The Story of Jacques Derrida

Jacques Derrida, a marginal Jew, experienced in his life exclusion, marginalization, oppression and rejection. Primarily, his philosophy of deconstruction aimed to give concrete solution to his own personal political problems. From his own personal experiences, his philosophy gave hope to redeem the humanity from the clutches of the evil hunting the society. It is earthy philosophy as it interacts and interrupts with the everyday happenings. It starts rooting out evils from the heart of human being. It is for this very reason that it proceeds with love. Derrida, through his deconstruction commenced the journey of reality from the rigidity of the structures to the flexibility within the structures and from abstract to concrete to prove that philosophy is an autonomous discipline as it deals with everyday experiences. Human beings are always on the move to discover the truth and validity of their experiences. In this sense, deconstruction is another name for the infinite openness to affirm the dynamism and evolutionary nature of every reality. In other words, it is the constant uncovering of the different layers constructed by human thinking.

The Story of Philosophy

Philosophy from a deconstruction point of view is the story of evolution, a story of reality as mysterious, a story of reform, a story of new order, a story of small narratives, a story of small philosophies, a story of knowledge as process and a story for the Other. The best example of deconstruction in Greek philosophy is found in the philosophy of Plato. Plato, through his philosophy deconstructed the Parmenidian view of ‘permanence’ and Heraclutian view of ‘change’. On the one hand, Parmenides held the view that being is and all things are, all the differences between the things exist. Thus, everything is permanent. On the other hand, Heraclitus held the view that everything is in the constant flux of change. Thus, for him nothing remains permanent. Plato deconstructs both the views by arguing that they both exist in every being through his theory of truth and opinion. For him Being is and Being becomes. 

The Story of Christianity

Christianity from deconstruction point of view Christianity from postmodern point of view is the story of marginal people, a story of sinners, a story of disbelief in God, a story of suffering humanity, a story of fleeing from God, a story of infidelity, a story of decentralization of power, a story of service, a story of Poor God and Rich People, a story of victims, a story of concern for the other, a story of faith, a story of commitment and a story of life-giving. I would like to supplement the above with two examples of deconstruction one taken from Old Testament (Deconstruction of Ethics) while the other is from New Testament (Deconstruction of Justice). The Old Testament portrays clearly Abraham as the father of Christian faith. The act of Abraham sacrificing his own son is paradoxical because it is guided neither by reason nor by an ethics justifiable before human beings or before the law of some universal tribunal.In other words, it is the deconstruction of morality and immorality and responsibility and irresponsibility.It is the absolute duty which demands that one should behave in an irresponsible manner while still recognizing, confirming and reaffirming the very thing one sacrifices, namely the order of human ethics and responsibility. In a word, ethics must be sacrificed in the name of duty. In other words, he went beyond the laws and ethics of his time in sacrificing his own son and his only son for God In the Gospel of St Mark, Jesus deconstructs justice by affirming that the laws are meant to enhance and further human life. The statement of Jesus ‘The Sabbath was made for human being and not human being for Sabbath,’ is a clear deconstruction of the law which will pave way to justice in the world. The Pharisees obeyed the law blindly and expected an identical response to the law from others as well. Jesus claims to the autonomy of human being to invoke the law as the context requires it. In other words, Jesus desires unstoppable creative efforts to interpret the law.

Cultural Quotient

According to philosophy of existentialism, human being is thrown in the world to create his own self. I would go further and affirm that human being is thrown into the culture and is brought and shaped by that culture. The culture of the person influences every aspect such as attitudes, behaviour, dealings, relationship, language, reasoning and so on. In other words, there is no particular trait that is not touched by culture. What a person is or makes him/her self of is due to cultural background. What is acquired through culture, according to me, is always natural. As for example, if a person is brought up in a culture where there are thieves, for such a person stealing is natural.

                Thinking differently, culture is the dominant narrative in the life and existence of human being. No human being can escape culture. In other words, the way we are now, the way we were, the way we will be is all determined by culture. For example, if a Pumpkin at its inception is put in a bottle, it will grow to the length and breadth of the size of that bottle.

            All human beings are without exception are culturally determined beings. It is a gift that each one of us received no matter where we are and what we are. On the other way around, no one desires a particular culture, but my birth in a particular culture will with me until my death.  What is important for me is that each of us has a culture and a capacity to addict to different cultures to survive in order to create human self. 

Method or/and Mission of Philosophy

The purpose of philosophical enquiry is to pursue and understand life and life situations. As such, it stems from the experience with/in the world. Further, it attempts to understand the fundamental and most significant human activities by inquiring into their very nature and essence. Thus, philosophy is an activity that aims at understanding the principles that lie behind various aspects of life. It is then, a human task and responsibility. It develops in each age ideas and values, based on the preceding age, sometimes by way of rejection and change, and sometimes by conformity and development.  The philosophies and philosophers of every age consider the problems that are important and relevant to human being directly or indirectly by taking a critical approach towards reality. It is in this framework, every age has produced a philosophy and a philosopher that is relevant to the age: Ancient philosophers started their quest for discovering the cause for the origin of the universe, medieval philosophers turned their attention to God, the modern philosopher focused on reason and human person and contemporary philosophers paid attention to the Self.

            The Question that struck me was, Do we need a method to Philosophize? Is it possible to do philosophy spontaneously without any method? It is no doubt that arriving at philosophy through a particular and specific method will make philosophy rich and handy. Hence, through a method, philosophy can be made contextual. According to me the task of philosophy does not end here.

            But, going a step further, as a budding philosopher I believe that my concern should be how to influence the lives of the other with the particular philosophy. In other words, philosophy is a mission to be taken to the people who do not value philosophy although they are bound by particular philosophies. 

