PRESENCE OF MIND




















 Pic.: Unnati Jiandani



Whenever I had to speak before an audience,

the thought that I had to speak in public

would put my body and mind off balance…

I would start getting anxious, doubtful of my ability…

I would start breathing faster, shallow…

My thoughts would get all muddled up…

I would think one thing and say something else…

My palms would sweat, hands and legs would tremble…

just by the thought that I had to speak in public.



One day, a friend of mine - a teacher of Indian Philosophy –

sensing my problem, asked me,

“Have you ever observed a Sadhu eating his meal?”

He continued, “It is a great delight to watch him relish it,

so completely so happily…

He doesn’t think about his next meal…

He is fully into the meal in hand – he is in the ‘Present’, the ‘Now’…

He is grateful, he is sure, he is detached…

He is free… and at peace with himself.”



At once, my friend’s statement made sense to me…

All of a sudden, I found a new meaning in it!



Now, every time I have to give a talk,

I stop panicking.

I accept my commitment with my eyes open;

I relax… I take it like any other commitment;

I start preparing for my talk… I relax, I enjoy;

I see myself very confident, comfortably talking before my audience…

I see them moved by my talk…



I am relaxed, I breathe deeply and fully…

Then, I let go…

Let the air pass through my nostrils… gently, without my effort…

I stand aside, and watch the beauty of this newness,

experience the silence within…

I become aware of myself –

my mind, my body, my breathing…

I remain not at all agitated…

I  remain ‘Here’ – in the ‘Present’.

Like that Sadhu relishing his daily meal –

The meal in hand,

so gladly, so totally!




GERALD D’CUNHA


P.S.:

‘THE COBWEBS’ was one of the popular booklets I had written and published for THE DAWN CLUB in its early years. It was first published in 1991. Once again, what made this book connect with the readers was that it spoke in first person… The passages – some twelve of them - seemed straight from one’s own heart, they sounded like one’s own voice…

This passage – ‘PRESENCE OF MIND’ – is one of the popular passages from the book – ‘THE COBWEBS’.




Comments

Anonymous said…
Very useful post. thanks ---- Punit
December 16, 2013 at 1:57 PM
Kiran Mehta said…
Too good! Kiran
December 16, 2013 at 8:29 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

WHEN I VALUE MYSELF...

Image
  “A lighthouse doesn’t save the ships; it doesn’t go out and rescue them; it’s just this pillar that helps to guide people home.” Lea Michele   O ur two-month summer programme (Personality Development) just concluded on last Sunday (9 th June). I am a poor multitasker… I have this huge weakness – or call it a massive strength if you please – of putting all my attention into the task in hand. So, once I enter that zone, I just stay there. As I said, I am simply unable to – or willing to – focus on many other things during this period… One of the things I had to stay away from was my daily blogging… But, it did not mean, that I stayed away from writing. As in every summer, this year, too, I got all our participants to write for our latest book on Values: ‘Some Things in Life Don’t Move’. The title of this book was inspired by the endearing story Dr. Stephen Covey shares in his ground-breaking book - ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. In fact, he claims, tha...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...