Christ is Our Hope...(Resurrection)

It's been a long for Christians who were fasting, praying and doing a lot of charitable acts during these 40 days of the Lent. For sure Easter is not the day to stop doing such good and kind acts. These acts are meritorious when done with an inner aptitude of love for God and for humanity. For it is the love of God that compels us do love the neighbour without any expectation. That is exactly what Jesus did on the Good Friday. Therefore, Easter is the continued fruit/merit of the sacrifice on Good Friday. Therefore, the sacrifice of Christ's life on Good Friday receives its ultimate reward on Easter Sunday.

I believe, life on earth is perfectly imperfect. The time is the witness of this imperfect life. If birth is the beginning of life death is not the end of life; for death is only part of this imperfection. So, this perfect imperfection needs to be bridged by the divine imperfect reality. For, it is Christ who indeed incarnated into this imperfect reality; because His origin has no end. Therefore St Augustine once said :"Resurrectio Christi spes nostra." Christ is our Hope. Yes Christ is our Hope who showed us the Way, the Truth and the Life. He also said "I AM the Bread of Life." and "I AM the Resurrection."

For sure, we fallible beings need to re-tune the melody of life; be it once's prayer life, reflective life or from a life of indifference.....To be continued....

Work entails Maturity

Mahatma Gandhi, the father of India once said "Work is worship." Well said is half done and so this saying has been quoted almost by every secular author in their books. Don Bosco, the saint of the young said "Labore, Labore and Labore," meaning work, work and work. Whatever be the context but the word WORK speaks much about the work itself. Perhaps why another Greek Ancient writer Euripides said "Work begets maturity." Therefore, the fruit of your hard work is to work more. Strange but true. Work, therefore is not merely a physical or workaholic action rather is a disposition and an attitude. If we do not strive to cultivate this virtue the fate surely drives us down. Instead if work becomes our disposition, our attitude and our culture, then be sure sky is the limit for your success. Thus, no vice can get you down, because you become the trend setter of this new work-ethic and the ambassador of work-culture.  

WOMAN/SHAKTI/EMPOWERMENT...!

Right at the outset, I admit that I am not a staunch feminist, yet this presumption doesn’t stop me whispering the truth of my inner voice. As someone said “say the truth and run away”, I do not mean such assumption despite the fact that I, a male, writing on such a significant phenomenon woman.        

One cannot but accept the significant role of a woman in building a family or a society. Hence, we must appreciate woman’s contribution in nation building. Neither the governments, nor the civil or church laws build families. Instead, it is a woman who builds the family. If so, why there are rapes, domestic violence, and female-foeticide, divorce and unjust wages? State or religion is no exception. Hence, we must question the system, because if the system is corrupt what can we hope for? Hindu, Islam, Judeo-christian systems and the Greek, Roman, Eastern civilizations were all part of this inequality without being judgemental. Let us now get into the heart of the matter.           

        sati saha gamana, child-marriages, dowry system, devadaasi/temple prostitution, unwanted girl child culture, domestic violence, abortions, trafficking, legal-prostitution and sales/product-advertising. This reality has its deep roots in history. “War to men, what maternity is to women” said Aristotle. So much so that Greeks did not even consider women as equals, worse still not as human beings but, as objects of satisfaction and gratification. Ironically, their mythologies were full of feminine goddesses. Perhaps why Anaximander, a Greek philosopher said “the world is made up of opposites.” The Indian age old Hindu-traditions hold that women were impure and so were not allowed to enter into the sanctuaries of the temples. But they propagated temple prostitution and devadaasi systems despite, having three crore dieties. The Jewish culture and Islamic traditions were of no exception to this gender inequality. Even today the Drawpathi story of Hindu Puranas is time and again repeating in India. So much so, Delhi is now called as a rape and divorce capital city of India.

Today in this complexity of reality, plurality of faiths, multiplicity of opinions, diversity of cultures, scientific and nuclear development and yet women are objectified, ill-treated and unaccepted. This is not a new phenomenon. It has been there in India in different forms as

In this age, there are cases of teachers who abuse their students; leaders mishandle public wealth and powerful grow at the cost of the poor. The Priest, Pujari, Pandit or Peoples Representatives are no exception. There are men who desire for a beautiful wife, but reject the girl child, desire for a good mother but abuse the wives; happy to admire the latest actresses but do not even care the sick and aged mothers. There is such a terrible disparity in society due to knowledge gained without experience, insights without reflection and lectures without ethics/morals. Thus a lot of traditional values have become messy, confusing and compromising. A new culture of CCTVs, Security Guards, Policing and Scheduled day time work hours, glassed windows and open doors tell us how insecure and how threatening we are to our sisters and mothers. It is strange but true!   

