Gerald D'Cunha

“Service to others is the rent you pay  for your room here on earth.” Muhammad Ali H ow do we define the word ‘Legacy’? I think, a simple definition can be: “Everything good that we leave behind when we die.”  Lots of wealth and property that we leave behind for charity is definitely our Legacy. But, then, not many of us are in a position to do that. The noble deeds  we do when we are alive -  our selfless service to society – is surely counted as our Legacy. I, often, think about my relentless blogging, publications and other work towards young kids and quietly tell myself, “Hey, that will be your Legacy.” Feels good? Oh, yes… It does. I am a human after all, you see… Even in our so-called ‘noble, selfless deeds’, we do conceal some amount of our selfishness… Well, at least, I do, Sir. And, be that as it may… I would like to mention here a very thoughtful, noble and progressive deed my friend Hitesh Rupani and his family chose to do, two days ago, when ...

  “Every sunrise is an invitation for us to arise and brighten someone’s day.” Richelle E. Goodrich   W hen I came across the above quote this morning, I was, suddenly, made conscious of what it was trying to really convey… You and I have taken the Sun for granted… Haven’t we? Every day, when the Sun comes up, what does he really do? And, imagine, if, one morning, he decides not to come up! This morning, I was asking myself: If the Sun wakes up with an objective, that his presence should brighten every one’s day here on earth, shouldn’t I wake up with a similar objective? Well, I am aware of my limited reach… Unlike the mighty Sun, I am only able to brighten the day for a few people around me. But, that’s what is expected of you and me – the little sparks of the mighty Sun above… Let’s do some good acts… just to brighten the day of someone around us. There are a hundred ways in which you and can do that. Helping someone financially may be one of those hundred...

O ur little good thoughts and deeds of years and years don’t simply go wasted. They come back to help us when we need help the most. There is cumulative power concealed in our good thoughts and deeds… The Law of Karma doesn’t spare any one of us… What goes around comes around… We reap what we sow! But, the important thing is this: when we sow the seeds – our little good thoughts and deeds – we do not do it with any clauses and conditions… we just do it out of our love and concern. So, most of the times, when the rewards comes to us, we aren’t even able to trace their roots… for, we hadn’t kept any record of our ‘sowing of good seeds’! To me, it becomes clearer by the day, that our God is merciful. He knows what we need and He knows our anxieties and fears. Thus, He sends us the help when we expect it the least… To me, that’s Providence… Often, I have tried with all my herculean strength but failed… while, suddenly, from nowhere comes the help… the solution… the reward! ...

“Most people die at 25 and aren’t buried until they’re 75.” ―  Benjamin Franklin   “M y mother has left her body,” yes, this was how Manjeet, my friend, conveyed the ‘sad news’ to me, yesterday, “The departure was peaceful.” Manjeet’s mother lived with his family. She was very close to Manjeet and loved his wife and children immensely. Manjeet, his wife and children took good care of her. Except for stiffness of joints and a poor appetite, Manjeet’s mother had no other health problems. She was alert, mobile and affectionate. Often, I would see her sitting with Manjeet engaged in gentle discussions. She did not take any medicines… spent most of her time in silent prayers. “She held my hand and left,” Manjeet narrated, “I could see her going.” What kind of death you and I will have… well, we can never predict it. Like all, I, too, pray to God that the death of my dear and near ones, and my own, be ‘peaceful’. And, I leave it at that. “You ...

Pic.: Pradeep Nanda I know how important it is – for my mental sanity and peace – not to keep a scoreboard of all the good that I do in life. I find it very difficult not to… Yes, it is not easy to do good and throw it into the sea... as the old proverb suggests. That’s why it is not easy to remain free from cynicism and bitterness in life… I do good… and tend to keep a scoreboard – what good I have done, to whom, when, how much… and, along with that comes my expectations… Not necessarily, that they should do good in return or someone should reward me… but, mostly, I expect gratitude, appreciation courtesy… Yes, these basic expectations from the ones I reach out to, help… I know, it is important to remain detached from even this basic courtesy and expectation… But, then, I am not such an enlightened soul, you see… I remain attached! So, I tend to store the good that I do in my memory card… the scoreboard… And, there is this constant devil’s reminder, tha...

Pic.: Shankar Ramachandran I think of so many people every day. Some of them dominate my consciousness, and those thoughts are either pleasant or unpleasant. Yes, whenever the thoughts of some people come up in my mind, I feel happy for them… I deeply wish them well… I want them to be happy, successful, loved and respected in life… I want their families to be happy and successful… I may not go down on my knees and pray for these people and their families… I just wish – deeply and sincerely - in my heart, that they and their families should be happy and successful. On the other hand, whenever the thoughts of some other people – very few – come up in my mind, I don’t feel happy for them… I feel the irritation, anger, hurt, and that doesn't allow me to think nicely about them or their families… The more I think about these people, the more unpleasant feelings dominate my consciousness… Again, I may not ask God to punish them; but, I deeply hold a lot of ...

Los ing faith in the goodness of Life… comes easily to us. When the chips are up – when weather is fair – yes, it is easy to believe, that Life is good… God is kind… People are trustworthy. But, when the chips are down – when weather is stormy, uncertain – no, sir… Life doesn’t seem all that good… God doesn’t seem all that merciful… and, people don’t seem trustworthy… Well, this is how the seesaw called ‘Living’ has been, and will be… always. Hope holds… Imagine Life without Hope! For some days now, I have been telling myself this: “Good deeds are good seeds!” The Law of Karma … “In Life, you reap what you sow!” Yes, for many days now, my eyes are able to see the harvest of the seeds I had sown years and years ago… My mind is able to see the connection… My heart is able to rejoice… And, when this is going on inside me, I find myself crying with all my conviction: “Hark, Life is good… God is kind… and people are...

Beyond a certain point, it is pointless to worry about our future. In fact, ‘worry’ is the wrong word… Worry never helps. So, beyond a certain point, it is pointless to be ‘concerned’ about our future! All things are taken care of! About twenty-five years ago, I did not have a fixed place to run my classes… I used to shuttle from one place to another – almost frantically – to keep my kitchen fire burning. Just some three years earlier, my ship had sunk… I was trying to put all those pieces together. Learning from my past mistakes, now, I was not in a hurry… I was treading cautiously.    But, I was happy the way  things were going…  though I had to keep running all day long  in order to stay still, as they say.  I knew my future would  unfold on its own  if I remained sincere to my heart. One night, Uday, a student who had passed out two years e...