Christmas - For Whom?

There is no other event that has affected history as much as the birth of Jesus. World History today is divided into BC and AD based on the birth of Christ. No wonder we call Christmas a universal event.  The world celebrates the feast with the joy as much as we Christians do. But, just imagine what would happen if the Church wanted to stop celebrating Christmas on December 25. I am sure the world would continue celebrating Christmas because it is a great season of income for the businessmen; season of relaxation for students and teachers and the list could go on. But now I pose a question: Christmas – for whom?

The immediate answer, probably, running in our minds is, ‘for all’ because Christ came for all. Basing my reflection on the Gospels, especially the narration of the birth of Christ, I affirm that the birth of Christ was not known to all, even among those who knew about this  incarnation of God many were not able to find Him.  According to the Gospels, two groups rather two cities did not find the Babe in the Crib.

The first city is Bethlehem. It is a paradox that the city that hosted the First Christmas did not witness the event. It is interesting to know that St. Joseph was not able to get a place for his wife in travail or a home in his hometown. Why? We read in Luke2:7 that there was no place for them in the Inn. Now the problem is with the word ‘inn’. The Greek word that is used here is ‘Kataluma’ or ‘Katalima’, which denotes not only inn but also a special room, a kind of guest room or a store room. Usually, any woman in labour would be admitted there since encountering blood is an act of untouchablity for the Jews. Now, this room was not available for our Blessed mother as the city was filled with guests who had already registered their names.

And so, Bethlehem, the house of Bread as it literally means, did not have a proper place for the Bread from Heaven. I assume the city was not aware of the coming of the Redeemer since it clung on to the law rather than show love for its townsman.

The second city that was not able to have the glimpse of the Heavenly Babe was Jerusalem. As the president or the prime minister represents a country, King Herod represents Jerusalem. Moreover, it is also given in Matthew 2:3 that along with Herod all Jerusalem was frightened of the arrival of the new king of Jews. What blinded his eyes, from reaching the manger that received the messiah, was his craze for power. Furthermore, his passion for position led him to massacre the innocent without a grain of compassion in his heart. And so, the city of Jerusalem could not hear the ‘Gloria’ on the first Christmas day.

Now it is clear that when people have recourse more to law and not to love and are filled with passion for power rather than with compassion, they are unable to meet Christ in the crib.

The next important fact is how two kinds of people found Jesus: the wise-men and the shepherds.

The first group of people who were able to celebrate Christmas is the three wise-men, why wise-men, let us call them philosophers of those days. Great philosophers are not mere thinkers but persons who have love for wisdom and truth. The sign in the sky moved them to be in search of the source of wisdom. It was not the laws that they had have studied but their love of wisdom that unveiled the truth in the Nativity.

The second group is the group of shepherds. They too received a sign rather a direct message from an angel. They were extremely happy as thy found the savior amidst the sheep and the cattle. What could be the reason for their privilege to encounter the Messiah? I think it is because they were people of compassion. Jesus the good shepherd, later in his public ministry, had compassion for the flock of people following him. I personally experienced this attitude of shepherds through a shepherdess who is working in one of our Salesian houses. The childless woman takes care of the sheep as her own children calling them by name. Any feast with mutton in the house would be a day of boundless sorrow for her. These simple people may not have passion in life but they can be seen to be people of compassion.

The two kinds of people who were able to meet the Saviour in the stable were persons of love and compassion. And this is probably the answer to the question that I asked in the beginning, “For whom is Christmas?” 

I feel that to celebrate Christmas worthily we need to be people of love and compassion as the love of God leads him to be one among us and His compassion for us gave meaning to His acceptance of the Cross. Though our logic pushes us towards law and our reasoning may give passion, the true meaning of Christmas is in the opposite – in Love and in Compassion.

My wish for all of us is that we celebrate and share the joy of Christmas with love and compassion for one another. 

Sri Aurobindo's Concept of Man

1. Origin of Human Being

Involution:

Involution is more of a metaphysical outlook on the origin of beings. It is the process by which the Divine manifests Itself in the cosmos. For Sri Aurobindo involution is the process by which the Omnipresent Reality, i.e. the Absolute (Brahman) extends Itself to create a universe of separate forms out of Its own Force/Energy. The reason behind the involution is the desire or the delight of the Absolute Being. It is the descending process as evolution is the ascending process.

Evolution:

According to Aurobindo, the process of Evolution is the process of Human being to move upwards to the Infinite Brahman. Evolution takes place in three phases. All evolution is a growing of the Self in material nature to the conscious possession of its own spiritual being. It is a formation of life, mind and Supermind in matter.

Physical Evolution is the evolution of external visible material bodies of living beings. It is the process of moving from simple to higher form. Birth and growth are the evident factors of this evolution.

