Journal of Spiritual Faith

1. Vol 26 - No.12Nov-Dec-Jan 2016
This new year has already been quite a trial already, not only for me but for nearly
everyone I know. Everyone seems afflicted by pain and sorrow and loss. We can
only sincerely hope and pray for peace and harmony as these horrible days go by.
Life will always be filled with ups and downs, and happiness, like unhappiness,
shall soon pass. I hope all the terrible things happening across the world will pass
too,andthatthenewyearmaybeonefilledwithhappiness.
I was fortunate enough to recently spend time chatting with my Grand-Aunt, on a
short visit to my family home. Maggi Bai, as she is fondly known, is a gracious,
well-spoken lady who will soon be a grand old 96 years old!! She is full of humour
and active enough at her age, despite, as she says, having broken many bones across
the ages. Her guiding mantra over these many, many years has been her faith in God
and her prayers. These have helped her through all her troubles and trials and today
she is filled with contentment. I think that is how I would like to grow old someday:
to be able to look back on my life, content. To not bitterly regret, or be sad or angry
forwhatmighthavebeen.
So in this new year, I ask you all to join your hands in prayer, as loud or as silent as
you choose. Let us pray for peace, for forgiveness and for tolerance; for a brighter,
happier tomorrow and for Grace for each of us who has suffered loss and pain
recently.
One of the many things I am praying hard for is that everyone receives their copy of
this issue.The number of returns and copies not received is terribly sad! I really pray
that the usually infallible Indian Post returns to her old glory as the bearer of good
news and tidings from far away. For all the delays in sending this to you, please
forgiveme!
WishingyouallayearblessedwithAbundance&Joy,
Raadhika Dosa D'Cruz
1
NEW YEAR PRAYER

2. MAILBOX
2
DearMadam,
Afriend of mine just happened to hand
me the booklet and asked me to read
The mustard See. I was delighted to do
the same. Thank you and may God
blessallyourefforts,
DellaD'Souza, Pune
I was lucky enough to get a copy of
TMS at one of the events I attended
recently. Going through the May 2015
issue I found that it was indeed a
journal of creative faith. I would like to
congratulate the entire Team for this
effort.
Since I am an environment friendly
person, I would like to help save paper
byreceivingTMS online.
Regards,
Raunak Mahesh (Student)
HeyRaadhika!
Congratulations! On taking over the
mantle of doing something so
awesome.
I loved the universal multicultural
appealintheissues youveattached.
Wish you all the best in getting your
perspective to make The Mustard Seed
even more wholesome, beneficial and
heartwarmingtoitsreaders.
DhirajAthavale
Raadhika!
Congrats! It's a unique publication.
I've managed to read only a few articles
andI'mhooked.
KatieHoosein
I am happy to have come across nice
journal of TMS. Thank you for
wonderful work. I would request you
tosendmeonlineissuetothesameid.
AnilPaul
Heartfelt Congratulations to you for
your Mustard Seed finally. A way to
reach God by words, thoughts which
create compassion and love. As you
mentioned about this coming up during
your sabbatical where there was a
question of a search, I feel so thankful
to you for sending me this to read and
know more about God and myself, my
soul…..to get answers for my quest or
my state of confusion .... at the start of
my new phase in life. I was reading
your paper with so many people
publishing their thoughts about God,
life ,with philosophies…sending vibes
of positivity that I just kept reading it
for an hour without realizing. Thank
you,
Vasudha Patni
I receive regular copies of TMS and
take great delight in them. Once I have
finished reading it, I pass it on to my
dad and anyone else who would like to
readit.
ShirleyAdajania,Mumbai
We shall not cease from exploration,
and the end of all our exploring will be
to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.
- T.S.Eliot
You're not less happy with too little than with too
much.
- JosemariaEscrivas, saint

