Gerald D'Cunha

  “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? if God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31   W hen Lord Shiva – Mahadev – leaves in his blue, chic Ferrari, He says, “I have to go… There is another ‘mareez’ (patient/needy) waiting for me,” we smiled and left the cinema hall, convinced, that OMG3 will come soon… Lord Shiva – Har, Har Mahadev - will return soon… to help us through our distressful times… So what, if Lord comes in in the body of Akshay Kumar? Is not the promise same? Most of us have come this far, believing, that if we have complete faith in God, He will protect us… help us through our most difficult times… I loved the line in this second avatar of OMG: ‘Shiv ke das, Shiv ke paas.’ How innocent, how clean that promise can be! O f late, I have come across many young men and women who have been drawn towards Lord Shiva’s enigma… They are awestruck by everything about Shiva – His wrath, dance and destruction … what He wears on and a...

“As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.” Mary Anne Radmacher A fter her fall in mid-2021, my Mom’s health began to sink. A year ago, just after her 87 th birthday, we thought, she wouldn’t make it. That was the time, I started putting together a book about her. I did not have to think hard for the title… I named the book – ‘The Good Shepherd & Her Lost Sheep’. In one of His parables, Jesus tells about a shepherd. This shepherd has hundred sheep and loses one of them... He leaves all the ninety-nine and goes looking for the one which is lost… When he finds the lost sheep, he rejoices, crying – ‘I found my lost sheep’… Our Mom had five sons, and each one of them was ‘lost’ at one time or the other, and in one way or the other. Our Mom was our good shepherd… She had to go looking for each of her ‘lost sheep’… and, like the good shepherd in Jesus’ parable, our Mom’s joy knew no bounds! In the first section of this book, I shared many stories...

  “Anything is a blessing which makes us pray.” Charles Spurgeon “P lease, keep me in your prayers." ...  “I will keep you in my prayers.” Like most around me do, I, too, either request my well-wishers to do it, or, assure I would do. During these tough times, I find myself doing it more often… Yes, the situation we are now faced with is beyond our control… God is remembered more intensely by all of us now than ever before… Yes, you and I are certainly seen prying for self… But, are we seen praying for ‘others’? I really don’t know… Praying for my nearest and dearest ones may come to me naturally; for, in that, too, lies my self-interest. But, praying for everyone out there     - near or far, dear or otherwise – yes, this is what the following story is all about. During this Pandemic, people are seen passing it on, just to convey one’s feelings: “I will keep you in my prayers”: OUR BLESSINGS ARE NOT THE FRUITS OF OUR PRAYERS ALONE   A voyagi...

  “True miracle is not walking on water or walking in air, but simply walking on this earth.” Thich Nhat Hanh   E verything I have learnt in life has not been taught to me by my school and college teachers, parents or grandparents, or by my spiritual teachers. Yes, I have learnt a great deal from them. But, the most valuable lessons, which I have learnt in my life, often, I have learnt by being quiet… watching the sky and the sea, the grass and the grasshopper, the just-born and the just-dead… I have learnt many, many lessons from strangers and, even, from my oppressors… Like these simple things, which I have consciously embraced to practice in my life… To address people – including the parents of my students - as ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’; regardless of their age, education or position… To rise when I greet people in person… I feel, I should follow this more and more often… Just rise… To add that personal touch in my every conversation – be it on SMS, WhatsApp, FB, em...

"Beauty is God’s handwriting.” Charles Kingsley   T wo 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, tha...

“Cloudy skies are rolling in And not a friend around to help me From all the places I have been And I feel like going home” -        From the song ‘Lord, I Feel Like Going Home’ Lyrics by Charlie Rich I am very, very fond of Mark Knopfler’s and Tom Jones’s music. I can plug my ears and get lost in their music and songs for eternity… And, during these difficult times, that’s been one of the things I have been doing quite repeatedly. For last one week or so, I wanted to share in my blog an amazing stage performance together – a very rare and special - by these two legends. Somehow, I kept delaying it, even though I kept playing it many times during this week. Finally, today, I am unable to hold it back, any more… So, here it is… ‘Lord, I Feel Like Going Home’! E ver since I learnt about the tragedy on the railway tracks in Aurangabad, I have been wanting to write something on it, but have not been. Sadness...

B eauty, as they say, always lies in the eyes of the beholder! And, there is so much beauty all around us; but, there are only two eyes to behold it! Yes, at times, I regret having only two eyes and not been able to behold every thing around me… And, at times, I regret seeing some amazing things around me with my biased eyes and ruining the real experience! Nevertheless, I do try to take off my biased glasses and view the beauty in all things different around me… Truly, that ability to appreciate and celebrate the beauty in ‘variety and difference’ – the cross culture – Yes, I think, it’s a true endowment from the Creator… Why can’t we all simply look for the beauty in our differences – whatever they be? Yesterday, my friend, Vivek, a Sindhi, sent to me this beautiful mash-up from the movie ‘Dhanak’… Obviously, the song speaks about love, peace and brotherhood… a dream state as John Lennon’s iconic song, ‘Imagine’, evoked: “Imagi...

T ime to pause… Time to press the re-set button… Time to reflect… Time to slowdown… Yes, as Charles Dickens opened his famous tale – ‘The Tale of Two Cities’ – these are the best of times and these are the worst of times. And, as I quoted Mark Twain, in my last Post, “There is no security in life, there is only opportunity.” Maybe, the Poet wanted to say, “There are only ‘opportunists’!” And, I am already hearing the voices of protest: “What’s wrong with that – i.e., in being ‘opportunists’ in these hard times?” You see, Life has to go on… and we have to somehow survive. How many days can one sit at home doing nothing… Sorry, earning nothing? Yes, a guy like me, who always depended on a classroom set up to teach my students, now, is desperate to find an alternative method of teaching – online, sitting at home. Well, for me, it may be an ‘alternative method’; but, not to those who had been doing through that route for years. Now, suddenl...