SAINTLY INFLUENCES ON DON BOSCO

                                 (Predominately of his Loving Mother)

            I am glad to be captured by the idea that in life wheatear we like it or not everybody is influenced by the contemporary, cultural and linguistic expressions by responding to them accordingly. Besides there will be some personages who make an impact in our life through their life or ideologies. Be it be positive or not pessimistic this process is inevitable in our life. None of us can evade this inherent process of growth.

            Now I am trying my best to examine the way Don Bosco has incorporated and appropriated the ideologies and methodology of his admirable saints and sages of his contemporary and old. Likewise there are few who contributed in his life for his way of work and method of pedagogy. To mention few, his mother Mamma Margaret, Don Cafasso, Archbishop Fransoni Francis De Sales and Teresa have influenced him extensively. There are many maxims that he has appropriated from the others into his life. The tradition of goodnight, ‘God sees you’ etc are some of the famous ones.

            I am captivated by the role played by his mother in his life, is very outstanding. The reason, religion and loving kindness are though not his original but he made very radical and relevant for his charism very dynamically. Thus many have instilled in his life all virtues and attributes of life and spirituality. Though they have not directly influenced him but he made his life such a way that they have a special role and impact in his life. 

Destiny Through Inevitable Action

DESTINY THROUGH INEVITABLE ACTION

            Well, I am captivated by the second day class when this point emerged from the class in the spontaneous sharing of our experiences. Now I am trying to make this point more crystal clear in my own way of understand the phrase. Although I believe very firmly that each one is framed by certain inevitable cultural differences and linguistic expressions but there is another level where one can transform this level of understating of a person.

            Now what is my stand? It is very clear that the force and the vita can be enhanced through one’s persistent action. Thus the prefixed destiny will be shattered into pieces by our effective action. Many of us think that the destiny is ever fixed and is can ever be changed. But here my premise is that we can change this conventional view of our life. Now this action is a prerequisite of our clear and crystal aim of life which eventually has to be backed up by the true education, hard work and perseverance. I am sure if this is the focus then there will be the sky as the limit to life. Another prerequisite for the success of life is the faith in destiny. Faith is an internal force which moves our impulse toward the goal.

            Many of us in life specially the youth get sullen and fall in meritocracy having no internal faith and positive molecules moving one to success. At this point I wish for me and for the others as well that we all may believe in our esteem and self confidence. For, I believe firmly that even god cannot help the one who does not know how to help him or herself. 

To Know Don Bosco in line with Schleiermacher

TO KNOW DON BOSCO COMPREHENSIVELY ACCORDING TO SCHLEIERMACHER

          

            Can we know a person purely? is the question that perplexed my mind I am still with the same question to get the better answer. I think it is not so easy to know the person purely. But according to some philosophers like Schleiermacher who says that ‘if we begin to start to understanding a person first bit by bit and eventually we can bring a person to comprehensive outlook. Thus we can understand a person in parts and then eventually as a whole. Likewise we can come back to refine our understanding of the parts to whole.

            For me to know and learn Don Bosco is important precisely because by knowing him I can enhance my life in his foot prints as I am aspiring to be his true son. Although the times, linguistic expressions and the cultural differences were different if compare to the current but his outstanding thoughts have a lot to contribute to our times, for which we have to look up to. In this context I can quote Schleiermacher who says that ‘we can understand Don Bosco better than or more than he understood himself. In this regard we cannot apply scientific method but rather it is an art of understanding. Meaning to say that in understanding the person we need to go beyond and transcend the person.

            Scheleirmacher, the father of Modern Hermeneutics exhorts us to develop this mind frame which is very inevitable aptitude for any person to make a good life even out of a mess like Don Bosco. Which means the apriori knowledge or the mere hypothesis has to take root in action. Hence I once again assert that the art of knowing or understating is not prefixed nor structured by any frame of reference but rather it is like an art. As art evolves eventually by the artist so the understating of a person is to a better conception.

Life is Precious Gift to All

Yes i make this statement with all my understandings and with all my little rich experiences of my life. Life is precisely precious and is pure gift of love of God. In this precious gift of life filled with love and laughter is amazing and is also fantabulistic. Many people in life usually want to become somebody else forgoing what they are and more specially the uniqueness of their self. My dear friends you we are indeed the manifestation of God's love. What is God after all? is the very random question pose by the youth of this era. Well God is Love and the Love is God. Hence we are indeed God's loving people. St Paul stresses this in his letters similarly saying  that "We are the temple of the holy spirit." Now my question is if this is so, why  then  this disharmony with one another. Let me strike this point from different angle. No animal on this planet will kill it's own. Even they don't even attack the other animal for no reason, unless hungry or for protection. But what about the human kind. why do we kill each other? why are we scared of the other? (as in philosophical terms the other is my hell.) 

dear friends you all agree with me to say that your life is precious and even much more. But what about the life of the other. Aren't they have the pain and the feeling. Don't they have liberty live as you have.

Here I am posing the question for the entire human kind do make time to think about this phenomenological and most radical question. 

as conclusion what i would like to draw home is that let us stop the disharmony in the name of our joy and our  life and denying the life of the other. The other indeed is the manifestation of love of God brought into your life to enrich you more and to give meaning to your life. And you on the other hand enrich the other with all your capabilities and your talents. If this is the understanding of the humankind  the earth is the best and most beautiful abode of God's love that we can ever think of.