Spiritual Evolution is not external but the realization of the innate Divinity in human being.  The nucleal presence of Brhaman in human makes the psychic being in unison with Jivātman. In this phase human self-fulfillment takes place. Human being is aware of his or her consciousness.

Supramental Evolution is the growth of Divine consciousness-Force in human being. It is the final conquest of spirit over matter. The partial human mind receives higher knowledge in the integrated Divine.

2. Human Existence

Existence (Sat) – Consciousness Force (Cit) – Bliss (Ānanda) - Supermind  à  Matter – Life – Psyche – Mind

“Man is a transitional being, he is not final; for in him and high beyond him ascend the radiant degrees which climb to a divine supermanhood.”Man is the extention of Saccidānanda through the Consciouness-Force out of Blissful desire.For him matter (prakṛti) denotes the gross and subtle physical body; life -  individual life is part of universal life; Soul or psyche (puruṣa) is something of the Divine (immortal) that descends into the evolution as a divine Principle within; mind is the faculty of thinking.

3. Religious Dimension of Human Being

Man has the spiritual nature as he has the tendency towards Infinite. He is not just a reasoning animal but a soul in constant relation with the Divine. Body, Mind and Psyche do not form a complete meaning of man. The essence of spiritual dimension of man is not in just knowing the Brahman but to be in union with the Brahman. It is done through the four-fold method of realization through Yoga namely:

Yoga of Knowldege                 Yoga of Activity              Yoga of Devotion          Yoga of Self-perfection

Religion must help human being to practice the four-fold method of realization. Relgion must be subjective apart from the rituals and ceremonials.In addition, religion must be understood with the transcend intellectual reason.

4. Social Dimension of Human Being

Human being is social by nature. Although human is whole yet is incomplete without the other human beings and the Divine; this triple relationship keeps the ṛta of the cosmos. There is relationship of giving and reciving between the human beings in the presence of Divine. This reciprocal relationship should be done in the level of being and not of  having.

In the social dimension of human being one can find the two aspects namely, individual and social. Human being is individual in as much as he/she is looked as a complete being, on the other hand, human is a part of society. He proposes a twofold conception of society: objective and subjective – the former is the material part of the society like geographical, laws, institutions and the latter is the union of individuals, inner form of external society which is a living organism.

As Man is social by nature he is moral by nature too. Thus morality in man should come not out of desire but out of nature (the inner oughtness). Besides, it is also a requirement of society and  to keep harmony in realtionship. Morality does not consist in action but in nature of human being. If the ethical laws are seen as help to reach the Divine, there is no conflict between the laws and individual freedom. Because freedom is not license it is the possibiltiy to become one with the Brahman and be Its insturment.

Social dimension of man matures in the society. He can develop his capacity only to the extent that he enters into relationship with others. Both the society and its laws are at his service, and they attain their scope only if they help the individual to reach the Divine.

5. Rebirth and Karma

Rebirth is an act of evolution of the soul. This rebirth is meaningless without the theory of Karma. He gives an example of heredity to prove past-life. But heredity is not much important. Past history remains but it is the individual creates his or her life.  With the environment and other conditions each jivātman acts in the circle of rebirth. Therefore, no predestination is possible in his theory. This also answers the seeming duality. Karma is only a lesson that is learned from the present life towards next (as present is of past). It is a link that binds the past with the present action.

Lord You are so Precious to me: Lyrics and Chords

C      Em               F              G

Lord, You are so precious to me

C       Em          F                G

Lord, You are so precious to me

F       G      F      G

And I  love You

F     G7  C     Am

Yes, I     love You

        F            G              C

Because You first loved me.

C   Em     F        G

Lord, You are so gracious to me

C   Em     F                G

Lord, You are so gracious to me

F     G F      G

And I  love You

F     G7  C     Am

Yes, I     love You

        F            G              C

Because You first loved me.

Simple Yet Profound

The year of faith that we have begun last October should have been a time of renewal of our faith rather a time to know more about our faith. Various occasions like prayer services, talks, and retreats would have enriched our faith. My experience of faith during this intense moment of learning more about faith was different; it was a living experience not with the scholars of faith but with the simple people who are unknown to the world. It was in a hamlet called ‘Roman Morjong’, in the hillock of Karbi Anglong district in Assam with the tribes of Karbi and Tiwa where I went for my mission experience.

The village ‘Roman Morjong’ is a very small and a remote village in Assam. The total population would not be more than 800. The catholic presence in this village crosses 95%. Another interesting fact is that it is believed that this village was the first one to receive faith in the North-East India.  I had the chance of going for Easter blessings as part of my mission experience at North-East India.  Since this village is situated on the hills the journey was adventurous and was a journey of faith.