Conscious and Unconscious

The psychology did not emerge as a separate science until the late 1800s, although its earliest history can be traced back to the time of early Greeks. Psychology as a separate science utilizes scientific methodologies to study and draw conclusions about human thought and behaviour which are conscious and unconscious. In other words, the psychologists are at war between conscious and unconscious pattern of behaviour.

                Some psychologists especially William James agree that the human being is what he/she is due to his conscious action. Then, it involves always a choice and negation. When human being is conscious, he/she chooses the convinced behaviour to behave in such and such a way. In other words, I know what I am doing when I am doing. But psychology adds to it a little further and says how a mind works in the living of actual desired behaviour.

                While other psychologists especially Sigmund Freud hold that ‘Today’s human being is the cause of Yesterday’s action.’ In other words, it is the unconscious mind that dictates how a person behaves because they hold that unconscious motives are central in present behaviour patterns and actions.

                In conclusion, what I believe is, it is ultimately human being who creates his/her life consciously and thus it is always a choice of desired needs. In as much as the choices in life are made consciously, the behaviour of human being is convinced behaviour springing from the heart but in combination with the head. At the end, I believe in a psychology that makes human being aware of his/her own actions.

Understanding is an Art

A piece of art ongoingly unfolds meanings. From this perspective, every time one looks at the work of art, it gives different shades of meanings and opens itself to other meanings without restriction and enclosing itself. In order to understand and to arrive at the famous figures in the history, we cannot follow a set of fixed principles through which we can conclude that person is such and such. In other words, there cannot be absolutized understanding and interpretation of the person.

In my opinion, and going along with Schleiermacher, the person of history is better known through the art than science. It means that a person’s life is opened to varied variety of interpretations, understanding and meaning as per the context and culture of interpretor, meaning-giver and understander. In other words, no interpretor can claim that his/her interpretation and understanding is absolute and it alone is true. It can be possible that one intepretor may not accept or agree with the interpretation of the other. But, what must be remembered is that every interpretation unfolds a new meaning and reveals a degree of truth. In other words, it only reveals a partial truth and not comprehensive truth.

I am also aware and acknowledge that art suffers from many pitfalls such as; no guiding rules, relativism, individualistic opinion, and so on. But what is interesting in understanding from the perspective of art is that it gives freedom to arrive at meaning as per the needs and demands of the context. 

Immaculate Conception and Significance for the Saliesian

The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception was declared on December 8, 1854 by Pope Pius XII. Immaculate Conception is a doctrine that affirms that God preserved the Virgin Mary from the taint of original sin from the moment she was conceived.

Immaculate Mary and Her Significance for Don Bosco

           Don Bosco honored Mary under two titles: Mary as Immaculate and Help of Christians. For Don Bosco, Mary was more than an object of veneration.  Mary was for him a living person.  He felt her presence in every moment of his life. He emulated in her the virtue of sensitivity, her obedience to the will of God, and her commitment and fidelity at the hour of the cross. From the very beginning of his life, she showed him the way, inspired his actions, sustained his strength and helped him to obtain his purpose, even in extraordinary ways.  In his Spiritual Testament to his Salesians, Don Bosco wrote, “The Blessed Virgin will certainly continue to protect our congregation and our Salesian works if we maintain our trust in her and promote devotion to her.”

           He had a deep devotion to Immaculate Mary so much so that one of the issues of “The Catholic Reading” edited by him was devoted to writings on Her. In this booklet he summed up his devotion to the Immaculate Conception under three points; 1) Mary is the Holiest of all creatures 2) Mary is the mother of God 3) Mary is our mother

Mary is the Holiest of all creatures: In the gospel of St Luke, Angel Gabriel calls her ‘Full of grace.’ From the first moment of her existence she was without original sin and she remained so to her last breath. Being full of grace her heart was pure and without flaw, nor was there a single virtue which Mary did not possess. The Catholic Church proclaims the holiness of Mary by maintaining that she has always been free of sin. Thus, we are invited to call her: O Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.

Mary is the Mother of God: Mary was adorned with all the imaginable virtues and enriched by God with grace above any other creature on earth. Because of these qualities, she was chosen above all other women to be raised to the dignity of Mother of God. Christians greet her everyday as echoed by St Elizabeth when visited by the Holy Virgin: Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us. At the sound of the glorious title, ‘Mother of God’ we know that there is no one endowed with greater glory, and therefore there is no one who has more influence with god than Mary.

Mary is our Mother: If the title ‘Mother of God’ is so glorious for Mary, it is all the more glorious and beneficial for us who redeemed by Jesus Christ, become her children and brothers of her divine son. Hence, having become the mother of Jesus, true God and true man, she also became our mother. The gospel confirms that Jesus Christ in his great mercy wanted to call us his brothers and make us the adopted children of Mary. When the divine saviour nailed to the cross, suffered the most painful agony, this most Holy Mother and the apostle John were at His feet in deepest sorrow: Jesus opened his eyes, perhaps for the last time, saw the beloved disciple and his loving mother. Dying, he said to Mary: Woman, behold your son. Then he spoke to John, ‘Behold your mother.”

The Significance of Immaculate Conception for the Salesian Today

            In the case of our mothers, we don’t imitate but we literally follow them. It should be the same with Mother Mary. Like Don Bosco we firmly believe that Mary is present in all our activities as a Mother, that She always comes to our aid when deeply in trouble and especially in times of discouragement. In many of his dreams, Mary appeared to Don Bosco as a loving mother. She is a mother who looks after the needs of all works and provides us with financial and spiritual help. Mary takes care of all the boys in the community and protects them from all the dangers of life. As an example, we see Mary’s care for the boys of Don Bosco in his Dream of the Elephant.  There is an elephant in the playground and the boys are unaware of the danger.  Mary notices it and she shouts to the boys to come under her mantle – Mary not only calls the boys, she shouts, she is exhausted from shouting, she is red in the face and out of breath, says the dream.

