Gerald D'Cunha

  “To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease and lightness.” Eckhart Tolle   O ne of the surest ways to keep our peace is never to overplay our difficulties and challenges in life. While on the one side, you and I try to protect ourselves against Life’s unforeseen challenges, on the other side, Life, often, throws before us these challenges, and catches us off guard… Health crisis, financial crisis, relationship crisis – and a dozen more of them… Life is unpredictable… It throws before us fresh challenges, especially, when we really, really do not want to face them… Thus, I have come to this conclusion: No matter how big the challenge Life throws before me, I should never overplay it, never dramatize it… In other words, the lesser I resist, the more ease and peace I find. That’s the only way to find grace and courage… It is acceptance, the seat of peace. There is no answer to our angst: ‘Why me?’ The only sane answer, I have come to fi...

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”  ―  J.R.R. Tolkien ,  The Fellowship of the Ring I am always aware of the first thought that dominates my mind as I wake up in the morning. It’s more than a year now since I started getting out of the bed at 5 in the morning… Yes, those early hours - when I am not disturbed by people around… when I am able to feel the softness and mortality of my skin… the quiet, gentle movement of my breath… the chirping of birds, the darkness which is all set to dissolve in a while… Yes, those early hours are blissful. I am able to feel ‘alive’ only in my solitude… But, the first thought that dominates me? I am a human… and, I have my fears and anxieties. So, often, the thoughts that dominate my mind early in the morning are not pleasant ones… “What if this happens?” and “What if that happens?”… Yes, I do get these thoughts early in the morning as I open my eyes… C...

T oday is one of my dear-old-student’s birthday. Her husband, too, was my student many years ago. Just a couple of days ago, she lost her father-in-law who was critically ill. I hadn’t sent my condolence to either of my students due to oversight and procrastination on my part. So, today, as I learnt about her birthday (through FB), I felt a bit guilty. Still, I managed to send this message in her inbox: “Hi Sneya*, first of all, my deepest condolences. Do convey my feelings to Virat*. Meanwhile, do accept my b'day wishes too. Life is always this way... joy and sorrow. Let's be grateful and graceful. Tcre.” L ast night, my wife and I had paid a visit to express our condolences to one of our friends who had lost her dad last week. He was 72 and had been suffering from multiple complications – including diabetes, blood pressure and kidney issues. But, till he passed away, her dad was full of zest and a doting dad for his two children and a husband for his wi...

B y now, many of us have watched the video which captures the tragic incident that happened in Chembur, Mumbai, wherein,  Mrs. Kanchan Rajat Nath, a morning walker was crushed to death by a falling tree!  I have watched this video a couple of times and it has not only left me disturbed with many questions, it has also left me a lot mellowed… This woman, who looked very graceful, had started her day on a positive note – morning walk and Yoga. When you see that coconut tree falling on her head, you wonder if the tree was waiting all along aiming at her head… It looks as precise, as ruthless and as swift as that! The questions that disturb me are: Why, of all the passersby’s, it had to be this woman? Why, of all the times, it had to be this time – early morning - when her heart was so peaceful? What must be the thought of people who crossed the same path seconds before or after that incident? Who saved these people and why? Blaming BMC for not doi...

Pic.: Alwyn Mathias E arly this morning, my brother, Rony, called up. “Congratulations Rony,” I wished him, “Sorry, I am wishing you late.” Rony is a popular Konkani singer, now based in Kuwait. A week ago, he had been conferred with the honor – ‘The Best Male Konkani Singer in the Gulf'’. “Thank-you dattu* ,” Rony said, “Don’t worry about the delay; I can understand.” “I am in Mangalore,” Rony said. Till then, I was under the impression that he was calling me from Kuwait. Melvin Peris is one of the oldest and most popular Konkani singers, whose 100 th Konkani musical-nite was scheduled to be staged last night in one of the best open-air venues in Mangalore. About six-thousand people, including my mom, sisters-in-law, nephews and nieces, who are based in Mangalore, had been in the audience. Rony had been specially flown in from Kuwait by Melvin to sing at his momentous occasion. Many noted individuals, from different spheres of life, too, had been ...

Pic.: Rohit Makhija I had watched the movie, ‘The Mission Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol’ when it was first released, some years ago. Last night, they were showing it on T.V. and my eyes happened to fall on the action scenes in Dubai. When I had first watched it, I don’t remember the Dubai scenes evoking the same thoughts they were evoking in me, last night… Now, I was thinking… Many, many years ago, Dubai was not as prosperous and as vibrant as it seemed now… It was a God-forsaken desert  inhabited  by the poor and illiterate locals… As time passed by, someone spotted oil and began to dig wells… The oil brought big, big money… and, money made not only their king wealthy, it made, almost, everyone who set foot on this land wealthy, too… We know, the oil-wells have come with an ‘expiry date’. They will, soon, dry-up… and, the land will be barren, again… But, that’s how it is for every land on this earth… The tre...

Pic .: Ivan Mathias A friend of mine came to meet me, late last evening. She looked very disturbed. After working for eighteen years in a reputed multinational-company, among the ninety employees laid off by her company, she happened to be one. Her immediate lady-boss, who had, apparently, made my friend’s life miserable, was one more! Before joining this company, my friend had worked for many years in two other companies... But, now, at 46, she wasn't so confident about her future. My friend is a divorcee and lives alone with her ailing mother. Father had passed away about fifteen years ago, and, ever since then, life has been a very rough ride for her. Mother has major health complications, and needs constant attention. Money for mother’s treatment is a huge worry for my friend. “Sir, I have been taking all the ‘crap’ from my sadist boss for last five years only because my company took care of my mother’s health-care,” my friend told me yesterday, ...

Pic.: Rajiv Sharma T his is Lent. The last days of Jesus Christ’s life... They are packed with His human experiences... his fear, anxiety, pain, suffering, humiliation... and, then, the passion, prayer, faith, courage and mighty resolve... As a Christ’s follower, this part of His life leaves me shaken, humbled, inspired and, yes, confident. As a Christian, I am, also, taught, that Christ had come on earth, taking His human form, to save the mankind... save me. So, we call Him the Salvador ... the Savior. However, faith of my religion aside, I seriously feel, Jesus Christ should not have come to save us, the sinners. God, Jesus’ Father, had shown no mercy when Adam and Eve had sinned. He had thrown them out of the Eden Garden , saying, in no uncertain terms: “ By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. ” I ask God, “Why did You send, then, Your own Son to bail us out from our sins?” But, ...

R eligious faith is clothed with innocence. Forgive me for adding this: it is also clothed with loads of ignorance! “Maana toh bhagwan; na mana toh pathar.” Yes, what makes a lifeless stone God... is our faith, our belief! What makes river water – even though it is dirty – holy... is our faith! What makes a virgin conceive... is our faith! What makes our mistakes in life sins... is our faith! What makes strange events miracles... is our faith! A few rituals transform man and woman into husband and wife … Beads, thread, relics, candles, ashes, mud, hair, fire, air, even the directions – East, West, South, North… everything assumes sanctity when it is clothed with our faith. No matter to which religion we belong, we all puzzle each other with our beliefs…. As a Christian, I do believe in some things, which, others around me may find hard to comprehend… Similarly, when my non-Christian friends follow certain things, it is not easy for me to unde...