The very first gesture that caught my attention was their attitude towards the clergy. The moment they saw people with religious habit these simple people perceived us, religious as the representatives of God. In fact, at the end of the Eucharistic celebration these were their words of gratitude, “thank you for bringing God’s blessings for us.” This questioned my task of being a religious on the way to priesthood. I was waiting for the people to come for the Mass as I was in the church where few people continued singing for a long time. But almost the whole village was standing outside the church. My curiosity led me outside and I was astonished. The whole folks were standing in line to make their confession. I was told that it was their custom to receive the Lord with pure heart. These people remind us of the publican in the parable that Jesus spoke of. Nevertheless to say about their prayerful and joyful participation in the Holy Sacrifice, even the children were very devout as they are brought up in that atmosphere to partake in the Eucharist. It is a lesson for us to learn from this simple Christians.

After the Mass, we continued with the blessing of the houses which were either thatched or made up of bamboos. Although the houses were very small they kept a place for prayer where they kept the holy articles. At the end of the prayer in each house they would offer something according to their ability. Their offerings were very simple like eggs or some kilograms of paddy from their fields.  Later it was told that these offerings were the first fruit of that season which they would offer God first and only then they would start selling.

The simple lesson that they render us from these incidents is, I feel, that God gets the prominence of life. Faith is not a theory to be memorized or only to quote in necessary instances rather it is a fact to be lived out. The gestures of these faithful may be simple but they have profound meaning. The message or rather a challenge that these people pose us is to live the faith and be the bearers of faith.    

God Sees You

God Sees You

He sees you because he loves you

In the Turin city in the 19^th century, among the multifarious kinds of boys, the oratory boys of Don Bosco stood out in everything especially in leading a virtuous life. The salient reason behind this success was pious customs of the oratory and one among them was the Goodnight Talk before going to bed which is faithfully practised even today in the Salesian houses. In most of the goodnight talks the prominent counsel that Mamma Maragret, mother of Don Bosco, gave was, “God sees you!” the boys took those words so fervently that they always felt the sight of God in their own lives. This maxim is passed on to this day as a tradition. One can find this phrase almost in all the Salesian houses somewhere or the other.

Though it fascinates in the beginning, due to the lack of consciousness of the meaning of the sentence it turns into a mere cliché. Moreover, one can even question its meaning. The general understanding of this sentence that comes to our mind would be – God sees our every action and so He will punish us when we do wrong or you can cheat men but not God. It cannot be the apt meaning for this phrase as we are aware that God is love. The lovable God does not look through microscope to keep the score of every wrong that we do. There must be another meaning latent in the phrase. The following story can help us understand that meaning better.

Once a little boy went to visit his grandmother’s house. He enjoyed looking at the beautiful pictures and attractive things in the granny’s house. At a certain point he was intrigued to look at a white board on a colourful wall. He was standing there for a long time with a deep thought. Looking at the strange gesture of her grandson, the old woman came to the boy and noticed his curiosity on the white board with these words, “God sees you.” Reading the thoughts running in the mind of the little lad she told him, “My dear Tom, so far you have been looking at the pictures and they were pleasing you because they are good. But now you are aware that God is looking at you. You also please him as long as you are good.” “But what will He do if I do wrong?” interrupted the boy. The pious woman replied, “Instead of asking what He will do to you, ask what you will do Him when you do wrong.” The boy remained silent. “Remember”, she continued, “Whenever you do wrong, you hurt the one who loves you more than anybody else. He always sees you, because he loves you.”

The latent meaning is clear now. Probably, Mamma Margaret and Don Bosco might have meant this hidden meaning as they advised the boys, “God sees you.” Consequently, whenever the boys were tempted to do any mischief they would promptly remind themselves, “Don Bosco would not like that.” Don Bosco was always practicing from his boyhood. It so happened once that when he and his brother, Joseph were playing, a stranger tempted them to steal, they answered him, “Mamma won’t be pleased with that.” It is not merely pleasing but esteeming the person whom we love. This esteem reaches its peak with the love of God. Because God’ love is Love par excellence. He assured this through the prophet Isaiah, “Never! Can a mother forget her little child and not have love for her own son? Yet even if that should be, I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” (Is. 49: 13-16). Hence we are in great disturbance when we hurt this everloving God by our sin. The scripture says, “Fear is the beginning of the wisdom” and “not the end”, G.K. Chesterton completes it. This fear cannot be the fear of punishment, on the contrary, the fear of offending the goodness of a person who deserve our love or reciprocate our love. In fact, in the traditional act of contrition we pray, “I detest all my sins because they deserve your dreadful punishments… but most of all they offend Your Infinite Goodness.”

The only solution for this dilemma of pleasing or hurting is love as “it does not rejoice in wrong doing” (1 Corinthians 13:6a). Where there is love there is no hurt as St. Augustine urges, “Love and do what you wish.” God sees us not because He is omnipresent but He is everloving. He sees us because He loves us.      

