Spiractuality

Spirituality. A word often used by many to convey different concepts. Right from following a specific religion or worshiping a certain god, to different precise practices within the same religion, spirituality encompasses these all and more.


But if I add another word to ‘spirituality’, it takes up a whole different meaning. The word I would like to add is ‘Catholic’.


Catholic Spirituality: The beautiful means of combining the inner search for God with our actions. The pathway to know, show and grow in Faith by, through and in union with the Holy Spirit.


Catholic Spirituality is a rich well to draw from. A search in Wikipedia will give you some 18 different forms of Catholic Spirituality. And I am sure there are more.


You as an individual may follow one or more of these spiritualities. Some may be Benedictine, others Carmelite, or Charismatic, Ignatian, Franciscan or a combination of these, whichever suits you the best! All of these forms aspire to achieve the same goal. A Faith bound union with God.


A week or so ago, I asked myself a question. Do I just use my ‘spirituality’ during the time of prayers and worship evenings? Does being a Charismatic mean only to shout ‘Hallelujah’s’ in prayer meetings?


Yes, spirituality does mean praying in a certain way, a specifically drawn path to reach out to the Higher Being during our hours of prayer and meditation. But that does not mean that the spirituality we follow is only restricted to our ‘prayer life’.


As St. James truly said:


“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

Do you actually make your spirituality a way of your life? Is your Dominican /Benedictine /Francisan /Charismatic /Carmelite /Ignatian /Whatever spirituality reflected in your daily activities that you do in life? Do you drive like Charismatic, speak like a Carmelite, work like a Franciscan?

We, who are not suffering from bipolar disorder, should stop living a double life and let our faith inspire our action. Let your SPIRITUALITY be SPIR’ACTUALITY’.

So tell me, which spiractuality do you follow?

5 Benefits of Fasting

Fast

Fasting is what most will take up this season of Lent. Fast as a form of spiritual discipline has been a part of human history from times unknown. A general definition of a fast would be to abstain from any form of food during the day.

But why fast? How does it help us? What will change if we go on on a hungry stomach for an entire day?

As I pondered upon these questions, new avenues opened up in front of me, and slowly I grew in understanding the meaning of keeping a fast.

1) It shows your body who's the boss: So do you want to be under the flesh or under the spirit? If I act on my every physical urge, my soul is being controlled by my body. We are spiritual beings, our bodies are just an instrument for us to use while we live in this mortal world. Just as a mother withholds the candy from a wayward child, so do we have to withhold food from our bodies, to remind it, that our spirit is in charge.

2) Deferred Gratification: In this instant gratification world. we want to pitch ourselves as the center of the universe and want to work only to fulfill our own demands. Here fasting, builds a selfless, in-control character, where not answering to hunger pangs is a beautiful way to give our own selves a second seat and concentrate on other things.

3) It makes you more sensitive: How would I know the pain of the hungry, if I've never experienced hunger myself? Not only hunger, if practiced correctly fasting will also sensitize you to a lot of other forms of pains that people go through.

4) It frees up time: How often have you cried about the lack of time in your life? Well, fasting has a solution for you! It saves a lot of time during the day if we do not eat our daytime meals. So all the time saved from eating and planning breakfasts and lunches can now be used for a better purpose.

5) No big deal: It shows us that going without food for half a day isn't going to kill anyone. Fasting makes us realize that it is not a big deal to not have food, to remain hungry, to deny any treats offered to us. Yes, we can do it, we can say NO to food without any harm. Its no big deal.

Cannot resist saying:

Man does not live on bread alone!

The Champion

There was a Roman emperor, tall and smart and handsome, as any Roman emperor should be. The emperor had a champion. He was strong, wise and very powerful, he had never failed in any battle, whosever’s side he would be on, victory would be certain.

Now the emperor had a bitter enemy, many a times he had struck on the emperor’s kingdom and most of the time it had been without warning. The champion would always be sent to deal with the enemy’s army, and each time the champion returned victorious.

