frogs in the pond…

Being born as a Catholic, being born as an Indian, and so on… yes, these are our privileges and blessings in life. Nothing beyond that. The moment we begin to think that we are superior to our fellow-beings, the thoughts of intolerance and hatred begin to rule our life.

The force that unites is religion. The force that hates and divides can never ever be religion. We all co-exist here… We all need each other… This world is a home for all of us… It is a global village of the same Creator, Who recognizes no language, colour, creed, class or customs. He made man and man made religions and pitted one against another.

If you ask me, what is the most valuable lesson in life, I will say without even blinking: Love and brotherhood.

Those two encompass everything else: tolerance, patience, forgiveness, accommodating spirit, charity, everything. 

So, whenever I see some of my fellowmen voicing hatred in the name of religion or country, I feel sad. Many of them are migrants to this city of opportunity, Mumbai. Many of them have their nearest and dearest ones overseas… We all, they all… live with ‘others’… It can’t be a life on an island… We can’t live like frogs in a pond… They know it; still, they are driven by their arrogance.

Intolerance is the worst form of ignorance. It comes in us when our reason and compassion are eclipsed…

The good news is that, even the rarest eclipse soon ends!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Chetna Shetty

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