Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Unnati Jiandani O ne of my friends’ father fought a court-case against his tenant for twelve long-years… and, finally, lost it. The house went to the tenant… My friend’s father couldn’t recover form the shock, till he died! Some years ago, when our servant was doing the house work, our TV fell off its stand and broke into pieces. We not only got mad at our servant, but we, also, kept worrying about ‘our loss’ for al long time! Years ago, a neighbor of mine was fired by his boss. He fought for his ‘job’ for full five years, only to lose at the end. He not only lost his job, he also lost his precious time, money and peace of mind. He hasn’t recovered from it, yet! Why do we cling, so desperately, to our material possessions… to our status, our positions? Why is it so difficult to love these things, yet, remain free from their bondage? Does attach...

I had taught Pooja some twenty-two years ago when she was in twelfth. She got married while she was still in Degree College and, the pulls and pressures of family life did not allow her to complete her graduation. Now, her son is a well-brought-up teenager and things are quite stabilized at the home-front; so, after all these long years, Pooja has decided to write her TY.B’Com examination, this year. She has been attending my classes regularly and I find her extremely focused and determined to complete her graduation. I am not writing about Pooja because she has decided to complete her graduation after a long gap of twenty-plus years. Certainly, that’s something admirable and very inspiring for all of us, who, often, give our busyness in life as a nice excuse to cover-up our laziness. Instead, the reason I am writing, today, about Pooja is: She lost her latest iPhone, two days ago! And, again, on the face of it, that doesn’t look like any cover-st...

 “Fear exists only in relationships!” I came across this expression, many years ago, in one of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s books. He urges us to 'examine' our relationships... with everything within us and without.  Yes, our relationship with people in our lives is an obvious relationship. It brings about attachment… And, we do not want to lose these people… Yes, we fear the loss of their love. Next, our relationship with the stuff that we possess – our houses, our cars, our investments, our gold, our bank balance. The moment we possess them, we are attached to them… We do not want to lose these possessions… Yes, we fear  losing what we possess. Then, there is another kind of relationship: our relationship with our ideas, opinions, and beliefs. The moment we form them in our minds, it brings forth attachments… and, we invest a great deal of energy defending them, holding on to them. Yes, we fear losing what we ‘own’...