            I would like to conclude with the encouraging advice of Don Bosco to us Salesians, ‘The God of mercy and his Holy Mother came to our help in our needs.  This was especially true when it was a case of providing for poor and abandoned boys, and even more when their souls were in danger.’  As we place our trust in Mary, our Mother, the Immaculate Help of Christians, we pray for her continued protection always.

The Real Freedom

      A great philosopher once said, human being is born free but is chained everywhere. Every human being from the depth of heart desires to be free. The freedom is often thought to choose or do what one feels and wants. But freedom is to come to realization of one ’s self and at the same time accept ones own limitations as much as strengths. In other words, “Freedom is enjoyed within the limits’.

Freedom From: Human beings in some situation become the subjects of unusual restrains. They do something out of force and not out of love. People become free once the unusual restrains are removed. For example, during the British rule, India fought for freedom because we were under unusual restrains.

Freedom To: It is the capacity of a person to act according to his wishes and carry out duties and responsibilities. Here, one may or may not fulfill the obligations expected of him. If the person wishes to take drugs is free to take. It is out of one’s choice but may lead to bad consequences.

Freedom For: This is an important aspect of freedom. It is committing oneself totally and wholly to the purpose and also works to make that purpose a reality. It is fully flows from the love for oneself and to the whole society.

Freedom With: The act of freedom is not an independent act. My actions out of freedom affect another as we are living in society. I become free and my freedom is accepted as long as I respect the other. Thus, human being becomes free when he is able to work in harmony with other human beings. 

Don Bosco and Preventive System

St John Bosco commonly known as Don Bosco belongs to 19^th century epoch educationalist. I call him educationist because he had introduced a new system of education called the Preventive System into pattern of education basing on the Christian principles but the system as such can be used irrespective of religion and creed because of magnanimity and essence of system. The preventive system of Don Bosco is based on three pillars namely, Reason, Religion and Loving Kindness. Let me attempt to explain each of the principle in gist. The whole aim of the system is to produce, ‘Honest Human Beings and Good Citizens’.

Reason: The educator in educating the young to life, must not loose the sight of rationality. It is with the help of reason, that the student develops a good and integrated personality. In everything that educator does, the student must see the proper reason. If the teacher punishes, the boy must happily accept knowing his/her weakness. In other words, the constant presence of the educator keeps the student away from evil.

Religion: India is a land of diverse religions and faiths. Whatever religion, the students may belong, there is in each of them, a consciousness that directs life. It constantly pricks the student to choose good and avoid bad. In simple words, ‘ I am the captain of myself’ and so education must help student to follow his conscience.

Loving Kindness: Don Bosco said, ‘Love what the young loves and then make them love what you love’.  It is constant outpouring of love from the side of educator and at same time being firm in making the student to follow the rules and laws of the institute. The preventive system becomes blind in the absence of love.

The preventive system thrives and becomes powerful when there is the constant presence of educator, individuals decision to follow his own conscience and constant outpour of love from the part of educator.

Don Bosco and Holiness

            During the canonization process of Don Bosco, a cardinal objected saying, ‘When did Don Bosco pray?  The answer of the pope was a counter question, When did he not Pray? Most people know Don Bosco as a ‘Man of Activity’. The mere look at the life of Don Bosco reveals one side that he did always work. But, the fact is that there is the other side ‘Holiness’ to Don Bosco. The holiness of Don Bosco was characterized by his perfect example of contemplative in action, apostolic interior life, pastoral zeal and loving kindness. The holiness of Don Bosco became crystal clear in his undertaking of works, in his zeal for winning souls for Christ, in his sprit of sacrifice, humility, simplicity, love for purity and poverty, continuous union with God and in his unlimited service to the poor and abandoned youngsters. The holiness of Don Bosco is certain because many of his pupils reached the height of sanctity. The words of Philip Rinaldi, proves the above point, “Let the Holiness of sons be the proof of the holiness of their father.” His oratories had become factories of saints. Don Bosco started a school of sanctity, he created in Valdocco an environment where sanctity could blossom. It started with Saint Dominic Savio and there were numerous other members and boys. Don Bosco is holy not because of the practice of the way of life through consecration but spirit with which he lived his consecration. The holiness of Don Bosco is marked by; 1) holiness sprang from his ordinary life 2) holiness sprang from his consecration 3) holiness sprang from his union with God.

Holiness Sprang from His Ordinary Life

            Don Bosco was an ordinary, simple but profound person. He never did anything extraordinary in his life but he did everything with extraordinary zeal. The incident of Don Bosco with Dominic Savio is worth remembering. Dominic Savio desired to become a saint. He was mortifying himself with all the extraordinary means to become a saint. Don Bosco knew it and summoned for Dominic Savio. Don Bosco gave him a golden advice to become saint, ‘Do ordinary things of life in an extraordinary way.’ This advice brought about a total transformation in the life of Dominic Savio. Don Bosco was an ordinary priest who himself a full-time priest, even in his dreams and in his sleep, a priest in the confessional and when he celebrates mass, a priest with his boys in the playground and at his desk when he writes books or answers his correspondence, a priest when he travels or preaches or sits at the table of a benefactor.  He is above all a priest with intimate conviction that he is an instrument in the hands of God. He distinguished himself by his zealous apostolate among the poor young with the motto, “Give me Souls and take away the rest.” In whole of his life, he never worked for his own glory, popularity and self-love but did everything for the love of God. It is this motivation that pushed him to practice brotherly charity by working for the salvation of the young.  In a word, ‘He did everything for the glory of God.’

Holiness Sprang from His Consecration

            Don Bosco was fully convinced that his consecration was a response to the call of God. Through the consecration he willingly dedicated himself totally to him and he sacrificed his whole life. His consecration was not to command but to practice charity towards neighbour for love of God, not to live in comfort and ease but to be poor with Jesus Christ, to suffer with Him on earth and to become worthy of his glory in heaven. He made the world of the young his own through his consecration. He placed himself totally in the hands of God and worked totally for the salvation of the whole world. He lived a simple yet a profound life as a sign of poverty, committed and worked always to fulfil the will of God as a sign of obedience, manifested unconditional love to all as a sign of Chastity. His consecration can be summarized in the statement, “He said no word, and he took up no task that was not directed to Salvation of Youth.”He was a consecrated person through his work and union with God.

