Gerald D'Cunha

“Slow down... Life is crossing the road.” ―  Debasish Mridha R ight now, my body, mind and heart – all three yearn to rest. “Enough of aggression,” I hear them remind me, “Slow down… Keep your tools down… Just yield.” Almost four to five hours in the morning, today, I found myself in an aggressive mode – aggressive in the sense: I was result oriented, my words were piercing, patience was on the edge… and I could feel I was getting the work done from my students. Yes, there was that immediate sense of achievement… But, when it was all over, I could also feel the vacuum… the energy was all depleted… all my students gone and I was left alone, here, to wonder: If there was another way of going about it… A way where my energy would be conserved, words not as pricing as they were and patience not as edgy as it was… So, now, when I have dropped my tools and aggression and able to reflect, yes, I do feel, that there certainly was anoth...

A round 8, last night, I saw a message on one of our Society WhatsApp groups. It was posted by a Youth representative: “The youth are burning a Ravan Effigy as a tradition of Dusshera.... To ward off all the evil and negativity. If you have any old clothes or waste clothes, kindly let us know, as we will use them.  Also, everyone please be present for the same…. Time is 9.30 onwards.” Well, it brought an instant smile on my face!   Did I have any ‘old clothes’ or ‘waste clothes’? I did have some; but, I did not send them to our Youth. Instead, I got in touch with truck-loads of ‘old and waste’ clothes my mind had been wearing… Yes, I bundled them up and sent down, without thinking twice about it! So, last night, when our Ravan went up in flames, I am happy, that the flames could consume all my ‘old and wasteful’ thoughts… That’s the only way – the most sensible way – to ward off all the evil and negativity… Get in touch with the Ravan within...

Pic.: Nishant Joshi I find it very difficult to close my eyes while doing the Tai Chi walk in our Sunday Tai Chi classes. The moment I close my eyes, I lose my body-balance… The eyes open up, instantly. Our sir says, we need to train our mind. “It is difficult in the beginning,” sir reminds us, “but slowly and steadily, if you keep practicing it, you will be able to do the Tai Chi walk closing your eyes.” Then, gently tapping a little below my belly-button, he asserts, “Focus on this ‘man’!” The ‘man’ is ‘Tantien’… He lives some three finger-width below my belly-button and about a third of the way in toward the back. It is the center of vital energy, movement and physical awareness of the body… Our sir says. Our sir keeps reminding us, that, a large portion of our troubles brews in our mind… Mind doesn’t easily give up the control. Letting go and surrendering – even though it is for our own well-being and peace… No, it doesn’t come to us easily… The mind just...