WHEREVER YOU ARE IS THE ENTRY POINT

 



“I felt in need of a great pilgrimage.

So, I sat still for three days… and God came to me.”

Kabir

 

One 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, be it my own Catholic faith, or be it any one else’s religious faith, I know, faith is always a matter of our private beliefs. Our academic, professional, or social positions don’t matter here – faith is private… God and prayers are private…

“Maana toh Bhagwan, na maana toh pattar.”



Two days ago, I bumped into a friend of mine while he was taking his evening walk. I was meeting him after a very long time. During the course of our discussion, I enquired about his wife (my ex-student). My friend went silent… a brief pause later, he asked me, “You didn’t know?”

That’s when I realized why was he silent for a while…

‘It’s more than a year now… She died of a heart attack,” my friend said. He added, “I did not organize any prayer meet and all that… To me, grief is very private, you see.”

Well, I may or may not see it that way; but, my friend sees. The long walks he has been taking are his private moments of grieving or remembering his dear wife… It’s his way. He doesn’t believe in remembering his wife on ‘special days’…

If that’s so, so be it…  Kabir said, “Wherever you are is the entry point.”

Why shouldn’t I connect to Mother Mary, Jesus or God right from where I am sitting, right now? And, if I am unable to connect to my deity right from this place, right now, how can I connect to the divine thousands of miles afar – and, yes, on a so-called ‘auspicious’ day?

This day is very much auspicious… This shrine here, my heart!



From early this morning, the images of the horrific stampede at the ongoing ‘Kumb Mela’ are leaving me disturbed… I cannot talk about personal faith – or collective faith – of others… It may sound sacrilegious…

It’s time to pray for every grieving soul… It’s time to pray for ‘light’…

God is everywhere… I hope, we truly mean it, each time we say that…

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s: Pixabay 1. www.elimcommunities.com

Video: ForceStudios

Comments

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

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE AREN'T THINGS

Image
  “ 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...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...