Not to be Lost but to be disturbed

njhiyahjpUf;f njhe;juT…

    tho;f;if vd;Dk; gazj;jpy; ehk; midtUk; xU ,yf;if Nehf;fp njhpe;Njh njhpahkNyh gazpf;fpd;Nwhk;. me;j gazk; epiwtha; epk;kjpaha; epiwNtWtijNa midtUk; tpUk;Gfpd;Nwhk;. MfNt mg;gazj;jpy; njhiye;JtplhjpUf;f gy Kaw;rpfisAk; Nkw;nfhs;fpNwhk;. ,t;thW ,Uf;Fk; nghOJ “njhiyahjpUf;f njhe;juT vg;gb cjTk;?” Nfs;tp vOtJ epahak; jhd;.

    rpy ehl;fSf;F Kd; vd; ez;gd; vdf;F  ‘A+-bA+g;’ (YouTube) topahf mDg;gpa fpNuf;f nkhop FWk;glk; ,jid rpwg;ghf tpsf;Fk;. mofhd nghpa tPl;bd; gpd;GwKs;s tPl;Lj; Njhl;lj;jpy; 65 taJ kjpf;fjf;f je;ijAk; 40 taJ kjpf;fjf;f kfDk; cl;fhh;e;J nfhz;bUf;fpwhh;fs;. kfd; nra;jpj;jhis thrpj;Jf; nfhz;bUf;f> fz;ghh;it rw;W njsptpy;yhj je;ij mUfpy; ,Uf;ifapy; mkh;e;jpUf;fpwhh;. mg;NghJ mq;Nf FUtp xd;W gwe;J te;J mUfpy; cs;s nrbapd; Nky; epw;fpwJ. ryryg;igf; Nfl;l je;ij kfdplk; tpdTfpwhh;. kfd; mJ xU FUtp vd gjpyspf;fpwhh;. rpy tpehbfs; Nahrpj;Jtpl;L kPz;Lk; Nrl;fpwhh;> “mJ vd;d?” je;ijapd; Nfs;tpf;F kWgbAk; gjpyspf;fpwhh; kfd;. mNj Nfs;tpia kPz;Lk; Nfl;Fk; nghOJ rw;W vhpr;rYld; “ehd; jhd; nrhd;NdNd FUtp vd;W” vd tpilaspf;f> kPz;Lk; rj;jj;ijf; Nfl;L mNj Nfs;tpia je;ij Nfl;f Nfhgkilfpwhh; kfd;. Nfhgj;Jld; “vd;id Vd; njhe;juT nra;fpwPhfs;. ehd; jhd; nrhd;NdNd FUtp vd;W.” jd; kfdpd; Nfhgj;ijf; fz;l je;ij vOe;J tPl;bw;Fs; nry;fpwhh; NkYk; kfid mq;NfNa ,Uf;FkhW fl;lisapLfpwhh;. xU rpy epkplj;jpw;Fg;gpd; rpwpa Gj;jfk; xd;iw nfhz;L te;J> chpa gf;fj;jpid vLj;J jd; kfdplk; nfhLj;J rj;jkhf thrpf;f nrhy;fpwhh;. mJ mtuJ nrhe;j ehs;Fwpg;NgL> kfd; thrpj;jhh;, “,d;W vd; kfd; %d;W taij mile;Js;shd;. mtid mUfpYs;s G+q;fhtpw;F mioj;Jr; nrd;w NghJ mq;Nf xU FUtp te;jJ. ‘,J vd;d?’ vd vd; kfd; Nfl;lhd; ehd; FUtp vd;Nwd;. ,Nj Nghy; mtd; 21 Kiw Nfl;lhd; ehDk; rypf;fhky; gjpyspj;Njd;. NkYk; xt;nthUKiw mtd; Nfl;Fk; nghOJk; mtdJ mwpahikia epidj;J fl;bj;jOtp Kj;jkpl;Nld;.” mjph;e;J Nghdhd; kfd;. ,Utpehbfspy; jd; je;ijia mutizj;J Kj;jkpLfpwhd; fz;zPUld;. je;ijapd; njhe;juT jidaDf;F xU ghlk; Gfl;baJ. njhe;juT ntWk; njhy;iyay;y. Mdhy; ekJ Nfs;tpahd> njhiye;J tplhjpUf;f njhe;juT vg;gb cjTk;? vd;gjw;F gjpy; fpilf;ftpy;iyNa.!

