SNIPPETS

Take a paragraph for each day and reflect

Beatitudes of the World Vs Beatitudes of Christ

The world says, Blessed are the rich, because they can buy anything they want. But Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit. 

The world says, Blessed are those who live it up, and keep the party going. But Jesus says, Blessed are those who mourn. 

The world says, Blessed are the assertive and aggressive, winners with the ruthless streak. But Jesus says, Blessed are the gentle.

The world says, Blessed are those who enjoy power, status, and fame. But Jesus says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right. 

The world says, Blessed are those who show no mercy and who take no prisoners. But Jesus says, Blessed are the merciful. 

The world says, Happy are those with sparkling eyes, gleaming teeth and unblemished skin. But Jesus says, blessed are those with clean hearts. 

The world says, Blessed are those who get their revenge. But Jesus says, Blessed are the peacemakers. 

The world says, Blessed are those who can cheat and get away with it. But Jesus says, Blessed are those who stand up for what is right and true.

We live in the world of mysteries. To understand them we need to interpret the signs and symbols that they point to. Every sign and symbol ultimately points to the unity in spirit. That is, the whole reality is One Body with One Spirit. As individuals we are one body and spirit, so too, is our family, village, society, state, nation or the world. Socially we are, but organically One. Therefore, the pain and suffering of one part of the body should be the suffering of the whole body. But often, we think that my leg is not my hand; my neighbour is not my family, and thus we disown the living unity. Let us correctly interpret the signs and live a healthy life.

The purpose of a shepherd or a leader in a community is to keep its flock united as an organic unit. If this does not happen, then that leader has no moral right to continue, nor is fit to be the leader in another community. When one is not fit in one place cannot be fit in another place. This does not mean that with one mistake the leader should be decapitated. To err is to be human. Therefore, one should be given at least a couple of chances to mend the way, ‘to forgive is to be divine.’ Still the evil persists in that leader, he/she should be thrown into the burning furnace.

We all have fallen short in life. We have failed time and again. But often we do not want to know what is wrong with us, and thus fail to achieve the goal. What is essential is to know the weakness, repent or go through a corrective process, face courageously the new task, ask for the grace (don’t be passive, but be active). Self-belief or faith can move mountains. Therefore, let our prayer be, “Lord, let me see again.”

How often we see the skinny, lean, bent, bloodless, tired, leaning on a walking stick and arthritic people in our surroundings! Their hard works in the gardens, offices and as menial workers have enriched our present. Today they are unable to stand erect, and yet they teach us a great lesson. They may be weak in physic due to their circumstances, but strong in spirituality. Their honesty is their spirituality. How often we help them to alleviate their fatigue? We bargain when we buy from such vegetable vendors or hire their rickshaws, while in the supermarket or travelling in Uber/Ola we pay without question or even give extra bucks! Is not this spiritual paradox we live with!? We see, but don’t see.

There is something tiny and seems to be insignificant in all of us, but in reality they are the ones which are very significant. It may be an act of kindness, a word of appreciation, a gentle pat of encouragement, a small copper coin given in donation, a fraction of moment spent with someone in distress or an act of love. They are all like a grain of yeast or a seed potential enough to create a history in someone’s life. In the same way, to reach the divine these are the tiny stepping stones. The path to reach my neighbour’s house passes through my house. Let these moments be our secret of success.

“A Door” is that through which one enters and exits. If it is too narrow the entry or exit becomes a challenge. The purpose of the dwarf doors for the sanctum sanctorum (garbhagudi) of the temple is actually a reminder that the bhaktas must bend low or be child-like, humble, simple, without any wickedness in the heart/mind/soul for the darshana of the Lord. A family is a temple where the husband must bend low before wife, and the wife before the husband, and the children before the parents. Our work-place or community is another temple where one should bend low with obedience, dedication, respect, dignity and honesty. One who bends assures a safe entry.

