gadfly

Pain is not wanting in life. Naturally we have aversion towards pain and attracted towards things that are pleasurable. However pain is indispensable whether or not we will it or not. Reflecting on Lent I think pain can be creative. Our blessed Lord came to this earth to save us from sin and restore our relationship with God the Father. For this the price He paid was pain, physical and mental torture by men and women whose sin blinded them to commit the most horrible act ever recorded in the history of humankind. By His death we are restored and by precious blood our iniquities are washed away. In short the pain we went through created in us life and love.  We, Christians, resolve to do or not to do a list of things during this season of Lent but hardly we think of accepting all the hardships and struggles come on our way. There is a great stress on revenge and violence in our times than in the way of the cross, to suffer for my neighbour, to accept him or her as he or s...

Beware the Semester is coming! This is what I came across  a couple of  weeks back as I was making my way back home from my ministerial place. For more than one reason it has food for thought on the educational practices carried out through out the length and breadth of our great country. These days we are quite familiar with sign posts that say "Beware Dogs In." But not so something like that I am mentioning right now. What does that mean "Beware the Semester is coming"? Obviously it means, come on students you have to score high in your exams; remember it is going to determine your life. To make your way through in life you have to mug up. The educational sector has become a  promising money-making enterprise in India.  What makes me wonder at this statement is its hidden meanings. Is the semester something to be feared? What if  I don't score as every one thinks I should? May be it's worth asking what if I score high as every one thinks I should? Does...

Introduction   Common sense means paying attention to the obvious. In other words it is the practical know-how knowledge that governs our everyday-communication process. We all know how to act in certain circumstances with certain people not so much through scientific theories but through common sense learning. This is not as easy as it sounds; for common sense, as many say, is uncommon these days. We all have vivid imaginations, and we tend to get lost in our fantasies. When fantasy replaces common sense, communication becomes farcical and even tragic. Life is a series of ordinary events that follow the laws of logic and probability. These ordinary events are indifferent to our fantasies and require the careful, accurate steering of common sense. Lonergan who is concerned with authentic communication between human persons notes: “To err is human, common sense is very human.” This is rather an interesting statement of Lonergan to be noticed. No doubt common sense ...

Political parties are busy working out a plan for the upcoming state elections in five of the sates: Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam. Sooner you will hear political rhetorics in these states the ruling governments praising their performances and the opposition parties criticizing the government and promising to reform. Often the reformations will include new allowances, free-schemes, and alike. Basically, I think there should be motive stronger than the so called good will of the politicians to develop the country. It is filling their pockets; for we are not unaware of the scams and scandels in Indian Politics. I don't deny that there are sincere politicians even today. I am concerned about the policy makers and those who have direct control over our national interests.  Often the generosity of our leaders are false-generosity with a hidden motive behind. We the citizens seldom realize this fact. The disparity between the haves and have nots is ev...

I believe there is a world of difference between a necessary virtue and a virtue of necessity. While a necessary virtue is a virtue in the proper sense and it's a virtue irrespective of who practices and when it is practiced. For instance, hope is a necessary virtue at all times. We know we are not beings fashioned  once and for all and we time and again hope to better our lives. On the contrary, a virtue of necessity is subjective and conditioned to particular time and to particular persons. In short, it is the justification of one's errors. Let me illustrate with a practical example that you and I are well acquainted with in our every day life. You see some people to be extremely courteous and respectful all of a sudden to your surprise. You begin to wonder what produced such a change in a person who cared not whether you existed previously or not. Some time most probably s/he may come to you for some help or other. Continuation of your relationship much depends o...

At the outset let me acknowledge that  the term "freedom-become-authority" is Freiren term used in his celebrated work T he Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Whether we are young or old one of the things that we find hard to accept is imposition of ideas. In other words authoritarianism. We have the inalienable right to decide for ourselves and direct our lives. At the same time our vocation to be more fully human is impossible by closing ourselves in without communion. Authoritarianism is an anti-thesis or negation of freedom and therefore we have no right to bow down to anyone who does not acknowledge our vocation as a human person capable of thinking and acting upon our own existential conditions. Authority for us humans can only mean that we as free persons who live in communion in a society agree to give certain rights to some persons for a responsible use of all. And therefore, at the core of authority the roots of human freedom must lie. We Christians are set free by Christ...

BIS Mumbai                                     BOSCO INFORMATION SERVICE #2220 RED REALITY – NAXALISM: AN EXITENTIAL DILEMMA Cl. Romero D’Souza sdb DIVYADAAN, JANUARY 13, 2011:  The Masters of Philosophy students (2010-2011) presented a symposium on the topic “Naxalism: An existential dilemma”. The symposium was held in the Divyadaan Academic Hall from 2:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m and was attended by the staff and students of Divyadaan as well the religious from the neighboring community. The Media today is flooded with news of Naxals which brings to our senses the relevance of this topic. In these present times our country is faced with many realities and one of it is facing the Red reality of the Naxalism. This existing dilemma of the Philosophy of the Naxalites has affected every citizen of India in thought and actio...