Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Chandrasekhar Varier T wo days ago, a doctor-friend of mine had invited me for a dinner in a nice restaurant. We were three of us, the third one being a lawyer-friend.  We spent more than two hours… and, during this time, I sent only one message, but didn’t pick up a single call … My doctor-friend picked up one call but did not read or  send any message… and, my lawyer-friend seemed as though he was not carrying a mobile with him. Yes, it was so peaceful and so free from the endless encroachment which we all are so used to… The lawyer-friend was not on Whatsapp. The doctor-friend told us that he had got fed-up with the ‘groups’ and found such kind of communication to be an unwanted source of stress and anxiety. “I have informed all concerned that I prefer sms’s and I may not read the Whatsapp messages,” he said. Technology has come light-years ahead. It was supposed to make our life easy and comfortable. It has. But, it has, also, brought a...

Pic.: Manoj Nair T oday, after the training programme, a young girl asked me, “Sir, it is said, that with a slight shift in our perspective, we can see everything in new light; what do you think about it?” I smiled and replied to this girl, “I fully agree with it. Everything in life can be viewed in a new light with a slight shift in our perspective.” O ne evening, another young-man – a Buddhist student – was on his way to the Monastery. It was getting darker, and he had reached the banks of wide, deep river. Looking at the vast river ahead, the young-monk began to worry: “How would I cross this river? How can I be on the other side?” He sat there, for quite a long time, worrying and getting anxious. He was about to give up his hopes and abandon his journey... and, just then, he sighted an elderly Master on the other side of the river. “O Master, please help me... I am worried and scared: How can I be on the other side of this river?” “Be at peace, my s...

 Pic.: Unnati Jiandani W henever I had to speak before an audience, the thought that I had to speak in public would put my body and mind off balance… I would start getting anxious, doubtful of my ability… I would start breathing faster, shallow… My thoughts would get all muddled up… I would think one thing and say something else… My palms would sweat, hands and legs would tremble… just by the thought that I had to speak in public. O ne day, a friend of mine - a teacher of Indian Philosophy – sensing my problem, asked me, “Have you ever observed a Sadhu eating his meal?” He continued, “It is a great delight to watch him relish it, so completely so happily… He doesn’t think about his next meal… He is fully into the meal in hand – he is in the ‘Present’, the ‘Now’… He is grateful, he is sure, he is detached… He is free… and at peace with himself.” At...