We have amidst us people who have burnt themselves for the love of others like the burning wick that shines for others; people who have sacrificed everything for the wellbeing of others like the oil that burns for others; and people who have become life-support for others like the lamp which shelters oil and wick. When the light shines, seldom we pay attention to the lamp, oil and wick which gave life to the light and thus enlightened the other. There are several such unnoticed saints amidst us. Our mothers, fathers, brothers, neighbours, teachers, doctors, nurses, drivers, pilots, engineers, farmers, and the list is unending. Can I not become a saint in my own way?!

One cannot fully know the depth and breadth of divine love. Love is beyond rationality and logic and that too the divine logic of love. The deeper one falls in love, the deeper one gets ‘enslaved’ or becomes ‘a servant’ of the object of love. That’s why it is said, ‘love enflames’ or ‘love divides’. The enslavement or division meant here is not out of fear and shame, but rather a willingness to suffer for the eternal well-being. At times, parents have become the enemies of their children, neighbours to their neighbour just because they have chosen to be the voices of voiceless or have trodden the divine path.

How often we recognize the "boundless riches" that have been revealed to us throughout our life on the earth. The bloom of flower, it's unique fragrance, design, etc. cannot be examined by any man-made technology. So too, is every inch of nature and human being. It's God's revelation whether we realize it or not, accept it or not. God is knocking at our door, literally everywhere. He is rising to new life in people and places where we would least expect it. Such is “God’s secret plan.” We, as stewards of the house, we must not mistreat nor abuse this revelation. We need to care for each other, and be very solicitous about the use of God’s good earth. If not wroth of God will engulf us.

Some are obsessed with traditionalism of the Scholastic period. Armchair theology is different from the lived theology. Let us come out from our narrow mindedness, from "seeing others as evil and only we as saints" to everyone as the child of God. In as much as my faith is not a myth, so too others faith. Respecting one's personal space is treating a person as a person. Person is not a commodity. Person is a divine manifestation of goodness. Let us keep this sacredness of the other

Let me sit aside for a while and reflect on the wonders God has done in my life. From the time of my conception in my mother’s womb till now, let me recount the innumerable moments of grace. Wow! They are innumerable like the sand on the sea-shore or like the stars in sky. Now, let me recount the blessings I have received through my near and dear ones… through the society… through the nation…. God speaks to me, reveals His will to me, and makes me realize His love through various natural and unnatural phenomena. Each blossoming flower, that flowing water, showers of rain tells me something. They are the moments of grace. How do I repay the Lord for the good I have received?

“A jealous heart is a bitter heart, a heart that instead of blood seems to have vinegar. It is a heart that is never happy, it is a heart that disrupts the community.” How true are these words of Pope Francis! If we have one jealous person in a community, one can imagine the ruin the person can bring. They will slowly sow the seeds of bitterness and destroy the community with their gossips and envy. This is the invisible devil within our community. The only antidote to this devil is love and appreciation, humility to accept the persons, their views, and the visible or invisible goodness and contributions that each one is making.

Each one of us wants to stop certain unhealthy habits and better our lives. We make deliberate efforts, take some resolutions and begin to actualize it. The practice goes on well for a few days and one fine day we think, ‘one-day skipping is okay.’ But one day becomes weeks and months and the practice dies out. If I want to really do something, I must do it persistently and constantly until it becomes a ‘habit’ or without which life becomes difficult. The same thing applies to our relationships within the family, with God and with nature. Even love for nature should become a habit.

God is one, but sages know Him in different names and forms. If this is true, why then there are differences of opinion within a religious tradition? God is neither a property of one kind of people nor His worship is limited to a particular group. As long as worship and divinity are concerned we all try to defend the orthodoxy. However, when the same divinity is expressed in a concrete human relationship within and outside the family, we find difficult to accept the fact of other being part of my own family. This is the hypocrisy and paradox of our living.

Action and Contemplation are two sides of a healthy spiritual life. Both are special vocations in themselves. A person may be more contemplative, while the other may be action oriented. However, one must not be hyperactive so as to be ‘over anxious and upset’ if the other person is not as per my vocation. Set priorities right and focus on it rather than being distracted by so many pre-occupations. At the same becoming jealous of other’s accomplishments will only take away the goodness of my good work. A balanced approach is very much desired and appreciated in society.