Holiness Sprang from His Union with God

            Don Bosco was attracted to God as iron is attracted to the magnet. He cultivated this aspect of holiness from his childhood. In other words, holiness was his childhood dream. The words of Mamma Margaret to Johnny Bosco ‘God Sees You’ left an indelible impression in the whole life of Don Bosco. Although, Don Bosco was devoured by the flame of external activity, he rooted himself in the source of that activity. Even in the inexhaustible activity, he always longed for prayer and for conversation with God. He strongly believed that he was always in continuous union with God. The whole life of Don Bosco was marked, dominated and possessed by God. God has conquered the soul of Don Bosco to accomplish his own work on earth. In a word, “Union with God is the breath of the life of Don Bosco.”

            Don Bosco, the saint- that is what should inspire us. He is no more with us but he left a great legacy; a legacy of love, a legacy of apostolic zeal, a legacy of fidelity to God, and a legacy of contemplative in action, a legacy of working for the Salvation of Souls. Thus, Don Bosco becomes a model of holiness.

Don Bosco and Mary

           In his Spiritual Testament to his Salesians, Don Bosco wrote, “The Blessed Virgin will certainly continue to protect our congregation and our Salesian works if we maintain our trust in her and promote devotion to her.” For Don Bosco, Mary was more than an object of veneration.  Mary was for him a living person.  He felt her presence in every moment of his life. He emulated in her the virtue of sensitivity, her obedience to the will of God, and her commitment and fidelity at the hour of the cross. From the very beginning of his life, she showed him the way, inspired his actions, sustained his strength and helped him to obtain his purpose, even in extraordinary ways.  For Don Bosco ‘Mary did it all!’  Don Bosco’s mother Mamma Margaret cultivated in him devotion Mother Mary from his childhood. I quote the words of Mamma Margaret to Johnny Bosco on the occasion of his vestition, “When you were born, I consecrated you to the Blessed Virgin; when you began your studies, I advised you to have devotion to this good Mother.  At this point I recommend you to be totally hers.  Love companions who are devoted to her, and if you become a priest, always recom­mend and propagate devotion to Mary.  John, after listening to his mother, in tears, thanked his mother and said: These words will not be said for nothing, I will treasure them all my life. Don Bosco

First Encounter with Mary

            The first meeting of Johnny Bosco with Mary happened in his dream at the age of nine.  It was Jesus himself who tells him that Mary is to be his guide: “I will give you a Teacher, he said, un­der her guidance you can become wise; without her all wisdom is foolishness.”  At this juncture, Don Bosco narrates: “At that moment I saw a Lady standing near Him… she took me kindly by the hand.  ‘This is the field of your work.  Make yourself humble, strong and robust… What you see hap­pening to these animals is what you must do to my children’ (the wild animals then turned into lambs). At that point I began to cry.  I begged the Lady to speak so that I could understand.  She placed her hand on my head and said: ‘In good time you will understand everything.’ “

            It is this dream that made him realize the importance of Mary in his life as a Mother, Teacher and Guide. From then on, Don Bosco never left Mary and Mary too, never left him.

Mary as Mother

            Don Bosco firmly believed that Mary is present in all the activities as a Mother. She always came to the aid of Don Bosco when he was deeply in trouble and infused a ray of hope in times of discouragement. In many of his dreams, Mary appeared as a loving mother. She was a mother who looked after the needs of all his works. She provided him with financial and spiritual help. In all his problems, he felt her presence concretely. Mary took care of all the boys in the oratory. She protected them from all the dangers of all life. As an example, we see Mary’s care for the boys of Don Bosco in his dream of the elephant.  There is an elephant in the playground and the boys are unaware of the danger.  Mary notices it and she shouts to the boys to come under her mantle – Mary not just calls the boys, she shouts, she is exhausted from shouting, she is red in the face and out of breath, says the dream. Don Bosco acknowledges it in his testament when he said, ‘The God of mercy and his Holy Mother came to our help in our needs.  This was especially true when it was a case of providing for poor and abandoned boys, and even more when their souls were in danger.’  He also believed that, Mary takes special care of every youngster on entering the Salesian house and provides them with bread and means to study, by endless graces and wonders. Whoever came to Don Bosco with any kind of problem, he just directed them to the loving mother and whoever came to her in the name of Don Bosco she never refused to be their caring mother.

Mary as Guide

            Don Bosco was a man of dreams. In other words, he saw the vision of his life in his dreams. He saw Mary in all his dreams. It is a mistake to think that Don Bosco easily believed his dreams. But, he started believing when one by one he saw them being realized in his real life.  He also asked guidance from Father Cafasso, but later on he will say: “The Virgin Mary had in dreams indicated the field in which I was to work.  I therefore had the design of a complete, pre-studied plan from which I did not wish to depart.  I was made totally responsible for the success of this plan.  I had a clear idea of the lines I had to follow, and therefore I would not risk to spoil the plan by submitting it to the judgment and will of others” (MB III).  Thus, Don Bosco became a firm believer in the guidance of Mary and the two worked together.  At times Mary took the initiative; at times it was Don Bosco that had recourse to her for help – it is impossible to keep an account of all the favors Don Bosco received as a consequence of his prayers. But, he was convinced that “Mary was always his guide,” and “She is his protector and treasurer.” He was absolutely sure of her help, even when the Government threatened to close the Oratory.  “Poor people, said Don Bosco, they are mistaken.  They will not succeed.  They think they are dealing with Don Bosco only, they don’t know that they have to do with one much more powerful, with the Blessed Virgin, even with God himself who will shatter their plans.  No, they will not succeed to close the Oratory!” Indeed, they never succeed in closing any of the works of Don Bosco.

