PASSION AND PASSIVITY

            ‘An uncritical life is not worth living’ said the great Greek philosopher Socrates. It means to live a life lovingly and critically. Let me explain the title.Passion is the drive that forces human being in accomplishing a particular task with greatest love and desire. Passivity is the reflectivity in the accomplishment of the task. As human, human being always worries about and broods over in completing tasks but rarely he/she reflects on the completed tasks for furthering better performance of the tasks. Passivity also calls for what he/she is doing is in conformity with or meeting the expectations of the standards of the community and society at large.

PASSION	PASSIVITY
Chosen	Cultivated
Maximum Pull to act	Maximum reflection in the action
Untimely act	Occupies time
Accompanied by love and desire	Accompanied by ambition

         Passion is a call to live life and passivity is living that life call critically. When both passion and passivity reflect in the accomplishment of the task,  marvels of harmony, peace and fruitfulness happen. As such both should go hand in hand. No domination of one over the other. They promise life to the full without compromise which human being looks forward to. Let us be then passionate about being critical and at the same I can critically evaluate my passion.

GOD - “THE AUTHOR OF GOOD”

  I am not sure whether the title arises in you a question. But certainly when I sat down to write, the title arose in me a simple but yet profound question and that is God not creator of bad?

            After a deep and intense reflection, I conclude and affirm that there is nothing bad or profane in the universe. All that exists and crated was good. To quote in the words of Sacred Scripture “God created everything and found good.”  The problem arises because in the everydayness of carrying on with life, the human being undergoes or rather comes across events that are bad or experiences the bad itself in its fullness. If God not cause for it, who is the cause? Who can take the responsibility for the cause of bad in the world?

            Nothing is bad but something becomes bad if it is used not the way it is supposed to be used. Let us take for example, the burning issue sex. It is not bad. It is good in as much as used by the legally married couple for the furthering of creation. But same sex becomes bad, when lovers or people do it for enjoyment, pleasure or money. Very many examples can be quoted but one provides space for reflection.

            After all, everything depends on the perspective of human being because he/she is able to make something good into bad and bad into good. And so, ultimately the cause is in not out there but it is very much in.

THE WONDER OF HUMAN BODY

            Is there something to really wonder about human body? It is largely believed that human being is not the cause of his/her own existence. In simple words, he/she is the effect of amalgamation of different causes. In this sense, the fact of human existence itself is a great wonder. Let me do justice to the title.

            The human body, for that matter even animal body, to be wondered for the well fixation of different parts of the body in their proper and own place. Just imagine if an individual had leg in the place of head and in the place of nose fingers. This even becomes beyond imagination. Then do we wonder about our body?

            God, the author and cause of life and above all, ongoing life-giver, so logically yet aesthetically, so theoretically but yet practically, and so beautifully and attractively placed every part of the body to be wondered and to be in awe.

WHERE ARE YOU?

 

Where are you? Don’t you listen?

The voice, in the gentle whispers of breeze

In the chirpings of bird, in the rustling of the leaves

And dearly and lovingly in the silence of heart.

Where are you? Is not the calling so loud?

As the dark of the night, as calm as the ocean,

As powerful as the monster, as loud as the sound of thunder

And as good and clear as running waters in the stream

Where are you? Are you deaf to hear and respond

To that call, which responded in due time,

Grants you life in abundance, then come on

Hurry up, wake up, heed and answer.

SACRED WASTE

            What is Waste? It is something that we don’t like to keep it to ourselves. It is something that is unwanted, unnecessary and useless.  What is sacred Waste? It is something that comes out of abundance of heart. It is wasting oneself for the good of the other. It becomes the good of the other when one feels that something is waste that is something is useful to me but more useful for the other. It is journey from self to selflessness, possession to Non-possession. It is this feeling of waste that makes it sacred.  The feeling of wasting oneself results from the fullness. It is the willingness to give or throw oneself at the disposal of the other

            The whole history of human kind is the record of people who wasted themselves fully what is good in themselves for the good and benefit of others.  For example the Great Buddha wasted himself after the enlightenment, Christ wasted himself after forty days of prayer, and Mahatma Gandhi wasted himself for the good of the country. There are umpteen numbers of examples to quote but reflection fro you and for me starts here.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF “YES” AND “NO”

            Yes and No are the two most powerful answers to the questions of life. To choose between yes and no is a freedom of choice. Yes and No are like real and unreal, living and dying, truth and untruth, certain and uncertain,possession and non-possession. Yes and No make people to become what they are and what they are not.

