Gerald D'Cunha

“The apple tree never asks the beech how it shall grow , nor the lion how he shall take his prey.” William Blake   C hetna, my dear friend and an old student (some twenty-five years ago), has been living in America for several years. She is a passionate and relentless mountains hiker. She and dozens of her fellow-hikers hike a new mountain every day! And she, also, shares those colourful pictures and videos on FB and Insta everyday… Just watching those pictures, often, makes my head go dizzy! But then, mountains don’t stop calling Chetna and her fellow- hikers… My friend is not tired of the mountains! (Chetna and her fellow-hikers on one of the mountains)   Today, Chetna had messaged me: “I always feel, that I am notorious for over sharing my hiking stories.” I responded: “Chetna, I think, ‘over sharing’ and ‘under sharing’ are subjective terms. Like, in my case, I share my simple writings every day. Some may call it ‘over sharing’. But then, if writing a...

“Dharma is not about believing in God. It’s about making the right choices, doing the right things and leading the right life.”  ―  Anurag Shourie,  Half A Shadow I love the expression ‘Dharma’. Frankly, to me, it’s much, much, much more than the typical expression, which, most of us use   grossly, loosely and irresponsibly – ‘Religion’. To me, that word - ‘religion’-   is dead wood! Yes, ‘Dharma’ has a lot of life in it! So, when we reflect on the essence of all our holy texts – be it Gita , New Testament, Quaran or any holy text – they give us insights to live   a harmonious and principle-driven life. Period. The rest is ugly… contaminated… born from human greed and selfishness. In fact, what goes on in the name of God and religion – a huge part of it – is harmful for our co-existence. What was supposed to unite us and make us sensitive human beings, only ends up s dividing us and make us insensitive...

  “We get back what we give to others.” Today, this thought has been playing on my head. And, each time the thought returns to play, it leaves me a lot relieved – lighter, happier and peaceful. What I give to others… I, certainly, know. If I consciously try to be kind, just and loving to them, will it help me? What if, the other person doesn’t reciprocate? What if, he behaves towards me in an unkind, unfair and cruel way? And, let me see it in its opposite way too: What if I consciously try to be unkind, unfair and cruel to the other person? What will I get in return? Which is better: to be consciously kind, just and loving to my fellow-being, or, to be unkind, unfair and vindictive? There is a popular Jataka Tale. Each time, I recall it, it makes me smile…  To be kind, just and loving to my fellow-being is my ‘duty’…, my dharma, my religion… When he doesn’t reciprocate – tries to ...

There is something called the inherent nature in a man and an animal. In birds and the fishes. In snakes and the flowers. But, all men are not alike as all animal too. All birds are not alike as all fishes too. The snakes and the flowers,  can’t be an exception, either.  I have an inherent nature in me, which, sometimes, leaves me perplexed. I wonder: How has this nature come in me? I have tried to keep grudges, at times. But, I have failed. I have tried to hide my dark side… or the vulnerable side… abstain myself from revealing it to others easily… but, I find myself being very open and vulnerable, time and again. Hurting someone or trying to get even with him, taking revenge or trying to destroy someone’s reputation  - all this doesn’t come easily to me… And, even if, rarely, I fall into its prey, I see myself restlessly trying to amend, make peace… re-align myself and move on in life. Now, why do I, today, touch upon th...

At 10.30, this morning, when I reached our Colony gate, there was only one auto waiting. I quickly boarded it. Just then, I heard one of our watchmen blowing his whistle. When I peeped out towards him, I realised that a young lady with bags in both her hands was approaching towards the gate. She wanted the watchman to fetch an auto for her. So, without realising that I had already boarded the only auto that was available, he had blown his whistle, so that she could board it. When I saw this lady with heavy bags in both her hands, and realising the fact that she would not be able to get another auto for quite a while, my immediate reaction was: I asked the autowala to make an about turn towards this lady. "Ma'am, there are no auto's there out side; would you like me to drop you somewhere?" I said, in the most sincere and spontaneous manner. "No," she brushed me aside in an equally blunt and thankless manner, continuing to walk. My face fell for a while; my eg...