As said above, if education does not educate the mind and heart of the individuals, that education is meaningless. If not that education is mere hypocrisy of the learned people. Once, Pharisees brought a prostitute woman, caught in the very act of adultery to be stoned to death. Jesus, seeing her helplessness and the darkened minds of the Pharisees, invites the one who has not sinned. There prevails a dramatic scene, as the Pharisees withdrew one by one. Jesus shuns their hard hearts, self-righteousness, arrogance, judgmental attitudes and domination. He saves the woman from shame, fear, guilt and death. This woman experienced such compassion and forgiveness of the master. Here Jesus sets himself as an example to respect the dignity of the personhood and shuns the sin. He sees the person not the sin. Hence that woman who was so frightened, timid, helpless, but after experiencing forgiveness of Jesus, picked up courage to enter into the house of a Pharisee and breaks all social taboo and anoints the feet of Jesus with the costly oil. Thus, she was liberated from the social taboo and gratefully gives to Jesus not merely the costly oil but the richness of her heart. That is the power and the generosity of a woman who was supported and accepted. Yet, there was a man who questions and doubts her act of gratitude. Here Jesus gives a clarion call telling us, what matters is the heart of gratitude. Therefore, it is not enough to study and win laurels for one’s credit but must have a large heart to love and serve.

Unfortunately the system is always a challenge, because, they are like the Statue of Liberty of America that stands for freedom, but actually was robed from Africa and gifted by France to USA. In such a world WOMEN must be like the Lotus that blooms despite dirty water. The challenge is that every woman must stand for their rights. The challenge of Jesus “to be light of the world and salt of the earth” must be made a reality. Light penetrates and conquers darkness. Salt dilutes and adds taste to the food and preserves it. In both the images there is an element of change. Everyone must be like the catalyst and agents of change. Hence, Jesus invites particularly the women to know the truth and stand for the truth and shine like the candle lit and put on the stand.     

    

Although there are struggles lurking in every corner of the society, there were women who faced difficulties and yet not succumbed. St. Mother Teresa, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Medha Patkar and all Good Mothers are outstanding examples. It is said that “if you want to protect a generation plant trees but if you want to protect thousand generations educate women.” It is very true, if the man is the head of the family, woman is the heart of the family; and we know the important role of the heart. Therefore, invariably there is a woman behind everyman’s success. From the womb to the grave...the mother is the starting point of one’s arrival. In Indian terms, woman is synonymously identified as shakti and power. They inherit such a grace that every woman is a symbol of endurance, peace, gentleness, love and patience. No wonder why mother/woman is considered as God/divine personified in human form. Every woman therefore, is intrinsically a divine extension. Why then do we talk about empowerment, emancipation or liberation of women, when they are empowerment by their very nature. In this context, feminism is not a movement fighting for the rights rather is the source of power and vision. This source must not be an agitation but is an inspiration that would bring out heroic models of women leaders in the society.      

Women are known as Aadi Shakthi; meaning they are power emanating from the divine. Therefore, they are like the lotus in the pond that blooms even in muddy water. The mud and dirt do not diminish the essence of the lotus. For, the lotus penetrates the mud and blooms. Likewise, women are immensely blessed with such charisma, potentiality and determination. As a result every good man is the fruit of every good woman who nurtured the child to man. These courage women contribute much to the nation building. For an instance, Mother Teresa the saint of the poor contributed to the least of the nation from rags to the riches. Mrs. Indhira Gandhi changed the political scenario of the nation with such power and progress. Medha Patkar committed her life to become the voice of the voice less as an NGO and a Journalist. Therefore, when we educate a woman we actually educate a generation and more. No doubt, women have an extraordinary power and responsibility in bringing up the family and the society at large.  

Today India is moving on a high pace for bullet trains, tale-communication and for Nuclear Energy. To be frank this is not the need of the hour. Instead, India must start a social revolution of respect for all. This I believe is real education, culture and civilization. However, women are the real nation builders, subtle yet profound. Yes, a woman is the heart of the nation, perhaps why our freedom fighters called our country Mother India. In India family is the best social system where a woman plays a significant role. Today India is witnessing the soft changes as women contribute in science, technology, medicine, politics, religion, education and administration. If India had such leaders like M. Gandhi, B.R Ambedkar, Tagoore and A.P.J Kalam, I believe, the credit certainly goes to their mothers, who nurtured them from cries of the cradle to the crown of glory. India had the first woman Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and the first woman President Mrs. Pratibha Patil and today P.V. Sindu, Saina Nehwal, Mitali Raj and Deepika are new source and force of inspiration for Indian.         

