Food For Thought

Dear One,

One author who has influenced my way of thinking and living was the late Jesuit priest, Father Anthony De Mello. He was a man of wonderful stories; simple short nuggets of wisdom, enough to create a cataclysmic change of perception and destroy habitual barriers. His style of writing was direct, hard hitting and unsparingly transparent. He was a catalyst of change who made organized orthodoxy squeal in discomfort by his unconventional wisdom.

I remember the days when I used to bunk college and go to a local library to devour his books with blissful oblivion. Once, the aged librarian who used to log my frequent visits and my choice of books, gave me a wonderful piece of literary advice. He said, "Books are the food for thought. You should select hem carefully, eat them slowly, chew them thoughtfully and digest them completely. Else they can arrest your mind."

Those were the days of true education; secular in no sense, but education nonetheless. What I learnt then, remains with me till date. It has become a part of my very being. True education is practical and lifelong, the rest are just matter of facts.

Very few writers have a soul in their writings. They have the power to catapult your imagination to unimaginable heights. They touch your very being with their soulful writings and stir a revolution of sorts within you. A writer, according to me is a dealer of dreams. They help you add color to your black and white dreams. A soulful writer makes you a part of their inner world, binding you to something very delicate and personal.

Few authors, like Father Anthony De Mello have managed to capture my imagination, others being Paulo Coehlo and Richard Bach to name a few. Their writings inspires you to believe the unbelievable and dream the impossible. I too, someday, wish to evolve as a writer whose writings has the power to inspire and transform lives.

I leave you with some of the best writings of Father Anthony De Mello for you to ponder and enjoy.

a) When it became clear that the Master was going to die, the disciples were depressed.
Said the Master smilingly,

"Don't you see that death gives loveliness to life"?
"No. We'd much rather you never died".
"Whatever is truly alive must die.
Look at the flowers; only plastic flowers never die".

b) All questions at the public meeting that day were about life beyond the grave. The Master only laughed and did not give a single answer. To his disciples, who demanded to know the reason for his evasiveness, he later said, "Have you observed that it is precisely those who do not know what to do with this life who want another life that will last forever"?
"But is there life after death or is there not"? persisted a disciple.
"Is there life before death? — that is the question"! said the Master enigmatically.

c) To a visitor who described himself as a seeker after Truth the Master said, 

"If what you seek is Truth, there is one thing you must have above all else".
"I know. An overwhelming passion for it".
"No. An unremitting readiness to admit you may be wrong".

Peace in oneself - Peace in the world