    xU Ntis ,Jjhd; njhe;juth? jpUr;rp nry;tjw;fhf nrd;idapypUe;J kJiu nry;Yk; NgUe;jpy; Vwp tpOg;Guj;ij jhz;Lk; Kd;Ng jpUr;rp te;Jtpl;ljh vd elj;Jdhplk; Nfl;gJ my;yJ mjpfhiy %d;W kzpf;F jpz;Lf;fy; Ngha;r;NrUk; ,uapypy;> 12 kzpapypUe;J jpz;Lf;fy; te;Jtpl;ljh vd rfg;gazp ek;kplk; tpdTtJ. ,it ehk; rpe;jpj;Jf;nfhz;bUf;Fk; njhe;juTfs; my;y khwhf njhy;iyfshf ,Uf;fyhk;. Mdhy; njhe;juT vd;gJ Nrhjidfis cs;slf;fpaJ. ftiyapd;wp Mlk;gukhf thOk; tho;f;ifapy; ehk; $Wfpw njhe;juNth my;yJ NrhjidfNsh ,Uf;fhJ. Mdhy; ,it epiyahd tho;f;ifah? my;yJ epk;kjp jUk; tho;f;ifah? ,d;W epd;W epiyf;Fk; vJTk; Kd;G ntd;w Nrhjidfs;. md;W ‘NyhNuj;Njh’ fd;dpah; rigapy; ntWk; Mrphpauhf ,Ue;j mNj njuhrhitj;jhd; ,d;W cyfNk md;id njuhrhthf Nghw;Wfpd;wJ. mjw;F %yf;fhuzk; ahnjdpy; lhh;[pypq; nry;Yk; topapy; Vioapd; fz;zPiuf; fz;L jdf;Fs; Vw;gl;l njhe;juNt! md;id njrhtpw;F kl;Lky;y jpUr;rigapd; midj;J J}ath;fSf;Fk; ,e;j njhe;juT jhd; ,iwikapy; epiyf;fr; nra;jJ. jk];F efUf;F nry;Yk; Kd; Gdpj rpd;dg;gUf;F> vhpAk; Kl;Gjhpy; NkhaprDf;F vd ,e;j gl;bay; ePz;L nfhz;Nl nry;Yk;. ,iwkfDk; ,jw;F tpyf;fy;y. myif ek; Mz;ltiu Nrhjpj;jij ehk; midtUk; mwpNthk;. ,th;fs; midtUk; ,e;j njhe;juTfis njhy;iyfsha; vz;zp fz;Lnfhs;shky;> Nrhjidfsha; Vw;W ,d;W tho;tpy; mh;j;jk; fz;l rhjidfsh;fsha; cs;sdh;. Mdhy; ,d;iwa rKjhak; Mlk;gu  tho;f;ifia kl;LNk vz;ZfpwJ> tho;tpy; mh;j;jj;ijf; fhz kwe;JtpLfpwJ. njhy;iyia jtpu;f;f vz;zp njhiyNehf;F ghh;itia ,oe;JtpLfpwJ. mjdhy; fuLKulhd ghij njhe;juitj;jUk; vd;nwz;zp ,yf;fpid kwe;J ghij khwp njhiye;JtpLfpwJ. Mdhy; ,iwahl;rpapd; ghij kpfTk; fuLKulhdJ NkYk; mjd; thapy; ,Lf;fkhdJ vd ,iwkfd; ekf;F Fwpg;gpl;Ls;sJ epidtpw;F tuNtz;Lk;. ,t;thW ghijia njhiyj;JtplhjpUf;f ,iwtdpd; njhe;juT kpfTk; mtrpak;. rh;. gpuhd;rp]; l;Nuf;  xU cyfg;Gfo; ngw;wkhYkp mth; njd; mnkhpf;fh Nehf;fpa jdJ gazj;jpy; fLk;Gay; kw;Wk; nfhLikahd fhyepiyfisAk; jhz;b jdJ ,yf;fpid mile;jg;gpd; jdJ cyfwpAk; nrgj;jpid ftpijaha; vOJfpwhh;> “Mz;ltNu vd;id njhe;juT nra;Ak;…. Vnddpy; vd; tho;f;ifg; ghijia ehd; kwe;jplf; $Lk;.” miyapd; rPw;wj;jpYk; rPuha; gazpj;j mth; miyfopf;Fk; tho;f;ifapy; njhiye;JtplhjpUf;f flTisNa jd;id njhe;juT nra;a miof;fpwhh;. njhiye;JtplhjpUf;f njhe;juT nra;a ,d;Nw ,iwtid $g;gpLNthk;. md;W vNukpah ,iwthf;fpdh; ,iwtid Gfo;e;jJ Nghy;> “Mz;ltNu ePNu vd;id kaf;fptpl;Bh;> ehDk; kaq;fpg; NghNdd;.” (vNukpah 20:7) vd;W ehKk; mtuhy; njhe;juT nra;ag;gl;L Gfo;e;jpLNthk;. epk;kjpahd epiytho;tpy; njhiye;JtplhjpUf;f top fpilf;Fk;.