Response of Don Bosco to Infinite Love of Mary

            Don Bosco responded to the Love of Mary by spreading devotion to her. One of his main devotions to the Our Lady was recitation of the rosary daily in the oratory. On one occasion, minister Ratazzi demanded him to stop the recitation of the rosary in the oratory. His answer was a firm ‘No’. He was even ready to undergo any problem and suffering in spreading devotion to Mary. He exhibited an extraordinary love for Mother Mary all his life. He made sure that the Marian feasts are celebrated with due solemnity and reverence in the oratory. His whole aim was to cultivate in the heart of every youngster the love, respect and admiration towards Mother Mary.

            Why this predilection of Mary for Don Bosco? First and foremost it was not a predilection for Don Bosco: rather, it was Jesus’ and Mary’s predilection for the young.  Mary took pity on her children far from home, abandoned in the big city, marginalized, hungry, without employment and in danger of corruption.  A mother cannot see this misery.  What Don Bosco did was the work of Mary, it was her initiative, he was told to do it with her method of gentleness and kindness. The first article of our Constitutions affirms: ‘Through the motherly intervention of Mary, the Holy Spirit raised up Saint John Bosco to contribute to the salvation of youth.’  Don Bosco himself tells us that every youngster that enters our houses is sent to us by Mary.  If we keep this in mind, if we give ourselves at Mary'’ disposal to do her work, then we too can count on her special help.  The time of miracles is not yet over!

Don Bosco and Prayer

Introduction

            Don Bosco was a man of prayer. He felt the need of God in his apostolic initiatives and commitments. His whole life though characterized by enormous activity was made holy by constant and continuous prayer (Article 85). To speak metaphorically, till the day mankind succeeded in going to the moon, we only knew one face of it, the face tuned towards the earth; the other face remained unseen and unknown.  Something similar can be said about our knowledge of Don Bosco.  Till Don Bosco was declared a Saint we know him as a man of activity.  We did not know him as a Saint. We did not realise that all this activity was the outcome of his intimate union with God. His much-admired activity was the result of a life of prayer. Thus, Don Bosco and prayer form one unity in his life. It is indeed a mistake to differentiate the activity of Don Bosco and Prayerful moments of Don Bosco. It is because, Don Bosco, docile to the Holy Spirit, lived an experience of humble, trusting and apostolic prayer in which prayer and living were spontaneously united (Art 86).

 

Don Bosco and Prayer

     The secret of Don Bosco’s success is his constant union with God.  Other saints, united to God, would go into ecstasy, a state that takes them out of the world and immerses them into the things of God.  Don Bosco’s ecstasy consists in immersing himself in work for the glory of God and for the good of his boys.  His union with God in prayer does not suffer because of his work, but it remains uninterrupted and continuous as it is the outcome of his participation in the divine love. Every act even microscopic impressed and energized the heart of every Salesian and youngster. The nearer people came to Don Bosco, the more they had a chance to peep into his personal life, and the greater veneration they had for his person.  In the bold testament of Don Rua, “I lived at Don Bosco’s side for more than 37 years.  To observe even the minutest actions of Don Bosco made a greater impression on me, did me more good, than to read or meditate any pious book.”

Don Bosco- A Man Continually in Prayer

     Don Bosco’s enormous activity and continual union with God never ceased till the end of his life. They were intertwined each with the other and made him a perfect blend of nature and grace. A man who was constantly at work is likely to be agitated, tense, impatient and nervous, especially when disturbed.  Nothing like that in Don Bosco: ‘He had peace in his mind and in his heart for anyone who was to come to him, at any time, when busy with any work.’  Pius XI admired his ‘supreme composure, a mastery of time, by which he gave his attention to all who came, with such a calm tranquillity as if he had nothing else at hand.’ It is to be noted that Don Bosco’s calm did not leave him even in the most difficult moments, when he had no bread for his boys, when the building that had cost him so much collapsed, when for 10 long years he lived in conflict with his Bishop and even when there was no enough money to build the Sacred Heart Basilica.  Never a bitter word or an expression of rebellion – at times one could notice that he felt the blow but immediately he recovered his calm, and more than that, his joy and cheerfulness. While not denying the fact that Don Bosco lost his serenity, calm and peace. He lost his calm, became serious, when he was confronted with an offence of God.  Don Bosco is personally affected by sin.  The man who is so patient, so calm and indulgent, always the master of himself, that same man feels his blood boil when he is faced with sin and scandal.

Characteristics of Don Bosco’s Prayer

                  Article 86 of Salesian constitutions says that “Salesian prayer is joyful and creative, simple and profound.  It lends itself to community participation, is drawn from life and flows back to it”. It clearly expresses the attitude and the characteristics of Don Bosco’s own prayer. Thus, Don Bosco’s Prayer is characterized by: 1) A Prayer of Easter Joy 2) A Creative Prayer that sprang from his Commitment 3) A Profound Sacramental Prayer 4) A Simple Prayer 5) A Marian Prayer.

A Prayer of Easter Joy

What I want to say is this:  Don Bosco’s prayer is steeped in Easter joy – the joy of ‘serve the Lord in gladness unconditionally’.  Don Bosco was convinced that it is good to be near the Lord, that true joy is found in Him, that prayer is a source of inspiration and happiness.

Evidently, the joy of the Christian, just be­cause it is a participation in the joy of Easter, proceeds from the participation in the suffering and death of Jesus. In this sense, Don Bosco was an Easter man who was never afraid of the crosses that life gave him but willing carried them even not counting his death.   

