Gerald D'Cunha

I f ‘seeing’ is a must for ‘believing’, then, most of us would have been Atheists in life! I haven’t ‘seen’ God; yet, I ‘believe’ in Him. And, I think, you, too, haven’t seen Him; yet, like me, you, too, ‘believe’ in Him. T oday is Easter… I remember Thomas, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. Jesus had risen from the dead. He appeared to some of His disciples. When they told Thomas, “We have seen Jesus,” he flatly refused to believe them. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” Some days later, while the disciples had gathered for a prayer meet, in a closed room, Jesus, once again, appeared before them. “Peace be with you.” He said to them. This time, Thomas was present in the room. Jesus said to him, “Thomas, put your finger here, see my hands; reach out your hand and put into my side… Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas was melted… “...

“God's will is like a jigsaw puzzle until you put all the pieces together, you won't be able to see the whole picture.”  ―  Danny L. Deaubé D o we need to be very definite – very clear – about  what we want pursue in life?  Do we need to put all our focus and go after it? Do we need to have well-drawn plans to achieve them? Do we need to keep some back-up plans? My answer for all these questions is – ‘Yes’… A resounding ‘YES’! “If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you ‘there’!” Yes, I have written, often, on this topic. The fact is: I do not want to go ‘anywhere’…. And, I do not want ‘any road’ to take me ‘there’… ‘anywhere’! I watched my own teacher, when I was in F.Y. B.Com, and desired to become like him - a good teacher and a good writer… I became one. But, I did not become a good teacher through the roads my idol had treaded… I had to tread my own roads. O...

S ome days ago, 18-year-old Ryan, one of our PD students, waited after everyone had left. “Sir, I wanted to point out a small printing error in this book,” he said respectfully. It was one of our popular books, and the printing error, which Ryan wanted to point out, was found, of all the places, in the Table of Contents! Well, not one error, there were two, there! I sincerely thanked Ryan, and complimented him for pointing it out with good intention and in the most civilized way… Our books are printed not with any commercial objective. We, who are involved with their writing, editing and publication, are not professionals. Despite our best efforts, mistakes do creep in; and, all that we do, whenever a mistake is brought to our notice, is - accept it gracefully, and gratefully… Ryan, our student, wanted to correct us… He, certainly, succeeded! During our PD session, today, 15-year-old Krish was on stage. He had just made a small grammat...

“Every being has flaws; the potential is always there to connect to the light or to darkness.” -         Lindsey McKeon A s a young man, I had struggled constantly with a chronic inferiority complex. I was full of self-doubts and crippled with anxiety. I would imagine distant situations and feel in me the numbness. Comparing myself with others and letting me feel low had become a hardened part of my nature… I failed to notice what was good about me – my talents, skills and strengths. Instead, I only saw what was not good about me - my flaws, my weaknesses. I was filled with self-pity, and my future looked eternally dark! It’s only when I ‘woke up’, one day, to my dream – of becoming a fine teacher and a writer… Yes, it’s only when I saw clearly my hidden talent (of teaching and writing) and started believing in it, that things began to change for me.  My flaws and weaknesses became my greatest...

I n a village, the fishermen have just returned after their daily catch. As they are busy sorting the fishes, a kite swoops down from the sky, picks a fish by its beak, and shoots up into the sky… Immediately, hundreds of crows appear from nowhere and begin to chase the kite, making a crazy noise... Whichever direction the kite takes, the crows follow the kite. Finally, the kite becomes tired and decides to drop the fish. As soon as the fish is dropped, the crows leave the kite alone and go after the falling fish… The kite, quietly, settles down on the branch of a nearby tree. Sitting there, it looks at the crazy sight and concludes: “There go, with that wretched fish, all my miseries!” I first came across this enchanting story, some three decades ago, in the book, ‘Tales and Parables of Sri  Ramakrishna' (Ramakrishna Paramahamsa). Ever since then, I have recounted this fable countless times in our PD sessions as well as in my Blogs. Just a coup...

“Your story is the greatest legacy that you will leave to your friends. It’s the longest-lasting legacy you will leave to your heirs.” — Steve Saint T his is my second Post on Prema. She is sixty. Presently, she comes to me to learn ‘how to write and speak English fluently’! Right from the day she first called me to seek my help – only by listening to her conversation on phone – I had told her, “Ma’am, you speak English quite fluently; you do not need help there.” Then, I had added, “You need help to overcome your self-doubts.” Learning to trust our thoughts, own them up and express them… Yes, this is the most significant step towards the journey of our self-confidence. The more we do it, the higher we grow in confidence… The self-doubts dissolve and we feel authentic about ourselves. So, I encourage everyone, who is keen to embark upon this journey, to get in touch with his/her innate thoughts… trust them, own them up… and sincerely express th...