Gerald D'Cunha

  “There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries.” W. J. Cameron A dear friend of mine, who is a spiritual teacher, would, often, joke about his own fraternity, just to drive home the point: Here on earth, no one is ‘free’ from the human desire to be liked, followed and praised. “Do you know, that there is competition among we religious teachers, too?” He would, often, poke fun at his own fraternity. “Our popularity is measured by the no of footwear outside our doors?” Well, that may have been a joke my friend would crack just to make us feel less burdened with our own human nature to seek more attention. But, the truth has been – in my opinion - this: Freedom is tough! T oday is 26 th December.   In once England-ruled countries, it was called the ‘Boxing Day’. How did this name come about? One of the versions is that, on 26 th , the servants were sent on a day off with boxes of gifts… “Physical greeting cards are extinct these days. Greetings ...

Pic.: Vinod Krishnan A n hour ago, I had been to my friends’ - Sunil and Soniya’s - classes. They both love Christmas sweets, especially, the plum cake. So, without announcing, I just dropped by. When I showed up, they were in the midst of a lecture; the room was packed… So, not wanting to disturb the class, and yes, feeling a lot shy, too, I thought I would wish and pass on the parcel from outside… “No sir, not before meeting these young-ones,” Soniya made it clear to me, “They have heard so much about you… You must meet them.” Before I could gather my wits, the introduction was, already, done, “Here is Gerry sir!” As the young boys and girls looked back, I felt so shy - as if a  Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan was being ushered in - that I was trying desperately to hide somewhere in that room! But, then, that’s how I had, always, been… Shy as a ‘touch-me-not’… ‘see-me-not’. And, that’s how it was – and it is – even after years and years of helpin...