A Creative Prayer that Sprang from His Commitment

            Prayer for Don Bosco was not a show of emotions but an outflow of his creative commitment to God. ‘Here is a life’ said the Pope Pius XI ‘that we have been able to admire from nearby, a life that was a true and great martyrdom, a life spent in such a colossal activity that anyone else would be discouraged just by seeing it.’ Don Bosco prayed everywhere as he was not bound by place and time. For him, ‘Everything was Prayer.’

A Profound Sacramental Prayer

            Don Bosco’s prayer is sacramental because his enormous work, activity and union with God aimed at saving souls. In this context, the words of Piux XI are very touching, “There is indeed a secret, and Don Bosco revealed it continually, maybe without noticing it himself.  It is the motto which he so often repeated in his words and in his writings: Give me souls – take away the rest!  Not a programme or a slogan, but an ever-present desire, a constant invocation, a continuous prayer – a prayer immediately translated into action, in work!

            Don Bosco was at the same time priest and educator: a priest who found in education the possibility of fulfilling his priestly mission, and an edu­cator who found in his priestly ministry a help towards education. Don Bosco’s educational system was founded on the ‘Frequent confes­sion and frequent communion and daily mass. Through this he brought his boys into contact with God, and that is what the sacraments achieve.

A Simple Prayer

Don Bosco’s prayer is simple. It does not mean that it is superficial. His simplicity in prayer emerged from his outpouring simplicity in life. He learnt this from his mother Mamma Margaret who told to little Johnny “God Sees You”. This statement of his mother made him to be always in union with God. He never sat in the church for long time but he always spoke of prayer to his boys. His whole system of education is geared to giving the boys a taste for prayer; he looks for favourable occasions to pro­mote prayer, he speaks of the importance and value of prayer, but he makes sure that everything is done with the utmost liberty and spontaneity.

Don Bosco did not want to prescribe special prayers for the Salesian, nothing but the ‘ordinary prayers of a good Christian.’ They were Simple in number: not too many, not too long, not tiring or boring. He firmly believed that nobody must go to prayer unwillingly, those who are fervent can al­ways do more. Simple in style: not the prayers of an elite, not also a prayer that fuels the emotions, but ‘easy things, done with perseverance.’

A Marian Prayer

Don Bosco entrusted himself totally to Mary. He never did and said anything without invoking Mary. Mary as a mother holds a unique place in the life of Don Bosco (Art 8). She was always present in the life if Don Bosco. It all began with a dream that he had at the age of nine. In is first dream Johnny Bosco received Mary as his teacher: under her guidance he would be wise, and without her all wisdom turns to foolishness. Don Bosco had immense trust and faith in Mary. Don Bosco saw the in Mary a model of prayer and pastoral love and the teacher of wisdom. Mary is not just one element of our Don Bosco’s spiritu­ality: she is at the heart of his spirituality.

Conclusion

            The first monks called prayer the ‘work’ of prayer, because they undertook the labour of prayer as a contribution to the salvation of the world.  In today’s busy world, a religious or a priest cannot have a satisfactory spiritual life unless he gives a long time to prayer. We must learn from the world around us. In our very busy world, people give importance to the week-end, far away from their business, to have a day of rest and recreation. It is also same be with the prayer. We easily understand that focusing on work can distract us from attention to God – but it is the same with prayer.  Many people just recite formulas with their attention elsewhere or value their prayer according to the emotions they experience, but their prayer does not influence their life.  Prayer should feed our piety, but our union with God (Don Bosco called it ‘piety’) is not measured by the length of our prayer.  What is essential is not that we spend a lot of time in church, but that our prayer makes us ready for sacrifice and for work, ready to do our duty.  I conclude with the words of Don Bosco: ‘Prayer that does not help us to correct our defects is not pleasing to God’.

Valuable Education

The world of today runs on education. No education is equal to no bright future. The bright and enlightening future depends on the education of the child. Nothing can be attained in future with out an element of education present in the veins of the body. Then the questions that flashed through my mind are: What is the purpose of education? Why educating children? Is education merely a means to settle in the future? Can education become valuable?

The education of the child can happen in the two stages and both the stages go simultaneously. Both the stages begin at the inception of education. The two stages of education are Information and Formation. Education becomes information when the teacher’s sole aim is only to impart the lessons just for the sake of imparting. The mind of the child is constantly filled with different subjects, knowledge and consequently burdens the mind of the child. Education becomes Formation when teacher is able to impart and pass on the moral values trough the subject. Here, the teachers aim is to inform and form the child. It is in formation, that the two stages are given importance. Education becomes valuable when education is formation. It becomes valuable when education is able to make the child aware, the importance of inculcating moral values in the school days i.e. their prime age.

Both the stages of education, information and formation are important. The education should not just be satisfied with informing the child but rather rise above and form the child.

Integral Education

Human being views world as the structured unity. As the world is a structured unity, human being, living in the world, lives by privileging superior realities over inferior realities. This is present in every structure of the world such as political (ruling over the ruled), social (preferring rich over poor), cultural (preferring high caste over low caste), religious (soul over body and God over Human), and even now it is entering into education.

The Greek aim of education was to impart education for the growth of whole development of the personality. In other words for Greeks ‘Body + Mind+ Character= Education’. There was no stress on God.  But as the times went by, that is from 3^rd Century to 15^th Century, the imparting of education was mainly to teach religion and religious values. For this era ‘Religion = Education’. The stress of education was on religion but not on character and body. From the time of renaissance to French Revolution, education was concentrating on the human being. In other words, ‘Human Being = Education’. It had left out the education of body and religion.

Education preferred one over the other in each era according to the situation and the context. The education of today must neither privilege nor neglect and not even be neutral but become active to integrate all the elements of education that makes up whole human person from the point of society, individuality, and religion. In other words, according to me the 21^st century education is, ‘Faith + Reason + Character = Education’. The neglect of one and privileging of the other in education leads to a function of right hand and the disfunctioning of left hand even though in good condition. The need of the hour is the INTEGRAL EDUCATION.