Spiritual Companionship: Don Bosco’s Devotion to Guardian Angel

 Don Bosco's Devotion to Guardian Angel

Inspite of having varied means of social networking the youth of today experience loneliness. For instance, a city adolescent once expressed to a psychiatrist that he had more than 300 friends on Facebook and yet felt being alone in life. It would be the same for many youngsters of this era. Thus man longs to have a companion to share his love. This is right, for “it is not good for man to be alone” (Gen 2:18). Don Bosco, who knew the signs of times, was aware of this fact. And so he encouraged the young of Turin to be guided by a companion that everyone possesses, a spiritual companion called the guardian angel. He would exhort his boys to have devotion to their guardian angels by reminding them: “Remember that you have an angel as a companion, guardian and friend.” In addition, the feast of the guardian angel was one of the solemn occasions to be celebrated with great devotion and in a grand manner.

This cry to promote devotion to the guardian angel did not fall on deaf ears rather the oratory youth had a profound devotion for these celestial beings. Don Bosco promoted this devotion in the oratory not with his attractive words or deft tricks but by miracles. An apprentice bricklayer who was regular at the oratory was working in a building. As he walked to and fro on the scaffolding, all of a sudden, a support was broken and the scaffolding collapsed. He along with two of his colleagues plunged from the fourth floor to the ground and while falling the boy was reminded of Don Bosco’s advice to invoke the help of the guardian angel in danger and he did so in a loud voice. Among the three, one died on the spot while another died on the way to the hospital. When the people rushed to the oratory boy believing him to be dead too, he got up and wiped his face a small scratch. The news of this miraculous escape spread among the other boys and it imbued in them a greater devotion to their heavenly guardians.

Following this incident in 1844 Don Bosco published a booklet, ‘The Devotee of the Guardian Angel’ which he began during his seminary days at the Convitto Ecclessiastico. In this little work he highly exalts the spiritual companionship of this heavenly custodian and included some counsels of the need for this devotion among the young. “When tempted turn immediately to your guardian angel and ask him with your heart: ‘My Guardian Angel help me now. Do not let me offend God’”, was one among the counsels.  He also explained how God’s goodness shines through Guardian Angels in their love and daily favours for us.

The Catholic Church has always upheld this devotion for centuries as the presence of the angles is evident in the Scripture from the book of Genesis to that of Revelation. Our Divine Saviour Himself acknowledges the presence of the angel, “In heaven their (little children’s) angels continually see the face of my Father in Heaven” (Mt.18:10).  The Fathers of the Church have given more insight about these celestial beings. St. Anselm, for example, affirms, “Every human soul is committed to an angel when it is united with the body.” The feast of Guardian Angel was instituted in 1670. The Church also recognizes the privilege of some holy people who had the grace of seeing their Guardian Angel with the mortal eyes. Blessed Joan of Cross had this privilege from her childhood. The guidance of the heavenly angel helped her find her religious vocation and later protected her from various dangers when she was the superior of the order. St. Frances of Rome too saw her Guardian Angel arms clasped on his breast with the eyes looking toward heaven. Whenever she failed in the slightest way, the angel would cover his face.

Don Bosco narrated these incidents to the boys and various episodes from the Bible connected with the Guardian Angel like Tobias and Archangel Raphael. He would say, "Take courage and pray; your guardian angel will also pray for you, and your prayers will be answered.”  He was convinced of this devotion from his childhood and expressed it on various occasions. When he started the third oratory at Vanchiglia he placed it under the patronage of the Guardian Angel. Another instance was in August 1844, when during a confession he advised praying to the Guardian Angel at the time of trouble and this miraculously saved the wife of the Portuguese ambassador on her way home just after the confession to Don Bosco. "Pray to your guardian angel. Invoke his aid if you should find yourself in any serious danger of body or soul, and I assure you that he will help and protect you," would be his constant sentence during the confession.

The devotion to the Guardian Angel is indispensible for the young to grow spiritually and morally. It is this celestial companion who has intimate and complete knowledge about the person under his care. And so the youth who seek to find their identity can implore the aid of their own Guardian Angel to know themselves earnestly. This spiritual companionship gives counsel in confusion, guidance in danger and so on.  Although the angel cannot touch the will of man he only prompts one to choose the will of God. Hence, this devotion must be nurtured from childhood. Moreover, the devotion helps all Christians to walk in the Divine presence and to reach their ultimate destiny.

The Salesian tradition has faithfully held this devotion in high esteem following Don Bosco. The feast of the Guardian Angels is celebrated as the feast of the Assistants and praying to the Guardian Angel before a journey and/or going to rest, are some gestures of honouring the heavenly companion. As we are meditating upon the spirituality of Don Bosco during the third year in preparation for the Bicentenary of his birth, we could do well to reflect on and inculcate this devotion.

Three special days that Don Bosco suggests to pray to the Guardian Angel are every Tuesday (as the church suggests), the first day of the month (to seek protection through out the month) and on one’s birthday (the day on which the angel took charge).  

