A Journal of creative faith

1. Feb-March-Apr 2017 Vol 27 - No.14
Raadhika Dosa D'Cruz
1st May 2017
It is after a long gap that we bring you a brand new issue of The Mustard Seed.
This year has been eventful, to say the least! The world seems to have shrunk,
connectedbycommoncause:alackof tolerance.
Everywhere people too busy, too angry, too bored or too miserable to care about
anything or anyone. We are all intolerant, driven by our ingrained prejudices
andignorance.Itis how wearebuilt,our humannature
Let us all pray for a kinder, gentler world. Let us make the effort and
consciously strive to be a bit more patient, a bit more compassionate, a bit more
tolerant of the world we live in. Submission is not a sign of defeat, rather an
acceptance of the world with Grace. Sadly, Grace has been sorely missing,
along with kindness and a forgiving heart. Love and gratitude have almost
vanished.Are westillhuman?
We are all the good Lord's creation, all of us born together on this earth. Why
then do we choose to live in anger and impatience, with a sense of entitlement
and superiority as human beings over other creatures? Are we truly, genuinely
people of God or are our prayers mere words, our values hollow lessons of the
Divine? What good are our prayers if we do not mean the Spirit that guides
them?
Practise compassion and forgiveness. Practise tolerance. There are problems
and there are inconveniences. We must learn to differentiate between them. We
mustlearntobemoreforgivingof othersandof ourselves.
How have you practised tolerance today??
PS: We have been unable to print the last issues due to lack of funds, but we have Faith that
everythingwillbefineagain!Yourgenerositykeepsus inInk andstamps!!
TOLERANCE

2. My dearRaadhika,
This is to wish you a very happy and
peaceful New Year. May God guard,
guide and direct you every moment of
the year to carry on the wonderful work
you are doing so well. You have my
dailyprayers.
Sr. Victorine
Raadhika,
I must say 'Mustard Seed' is a good
instrument doing so much good to those
who read it. May it reach many more
people. I pray for God's blessings on
your efforts which will be funded by
God's own power.
Sr. Magdalen
DearRaadhika,
My friend Dorothy introduced me to
The Mustard Seed, Feb-Apr 2016. On
reading this journal, I was so impressed
that I had a great insight and
transformation from the words of
wisdomcontainedtherein.
I would be grateful if you would mail
mehardcopiesofTMS.
Walter Mascarenhas
DearRaadhika,
Lovely articles!Your article on Mother
was wonderful! Keep up the good
work.
Karen Vaswani
step over ants
put worms back in the grass
rescue baby caterpillars
release spiders back
into your garden
open windows for bees to fly home
they are all little souls
that deserve a life too.
Jack Kornfield
Kites in the sky
They circled the sky as I watered the
plants this evening.
Claws clenched, eyes looking for prey
Parched soil, thirsty for water,
I hurried back and forth to fill the
pitcher again
While at a distance the azzan
announce the sunset and
the orange sky slowly turned to grey
- Revati Malati
If you can sit quietly after difficult
news, if in financial downturns
you remain perfectly calm, if you
can see your neighbors travel to
fantastic places without a twinge
of jealousy, if you can happily eat
whatever is put on your plate, and
fall asleep after a day of running
around without a drink or a pill ...
if you can always find
contentment just where you are,
you are probably a dog.