            ‘Yes’, I would like to learn. It is this kind of yes that opens the door for fullness of life, provides space for opportunities and gives luck for improvement. But this yes involves taking risk, crossing the boundaries, breaking the pot and making the horizons meet. In this creativeness flows automatically in the opportunities carried out. ‘No’, what I know is sufficient. It is this kind of no that closes the door for life, blocks the chance for improvement and becomes obstacle in taking up opportunities. This No makes a person to be what he is and then gradually becomes what he is not. This involves an easy going life that any tom dick harry can live.

            Let us turn the coin. ‘Yes’ I know it. This kind of yes does no more good than making me what I am. It ends all my possibilities to be. In other words I remain what I am. ‘No’, but I desire to know. This type of no provides the possibilities to be what I am not that is becoming new. It makes an individual journey ongoingly from being to becoming.

            After all yes and no are freedom of choice that involves the presence and at the same time awareness of doing the work from the perspective of the individual. 

What and Why of Christmas

CHRISTMAS

            I would like to speak on Christmas with some philosophical background. It may sound a bit out of the way. But I believe these thoughts have emerged as an outcome of my reflection on the nativity of the Lord.

What of Christmas

            The simple question that struck me while reflecting on Christmas was what is actually Christmas? In simple words, it is the celebration of the birthday of Christ. But, is it not obvious to celebrate the birthday of a person who died 2000 years ago! Does it make any sense to celebrate? Do we celebrate the birthday of great persons who left the earth? But then, are the Christians foolish to celebrate Christmas? As Christians and more so as religious, we are called to search wisdom in foolishness. We celebrate the birthday of Christ because we believe that he is alive. He is alive in our hearts through the Holy Eucharist and sacraments. Let us go a little further to erase the doubts by asking yet another question What led to Christmas? The scripture is very clear why Christ was born and what made him born. Let me answer this question from three points of view: (1) Christmas is Christmas because of the Love of the Father: God so loved the world that he sent his only son to give eternal life (Jn 3:16). In other words, to make us, the sinful human beings, into children of God as Jesus was. (2) Christmas happened because of the Humility of Mary: Let it be done to me according to your will Lk 1:38. (3) It is the condition of the human beings that made the birth of Jesus possible.

            In this case, Christmas is not once a year business but it is everyday business. We should be able to celebrate Christmas everyday. I would like to narrate an incident. A Street children Director once wrote to benefactors: we celebrate Christmas whenever a boy knocks at our door asking for shelter, food and clothing.

Why of Christmas

            Why do we celebrate Christmas? For mother Mary and Joseph, Christmas was paradoxical. It was not only painful but also a moment to rejoice. But for us, modern Christians, it has become celebrations and is limited to it. Thus, it is a call to transcend the festivities of the earthly world to discover the true joy of heavenly world.

            Still, the inner meaning of Christmas is the birth of Christ which was not so for Mary or not even for Jesus himself. HE is being sent to the world, to give his life for the sins of humankind. If this is the case with Jesus, it must also be the same with us today. We are called to give, spend, and sacrifice our life for others and it is for others that we are here as Jesus was and is.

Christmas – Summation of Evangelical Counsels

            Does Christmas bear witness to the Evangelical Counsels? I think, it is very much true that Christmas is the convergence of Obedience, Poverty and Chastity if we look at them differently as will, generosity and love.

Christmas as a Sign of Obedience

            Christmas as an event took place because of the docility of Mother Mary when she said, “Be it done to me according to your will’. It is the acceptance of Mary that led to Christmas. What does it indicate? As Mary obeyed the will of God, Christmas invites everyone of us to obey not simply but to accept happily and cheerfully the demands of obedience and to give our self wholly, especially our time, energy, talents and everything.

Christmas as a Sign of Poverty

            God did not choose a palace for his son to be born but a manger amidst the animals. It also makes us remember that he was born in a manger because people refused him a place in their own house. What does it indicate? It indicates not so much the material poverty, but the rigidness of heart of human being which is the poverty of heart. For us, Christmas is a call to make the heart rich to make it abode of Jesus. This is not a simple task but difficult and requires everyday attention. This can be nurtured only by the Holy Eucharist and sacraments, personal prayer, and other moments of prayer.

Christmas as a sign of Chastity

            It is the love of the Father towards the humankind that made Jesus come into the world. Chastity is love of equilibrium towards all. What does it show? Christmas should be a method of love and not for this or that human being but for all equally. Love erases unwanted and indifference leading to the manufacture of concern and care for each other.

I would like to conclude my reflection by asking yet another question:  Am I able to give birth to Christ? What does this mean? It is not so much a physical birth but the capacity to reflect Jesus in my self to others. If we are not able to reflect Jesus through our actions, words and behaviour, then Christmas does not make any sense. It passes by like any other Christmas. But, let us make this Christmas a true Christmas by being reflections of Jesus to our brothers and sisters not only on the day of Christmas but everyday of our life.