Time passed, and the victories over this enemy created a false pride and assurance in the emperor’s mind.  He now felt that his enemy was weak and could be easily thwarted. And so it once happened that the enemy struck again, in the middle of the night, and had set on fire half the emperor’s barns, the emperor in his fury set out to meet the enemy.

They fought, and the emperor realized that the enemy was stronger than he had expected him to be. The emperor lost the battle and half his kingdom, he barely just escaped death. The champion, so long had been in his chamber, waiting for the emperor to summon him. But the summons never came.

Bruised and tired, the emperor returned to his remaining territory. And as time went by, he again began ruling the kingdom with a faulty faith in himself, assuring his own heart that the last battle was won by the enemy just by sheer luck and the next time when the enemy would strike, the emperor would be ready to face him and defeat him.

Again one afternoon, the army of the enemy came marching upto the castle, challenging the emperor to an open battle. The emperor poured out every soldier from his castle and went into battle with the enemy. What a fierce battle it was! Blood and death, fire and destruction! The castle was looted, all the valuables stolen, this time too the emperor had to leave all behind and run for his life, this time too he had forgotten to call his champion.

He ran up the hills, with the horse-men of the enemy hot on his tail. All hope was lost, the kingdom had fallen into enemy hands, and his life too was at their mercy. Up the hill and into the thatch of bushes he went, and hid in the shadows beside the lake. The horse-men, still in wild search for their quarry. Then the emperor’s eye’s fell on someone at the other end of the lake, he drew a little closer to get a better look, and with a rush of gratitude recognized that standing at the other end was his champion!

He called out to his champion, and the champion answered. Within an hour the horse-men following the emperor were slaughtered, and in the coming 3 days the entire kingdom was won back.

The people rejoiced and so did the emperor, and he also realized that from now on he would let the champion face the enemy.

Are we like the emperor? Who goes out to meet the enemy without his champion? Do we too go out to meet the temptations without our Champion, Jesus Christ? Are you the one who has now lost all the battles against the temptations in life and are now running here and there to save your life? Jesus, the champion, won the biggest battle in 3 days. Let Him face your enemy each time he strikes.

My Quotes V

More quotes from me!

• If you want flowers falling on your head, do not stand under a coconut tree.
• Before throwing dirt on someone, did you realize you must dirty your own hands first?
• Googling things up on a subject does not make you an expert!
• Laughter is the defrost button for a cold heart.
• Never go against the flow, of your conscience.
• Engineering: The science of developing man-made things by God-given gifts.
• Do not justify your rigidness by calling yourself a conservative.

IT IS SO EASY

It is so easy for people with a fairer complexion to tell their dark counterparts to not feel bad about their complexions, but do know how it feels to stand in a mall beside a clothing rack knowing more than half the colors will clash with your skin tone?


It is so easy for the one who's never been on the fatter side to tell their plump and overweight friends that size doesn't matter, have you ever been at the butt end of all the fatty-jokes?


It is so easy to tell your financially less fortunate friend that money has no value, but have you ever lived a life where you have to give up half of your needs because you cannot afford them?


It is so easy for us English speaking crowd to tell others that knowing English is not that important, have you ever been laughed at your limited knowledge and understanding of the international language?


It is so easy for the popular socialites  to tell a shy loner that being surrounded by people all the time isn't really that important, have you ever spent a new year's eve sitting alone and being ignored?




I have just mentioned 5 blessings. There are more. But the point I want to drive home is, that for us fortunate few who have so many graces and blessings that we were born with, we tend to downplay the other person's pains and heartaches. Yes skin tone, money, weight, language and social skills may not be everything in life, but the world we live in has put a lot of importance in these outward things, let us not dismiss other people's agony and affliction, but let us fill those empty spots with love, consideration and sensitivity. 

Gujarati Moments of my life

Real moments of my life.

