Broken Dream

Let me live one more time 

To dream the dream 

Noble life so divine

Ultimate challenge so cruel 

Life's beyond ponder 

Clueless heart innocent 

Bleeding in painful agony 

Finding solace in sadness 

Someone says dream big 

A dream turned fantasy 

Life's enemy worst 

Being's utter helplessness 

Oh! Pain so wonderous 

Sqeezeth life divine 

Love's dream to dream 

Just a broken dream 

Armless on commercial arm

Every city in the world has its commercial street. It's an incentive for us to visit any city in the world. This street attracts many people who either buy from the finest brands in the world or like me take a stroll for a window shopping. The glowing lights and colors of these streets tantalize our consumerist veins. Every material we gaze shows us how important for us to have it. In other words without it we will be lost. Hence there is a longing to fulfill our desires to have one or the other. There is a boom in the income of the people, that is because of the better job opportunities in the world. Wallets have swollen to the full; economy has surpassed it's bad times and has put money in people's pockets. In turn people empty the wallets  in these huge commercial streets. Therefore there is a flow in the economy. It becomes a cycle of spending and receiving. As an economist I tend to incline my article towards economical issues of the people. But my aim is not to dwell too much on it for this is not an exhortation on the subject. I would like give a food for our thought, as I was strolling through Bangalore's biggest commercial street Mahatma Gandhi Road, my eyes went to an armless poor person in the corner of a big designer shop waiting for the crumbs to fall from masters table. He is so poor that he didn't even have a proper clothing in the chilly evening and the irony is that he is right in the corner of a designer clothing shop. He has a small mat on which spread a few coins. What drew my attention was that there were a few coins of British sterling. This is the scenario of an armless poor beggar. I wanted to get close to him and have a small chat about everything. So I gave him some money so that I can get close to him. He looked cheerful to talk to me for I was the only person spoke to him for the day among millions people who walk this street. I was curious to know whether he knew the silver with brown coated coins. He said it's foreign money, well he knew that much. But he had no idea how much that two pounds worth Indian rupees. It would be around one hundred and sixty rupees. Now that's a lot of money for the beggar. I was curious as to where and how he would exchange those foreign coins. He told me a place and he said they give something and I take it. It's like something better than nothing. 

Two things that engulfed my mind that day, firstly, every fat wallet people failed to see the people in need, who didn't even have a proper access to clothing. A country can be rich for some and poor for the others. A country can showcase itself as rich by showing the best stock exchange booming bars, that is the reality of India. It is a country growing in its leaps and bounds for the global economy. It is in the spotlight where every one has this illusion that India will be super rich nation in few years time. I think it's time to look inward to our people who live without the proper basic necessities of life. It's time to invest in our people rather than looking for some multinational companies who take out from the pot. Let's build our economy for ourselves and let us not build it to show to the world how super power we are. 

Secondly, poor beggar was ignorant how much income he had, rather he was content with what he had. This is the reality that poor people are robbed of what they have. At the cost of the poor another builds their mansions and sky scrappers. Poor have feel the brunt because they are honest and genuine people. They know not how to make money through crooked ways. That is why poor remains poor and rich become even more richer. This world is full of irony. 

Can we break this irony and make it indiscriminatory reality? Can we come out of the illusion that we could be rich for the world whilst we have our backyard to be cleared first? I leave with two questions.    

An Asian missionary to Asia

One time I was challenged by the immigration officer at the Mumbai international airport whilst I was traveling to Guyana. The officer asked me a question with smug look on his face, why are you going abroad to be a missionary? Don't you think we have enough work right here in India? 

This was an indication for that we have a lot to do to bring religious unity in our country. Pope John Pual II expressed as he declared St. Joseph Vaz a blessed, "An Asian missionary to Asia." It is true Asia and particularly India is the cradle of religions. It is true that there is a religious allegiance to their respective gods. It is true Asia celebrates life with religious thrust to it. It is also true that we have a rise in the number of Catholics and particularly there is a boom in the priestly vocation. Hence there is demand for the Indian priests and religious to go to the west in order to stored the gospel. Let me reflect with you on the significance of religious people in a religion-full continent. 

St. Joseph Vaz was a devout priest in the mid eighteenth century who became the first saint of Sri Lanka. He went to Sri Lanka amidst the persecution by the colonialists who were Calvinists. The Dutch colonials drove out the Portuguese missionaries and killed the Catholics. Hence Sri Lanka became a strong Calvinist country where Catholicism saw its demise. It is at this situation St Joseph Vaz makes his silent entry into Mannar region of Sri Lanka. It was not easy task for this saint to preach the good news because Catholics were in hiding. He adapts himself as 'coolie', a laborer in order to reach out to the poor. He wore just the loin cloth in order to identify himself with the laborers. It is said that he even hid his Mass kit in his loin cloth for the fear of adversaries. He struggled to bring back the catholic faith for about twenty six years. It is when St Joseph Vaz prayed for rain, the miracle of rain happened. This incident changed the mind of the Buddhist king. He gained the protection of this non-Christian King, Vimaladharma Surya II. With this he finds a stronghold to spread the faith. He used Inculturation as a missionary method. He founded a Catholic para-liturgy and literature using the two languages and cultures of Sri Lanka, Tamil and Sinhalese; he practiced and taught Meditation.

Pope Francis canonizing Blessed Joseph as said exclaimed, "Saint Joseph shows us the importance of transcending religious divisions in the service of peace." Sri Lanka is a multi-religious country and it is crucial to work towards unity of every religions. It applies to every country. Religiously motivated violence is escalating in our times. Every religion proves that it's important and superior

to other religion. God's love has faded from the religion and man made radical doctrines have taken its roots. Hence man has become God and in the name of God so many divisive atrocities have destroyed the nations and its people. There is a silent decline of many young people from going to religious gatherings. As a young person what do you feel about religion? Every young person would like to have peace of mind as they achieve their goals in this competitive world. If religion brings them sheer sadness and division why would they feel to come to religious events. If we don't work and unite our young, our work will go in vain. First of all our young needs to know that we all believe in one God and that God is a sign of unity. Religion is supposed to bring unity and peace. We need to work strenuously like St. Joseph Vaz so that every hard hearted persons may be drown towards God, God of unity and peace. 

 

Triune God

Triune God of Allah Jesus Rama

Come down right now 

Your world beguiled by terror

Holiness lost in its worst 

Creature turned into creator

Mankind hath lost its humanity

Innocent blood calleth thou art

Blood that spills over the sacred

Humanity at its fall 

Little infants slain sacrificed 

Religion that dies injustice

Bringeth despair and division

Raiseth sword in triumph 

Cutteth every little throat

As libation for the gods of evil 

Triune God show thou power 

Our hearts are bruised 

Dripping drops of bloodshed

Wetting the noble humanity 

Seems evil has triumphed 

God of hosts come down now

Time has elapsed since I pleaded

I see strips of blood along my dream

A dream wanted to see honey

Oh! How have I lost Thee 

Poem written after the brutal massacre that happened in the school on Pakistan.