WHERE GOD LOVES TO RESIDE



"Beauty is God’s handwriting.”

Charles Kingsley

 

Two days ago, on the day of the ground-breaking ceremony of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, I had posted a blog. It was titled: ‘The House of Ram’. I had shared in the blog the amazing story of Hanuman tearing his chest, to show everyone, that he saw Ram in his own heart and not in precious pearls of a necklace…

I had grown up surrounded by people of every faith. Right from the primary school to college, the Christian institutions in which I studied, had more non-Christian students than the Christian students… That was the beauty! Looking back, I consider, that my education would have been very narrow had it not been for the experience of growing up appreciating, respecting, and accommodating others’ beliefs…

 “What makes me a Christian – a Catholic in that?” I have asked this question to myself time and time again…

Except for the fact, that I was born in a Catholic/Christian family, there is no other answer. Honestly, that is also the answer every Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsee fellow-being of mine will get if asked the same question…

We wear our respective faiths around our necks by default. Well, some of us – dare I say ‘a few’ – have consciously ‘chosen’ our faiths!

When we ‘consciously’ choose our faiths, we also ‘consciously’ accommodate everyone who belongs to another faith. Because, when we are ‘conscious’, we realize, that we all are the children of the same God. The truth cannot be other than this… Yes, we all pray to the same God… Call Him Ram, Allah, Jehovah, or by whatever name!



A parent of one of my students, who reads my every Post, had shared the blog mentioned above (‘The House of Ram’) with one of her friends. The parent forwarded to me the response:

“I truly appreciate and admire this man who respects every religion. Really enlightened!”

Well, if respecting every religion is enlightening, then, let that be the essence of my religion, everyone’s religion. So simple…  Isn’t it?

I replied:

“Ma’am, that’s one thing – a truly secular spirit – I really do not want to lose. If I lose that, I will lose the beauty of brotherhood. All this while, I have held that to be the finest education. This openness has made it possible for us to have so many inter-faith marriages in our family. This openness has, also, made it possible for me to teach all my students – over more than four decades – with no discrimination. In fact, more than 99 % of my students have been non-Christians. So, ma’am, when we know this is the reality, tell me, how can we afford to live on our private islands?

Love and gratitude to your friend for the kind words.”

 

Truly, a humble heart is the place where God loves to reside… We need to keep this place clean!

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: pixabay

Video: Sahana Sharma

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...