3. THE TREE OF LOVE
How do we act toward God ? Do we really believe in Him and take pride in acknowledging
Him? Or do we hide our belief away?
- Catherine Doherty, inRe-entry into Faith
3
S o m e t i m e s e v e n t h e o l d e s t
relationships must undergo fresh
beginnings, as the inner weather has
changedinbothpeopleconcerned.
2015 has been a year of many people
dropping out of my life and while new
additions are different from what I had
in the past, I am not bitter about their
passingawayfrommylife.
They came in dressings of expectations
from my eyes and although, they were
physically the same face as I
remembered from my past, their inner
weather had changed as did mine. I lost
school friends and new friends I had
foundontheway,asItravelledalong.
In short, it was a watershed year in my
life.
Did I find new friends to substitute for
what I lost? The answer is no. I realized
there is already abundance in my life
and the falling out of a few, made my
journey lighter. The bones are weary
and the flesh unyielding now. So, I am
again grateful for their coming and their
sharing,includingtheirquietretreat.
Ahead, lies a road, clear and bright,
with a brightWhite Light at the end. It is
the vision I was shown in my dream,
when I first visited Khwaja Garib
Nawaz inAjmer, three years ago, where
the Sufi Saint, Moinuddin Chishti
(1141 – 1236 AD), also known by the
othername,was laidtorest.
So out of this already existing
abundance within me, I am grateful that
He is taking care of me, without my
having to do anything, He is making
choices for me with regard to whom I do
not need any more in my life, for neither
I have the discretion nor the will to
know whatisbestforme,now.
Along the way, I can only bear what
neither I, nor the other are deeply
attached to by love and equally by
abhorrence. I can only bear a light
acquaintance, which is intense when we
are together and leaves no residue to
cogitateordealwith,whenwepart.
The autumn leaves don't remain on
trees;theymoveonintheirjourney.
By Julia Dutta
AUTUMN LEAVES
ThisistheTreeofLove-
Birdsinplenty,
fromtheSparrow totheEagle
ClusteraroundIt's branches.
TheyenlivenIt's being
With their light flutter and merry
twitter;
TheTreetriestofulfil
Theirindividualwants.
Theymaketheirnests
Inthenooks ofIt's heart
(temporary,though);
For soon, theTreeknows,
Theymustgoback
Totheirown home-nests.
ThisisallthattheTreecherishes:
Afeatherhere, astrawthere.
Kusum Gokarn

4. 4
THE LEGACY OF JANICE SMITH
Janice Patricia Smith was a true Panchgani-ite. Her great grandparents were one of
the pioneering families of this town. The Campion Smiths were here for four
generations before Independence, a claim few local families can make. They
arrived when the road from Wai was just a cart track, and people came up in tongas,
phaetons or on horseback, escorted by a team of “beaters” who made loud banging
noisestoscareawaythetigersandpanthersthataboundedinthosedays.
They made Panchgani their home, married, had children, grandchildren and great
grand children in Gold Mohur Villa, adjacent to BelAir Hospital. Janice's great
grandfather, William Frederick Campion Smith was the Warden of St.Peter's
Church for 26 years. He and his wife Harriet were married at Mahabaleshwar in
1862,whenitwas stillknown asMalcolmpeth.
Janice's Uncle Arthur emigrated to Rhodesia (today's Zimbabwe) but made a few
trips back home to India, bringing back stories of his adventures and hunting
trophies. It was his house (still called Rhodesia) which was gifted to St.Peter's
School.
Janice was raised in this town, surrounded by animals.As she grew, so did her love
for animals. Except for a brief visit to Australia on board the “Murbera” in 1947
when she was four, she spent all her life in Panchgani, sometimes venturing to Pune,
Wai or Mahabaleshwar. She was a student at St.Joseph's Convent where she later
taught for 26 years. People's jaws dropped when they heard fluent Marathi pouring
outofthemouthofthisblond,blueeyedlady!
Joyce Campion Smith, Janice's mum, was the big inspiration in the life of her only
child. Janice proudly said that it was her mother who brought in their first rescue
animal (a calf on its way to being slaughtered). From then on, they filled their home
withsickandstrayanimals.Thiswas indeedthestartofJanice'sTrust.
While Joyce taughtArt, a young FarrokhBulsara practised tunes on the piano at the
back of theArt Room at St. Peter's School. Joyce who was an accomplished pianist
herself, enjoyed his music. Bulsara shot to fame and fortune as Freddy Mercury,
once he went to England, forming the famous rock band “Queen”, going on to
compose several hits- “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We are the Champions” and “Crazy
Little Thing called Love” among others. He is said to be one of the world's most
accomplished and most popular male lead singers and song writers ofALLTIME!!
There is a short interview of Janice (teaching anArt class) in a documentary on the
lifeofFreddyMercury,madebytheBBC,wheretheycallherJanetbymistake.
Janice followed in her mother's footsteps going on to be everyone's favourite
teacher.After a brief stint at St.Peter's School, she went on to dedicate almost three
decades of her life to the students of St.Joseph'sConvent.She found it hard to decide
whomshelovedmore…herstudentsorheranimals.