Humanized Education

Can education become humanized science? According to my view, “Education becomes humanized when it is able to form a person to be genuinely human that is to be sensitive. In other words, humanized education is sensitivity in its full sense.

Now the other question that comes to the forum is that what is sensitivity? Sensitivity is the opening of the senses to discover the need and at the same time the capacity to respond to that need of others immediately and cheerfully. In simple words, it is extending oneself beyond oneself. An example of sensitivity could be that a blind man is unable to cross the road. A sensitive fellow will immediately reach out to help him but an insensitive fellow will stare at the blind man. The world around us with so many hungry people, destitute, uncared sick, unconcern for parents, lack of values, restriction of love to a few, absence of goodness and honesty speaks out where the education is leading the people.

Taking into account the present world scenario and the way it is moving, the main concern of the present day education is to make a student a humanized person who is able and capable of serving the society through his/her education. An education that creates a sensitive student is worthy to be called as The Education. The Education makes a person human. This is what I mean by education becoming a humanized science. 

Education as Power

Is education a power? Yes, indeed in the modern world education is made a tool to serve the powerful. In other words, it is a power in the hands of few individuals. They are the rich and the dominant that override and dictate what and how education should be.

Human beings in their innermost core of life nothing but are craving for power. Power is the essence that characterizes human life. I view the power from two points of view: Positive and Negative. Power is positive when people employ it to empower the powerless people. In other words, in the education of the people, the sole aim to make them realize their inner capacity with which they can conquer the knowledge. Power is negative when people use it to satisfy their own privileges and cravings. It means that the powerful people force their ideas, traditions and customs on the powerless people. It is clear from above that power either can produce a good human being (Positive power) or can harm the human being for his own collapse (Negative Power).

Education becomes power in the positive sense when voice is given to the voiceless, when people from margins are brought to the centre, when the cry of the poor is heard, when people are lifted up from their weakness, and when people realize their own inner power. It is the duty of education to create an environment first of all for the emergence of positive power and then to empower people for a positive powerful society. It is not a business of one day but every day business that calls for real struggle on the part of the dominant.

Personal Educational History

The history of my education goes back to the year 1992, when I joined my first year of schooling- My schooling from then went on and is for me a continuous and gradual climbing. For me, schooling was a real penance to go with a load of books, listening to the teachers till the evening, and completing homework. In a word, it was like a prison. Sometimes, purposely I used to bunk the school because of the fear of teachers and lack of interest. On the way around, my parents and some people in the neighbourhood are not educated but they are most happy and found real joy in their work.

                A serious doubt rose in me, why did my parents send me for education? I could not get the real answer to the question. As I reflect now, I was only going to school out of Force because I could not really see the meaning in education. As a word of truth, till I finished 10^th class, neither I had desire to learn nor had I found meaning in education. But once I joined +1 (intermediate), due to the instrumentality of my teachers, I began to see education differently. I viewed education as part of my growth that will enable to stand on a good ground in the future. This view of education enabled me to enjoy education that is assimilating the whole values found in every subject taught by the teachers.

                As a word of suggestion, the education of today must be capable of instilling the meaning of education from childhood and teachers must make sure that they discover the value of education. Probably, the education of today requires a change of attitude. I realize that education does not bear fruit, if I do out of force, but it does bear fruit when I begin to love and enjoy it.

Education and Character

The education, which began in Greek thousands of years ago, came into force to impart values pertaining to every stage of life. Greek tradition saw the purpose behind every subject included in the curriculum and every subject was chosen in order to impart a particular value. For example, mathematics was supposed to teach the value of Harmony with the society and individual. In that way, the Greek tradition was original, creative and at the same time saw education as a means to live a better life in the society. In a word, their education was aimed at forming the body, mind and the character of the personality simultaneously.

                The education of today which owes for its existence to Greek tradition lost the way. It is lost in instilling among the students the competitive spirit. In other words, fight of the intellect. The present education is worried and only aims to teach the pupil how to live tomorrow with securities of life and how to earn money. In other words, education as a means should teach the pupils the different techniques of money. In a way it offers hope for tomorrow and not for day after tomorrow.

                What needs to be done? Today, all the more the country needs upright citizens, citizens freely opting for honesty, compassion, love and peace. The aim of the education should be, to instill in the young burning minds with an ever desire to become people of convictions in living human life in the world.

An Ever Daring Saint

          A saint is a holy man or woman. An individual becomes a saint through his/her will to live life in an extraordinary way rooted in God and as well as that rootedness becomes manifested in the service of the people. But, seldom Catholic Church has produced a saint who is daring in his will to follow God. This daring saint for me is none other than Don Bosco.

Don Bosco, a man of God, sacrificed his whole life daringly for the welfare of the young. In his ministry as a Catholic Priest, he did everything daringly placing his full trust and confidence in God for whom he offered his life. To give an example, he undertook to build a great church in honour of Mary with just 5 lire (5 rupees) in the pocket. When people asked how can you accomplish such huge task? He daringly answered that it is the church of Mary and she will build. In fact, she did. He acknowledges it by saying that every brick is the miracle of Mary Help of Christians.

He had money neither in the pocket nor in the Bank but in his boarding he daringly accommodated as many people as he could and gave them daringly all the basic necessities of life especially food. He just said to boys daringly, to pray to God and He will grant everything needed for the sustenance. This daring attitude, Don Bosco acquired it from his personal contact with God. 

An Ever Daring Dangerous Man

Who this man could be? For me, the Man is none other than Jesus Christ. The man called Jesus was born 2000 years ago in Bethlehem dangerously amidst the animals in a manger, when people denied a place in their home of ‘heart’. From then, he began his dangerous life amidst the peoples through his radical following of God. He was ever daringly ready to do all the will of his Father. His commitment to ‘will of God’ fetched him the cross of life to carry for all the sins of mankind. He carried the cross till the Calvary and died dangerously on the cross while giving his mother Mary to be the mother of us all. On the third day, he rose even more dangerously from the tomb and appeared to his disciples and promised them the Holy Spirit.