It is said “where women are respected God’s make their dwelling.” In India the Earth is worship as mother, water as life and interestingly many rivers in India bare feminine names. Thus women were treated always high in Vedic and Golden Age. Unfortunately, this attitude declined during the Colonial and Moghals invasion. Thus, the need to protect women arose and today it is an urgent need like that of the freedom fight. But we must admit the fact that there are women who swam against the current and set an example for change and difference. The task of Media is to bring up such success stories of women who changed the status quo in sports, education, administration and service sectors. I am glad about the Bollywood movies of Queen, Meri Khom and MOM with a female leading role against the stereotyped stories. I wish we will have more of such courageous women stories soon. We must bring out the unsung women heroes to the front line of this male dominated territory. The truth of our nations’ economy is much contributed by the house hold savings of women in terms of wealth, gold and jewellery. Hence, it is not a surprise if we say that the Development is intrinsically linked to the empowerment and education of women. Because, they are true game changers of family, society and the nation building as power, shakti.

Let us remember the words of the St Teresa of Kolkata, “Though you think that the work that you do is just a drop in a vast ocean then remember that the ocean will be incomplete without that particular drop”.  Blessed are those women who make ripple effect in Indian sub-continent.          

  

Discernment: A Way Forward for You/th...

We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are. It is one’s attitude towards life and reality that makes the individual growing or dwindling. Today, we have examples of individuals who grew from tiny to giants and from giants to pathetic. What makes the difference is disposition/attitude/discernment. Bible is full of such examples. Young people are immensely blessed by God’s choicest blessings. Some young people become pro-active and productive in life and others become over-active and yet unproductive. The difference between the two cases is the distance and discernment. Yes the former is close to God in prayer and discernment and the latter is distanced from God and worse still no prayer and no discernment. Dear young friends in Christ, our God never abandons us; he is always there to help, provided we allow him to transform us, like the blind man who cried out “Jesus son of David have mercy on me.” Lk 18: 38.    

 

God surprises us provided we allow God to surprise us. Mary, a young Jewish girl was surprised by God’s invitation, through the angel Gabriel. She could not but believe how God surprised her. As a response, she professed her faith in God through the Magnificat, “my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.” Lk 1:47. Magnificat is the fruit of her discernment to say YES to God’s invitation. I believe she made a perfect discernment. After the election of the Pope Francis, he was asked, ‘who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?’ He was silent for a while and said “I am a Sinner.” By accepting himself as a sinner he in fact affirmed how God surprised him by electing him as the Pope. So much so that he even coined a new word from Latin root word miserando as Mercy-ing. The attitude of the Pope is certainly inspiring because, he admits himself as a sinner and trusts in the infinite mercy of Jesus Christ, who continues to surprise us, from his creation, incarnation and resurrection. I believe, Pope Francis made his discernment and accepted the invitation of Jesus to shoulder the Church in the most challenging times. Meaning to say, the effective change in life happens by spending time with the Lord allowing HIM to transform life. This is what we call Discernment. Discernment is always done in the presence of the Lord, looking at the signs listening to the things that happen, surrendering entire self before the Lord. It is not an easy task.

In discernment we do not centre our self, but Christ. Yes, Christ is the centre in our life. By centring Christ in our life, we avoid the risk of getting self absorbed and self-sufficient. Always we have got to put before us greater God. The Church exhorts us to offer the whole person and our hard work before God the universal potter. It is he who designs us and shapes our present, moulds our future and corrects our past. As a good mud, we need to dispose our entire self before the universal saviour who makes good pots out of mud. Jer 18:6. Therefore, Discernment in life is essential precisely because when we speak and express too much, we run the risk of being misunderstood or misled by our own self appealing. We can form our heart, mind and conscience only by sincere discernment; St Theresa of Avila, St Mother Theresa and St John Paul II are models before us. They did not lose the sight of Christ in life, but had Christ as the centre of their life. This requires much humility, sacrifice and courage, especially at times of humiliation and shame. At this difficult time the only way out and way forward is Prayer. In prayer and meditation one understands that it is not we choose God but it is God who is waiting to embrace and encounter, no matter what invades us down. Thus, discernment is intrinsically linked to prayer and introspection. By this practice one draws oneself to God himself. This is how God goes beyond our thinking to save us. Discernment is always a disposition by which one glorifies God’s magnanimity and gratuitousness. It is an inward attitude that drives us to be inwardly open to dialogue, to encounter and to find God. In this genuine search, one does not fear shame or defeat instead with the help of God’s grace he/she rises high above fear and shame. We have got to pray and discern for God. In prayer we enter into a dynamic of discernment that opens future before us. By this spiritual training God communicates his will through these internal movements. In this context Pope Benedict XVI is one of the best examples who heart and responded to the inner voice of God through his reflected resignation. By this he did an act of courage and humility. From where did he draw strength to make such a surprising decision? Well, the answer is prayer and discernment. It is the discernment that helped him to give way to the new leadership in the Church.