5. “A single, ordinary person still can make a difference – and single,
ordinary people are doing precisely that every day.”
— Chris Bohjalian, Vermont-based author and speaker
Gold MohurVilla, inside and out, in Janice's lifetime and after, has been a haven for
rescue animals of all species. Janice never married, and especially after the death of
Joyce, the animals became her family. She had over a 100 animals… cats, dogs,
cows, goats and a blind horse who sometimes trotted through the house after his
mistress! She had a bull called Inderjeet who lived in her back porch and fiercely
protectedher.
She cried when any animal got run over or died of a sudden illness. One favourite
habit of hers was to sit in the sun on the bench in her garden and cuddle the puppies.
She also had a large following of stray dogs in town who tailed her for her chatter
and Glucose biscuits. Inspite of a very painful, non healing, varicose vein ulcer she
had on her leg, and a negligible pension, Janice worked tirelessly to feed and love
her animals, all while keeping her amazing sense of humour. She died of septicemia
th
on St.Patrick's Day, March 17 2010. She was a big fan of St.Patrick, in fact she had
a picture of him hanging over her front door. It's nice to think that it was St.Patrick
who delivered her from her suffering on that day. But her animals remained…some
ofherdogs arestillwaitingforhertoreturntillthisday.
Janice's Trust is now working on continuing Janice's legacy of love and care
towards rescued, sick and injured animals of Panchgani. For more information on
Janice's Trust, there is a Facebook group of the same name with pictures and
updatesontheirgoodwork withanimalsandwithkeepinghermemoryalive.
Megan D’Souza
5

6. “Challanges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life
meaningful.” - Joshua J Marine
7
FAITH
Once we outgrow something, it is
difficult to revert to the same
circumstances or conditions. But Faith
is something you can never outgrow.
You need to renew it every day. As
children we put our Faith in our parents,
siblings, family and friends without the
slightest effort. We even pray very
fervently when asked to or when the
need arises. As we grow we start
acquiring barriers of layers of
consciousness, knowledge, bias and
insecurities, and having Faith became a
task. So much so we have trouble
havingFaithinourselves.
Now the question is what does Faith do
and why do we need it? Faith is to know
something, or someone, or a process. It
is different from behaviour, facts or
observations as these depend on the
other person displaying them. Faith is
internal and has nothing to do with the
other person. So, if Faith is internal,
why do we have such a hassle creating
it, maintaining it or exhibiting it? Self
doubt is the biggest flaw we have
developed. Self - doubt crumbles Faith,
it breaks beliefs, ruins relationships and
prevents us from being who we truly
are. Faith, on the other hand, helps us
build ourselves, our beliefs and our
relationships. Faith helps us face our
fears. Faith helps us come to terms with
tough circumstances like illness or loss.
Faith has come to be associated with
religion and yet that's the last on the list
ofwhatFaithtrulymeans.
We are at a time when boundaries mean
nothing with Whatsapp, Skype and
Facebook. Yet we haven't broken our
boundaries with people, ourselves and
our Faith. What we need is daily
renewal in our beliefs and our
relationships; a daily renewal of what
we put our Faith in. We can't become
children again but we sure can have a
positive approach like them. We can
learn not to give up, and we can learn
myriad ways to tackle the same
problem. Like children, we can reach
out to people with the purest of
intentions and we will realise it
strengthens our Faith. It is said Faith
can move mountains, but many a times
we don't need to move mountains, we
just need to move ourselves. Move to
love.Movetoforgiveandmovetoheal.
Dhiraj Athavale
Godisourcentre.
The centre always exerts a powerful attraction. The more spiritual
andexaltedourcentreis,themoreirresistibleisitsattractiveness.
Whenyourspirithasbeen united with God's,itwillfallwithoutany
forceotherthantheweightofloveintoitspropercentre.
The more peaceful and trusting you remain, the more rapidly you
willadvancebecauseself-energywillnotobstructyou.
Takecare,then,dearone,todirectyourattentiontowardGod.
-MadameJeanneGuyon

