debater

I thought of penning down a few reflections even as I sat tired and upset. Of many things that passed through the mind something struck me very honestly. I suppose this is something very common in our lives. Whether we like it or not many a time we either are scapegoat or make others to be. We are upset when we are made to be scapegoats by someone and hardly do we realize when we make someone to be. I wish to share about someone whom I make a scapegoat to be whenever I am slighted and insulted. This  person is Jesus Christ Himself. Whenever I meet with difficulties, my goings become tough I feel easy to severe my relationship with one person and that person is Jesus. The intellect tells me that I should turn to Him in my moments of difficulty rather than severing my ties with Him by blaming Him for all the pain - for which most often directly or indirectly I am the cause. In actuality I do what is done to me.  There is something special about this person whom I make a scap...

It has been long since I ever attempted to blog anything. Among the few things I wish to share 'patience' tops the list. I wonder 'whatever happened to patience?' It's still fresh in mind that my late grandfather advising us kids to be patient in deciding anything, to listen to people and to slow to answer back or answer. Sometimes I wonder whether what my grandfather advised holds water today. May be not ? I don't think so still. He might not have been learned like any of his grandsons at home but he had wisdom which comes from experience. I remember somebody telling me once 'hurry leads to worry.' And on a particular occasion someone reminded me of the proverb "Marry in haste; repent at leisure." I believe most of our troubles are due to thoughtlessness or impatience. The world and more especially the young are impatient to the maximum. The world is always in search of some 'quick fix'. We know anything that has not been thought abo...

Evil is defined as the absence of good, a non-entity, etc. For instance, a person who has only one hand suffers a physical evil. While physical evil is something that everybody understands, or within the range of our understanding, let alone the causes for it. It is the moral evil that is trickier. I suppose we are led to believe there is no such a thing as evil through our studies than positively affirming its presence. Everybody agrees to some extent that there is evil in the world; but not all of us will be willing to say it is an entity.  I remember my friend and I used to discuss about such issues for sometime in the last academic year. A few boys also used to scare the others with their stories. As I was reading through Scott Peck's The People of the Lie , I got an idea of what evil is.  Though it is worth discussing the ideas present therein, I wish to state one thought that runs through the entire book. The biggest strength of evil is its deception, unwillingness...

Simon of Cyrene has a particular attraction for me whenever I read Matthew 27: 32. We all know the cruel journey that our Blessed Lord undertook to Calvery to redeem us with a burden of the cross. Simon of Cyrene, a youth who returns from the countryside is forced to carry our Lord's burden for a while. I think that the disciples of Christ can learn an important lesson from this person. Simon wasn't the one who began the mission of redemption but our Blessed Lord. He only intervened rather called to carry forward the mission for a while. The mission itself was completed by our Lord. Likewise we aren't the ones who began the mission of salvation but the interveners or helpers called by our Lord to carry forward the mission for a while, that may be during our life on earth. Hence, it is our privilege to carry on the work of redemption for the few years we are put here on earth.

Today's gospel reading taken from Luke 15: 11-32 is a wonderful story of a son who decides to go away from the father to live by himself, trusting the resources he has got as his share. This parable perhaps is one of the famous ones told all over the world. At first, when the priest began to read I said to myself, 'oh, the story of the prodigal son.' But the words of the father, "this son of mine was dead and has come to life; he was lost and now has been found," made a deep impression on me. God as a loving Father awaits our return patiently. Lent is the time that we come to life and find the right meaning for our existence by turning our focus to God. There is nothing as satisfying as living in the hope that God loves us and desires our well being. No matter how stupid we are, we are his children. By turning to Him, we come to life and find ourselves, the meaning for our existence. 

One of the things that keeps ringing in my mind is a statement that I heard somewhere, "Never do a thing for which you will regret later." Many a times life does not go the way we think it should. It takes different routes, unfamiliar and frightening at times. In the course of life journey, we are called,  I believe, to give out whatever we can to those around. Giving out is not necessarily material things; it could be a kind word, a gentle touch or a pleasant smile. What happens, by and large, is that we withhold than stretch out our hands. It seems to me as an obvious truth in life that whatever is ungiven is ever lost. Every day  as  I go to bed, I am deeply aware that I am far from perfection and I haven't tolerated the little imperfections in people around me. What comes across to me in these moments of such realizations, is what Heidegger said that "birth is accompanied by death." We are mortals and our days are numbered is such a profound re...

When we observe the global  scenario  today we could hear the cry for democracy in many places  especially  in the troubled Arab world and at the same time we could sense a popular distrust in democratic governments. At this juncture, we are at the cross-roads of opinions for and against democracy. Abraham Lincoln defines democracy as “rule of the people, for the people and by the people.” Very often democracy is considered to be the golden standard of governance.  However, those of us who live in democratic socio-political countries are aware how far it has taken us forward – corruption and violence, to name a few, thrive.  Everything is not well with democracy and we could never accept that consensus as truth (It allows special interest groups to gains subsidies and regulations beneficial to them but harmful to the society. Some call it the tyranny of the majority). All the same it is the best viable political option. History – West Ancient...