Gujju uncle to mom: Tamari baby bou single che...

Me(thinking): Of course single che, I am 15, do you expect me to be committed at such a young age?

Mom: Haa... Game tetalu khavdavo to pan patadi j rahe che!

Me(enlightened!): Oh... you mean slim.


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Gujju girl to me: Hu 'what' aapi ne avi, te apyo?

Me: what???

Gujju girl(showing her index finger marked with ink): Arey 'what' yaar...

Me(enlightened again!): Oh! Vote...


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Scene: College AV room, gujju student presenting a topic to gujju sir.

Me - sleeping in the class room

Gujju student - presenting with ultra confidence

Gujju sir - looking for some reason to corner gujju student

Gujju Sir(loudly): But how does it know which John to use?

Gujju Student(Even louder): It does this polling and selects a John closer and perfect to use!!!

Me(wide awake and wondering): John? What is John doing in a computer science subject?

Gujju Sir(exasperated): And how do we know the John is the one to use?

Me extremely confused look up at the projected slide to realize our John is actually a... ZONE!

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Gujju Gal 1: Rujuta, mari jode peejho leva chalne...

Me(stumped): Peejho?

Gujju Gal 1: Haa peejho! Bou j bhukh lagi che...

Gujju Gal 2(whispering in my ears): She means pizza!

Me: OHHHH....! Chalo..!

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Scene: Me and lighting guy discussing how to set lighting for an event.

Me: I want this particular area to be highlighted, the others lights must be off, only this area should be illuminated.

Lighting Guy: Ok ma'am, I will get fox lights to do the work.

Me: Are you sure, these fox lights will work?

Lighting Guy: Ofcourse ma'am they will, check this out!

Lighting guy demonstrated a spotlight thingy, and fox turned out to be the Gujarati version of FOCUS

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Scene: English classes going on in college. Professor has just asked the students to translate 'Mummy e jamavanu banavyu.' into English. Many hands are raised up to give the answer, professor selects one confident looking girl.

Professor: Yes, tell me the English of that sentence.

Girl(with lots and lots of confidence): Mother was cooked!

Me - the only student in class banging the desk and howling with laughter, as the confident girl stares defiantly not knowing where she went wrong...


Note: All of above incidences have been related here in the lightest of the light manner, even though if I have offended someone I am sorry. If you still feel offended, go find yourself some good sense of humor. 

About cats, classes and X-Men!

"So, what do you do in these Catechism classes..?"

"Well... they teach us about Jesus, and bible and prayers, and we watch movies about Jesus' life, and learn new songs and all that!"

"Oh... I thought they teach you how to catch cats!!!"


Yes, I actually had this conversation with a boy in my class when I was at school. I don't remember exactly in which year, but I assure you we both were no more than 10years old. Oh those lovely innocent days of childhood! Since I studied in a convent school, catholic students had a special catechism class every week. I remember feeling all special and different, leaving behind most of my classmates to go attend that half an hour of separate teachings with the select few.

I was ever so proud to be different, to know more about Jesus Christ than the rest of my classmates, to belong to a slightly different group, to have regular confessions and prayers and re-re-re-re-re-screening of Jesus of Nazareth to look forward to, to know how to recite 'Hail Mary..' in addition to the 'Our father' that the rest of my class knew. I loved being privileged.

But as I grew older, I loathed being different, I had this desire to blend in, to be just like every one else. I did not want to be 'Christian' and tell the truth all the time, just to end up earning ridicule from my friends. I did not want to show off how many prayers I knew, in fact, I did not want to show I prayed at all, what would the others think?

I started up catching the worldly cats instead, no more feeling special, proud, chosen. And once when I was recalling my childhood days, the above mentioned memory came into my mind! I want back that pride, that feeling of being special, of showing off to the world that I know Christ and I am different.

A dialog from X-Men: First Class comes to my mind.

Mutant! And proud!.

I want to say:

Christian! And Proud!