7. 6
After being in retail for seventeen years and touching and holding and feeling many
many things, one often comes across the many that don't fit the standard.
Especially in the craft stories. Built by hand, created on home grounds, the stories
are but made with a rawness, a certain imperfection that endears and yet if put under
scrutinywouldbeverydifficulttoexplainandjustify.
Defectivepiece.
The big boy has always joked about me since the beginning of time (of my own
discovery)thathehasfoundthatinme.
And as I have readily agreed and laughed over the years over my imperfections
...today I smile generously when I imagine myself being the hand crafted "special"
pieceoftheuniverse.
Thank you O Maker for giving me these frayed edges and little bits of madness...
It has helped me find those who still love the experience of holding on to me for no
reasonandhelpedmefindamillionways toseeyourmadnessandcreativity.
RitikaNarang Tickoo
FLAWS
A monk who needed olive oil planted an olive tree sapling. Then he prayed, Lord
mytreeneedsrain,pleasesendgentleshowers.And gentlerainfell.
Then the monk prayed, Please send sun, my tree needs sun. And so the sun shone
onthetree.
Now pleasesendfrost,themonkprayed,tostrengthenthebranchesofmytree.
Soon thelittletreewas coveredinsparklingfrost,andintheeveningitdied.
Then the monk went to a brother monk and related his experience. His brother
monkrepliedinwonder:
I too have planted a little tree, and see how it thrives! I entrust my tree to its God. He
who made it knows better than me what it needs. I just pray, Lord, send what You
thinkisbestformytree....andBrother,seeforyourself, Iamcontent.
StreamsintheDesert
THE OLIVE TREE
The only flag I wear is that of
freedom.
The only prayer I hold is that one day
wecanaccepteachothersfreedom.
Liveandletlive.
-Dhruv Saigal

8. Sometime ago, The Learning Channel
aired a show called, “Hoarding: Buried
Alive.” Hoarders essentially are people
who accumulate more than is
necessary. They accumulate everything
from food and trash to animals and
books. They harbor an inherent fear in
letting anything go. Their homes are so
full of stuff that it becomes impossible
to move around. The excessive stuff
everywhere makes it impossible for the
individual to complete daily tasks such
as cooking, bathing, or even sleeping.
After all if you can't see your floors,
can't find your bed or in many cases
with stuff piled from floor to ceiling
you can't even find a wall to lean against
wherewillyousleep?
So why am I telling you about this?
Well, reflecting on this show made me
think about how many people may be
emotional hoarders? The people
holding on to resentments, people
holding on to past grudges, people
holding on to false friendships and
relationships which have clearly ended.
The people who hold on to the idea of
who did them wrong and how they will
never forgive. The people who even as
time moves forward keep the
memories, the bad memories, the
memories that don't serve divine
purpose, intentionally alive by
recounting stories and ensuring that,
even if time wants them to forget that,
theydon't.
This emotional hoarding, over the
years, may have now culminated into
anger, frustration, and a false sense of
ego. It may have created thoughts of
hatred and actions that would never
align with anything that could even
come close to grace. Can you imagine
for a moment how cluttered, how
diseased, how utterly clogged the
hearts, minds and spirits would be if we
had the opportunity to look within these
people? I imagine it would be just as
repulsive as the rat infested homes of
thephysicalhoarders.
Learning to release the thoughts that
can't reconcile the hateful actions of
people you once considered close to
you, learning to respect the decisions of
people who choose not to walk beside
you because another option seems more
attractive, learning to release
expectations and learning to let go of
past behaviors and thought patterns
which serve no divine purpose start to
make room for so much more than you
caneverdreamispossible.
The process isn't easy, and I can assure
you that for me it is still an ongoing one,
but letting go has created space for
people who see the best that resides
within me, letting go has allowed for
new relationships that remind me of
divine purpose and make me believe in
the authentic goodness of a person.
Letting go has brought my way
business opportunities, a growing
clientele base and respect in greater
measures than I ever thought possible.
8
FORGIVE, LET GO & MOVE ON

