NATURE ALWAYS WEARS THE COLOURS OF THE SPIRIT
“Nature always wears the colours of the spirit.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Elvis has joined our on-going P.D. programme.
He also has enrolled for twelfth-standard Accountancy subject. Both his parents
work. So, this morning, his mother messaged me, “Sir, wanted to know about the
progress of Elvis, both in P.D. and Accountancy.”
“Ma’am, he is doing well in both,” I
replied. “He is fully involved… His Accountancy basics are falling in place,
and in P.D., his participation is excellent.”
“He tells us about it, sir… and, he is very
happy, too,” Elvis’ mother wrote back, “But I wanted to hear from you.”
Then, she added this: “Sir, Elvis doesn’t
attend church regularly… Can you please guide him? I think it’s very important
and I get worked up because he doesn’t attend mass. I don’t want to force him…
He should realize the importance.”
I took a long breath before I responded to
Elvis’ mother’s concern. “Ma’am, you are asking a wrong person to advise your
son on going to church!” I thought in my mind. Still, I wrote this: “Ma’am, do
not get worked up about church… This is common with youth. He is spiritually
getting grounded… Our anxiety comes from the ‘social mirror’ – ‘What society
will say?’ – You know, we are not answerable to the society. We are answerable
to God. And, I believe, God is more interested in knowing if we have lived as
fine human-beings with all His children, here on earth, not whether we have
regularly attended a church, temple, masjid or gurudwara. As a Christian, all
that matters is, that Elvis lives by the fine Christian values and remains true to its teachings. There is a phase in young one’s lives, when they may not like
to attend the church and temple regularly… That’s okay… Their hearts are clean
and God dwells in those hearts. Let go your anxiety ma’am. Regards.”
My wife, son and I take a lot of pride in
the fact that we are Christians. But, we are not the stereotypes – We go to
church whenever we wish to, and not because it’s a Sunday, or, not because the
Community expects us to.
Does it make us less Christian?
A couple of hours ago, I was talking to my
dear friend, Pratap, who is a Hindu. He is into education and loves igniting
young minds with mysteries of this world. "Have you heard about the
incredible migration of Monarch Butterflies?” he asked.
I hadn’t. So, for the next ten minutes my
friend fired my imagination telling the story: how these tiny butterflies –
millions and millions of them travel from Canada, cross America and holiday in Mexican
forests… and, then, go back… Do they live or do they die? How do they know where
Mexico is and where Canada is?
Wow!
My friend also told about the migration of gray
whales in the ocean… thousands of miles… How do they do it?
Some years ago, when my wife had been to
Denver in America (Colorado city), she had been around the Rocky Mountains and was
hugely fascinated by the mystery of the incredible migration of Salmon fishes.
That’s one Nature mystery; I still have fresh in my mind, just by listening to
my wife’s version. Imagine, she has been there and witnessed that!
But, then, fascinated, I have watched videos
relating to these great migrations of creatures in the sky and the ocean…
I have, also, watched and been spell-bound
by the migration of the geese…
Now, what has it got to do with Elvis or I
not going to church regularly?
If our hearts skip a beat or two while watching
these butterflies, whales, salmons and geese, I think, it’s a moment of God…
which makes us truly spiritual in nature!
After all, the God who has created Elvis, me
and you, is also the creator of the butterflies, gray whales, salmons and geese.
Isn’t He?
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Internet/
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