Like saints, let us discern in life through prayer and introspection by which we understand the lowliness of our self and loveliness of God. The beauty of confession makes us understand this reality of God and not the Sin but the sinner. God sees not our sin but his own Child, born in his image and likeness. Therefore, to walk like Mother Mary who said Yes to God and Mother Theresa who made her discernment well and as a result, she is called as the saint of the gutters and Pope Benedict the XVI who surprised the Church with this profound discernment and today Pope Francis who is continuing to surprise the world by his prayer and discernment in his speech and writing. In their example and inspiration let us also strive to Walk in the light of God, Build our life in Christ and Confess to Jesus the saviour of the world. This is all possible only through discernment that opens our inner eyes to God who surprises us. Rom 12:2.

In this post-modern and highly advanced culture the Church is feeling with the heart of a mother for her son or daughter. Therefore, the church decided to discuss about the young people and discernment in the 2018 synod. When the young people listen to the voice of their parents, teachers and elders for sure they will have a way forward. By this integrated way of life one shuns sinful habits and begins to grow like St Mother Theresa and St John Paul II. Thus, in light and the example of the holy family You/th begin to spread the ripples of Christian love. Therefore, Discernment is an essential element in every young and promising child of God. Thus young people grow like Child Jesus, in wisdom and stature.     

  

A Poor Teacher....

We all know a famous saying "A good teacher teaches. A better teacher exhorts and the best teacher inspires." Fortunate if you have such teachers who walk into your student life. For sure they teach, encourage and inspire you to become better and the best.
Unfortunate if you have poor and pathetic teachers who neither teach nor prepare for the class. Such teachers do come into our student life who paradoxically inspire by their despair. Strange but true. But to reach to this aptitude one requires an open mind and heart to accept the things that they cannot change but change one self instead.
However, what I want to say is that today during two hours of class we experienced such poor and pathetic performance of a professor who only talked and taught nothing. Plenty of words bla bla bla....I just had a look around the class that was packed with students but then, most of them were all like as if suffocated and some constipated and still worse few were indifferent catching the head and supporting the falling heads with their arms. Hope you the reader will never face such sad teachers who talk much and teach less. It was not a class rather a concentration camp where we were all almost suffocated by the talk, words and unwanted examples.
Dear reader in case if you are a teacher plz do your job well and teach as if teaching is your passion than profession. 

Cloth that became the Bone of Contention...

Life is thrilling when we come together and still better to work. But then you know the paradox of life is that there are always differences of opinions and view points. This is what makes life more interesting although challenging. One such moment happened yesterday and today here in the study house. Every noon all the students do some cleaning in the house. And so everyone one is on the heels working and advertising their work by noise, shouts, singing and humming. One student comes late and looks for his moping cloth and finds it missing. Then begins the show, going around hunting for the moping cloth. Looks here there and finally finds it with another student who was using the cloth not knowing  the danger of using someone's belongings. The owner comes and shouts at the other left and right and laughs and shouts and grabs the cloth and goes as if the winning warrior. But the tragedy is that he never comes on time to do his job. For sure tomorrow also he cloth will be used by someone else...for he was never on time to do the job....Thus simple, old and dirty moping cloth becomes the bone of contention almost every day....

God Particle...

Hi friendzz...

It is all about a new book that I flipped through this noon up to evening. Well something interesting is written by the author despite the God question that has been chasing the giant minds over history. Author begins introducing himself as a scientist and as an astronomer. However his Catholic faith in God was still fresh. Hence as a blend of science and faith he makes God particle rather convincing. But as Catholics, we need to be aware of certain risks that he took in the book particularly explaining God as an Energy, Intellect and Consciousness making his Love, Light and Beauty manifesting in the world. This sounds great and catholic but when he jumps over to other conclusions like God is all embracing and all accepting. Hence, as God, he cannot shun his own creation no matter what he/she does. Because there is no heaven and no hell. If so God contradicts himself; for God cannot punish his own.

However, there other interesting and significant insights that he unfolds drawing similarities from Big Bang, Evolution and Chain theories as all these were in a way progressively planned and tuned to form a new life. This he calls as God theory comprising Divine Element in every existential and physical and naturalistic activities of the world.

Let us begin to Trust God no matter what for, It is he who reveals his mysteries....May the Spirit continue to God humanity to marvel at His magnanimity and beauty of course bounty.