9. 9
10WaystoBegintoLetGo:
Say Sorry: Apologize to the person
who caused you hurt for whatever
your role may have been to cause
theirnegativeactiontowardsyou.
Express Gratitude: Say Thank You to
thesituationorthepersonwhichmay
have aggrieved you for all it has
taughtyou.
StopTalkingAboutIt:Whatyoufocus
on expands, so stop explaining to
everyone how bad it was and how
horriblehe/sheis!
Show Grace: Say hello when you
meet the person who hurt your
sentiments, remember to also say
bye. If the words aren't as
forthcoming, smile and wave, the
point is to acknowledge the person
fromaplaceofwarmthwithinyou.
Replace the Thought with Light:
Every time you have the negative
thought, send it tons of white light,
you'll be amazed how quickly you will
feel calmer and the situation will start
todissolve.
Sing: It doesn't matter what your
voice sounds like, get into the
moment. Find that song and let it rip,
it will serve as a distraction from the
negative thought and release feel
goodendorphins.
ReachOut:Haveyoulosttouchwitha
friend you knew was good for your
soul, well pick up the phone. Start
with a simple, “Hello, I've missed
you…” and then let the conversation
flow.
Express the Opposite: Every negative
emotion has an opposite, so anger's
opposite is peace, hate's opposite is
love, fear's opposite is courage etc.
Eachtimeyoufeelanegativeemotion
findawaytoexpressitsopposite.
Donate Something: Nothing releases
negative emotion faster than seeing
the delight you are able to create
through the sharing of your time,
yourresourcesorjustakindword.
Breathe: Close your eyes, breathe in
for five counts, hold for ten and then
breathe out for five counts. Do this
thrice, it will serve to both oxygenate
your cells and clear the clutter in your
mind!
FreyazShroff
Letting go brought a peace that is hard
toarticulateinwords.
Release, with grace, all those who do
not want to be a part of your life, that
choice is part of their destiny. Honor all
the people who believe that you are the
blessing in their lives; this choice is part
of yourdestiny!
Until we meet next I wish you the
wisdom to recognize what you must let
goandthecouragetothenletitgo!
FreyazShroff
Founder ofKurNiv

10. THE STARFISH STORY:
ONE STEP TOWARDS CHANGING THE WORLD
You may have heard this one, but I find that it doesn't hurt to be reminded of it every
onceinawhile.
Once upon a time, there was an old man
who used to go to the ocean to do his
writing. He had a habit of walking on
the beach every morning before he
began his work. Early one morning, he
was walking along the shore after a big
storm had passed and found the vast
beach littered with starfish as far as the
eye could see, stretching in both
directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed
a small boy approaching. As the boy
walked, he paused every so often and as
he grew closer, the man could see that
he was occasionally bending down to
pick up an object and throw it into the
sea. The boy came closer still and the
man called out, “Good morning! May I
askwhatitisthatyouaredoing?”
The young boy paused, looked up, and
replied “Throwing starfish into the
ocean. The tide has washed them up
onto the beach and they can't return to
the sea by themselves,” the youth
replied. “When the sun gets high, they
will die, unless I throw them back into
thewater.”
The old man replied, “But there must be
tens of thousands of starfish on this
beach. I'm afraid you won't really be
abletomakemuchofadifference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet
another starfish and threw it as far as he
could into the ocean. Then he turned,
smiled and said, “It made a difference to
thatone!”
adapted from byThe Star Thrower,
LorenEiseley(1907–1977)
We all have the opportunity to help
create positive change, but if you're like
me, you sometimes find yourself
thinking, “I'm already really busy, and
how much of a difference can I really
make?” I think this is especially true
when we're talking about addressing
massive social problems like tackling
world hunger or finding a cure for
cancer, but it pops up all of the time in
our everyday lives, as well. So when I
catch myself thinking that way, it helps
to remember this story. You might not
be able to change the entire world, but at
least you can change a small part of it,
forsomeone.
They say that one of the most common
reasons we procrastinate is because we
see the challenge before us as
overwhelming, and that a good way to
counter that is to break the big challenge
down into smaller pieces and then take
those one at a time–like one starfish at a
time. And to that one starfish, it can
makeaworldofdifference.
ByPeterStraube
10
May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you
read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to
make some art - write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere
in the next year, you surprise yourself.
- Neil Gaiman