This Daring Man from 2000 years ago continued to influence so many thousands of people to walk in his dangerous path. Interestingly, even after so many years, people find meaning in His Dangerous path. The dangerous path is nothing but committing oneself to the will of God always. This is the same Dangerous path, that all people irrespective of their status in the world are called to follow. 

Don Bosco – Shepherd of the Young

                Every age is blessed with great thinkers, great persons, and great saints but seldom with great lovers of the young.  The 19^th Century witnessed a great lover of the young especially poor in the person of Don Bosco. His influence cut across the barriers of heart, language and religion.His father died when he was just two years old. Then, he realized what life is, for poor people. Struggling in the life journey, he educated himself doing part time jobs. Later, he became a catholic priest and decided firmly to work and give his life for the welfare of the young especially for poor and abandoned youngsters. In his own words, “For you I study, for you I work and for you I am ready even to give my life.”

He went everywhere in search of the poor, went to the streets, went to the prison, went to hotels and found out that they are living in miserable conditions due to the rise of industrial revolution. Soon, he started boarding to accommodate the poor boys. To whoever joined his oratory, he promised three things, ‘Bread, work and Heaven’, started schools to give them education freely and mainly to empower them in the society and to those who cannot fare well in the school, he started for them technical schools with a view to make them honest citizens.

He became the first person in the world to start the “Preventive System of Education” against the Repressive System of Education. The basic elements of preventive system of education are ‘Reason, Religion and Loving Kindness.’ He is the man who was never tired to spend time with youngster sharing his whole life time in love, cheerfulness and joy. He was the true Shepherd of the young.

Thirst for God

 Human beings are characterized from other creatures by their capacity to reason out. While this is very much true, human beings in a great manner are characterized by their thirst for God, the source and centre of life. To a greater extent animals use their reasoning power to satisfy their bodily needs and never use reason to thirst for their Creator. The thirst for God is only exhibited by human beings. As there is thirst for water every to survive, similarly there should be a similar thirst for God. If the thirst is not quenched with water, we risk our own life. It is the drive to live that pushes each one to quench the thirst. So too, the thirst for God should never cease in the whole life. It is a call to thirst that is never quenched except by God. So, this thirst should not be a once in a week business or once in a month but every day and every minute, it should flow from our hearts.The thirst only ends at death.

Education as Survival

Today the world of education has become an important aspect of life. All the children irrespective of their economic status receive an amount of education and moreover the parents are leaving no stone unturned to see that their children receive education from an early age. Why at all so much need for education in the 20^th Century?

                Education has two goals: 1) primary goal and 2) Secondary goal. The primary goal of education is survival.  According to me, education is survival. Why is it so? After all human being has to live life and cannot do away with. Education as survival is a more-refined way of living life with happiness. Even in the absence of education in the ancient times, human being knew how to survive. But what do I mean by education is a more refined way of living life? The present education as a business is producing the superficial individuals who are qualified only in their field. It also leads to a more sophisticated life.

                The secondary goal of education is to achieve the primary goal with different means. In the process of living life, education has been viewed as a means to impart values, character of the child, maturity of mind, intellectual development of the child, and the development of the whole personality of the child. 

                However, education imparting from all that is said above, to an extent is an instrument in creating the world of peace and paves the way for the greater life filled happiness.

History and Human Being

Human being is a historical being. None of us claim to be in existence without an historical element present in the veins. In other words, whether a human being wants or not becomes a part of history with existence. The moment something comes into existence it carries the history with it and in the moment of death it leaves the history back in the world.

                Why History is so important? Life is a process comprising of all living beings. What do I mean? Birth and death occur eternally again and again. There is no end to the process of life. In this sense, life is a gradual climbing. It is a climbing from what we are not to what we are and what we will be. All that happened paves the path for the future to live the present authentically with hope. In other words, the present as it is evolved from the past and the present in its entirety can be known with its connection with the past. The moment we cut ourselves from the history, human being maps his downfall and collapse.

                The history demands that human being is prudent as to what to take and what not to take. History as it evolved can be seen from two view points: False History and Authentic History. The former is a history that paved way for the downfall of man due to evil, world wars, iniquity, wickedness, crime and the latter is a history that paved way for the emergence and up rise of man due to its source of inspiration for the future. A perfect epitome of History (false and authentic) would be that of Gandhi and Blagangadhar Tilak. In the struggle for achieving freedom, Gandhi wanted to achieve through Non-violence and Tilak through Violence. 

Experience of God

 Is it possible to experience God? Experience of God becomes impossible because, experience is something that occurs in the event of seeing (I saw a big Duck), of touching (I touched Sachin Tendulkar with my hand), of feeling  ( I ate a tasty chocolate Ice-cream), of hearing (I listened to the words of the crying child). In other words, experience resides in human being. It is tangible in the event of its occurring.  Now the question is how to experience God who is not tangible?

I say it is possible to experience God. I say ‘Yes’.  God can be experienced. God can be experienced because he becomes tangible in the human being. God becomes real and is seen in people who going out of their way extend help to the needy (feeding a hungry man), God becomes concrete in people when they receive an impossible help (getting healed from AIDS), God becomes physical through consoling people (comforting a person in the time of grief).  

Philosophy of Constitutions

Human being lives in the society. It means that human being is destined to live with other human beings. The living with the other human being may give rise to divergence. Such society with no rules is equal to living with animals. As long as Man lives in society that is with other human being, the human being needs consciously controlled common purposes. In simple words, the human being needs certain rules and regulation in living life in the society.

 It is difficult to imagine a society without such common purposes. The rules give a clear way and a sense of direction to life in the society.