Gerald D'Cunha

  “Thoughts become things.  If you see it in your mind,  you will hold it in your hand.” Bob Proctor A t the outset of Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think and Grow Rich’, there is this chapter called – ‘Thoughts are Things’. I was barely 20-plus and I was asking incessantly the question: “How do our dreams come true?”. As I have told a million times (not an exaggeration), this book provided me with the answer: “If I think clearly, whatever my mind is able to conceive and believe, I will be able to achieve it.” And, all that my young-self   wanted to achieve in my life was to teach, write and empower young kids… and, that’s in a setting I would create for myself. I remember, seeing that picture clyster-clearly in my mind… I was piercing, all consuming. And, all the while, I remember believing in it. Yes, my mind was able to conceive this simple dream and believe in it… The rest was the ancient ‘Law of Attraction’… All doubts and fears dissolved; all support appeared. As it...

  “I felt in need of a great pilgrimage. So, I sat still for three days… and God came to me.” Kabir   O ne of the places, I very often visit whenever I find a strong urge in me to do, is the Mount Mary church at Bandra. Now, many times I do that all alone, and many times with my family. But, the, if you ask me, if I go there during the Bandra Fair (the week following Mother Mary’s birthday sept 8) – I say, without any hesitation – “No, I don’t” That’s because, I simply can’t connect to Mother Mary, Jesus or God in a ‘Fair’ – a mela. I can feel the personal deep connect, only when I am – like sever strangers out there inside the shrine – sitting there quietly all alone. Yes, there is a strange high when I tell others, that I visited the ‘Bandra Fair’… But, why did I do that? ‘ Jana maolo jaatre marolo’… This is an age-old saying in Kannada. It means, people behave strangely in every religious fair and melas… Often they act weird, illogical and, even insane. Now...

  “ A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” Henry David Thoreau   I remember feeling the strongest, the most confident and secure – when I had decided to knock on strangers’ doors, telling them, “I want to teach young boys and girls.” That’s when I was just 20-something… I was a newcomer in this big city… consumed with the desire to teach… and restless. I was jobless and penniless, too. The earlier evening, TC had caught me ticketless at Mankhurd railway station, which, in those days, was the last Harbour-line station. The next local arrived only after 45 minutes… and the fine for a ticketless passenger from VT (now CST) to Mankhurd was a ‘princely’ sum of ten rupees and fifty paise! And, I had nothing in my pocket to pay the TC and get off his hook. Nor did I possess a wrist watch or a ring to pledge as security till I could arrange the fine amount. But, that evening, when I went through some forty-five minutes of embarr...

  “At the heart of all anger, all grudges, and all resentment, you’ll find a fear that hopes to stay anonymous.” Donald L. Hicks   “H ow’s is your health?”… a woman asked me, gently, a while ago. I had many options to choose my reply from: “Not so good”… “Doctors say this and that”… “Reports say this and that”… Well, these kinds of responses come quite easily… Complaints immediately draw sympathy, you see. And - we may not like to admit it – we long for sympathy from others. But, then, if I had replied to the question – “How’s your health?” – saying, “It’s Great!”… that’s not the truth either. Telling someone your health is ‘Great’, when it’s actually not, is a lie. You are deceiving not only others, but also yourself. So, this morning, I, instantly, replied to the woman, when asked gently – “How is your health?”, “It’s good, no complaints.” The woman, who asked me the question, seemed impressed by my rejoinder - “No complaints”, and said, “I like that phrase...

    “The cause of poverty is not scarcity, it’s fear and small thinking.” Alan Cohen W e find the poorest of the souls, often, sitting on the mightiest of the thrones, or owning largest ‘wealth’ on this planet… Poverty is a state of mind… the state of lack of love and gratitude towards life and people around… Be it Donald Trump, or be it Elon Musk… These guys are nowhere near the treasure called ‘Love’… The more they crave to sit on the thrones, the less secure they feel. Forget about their outlandish dreams and promises to make the Nation, or Life, great… “Enough is abundance to the wise,” said Euripides… People who are consumed with the ambition to conquer the world – yes, they will never understand… what ‘enough’ is! The Bible… Sorry, why do they need help from ‘the Manger and the Cross’ to woo people - to place them on thrones? Jesus Christ, Gautama Buddha, Shirdi ka Sai Baba, Mahatma Gandhi – were they ‘poor’ souls? Did they suffer from insecurity? T here ...

  “One difference between savagery and civilization is a little courtesy.” Cullen Hightower   A s we become adults, do we feel too uncomfortable – or too childish – to be a little courteous? I am referring to showing very basic gestures of courtesy – like greeting with smile or a ‘Hello’ or responding to a smile or a ‘Hello’… a ‘Thank You’… ‘I am sorry’… etc. Well, parents and teachers emphasize on little children learning the basic manners and etiquette. But, whatever happens to them, as children grow into adults? Take for example, when I send a relevant   message to my students or their parents… Does the courtesy demand, that they should acknowledge it? But, I am left amused and annoyed when I notice the callous attitude of some of my young college-going students and their parents. I have to keep reminding them to acknowledge and respond to each of my messages. I can understand, when the calls and messages are sent in bulk – when they are irrelevant for...

  “In prayer, it’s better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” John Bunyan   A lmost every day, while speaking on phone or through messages, I say this to people close to me: “I am praying for you.” Sometimes, “I am praying for your family,” or “I am praying for your your parents’/children’s health”, or, some other times, “I am praying for the departed soul,”… and, even this: “I am praying for my country… leaders… neighbours… enemies,” and so on… Yes, I say that so many times a day, every day… But, I have never seen myself, after saying that, going down on my knees, closing my eyes, and really praying to God - “Dear God…. “ Frankly, I have never, ever done that… So, what does this tell? “I say it just to please my loved ones… Hollow words?” Or, “Am I the only one feeling like this?” J ust early this morning, on receiving an inspiring message (on Forgiveness) from a dear friend of mine, I said this in my reply: “Good morning, my frien...

  “Kaise kaise ko diya hai… Aise vaiso ko diya hai Mujh ko bhi toh lift karade… Thodi si toh lift karade” From Adnan Sami’s song, ‘Lift Karade’   W ell, I do not know about you. But, the only times I heard or used the word ‘Viral’ was when there was an ordinary fever – the fever in the air, caused by some ordinary virus. For major fevers like Malaria, Typhoid etc., one never used that term… That was before the internet boom… Before FB, Instagram, YouTube and the like came up to spread this digital virus – so fast, so far, that people like me started wondering as Adnan Sami did… “Kaise kaise ko diya hai… Aise vaiso ko diya hai Mujh ko bhi toh lift karade… Thodi si toh lift karade” “Going viral isn’t random, magic or luck… It’s a science,” says Johah Berger. So, in the school/college curriculum, it’s time, they added this new science – ‘Science of going Viral’! Adnan Sami was a visionary writer and singer… Just listen to his lyrics and the song. Remember, he di...