11. The point is not for you to do something that’s never been done before. The
point is for you to do something you’ve’ never done before.
Elizabeth Gilbert
11
Oh, souls — let us try not to worry
so much, OK? It's so bad for our
minds and our bodies and our
spirits, and it's so bad for everyone
around us, too.And when we get all
bent-up and broken-up and
fragmented from worry, we make it
SO DIFFICULT for the universe to
helpshow us ourdestinies.
The universe is wanting to
communicate something with you.
It wants to take you somewhere
very specific (to your ultimate
destiny, which is PEACE and
wisdom and wholeness) but your
worrying is a kind of crazy
emotional static that prevents you
from hearing the messages.
Have some faith. Have some faith in
yourself, and have faith in fate, as
well.
What if you remembered this:
Everything you have ever endured
so farinlife,you havesurvived.
And sometimes, to your own
surprise,youeventhrived.
Maybe the worst thing you ever
endured was a crucible through
whichyoubecameYOU.
Maybe you could not have become
YOU through any other means
exceptbygoingthroughthattrial.
Maybe a trial will happen again.
Maybe a trial is happening right
now. And maybe, once again, you
will survive it. (All signs point to
YES. After all, you have done it
before.) Maybe you will come
through these troubles re-formed,
re-forged. re-born. Maybe you will
insist upon that. Maybe that's the
strange invitation at the bottom of
allthisanxiety.
You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your own golden
wings.Whydo you worry?
What if your story is unfolding just
asitwas alwaysplanned?
Be brave, have faith. You can do
this.
ElizabethGilbert
HAVE SOME FAITH
NEVER WORRY ABOUT
NUMBERS. HELP ONE
PERSON AT A TIME, AND
ALWAYS START WITH THE
PERSON NEAREST YOU.
- MOTHER TERESA

12. 12
“Death is nothing at all. It does not
count. I have only slipped away into the
next room. Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was. I
am I, and you are you, and the old life
that we lived so fondly together is
untouched, unchanged. Whatever we
were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you
always used. Put no difference into
your tone. Wear no forced air of
solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we
always laughed at the little jokes that
we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think
of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever
the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort,
without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant. It is
the same as it ever was. There is
absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible
accident? Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight? I am but
waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near, just round the
corner. All is well. Nothing is hurt;
nothing is lost. One brief moment and
all will be as it was before. How we
shall laugh at the trouble of parting
whenwemeetagain!”
Henry Scott Holland (27 January
1847 – 17 March 1918) was Regius
Professor of Divinity at the University
of Oxford. He was also a canon of
ChristChurch,Oxford.
LETTER TO ALL OUR READERS:
I thank you for all your support. Thank you
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Mustard Seed is a community and
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I have been wading through a high pile of
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personally.
Please write to me confirming your current,
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haven't received your copy, let me know!
Emailmeorsendmearegularpostcard.
Also, I am currently singlehanded. So it
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As always, I humbly request you to donate
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Printing and postage costs are huge and we
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ask for annualsubscriptions.
The Mustard Seed may be slow, late or lost
in transit but my commitment to you is from
thebottomofmyheart!
Raadhika

