Gerald D'Cunha

  “You can give without loving; but, you cannot love without giving.” Amy Carmichael   K ahlil Gibran says, “ You give but little when you give of your possessions. It’s when you give of yourself, that you truly give.” I do not know, how to convey this truth to a young one who wants to know how to shine in life... “By giving, and by giving more and even more,” I say to every young one. Now, you can understand, why Gibran talks about ‘giving of yourself’ – and not ‘giving of your possessions’... The wealthiest man in this world may not know what giving is... and, as Amy Carmichael says, “You can give without loving; but, you cannot love without giving.” S ome days ago, a young man – a very creative, very gifted soul – wanted to know from me how to find true happiness in his life. Well, I knew, that happiness was not any destination; but, only a continuous journey... It’s along this journey, that one could hope to experience happiness. So, I said to the young man...

  “A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.” Jonathan Lockwood Hule   I don’t wear any gold, not even my engagement and wedding rings. It doesn’t make me less-committed to my marriage and my life-partner. However, I admire others who wear gold and precious stones… Need I feel less-decorated? Likewise, I do not wear a watch. It doesn’t make me less-respectful for time or my appointments. Again, I admire others wearing beautiful watches… Need I feel less-modern? Ditto about pens. So often, some of my well-wishers have gifted me fine, expensive pens. I have never used any of them… My shirt- pocket either doesn’t carry any pen, or carries a 5-rupee ball pen! Need I feel inferior as a writer or teacher or whatever? The finest pens, which I, often, receive from some of my well-wishers, go around to the those who, I think, deserve them… When I see them using those pens, I feel extremely happy… Yes, I know, that it would break my well-wishers’ hearts if th...

M any years ago, I was teaching a group (five) of T.Y. B.Com students. It was a late-night batch (9:30 to 10:30) and it was held at the bungalow belonging to one of the students. Akhil* was one of the five. He turned up to class, every night, straight from the workshop where he worked during the day; often, with his greasy hands. It was he who would drop me home on his motor bike after the class, every night… We remained good friends, ever since. I always knew that Akhil would come up in life as a self-made successful young-man. He did. My admiration for Akhil rose a few notches higher, when, one day, he came up to me and said, “Sir, I wish to help a couple of needy students by meeting their education cost. I also wish to sponsor a couple of deserving students, every year, for P.D. Programme of THE DAWN CLUB.” He added, “On the condition that they should not know about me!” It is more than twenty years now. Akhil has been, religiously, helping. Every year, a cou...

“ Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”   ―  Eckhart Tolle ,  A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose W e need to know not only how to give, we also need to know how to receive. Both have to come from a clean space in our hearts. I think, we have undermined the significance of the attitude involved with receiving. A married young woman had come to visit her mother late last evening. When she saw me inside my office, she opened the door. “Hello sir, Merry Christmas,” she said as she came inside. I was delighted to see this woman after a long time. As I was talking to her, I handed to her two of my books and said warmly, “This is for you… You will love them.” “Thank you so much sir,” the woman said excitedly looking at the books she had just received, “I love your writings… They are so simple yet so good.” “I am glad to hear that,” I said, obviously fe...

“There are those who give with joy and that joy is their reward. And there are those who give with pain and that pain is their baptism.” -        Kahlil Gibran ( in ‘The Prophet’) T wo days ago, I wanted to gift the copies of our 2 new books to my friend and neighbour, Tabassum. As their house was locked, I left the copies at my place and asked my wife to hand over the same to Tabassum. Meanwhile, I had called Tabassum to inform about it, which she missed. Late last night, she reverted to check why I had called. When she learnt about the reason, she exclaimed, “How sweet of you sir, I will collect the books from Anima (my wife) when I come to your place tomorrow with Sheer Khurma.” Tabassum’s family, being from the Bohra community, celebrates Eid festival a day in advance. So, today is their Eid… the day we get to relish the traditional delicacy, Sheer Khurma! I was to leave home early today. So,...

Pic.: Nicole Gubin L ast night, the little children and their mothers celebrated Christmas tree function. I was the only Christian amongst them, and was there as the Hon Chairman of our Society. Everything was planned and executed by the children and their mothers… They call it ‘the Christmas Spirit’…. Yes, I could feel that, breathe that and even touch that in the cold air… What is this Christmas Spirit? Is it ‘Giving’… ‘Reaching out’… ‘Touching someone’s heart’… ‘Giving a pleasant surprise?’… I think, it is all of these… For, they all come from that amazing space in our hearts – called ‘Giving’. We do not need to own much to give… and we do not need much. Giving is being spiritual, even godly… Kahlil Gibran’s famous words on ‘Giving and Receiving’ (from his book ‘The Prophet) have been my favorite. Here I share them with you… Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving."         And he answered:       ...

Pic.: Aparna Khanolkar Sheth “When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance.” - Joel Osteen O ne of the worst things, sometimes, I do towards my own well-being is: I try to prove someone how much I have done to him or her. Let me tell you this: I have never ever succeeded in proving this to anyone... On the contrary, I have only come out badly bruised attempting to do it. The urge to prove my contribution towards another stems from my own insecurity and fear. Had I contributed through my love, I wouldn’t have landed in a state like this... That is, with this need to prove. So, now and then, when I indulge in it, I can sense, so clearly, how it feels and what it does to my well-being and self-confidence... It drains my energy, leaves me with a feeling of being a loser in life... Yes, it does. Anger and arguments don’t change the reality even a bit. At best – rather, at worst – they onl...

We never know our true potentials unless we are challenged by something beyond us… Mostly an unexpected crisis in life… We fight the best when we are driven to the wall… We try to earn the most, when shame of financial crunch doesn’t allow us to sleep… We learn the most when our ego and arrogance bring us to the isolation of emotional turmoil… We run the fastest when we run for our lives… We love the most when our loved ones are lost… Yes, something has to happen in our soul – some great churning, some emotional upheaval… something has to threaten us, shame us, mock us… humble us… Our best, always, lies dormant within our souls…  The best strength… The best talent… The most-earning capacity… The best-learning capacity… The best speed… The best loving, caring and giving heart… Each one of them needs to be tapped, awakened…  And, it, invariably, takes a massive crisis to do that… Yes, to awaken th...