Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Neerja Panchal A t our home, there was this Bible-reading every night. Too often, we used to   read the passage: ‘Let your left hand not know what your right hand gives.” Yet, countless times, we would hear our parents yell at us: “We have done so much sacrifice for you, and, in return…” I neither understood Christ’s words, nor the outburst of   my parents… I was immune to both! When I became an adult, I, too, used to help others, a hundred times… and, later, I would grumble and crib about it, just the way my parents did… Now, when I read the passage from the Bible, I understand its significance, its relevance. S acrifice can be done only in silence… Be it my weekly fast or the occasional charity; Be it towards my children or my partner, or, towards my nation… Yes, Sacrifice is giving in gladness… As ...

In life, everything has two sides to it: a ‘weight’ and a ‘value’. Everything, including our problems in life! I was reading an article this morning, where I came across this advice of Lord Krishna to Arjuna: “A donkey knows the weight of the sandalwood-load on its back,   but does not know its value!” I just stopped reading… and smiled! Something was pressing me so hard, right since I woke up this morning, that I was finding it difficult to concentrate…  L ife means problems… Problems means Life! Both are inseparable…  This means, when we wake up, we should not be surprised to see a new problem standing at our door… Because, such is Life…  A new surprise, for each new day! But, it doesn’t happen that way… We not only get surprised, we also get angry and upset when the new problem is thrust on our back, each morning! So, this morning, when I saw a n...

“The best way to bring down our suffering in life is to carry our crosses… gladly!” I came across this line, this morning, on a waste paper!  I stood there, still, for a while… and read it, and read it again and again and again: “The best way to bring down our suffering in life   is to carry our crosses… gladly!” “So simple!” I really felt like as  though I had just discovered a new continent! As a small child, every time I resisted the work given to me by mom, she would scream: “If you do your work happily, you will have more time to play!” This meant: if I resisted more – complained, grumbled, argued, fought and postponed – I would simply add more trouble in my life… waste away my time… ruin my joy… and, yes, I would have less time to play, enjoy. My stress would deprive me of my joy, my playfulness. The rule had applied everywhere - from my school homework to every other wo...

"Have you ever seen a bullock cart taking reverse?" Vikram asked me. Well, I had grown up in a village in Mangalore where bullock carts were a common sight... We had them everywhere in our village. While returning from school, so often, we children would get a joy ride in Thaburanna's famous bullock cart. But, never did I bother to observe whether his bullock cart ever took a reverse! Last night, when Vikram asked me that question, I began to think about it, for the first time. "The bull doesn't look up; it takes the load, looks down... and moves. That is called the 'Bull Run'," Vikram continued. "Your neck may bleed, back may hurt... but you move, with your head down." But, need I be docile, submissive? Need I be a bullock carrying others' load? Why should my neck bleed? Why should my back hurt? Why should I suffer? "Because, the need to take load comes with your decision to take charge," Vikram added. "You have to accep...