13. 13
One always has to know when a stage
comes to an end. If we insist on staying
longer than the necessary time, we lose
the happiness and the meaning of the
otherstageswehavetogothrough.
Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending
chapters – whatever name we give it,
what matters is to leave in the past the
momentsoflifethathavefinished.
Did you lose your job? Has a loving
relationship come to an end? Did you
leave your parents' house? Gone to live
abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship
endedallofasudden?
You can spend a long time wondering
why thishashappened.
You can tell yourself you won't take
another step until you find out why
certain things that were so important
and so solid in your life have turned into
dust,justlikethat.
But such an attitude will be awfully
stressing for everyone involved: your
parents, your husband or wife, your
friends,yourchildren,yoursister.
Everyone is finishing chapters, turning
over new leaves, getting on with life,
and they will all feel bad seeing you at a
standstill.
Things pass, and the best we can do is to
letthemreallygoaway.
That is why it is so important (however
painful it may be!) to destroy souvenirs,
move, give lots of things away to
orphanages, sell or donate the books
youhaveathome.
Everything in this visible world is a
manifestation of the invisible world, of
what is going on in our hearts – and
getting rid of certain memories also
means making some room for other
memoriestotaketheirplace.
Let things go. Release them. Detach
yourselffromthem.
Nobody plays this life with marked
cards, so sometimes we win and
sometimeswelose.
Do not expect anything in return, do not
expect your efforts to be appreciated,
your genius to be discovered, your love
tobeunderstood.
Stop turning on your emotional
television to watch the same program
over and over again, the one that shows
how much you suffered from a certain
loss: that is only poisoning you, nothing
else.
Nothing is more dangerous than not
accepting love relationships that are
broken off, work that is promised but
there is no starting date, decisions that
are always put off waiting for the “ideal
moment.”
Before a new chapter is begun, the old
one has to be finished: tell yourself that
whathaspassedwillnevercomeback.
Remember that there was a time when
you could live without that thing or that
person – nothing is irreplaceable, a
habitisnotaneed.
This may sound so obvious, it may even
bedifficult,butitisveryimportant.
Closing cycles. Not because of pride,
incapacity or arrogance, but simply
becausethatnolongerfitsyourlife.
Shut the door, change the record, clean
thehouse,shakeoffthedust.
Stop being who you were, and change
intowho youare.
Paulo Coelho
CLOSING 2015
“Practice the pause. When in doubt pause. When angry, pause. When tired,
pause. When stressed, pause. And when you pause, pray.”

14. I am forty-eight years old.And I am not
ashamed to say that I still believe in
magic. And miracles. I believe that
angels walk among us. They don't wear
halos and wings, not anymore. They do
however wear tails. And whiskers, that
tickle. No, I didn't pass out in the punch
bowl on New Years Eve. I'd just like to
kick off the year with a soul-felt thanks
to all the canine angels who touch our
lives with grace.And slip away quietly,
without as much as an epitaph. Walt
Disney was bang on, all dogs go to
heaven. They belong there. They just
come down to give us a little taste of
unconditional love. And fill our lives
withhopeandcheer.
If you could see the shiny pools of
devotion staring up at me right now,
framed by that plastic Elizabethan
collar, you'd agree in a jiffy. This plastic
halo-ed creature is brushing aside all
his post-surgical pain to greet me with
an affectionate lick. Name a single
human, in real life or even reel life, who
has emerged from anesthesiawith a kiss
for the world. Countless times has this
furry angel nursed me back from all
kinds of traumas- physical, emotional,
marital, parental, et all. And the loving
doesn't stop at me, it envelopes my near
and dear– in other words, the credit line
is open to anyone I chose to care about,
no questions asked. All I have to do is
plonk down one kiss a day. And that's
all it takes to unleash pure and heady
devotion, 24/7, in it's most selfless and
loyal form. Devotion that magically
morphs into exactly what I'm craving
moment-to-moment.When I'm blue, he
won't give up till he cajoles a giggle out
of me. When I'm anxious, he offers me
an embrace that literally draws away all
the negative energy. If I feel alone, he
snuggles up tight and reminds me that I
have an attentive and loving companion
by my side. He turns every little fear I
have into a ball and playfully chases it
away into the distance.He shares my
joys, my triumphs, my failures and
heartbreaks. He intuitively knows
when I crave solitude and when I want
to frolic with foolishabandon. He offers
me a patient and non judgmental ear
when I need to rant, and a consoling
paw when I feel overwhelmed with
tears. He doesn't care what color my
skin is, how many excess kilos I carry,
when I last brushed my teeth or whether
I have one rupee in my wallet or ten
thousand. And regardless of whether I
feed him once a day or three times, he
loves me just the same.No matter
what.Don't know about you, but to me
this is nothing short of a miracle. We
have nothing to mirror this relationship,
in the human fraternity. Even the one
who professes to love us the most in the
world, be it child or spouse, are unable
to suspend all expectations. It just isn't
human. For our canine friend though,
it's no biggie. He could do all the above
in one day, without a whimper of
protest, and repeat it again before the
sun sets.
I have been blessed with angels like this
one, throughout my forty-eight years
on this earth. I imagine a large part of
who I am, mostly all the good bits, are a
direct resultof the time I've been lucky
enough to have spent around selfless
canines. Think about it, could there be a
better role modelfor theself-serving and
in tolerant world we live in? A mortal
WHEN THE SAINTS GO BARKING IN…..
14