O My God (Hindi movie) : Movie analysis

                                         Movie Analysis : O My God (Hindi-2012)

1. Production Particulars:

Movie Name:             OMG: Oh My God

Director:                     Umesh Shukla

Story, Screen Play

& Dialogue:                Bhavesh Mondalia, Umesh Shukla

Music Composer:       Himesh Reshammiya

Production Year:        2012

Original Source:         1. From a Gujarati play” Kishan Vs Kanhaiya”

                                    2. From the Movie “The Man Who Sued God” 

                                       By The Original View Films Production                 

                                       Directed by Mark Jotte (Original Writer) and  

                                       written by John Clarke

Producers:                  Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Dr. B.K Modi

                                    Grazing Goat Pictures

                                    Play Time Creation

                                    Spice Studios                                      

Main Actors:              Akshay Kumar (Krishna Vasudev Yadav)

                                    Paresh Rawal (as Kanji Bhai)

2. Plot Analysis:

OMG is a story of Kanji a protagonist who discovers his faith through the mishaps and unfortunate occurrences of his life. He undergoes a transition of atheism to belief in God. This transition is done not with the ordinary events of life but with the supernatural event of God coming in person. He loves his life and his family. His business is that of selling idols of various gods. He makes fun of these as he buys them for a very small price and fools the gullible fanatics by selling them for large sums, of how it was unearthed hundreds of years ago in famous temples. He is literally laughing all the way to the bank, when the Gods decide to reprimand him.  Kanjilal is a self-proclaimed protagonist and an atheist. But his own wife maintains a small temple space and believes in the power of prayers and fasting. Most of his scorn is expressed through witty banter and dismissive conclusions. Much to all-round horror, he drags his family off a religious function which instigated many saffron religious leaders. His so called blasphemy brings God’s wrath, as it is said by the same leaders, his shop is destroyed, leaving him facing near ruin. The insurance company calls it an 'act of god', that serves the heathen right. But Kanji bhai decides to make a fight of it, and demands divine justice, and that's what the rest of it is about. Although it talks of God it can be categorized into commercial.  The climax message is to perceive God as love rather than a dictator whom to be afraid of.    

3. Technical Analysis:

The Hollywood styles of camera angles are used in various instances especially during the introduction of Akshay Kumar as God. The motorbike resembles of the Hollywood movie Ghost Rider. The characters for spiritual leaders are rightly chosen. But the disciples of the leaders are not fitting in the context especially while introducing Leeladhar, the lady disciple who gives unnecessary smile while worshipping. Background music gives more weight tot the whole plot and the typical Bollywood (Mumbai Cinema) music is found in the first song.

4. Sociological Analysis:

 The basic problem of faith and reason is well portrayed in the movie. Though it deals with religion in general the more focus is on Hinduism. The values of new age spirituality are shown with its positive as well as negative ideologies.  Some principles are morally good but the piety and rituals are at stake in this movie. There is no right reason is shown for cult and rituals. Thus it may lead the mass to the misunderstanding of meaningless worship. The courtroom scene where Kanji bhai takes on the lawyer and spiritual gurus and priests is hilarious and insightful. Same as the television show where he is the guest. His views transforms even the television anchor, who started by putting him on the mat with her direct line of questioning.

 5. Education through Film:

God must be given prime importance but how do we give is the main lesson to be learnt from this movie. God is a personal choice and open to interpretation. His origins are undefined and range from mystical to scientific. He is someone with whom we are deeply conditioned to have faith in and never to question.  Religion is man-made. Its original purpose was to function as a discipline and technique, guiding the progress of spiritual conscience, before its ideals were completely distorted to set up a dogmatic rulebook of blind devotion, intimidating myths and ritualistic lifestyle.  OMG-O My God creates a hard-hitting premise where its lead protagonist decides to dispute this rigid system by dragging God and the business of religion to court. The newly sprouting godmen and godwomen are portrayed mostly as unauthentic. Since the spiritual gurus are getting prominence in this century it could be a help for the people to choose the right and the authentic ones.

Critical Evaluation:

Being a commercial movie the primary aim of the film O My God should be of earning money and yet this has a message to be delivered to all who believe in God. In this present scenario of rising conservatism and religious extremism this film has a daring approach to religious practices. Could a filmmaker be brave enough to take on all those thousands of outraged souls who would be shown up for what they indulge in daily doing: all sorts of immoral things and then demanding expiation from their deities? 

