Gerald D'Cunha

The less you hold on to things, the more you own them! It is, indeed, a great paradox of life. One reason why we constantly experience lack of money in our life is because, we tend to hold on to it, hoard it, are suspicious about it. When money comes in, however small in quantity, do we feel grateful for the inflow? When we pay our bills, do we pay with blessings to the payee? The answer is obvious. When money comes in, we take it for granted; we assume that we are 'entitled ' to it. And, when we pay our bills, we grumble, we resist, we feel robbed by some one... and there is a nagging sadness, sorrow and even anger inside. So, how can we ever experience prosperity? How can we ever feel content and happy over money? On 31st of December, a surprise envelope came to me by post. I wasn't expecting at all the IT refund that day. For a moment, I paused and thanked. I could feel the gladness, fulfilment. It had nothing to do with the size of the amount; but, certainly, it had a l...

This is my third post, today! I am busy, as usual, with my routine work of teaching. I am also busy thinking, worrying, regretting and so on. The unpaid bills before me still give me jitters, and my dreams still keep dangling. And, look! In spite of all this daily drama, today, the spring in me refuses to cease. I am pleasantly surprised, awe-struck! Life is full of abundance. I have no doubt about that. Still, whenever I get bogged down by the daily pressures of living, the doubt does raise in me its ugly head, and 'The Law of Abundance' does seem, at those moments, nothing more than a piece of theory. The birds in the sky have enough to feed themselves, and the fishes in the oceans, too. The sun and the stars give enough help to every one here, and the moon, too. The wind is kind enough, as do the seasons. Every thing that God has made is for every one here. We are inheritors of this wealth. But, then, all this sounds sweet in essays. When we see ourselves still juggling and ...

This is an interesting story -- with some strange co-incidents -- and, they had to unfold, mysteriously, on the same day. The day was today. I said 'mysteriously'-- because, *Salim and *Pravin (*not the real names), both my ex-students, had come to see me today. Consider this: -- Both graduated from my institute about five years ago; -- Both had finacial difficulties at home. -- Salim was not comfortable with any fee-concession or a waiver; he was very dignified, had high self-esteem. Thus, he would meet me privately, those days, explain to me his home-situation, take a few weeks or months more to clear off his dues. But, clear off he would, like a gentleman. Moreover, he would express his gratitude, profusely, and do it quite often. After he passed out, he kept referring my institute to his friends and, also, would speak very highly about me to them. That was his way of repaying his debt to his teacher. -- On the other hand, Pravin and his parents, woul...

Does Devil tempt my mind? Or, is my mind itself a Devil? It's months now, since my first blog article was published. I was glad and proud about it. Many of my well-wishers sent me feedback, and, obviously, 'nice' ones. Many of them kept urging me to post my new articles ... at least one in a week. Writing is my passion, and I do write on a daily basis ... and, I write them in the form of my notes. So, what a big deal? Why didn't I post a new piece during all these months? Perhaps, I wanted to see what would happen if I do not yield to that 'compulsion' to have my 'notes' published ... I wanted to see what would happen if I step back at the very hieght of popularity. It is very tempting to go by the popular wave, yield to the pressures of your friends and well-wishers. When I did not have a blog, I longed for one. The blog came ... and with it the pressures and compulsions: "I must do it, come what may." But, a voice inside screamed at me: ...

Some days back, I saw a Hindi movie, and returned highly disappointed. I was grumbling all the way home. Ironically, I had ‘chosen’ to watch this movie; no one had forced me to watch it. Moreover, I had decided to watch it, because, I wanted to unwind myself, recharge my batteries. But, here I was – with a fresh load of stress … being let down, being disappointed! The next morning, I was having a discussion with my friend, Mukesh, in my office, and the topic of the movie came up. “It’s a complete crap,” I commented, instinctively. Perhaps, to vent out my frustration, to unburden my load. Mukesh hadn’t seen that movie. So, he responded to my comment with this story: Once, a disciple went to his Master with a ‘gurudhakshina’ – an offering to one’s Guru. This disciple had completed the study under his Master, and was confident that there was nothing more to learn. So, he had gone to express his gratitude to his Master with the offering – some valuable things. When the Master saw his disci...