15. HAPPY TO BE, TAT TVAMASI
human definitely doesn't make the cut,
as he's hardwired to look for return on
i n v e s t m e n t , e v e n e m o t i o n a l
investments. And no other species
offers the kind of devotion, protection
and loyalty to man, asking veritable
nothing in return. Is it just me, or do
you also get the feeling that we lucked
out big time? Do you see that glimmer
of divinity in what the canine offers us,
something we as a race are incapable
of?
Canine angels aren't just infiltrating
human families with bushels of love,
they are working in hospitals with the
sick and dying. They are doubling up as
therapists, helping emotionally
troubled humans deal with their mental
scars. They're rescuing those whose
lives are in mortal danger, beyond the
reach of us humans.And helping
humans who have visual and other
impairments live normal lives.Canine
squads are fighting wars and tracking
down terrorists around the world,
making the world a safer place for you
and me. All this, quietly, without any
fuss, compensation or demand for
glory. This pawsitively amazing
species has changed the very quality of
human existence, and given the human
race so much to be grateful for. If I were
the Holy See, with the power bestowed
on me by the Church, I would seriously
consider declaring the humble dog, the
patron Saint of Selfless Love. I would
set aside a date, much like All Saints
day, where the world could pay to pay
homage to this wonderful creature. The
world would celebrate All Dogs Day, a
day dedicated just to one act of selfless
love to anyone, as a mark of respect to
the angel that watches over us, and asks
for nothing in return. I would add the
word 'woof' to the thesaurus as a
synonym for love. And every time I am
overcome with wonder and awe, I
would substitute 'OMG' with “OMD”.
Because it isn't man who is a reflection
of God. He still has a pretty long way to
go still. It is dog, the gentle and patient
dog,who comestheclosest.
PriyaMirchandani
15
you are that
which you are
and which
you should be
The text is inspired by the works of American artist Agnes Martin, whose show I
happened to see at Tate Modern in London recently. Following in the footsteps of
Mark Rothko (an abstract expressionist), Agnes explored the idea of zero, less is
more,negationandminimalism.
RevatiMalatiisan esthete,philosopherandstoryteller

16. JUST ONE THOUGHT
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No service in itself is small,
None great, though earth it fill;
But that is small that seeks its own,
And great that does God's will.
People are always blaming their
circumstances for what they are. I
don't believe in circumstances. The
people who get on in this world are
people who get up and look for the
circumstances they want, and if they
can'tfindthem,makethem.
George Bernard Shaw
I must strip my vine of all useless
foliage and concentrate on what is
truth, justice and charity. The older i
grow, the more clearly I perceive the
dignity and winning beauty of
simplicity in thought, conduct and
speech; a desire to simplify all that is
complicated and to treat everything
with the greatest naturalness and
clarity.
Pope John 23rd
16
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