Gerald D'Cunha

“A hundred times every day I remind myself, that my inner and outer life depend on labours of other men, living or dead, and I must exert myself in giving in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.” Albert Einstein T he ugliness that we see outside is real – it’s very much there… The brutality, power struggle and extreme hatred. But, on the other hand, the beauty that we see outside is, also, real – it’s very much there, too... The compassion, brotherhood and love.   The world has been like this ever since the days of Adam and Eve… There were Angels and there were Demons… There was Kane and there was Abel. But, what about the world inside - my own heart? Are not the ugliness and the beauty real here, too? Are they not very much there? The more I reflect on these questions, the more convinced I become, that the beauty and the ugliness I see outside are nothing but the reflection of the beauty and the ugliness dwelling in my own heart. So,

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” Aldous Huxley T hanks to the lockdown, I have been able to watch scores of Bruce Springsteen’s music videos. His songs and music are the ‘Stories of Life’ as Jon   Stewart said in Bruce’s honour at the Kennedy Center (2009). Listen to Jon … As per the tradition, earlier that day, President Obama had hosted a small party at the White House. In his speech, he had said, “I am the President; but, he is The Boss’ (referring to Bruce’s famous music album. Listen to Obama: ‘Stories of life’ and ‘He empties his tank’ – yes, these are powerful image-words about the life and work of Bruce Springsteen. His songs are the stories of hard life, the life of the underdogs – you and me… Simple, straight and forceful. Perhaps, that’s the reason why you see so many li’l kids, young men and women and elderly at his concerts – his ‘empties his tank’ for them… ‘through them’…

"Building alibis, with which to explain away failure, is a national pastime. The habit is as old as human race, and fatal to success.” Napoleon Hill in ‘Think and Grow Rich’ I had first come across the term ‘Alibi’ in Napoleon Hill’s famous book, ‘Think and Grow Rich’. This was the book I was reading during my days of struggle in Bombay. I was new in this city, and I was jobless and hungry. But, the hunger in my heart was of a different kind – I wanted to know how people realized their dreams, how they achieved success. And, which book, other than ‘Think and Grow Rich’, could answer my quest? Towards the end of the book, Napoleon Hill had included a very powerful chapter called ‘Fifty-seven famous Alibis… by Old Man IF’… What a priceless lesson that was! I must have read that book, ‘Think and Grow Rich’, countless times during my ‘days in the wilderness’. I could sense how it infused in me the power and I would find myself all set for the flight.

“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.” Euripides O ne of the things that I have learnt the hard way – and, now, try to practice consciously – is not to get into arguments with people with extreme bias – political, religious, racial etc. It has become easier for us to trace such people on social-media platforms. Those who relentlessly and indiscriminately keep displaying their bias towards what they don’t like – people of other religion, political affiliation or race – are the ones I do not like to argue with on public platforms. I leave them alone. And, when they cross all the boundaries, I simply unfollow them. Is it advisable to get into ‘ugly fights’ on social platforms? Does it serve any purpose, except by giving us that strange ego-kick? We can watch what happens when some of our friends indulge in such ugly fights on social-media groups… We can, also, see it on daily TV debates… All of us are capable of recognizing what is ugly and toxic. And, al

“Because, that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t; but, because, you can.” Andrew Iskander M any years ago, when Mother Teresa was alive, a famous personality had made a statement, whereby, he called her ‘the most selfish person on earth’! It was several years ago, and social media was not yet born. So, the reactions to this ‘provocative’ and ‘blasphemous’ statement appeared on some sections of the print media and, finally, everybody forgot about it… Mother Teresa’s work continues as usual with least noise… and, I do not know what happened to the ‘famous personality’ who had stirred the hornet’s nest… But, ever since I heard it first, one thing keeps happening inside my heart, whenever some of my admirers praise me for my ‘selfless work’. Today, early in the morning, Sudha, one such soul, sent this message from Dubai: “Hello Sir, how are you? I was watching ‘Kindness Dairies’ on Netflix.  It connected me to

“Between the stimulus and the response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” Dr. Victor Frankl in ‘Man’s Search For Meaning’ W hat Dr. Frankl tries to convey to us is this: Our behaviour is not necessarily the result of what happens to us… It’s not necessary for us to react, instinctively, to someone’s comments, however taunting or nasty they may sound… There is no need for us to be a fish for his bait. Let the taunt be just that - a taunt. Let the nasty comment be just that - a nasty comment. In fact, unless we attach a special meaning to those comments, they remain just someone’s words. They become ‘nasty’ only if we allow them to be. The interpretation we give and the meaning we attach to those words make all the difference. So, Dr. Frankl’s explanation makes it difficult for us to complain and play the victim’s role… that, someone’s behaviour towards us is responsible for our

"My life isn’t over, and I’m not going to  sit  in a rocking chair and take money  from the government.” Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of KFC I will complete 62 this July. If I was a government employee, I would have been a ‘retired’ old-man, living on his monthly pension, by now. But, being a self-employed fellow, I know, that my pension will come only if I - what that famous line says – ‘get up, dress up and show up, each morning’ … Yes, no matter how I feel when I get up in the morning! My cousin brother, Stany is 65, and retired from his job with a well-known Petro-chemical company, some years ago. But, if you look at him, he looks much younger than I am. Being passionate about music, he took up a teaching assignment at an international school where he is a popular music teacher even now.  Besides this, he and his wife, Martina, have been leading the church choir group for years now. So, at 65, he still finds himself relevant and productive… Like they say

“I do not know what I may appear to the world; but, to myself, I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself, now and then, in finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than the ordinary, while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” Isaac Newton S ometimes, a thought crosses my mind: Did the Buddha, Jesus, Nanak, Kabir, Sai of Shirdi, Mirabai, Aristotle, Socrates and Plato, Michelangelo, Darwin, Newton and Einstein and so many ‘greats’ like them – ever worry about someone stealing or copying their ‘stuff’? Sorry for making their colossal work appear so trivial to be called ‘stuff’! Those were the days when ‘Intellectual Property’ was not a ‘property’ yet… and Hashtags, copy rights, patent rights and branding had not found their place in the lexicons… And, yes, yes… those were the days when the houses had no doors… Quite literally! I smile when I think of this: Some houses, even today, still do not