Today our life has become so much individualistic that we hardly bother who is staying at the next door. Politicians hardly recognize people other than of their own stature; industrialists are least bothered about the people whose land they are occupying and religious people are busy within their own cocoons. In the busy schedule of duty and service, we forget that someone is waiting outside our mansion for a glass of water, a word of consolation, a gaze of mercy, an ointment of healing… At times when someone is doing a Samaritan act, we tag the person as an opportunist. If it is not possible for me to help a person in need, at least let me not block others who do it willingly. At times we look for an auspicious time to perform a ‘good’ act. Let us treat the people with the respect that is worthy of their dignity, because we are created in the image and likeness of God.

Successfully accomplished task gives us joy. However, this joy is less when compared to a constant joy achieved which comes with a right relationship, right vision, right attitude, right exercise, right livelihood, right motivation and right meditative contemplation. It is easy to begin the day with these right motives, but difficult to keep up until one goes to bed. People spend huge amount of money just to find inner peace and joy. They do not find it or even if they find it, it doesn’t last long. This is because of their investments in the wrong place. A right investment is sure to earn a right reward.

It is natural for us, the people of faith to question God’s wisdom in the times of utter helplessness. Yet even when life’s demands seem to overburden human strength, we are reminded how much we belong to God’s family. Like the people crossing the desert, we too have some experience of the goodness, even the miracles of God. There will be miserable times in our religious institutions, families and life. These experiences should remind the bright future ahead of us, that god does not abandon us. The difficult times make us strong and happy times give us ray of hope.

Life is not a bed of roses. As thorns help us to appreciate the flower, so the hardships help us to appreciate the beauty of life. The fear for the unknown yonder is a reality and to overcome it needs a risk-taking ability. The one who tries to escape or remains idle from the hardships of responsibility achieves nothing. As one enters a tunnel the brightness dims, becomes pitch-dark at the centre and as one moves ahead sees the light which opens up into vistas of possibilities and bright future, so is the life. At times may stumble and fall, but the brave one will rise and march ahead. The difficulties are only stepping stones to success. The Great Wall of China is not built in one go but in several intervals and pieces. Salvation is not achieved just by our death, but it is a sum total of every good deed we perform.

Religion has become a ‘secure enterprise’ in the contemporary time. The growing commercial attitude, business-oriented goals, tensionless easy going life, secure life seems to be the purpose of one’s becoming religious leaders. But the real purpose of the religious leadership is not this. Union with the divine should be one’s priority. One should find one’s security in God alone. Be prompt in action, i.e., one should not delay in recognizing the need to help others. Having the priority fixed, one should not waver in one’s decision. No matter what plot the enemy brings on a faithful religious person, the man of God emerges like shining gold in goldsmith’s furnace.

All of us have experienced protection from different people and at different times against various dangers. We have placed a singular trust on the protector at such times. God is a supreme protector of the humanity because he loves his creation. His unseen protective help is realized in our life through seen people like our parents, teachers, relatives, and times nature, animals and natural beings. If we have received protection from others at any period of our life, then, it is our duty (ṛṇa or indebtedness) to extend the same to others. We are indebted to gods, ancestors, to our brethren and to nature.

We have seen people with superb talents and scholarship. We admire them and at time feel jealous about them. It is natural. In the same way there are people with talent for Holiness and heroic virtue. We can work hard and try to reach at the height of talented people. Same thing applies with Holiness and virtue. Weak and vulnerable we may, but there are holy people who show the way and whisper into our ears, “God can never inspire desires that cannot be fulfilled.” Through our ‘little ways of holiness and virtues,’ we can become great saints on earth.
"Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for Him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because He cannot be at home in it, because He is out of place in it, and yet He must be in it, His place is with those others for whom there is no room."  - Thomas Merton

Fr. Raju Felix Crasta