It must be true that the whole credit for the movie goes to the terrific Paresh Rawal who takes almost the whole attention of the audience all along the movie. But there is no sign of character fatigue or repetition. Armed with superb writing and a keen understanding of Kanji's convictions and qualms, the actor grabs his viewer's attention from start to finish. But the let parts are taken by Akshay who comes as a Hindu diety – Krishna, in modern attire. There are also enough smiles to keep us going even when things get humdrum and repetitive clichéd representations of greedy godmen and sultry sadus. Oh My God strives to seek metaphors between Kanji's absence of faith and an ardent struggle to expose the ugly face of the ridiculously rich godmen and their widespread political connections. All of this, of course, is very effective and so the message is both relevant and entertaining. 

The powerful dialogue and sharp logic richly articulated in Kanji's furious criticism of callous wastage of resources, discrimination in devotion and ridiculous expenditure under the pretext of grand customs and hollow traditions is one of the praiseworthy aspects of this movie. The final message, God is love, sounds like Christianity. Moreover, the biblical message from the Gospel of Mathew 23:27, the words of Jesus: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs”, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside is full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. Through this message he shocks the radicals with his simple truth of love against their mockery of concern. The film communicates God in a personality which is not the god of Vedas especially the ṅirguna Brahman of Ṥaṅkara.  And our relationship with God should be with love not out of fire.

ṅirguna Brahman of Ṥaṅkara.  And our relationship with God should be with love not out of fire.

The profound reason for the atheistic view of Rawal is the lack of real spirituality. Because spirituality should be transmitted into ordinary life events but it is not the case in the movie and so being a protagonist he does not believe in God. On the contrary he turns over a new leaf at the end to be a believer but with the supernatural event of God healing him in person. This means no hope for the atheists in the world to believe in God unless he comes in person.

Kudos to director Umesh Shukla and his entire cast and crew for the movie with divine message for the world.

Survey on Media and Religion

Survey on Media and Religion

The questionnaire for the survey:

Focus: How does media affect the identity of brothers in formation?

1. How does media affect the prayer-life of a religious?

          Enhancing                      Blocking                      No effect

2. In what ways media affect the life-style of a religious?

     Dressing

     Food

     Entertainment

     Language

     Other 

3. How does media affect the relationship among brothers?

     Helps to understand each other

     Gives a negative opinion in general about other

     No effect

4. What are the effects that media have on the way people treat religious in your ministry place?

     Positive                      Negative                     No effect

5. What role does media (e.g. cinema, print media, mass media, etc.) play in shaping our identity as religious?

Survey Report

Focus: How does media affect the identity of brothers in formation?

Sample group: 15 Brothers of Divyadaan and 5 Novices of Salesian Training Institute

Introduction:

“We cannot but communicate” is an undeniable dictum of media. Media is not just an inevitable factor of life but is the factor that makes man a part of society. With this in our background our focus is on the brothers in religious formation. Thus this survey portrays the effect that media has in the identity of brothers in formation.

Survey Analysis:

While media has an influence in the different domains of human life this survey brings the specific sectors of  brothers in formation namely prayer-life, lifestyle, relationship and ministry.

Prayer life is an essential aspect of a religious. The survey says that media has an effect in prayer life and yet only 20 percent in a positive manner and 50 percent of people have negative opinion about media’s influence in prayer life of religious formation. External distractions and the change of ideas about prayer life are the main causes for the majority of negative attitude. Moreover, 30 percent of people have acknowledged that it depends on the people and so it is not possible for media to have effect in prayer life.

Lifestyle is one of the important aspects that is much affected by media. Media has its repercussion in different habits like dressing, food, leisure and entertainment and language. But the survey has a sanguine attitude towards the media’s effect on lifestyle of brothers with 50 percentage. On the contrary, 30 percent people are of negative opinion on media’s effect in the identity of brothers. Only a few have no answer for its effect.

Relationship is not much affected by media in the lives of brothers in formation. 50 percent says that media has no effect in brothers’ relationship and 30 percent of the opinion of the negative effect of media’s role in their lives.  

Ministry is affected 40 percent positively and 30 percent negatively by media in the identity of brothers as religious. And 30 percent have given their opinion of no effect of media in brothers’ identity.

The different fields of media namely cinema, print media, mass media, etc. affect the identity both positively and negatively. It gives the optimistic image especially when the charitable works and the contribution to the society like working for justice, peace, unity and so forth.   

On the other hand, the media also projects the religious in a negative manner. In Indian context, the media especially the mass media always give more importance to the errors committed by religious. Dr. A.P.J.Abdul kalam expressed in his three visions for India that Indian media is so negative. In fact, media itself provides opportunity to error especially the social networks. Moreover, the charitable acts of the religious are interpreted with the wrong motives. For example, religious educational institutes are projected as money-making business.

  

Conclusion:

In nut shell, media affects the identity of religious in different ways and means. Our concern of, the identity of brothers in formation, is also shaped as well as challenged by media. But media must be handled with the progressive intention as media itself rich in resource. And media on its part should be of productive rather than destructive. When the productive media is used with the progressive mind it can be of a great help to give a better identity for the religious in the society.