3. You start dying slowly
if you do not travel,
if you do not read,
If you do not listen to the sounds of
life,
If you do not appreciate yourself.
You start dying slowly
When you kill your self-esteem;
When you do not let others help you.
You start dying slowly
If you become a slave of your habits,
Walking everyday on the same
paths…
If you do not change your routine,
If you do not wear different colours
Or you do not speak to those you
don't know.
You start dying slowly
If you avoid to feel passion
And their turbulent emotions;
Those which make your eyes glisten
And your heart beat fast.
You start dying slowly
If you do not change your life when
you are not satisfied with your job,
or with your love,
If you do not risk what is safe for the
uncertain,
If you do not go after a dream,
If you do not allow yourself,
At least once in your lifetime,
To run away from sensible advice…
- Pablo Neruda
Spanish poet won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1971
I am amazed with how we can learn
L​ife's lessons from anywhere, at
anytime and from anyone.Are we open
toseeingthemandlearn?
I was long due to visit the dentist for a
routine. As I entered the clinic I was
pleasantly greeted by the dentist's little
daughter... She couldn't be older than 5
but she was a talker. Soon she regaled
me with stories about a vacation, little
bugs on the beach, school and
homework (the teacher was rather
demanding- toomuchcoloring),stories
about a party she attended and I was
entertained. Soon I was called in and I
had to, rather reluctantly, say goodbye.
So I sought some parting advice and I
askedher, "ShouldI be frightenedof the
dentist?" She looked at me and very
seriouslyreplied,"No!Heismyfather."
I was stumpedand speechless.From the
mouth of a babe came a reply so honest
and true; a profound truth and one that
exuded a feeling of immense security,
evoking abundant confidence. That is a
faith we need to get us through life and
it'smanyhurdles.
FAITH~
That sometimes doubts and if we can
trust mere mortals how much more
shouldbeourfaithinthedivine.
The world is certainly a classroom!
- Jen Mathew
THE GOD HONEST TRUTH
YOU START DYING SLOWLY

4. ONE LIFE TOO MANY
4
As dusk fell she saved the situation by
reading from a book she was carrying
with her. I became interested. Quoting
from the book called 'Raja Yoga', by
Swami Sivananda, from a place called
Rishikesh, she held an hour-long
discourse on the cause of our happiness
and our sadness. She maintained both
were false but appear to be real because
we are deluded and in ignorance and
unabletoseetheTruthasitreallyis.
“I will not comment, but simply read the
text as it is,” she said, 'if you want me to
stop, just hold your hand up. Patanjali's
yoga sutra has many commentators. But
Swami Sivananda's is the simplest I
thinkandeasiesttounderstand”.
We put everything away and
concentrated on what she was going to
read.
“What areafflictions?”
“The afflictions (kleshas) are ignorance
(avidya), egoism (asmita), attachment
(raga), hatred (dwesha), and clinging to
life(abhinivesha)(II –3).”
“These disorders of the mind cause
physical malady and are impediments in
the path of meditation. By their very
nature, they bring about thought–waves
which cause the rise of other thought-
waves which then support each other for
their continuation in the mind. Thus, if
one removes one, the associated
thought-waves will also die. For
example, if we remove our clinging to
life (abhinivesha), then along with it,
both the currents of raga (attachment)
and dislikes/hatred (dwesha) will die
too. In a sense therefore, even removing
raga (attachment) and hatred/dislike,
can result in the death of ‘clinging to
life’. Thus, it is clear, that to remove one
thought-wave, one needs to work on the
eradication of other associated
thought–waves. The same can be said
about egoism. If you remove egoism
(asmita) the two currents of like and
dislikewillalsovanish.”
“The root for egoism, likes and dislikes,
clinging to life, is ignorance (avidya). If
ignorance is destroyed by getting
Knowledge ofAtman, through samadhi,
the other four (egoism, attachment,
hatred, clinging to life) will die by
themselves.”
“Our actions are supported by
afflictions of the mind. In turn, the
afflictions support the actions taken.
There is a mutual give and take, and one
without the other cannot exist. This
cycle can be compared to a seed and a
tree, one gives birth to the other. Within
the seed is the tree and the tree bears
fruitandseed."
“It is these five ties of egoism,
attachment, hatred, clinging to life and
ignorance which bind a man to the
wheel of life and death. Ignorance is the
base on which the other four stand,
together causing the life and death
cycle. In fact, the four- egoism,
attachment, hatred, clinging to life- are
only a modification of the fifth:
ignorance. Even Sin and its associate
Pain are modifications of ignorance and
manifest in those who have forgotten
their true nature: an all- pure, all- blissful
andEternalAtmaan.”
She stopped there. We were all a little
confused.
“But what is this ignorance, he is talking
about? And what is knowledge?” I
ventured.
The pravjajika smiled. “The knowledge
you are talking about is not the
Knowledge Patanjali speaks of. His
Knowledge is that of knowing the Truth,
the supreme truth, that we are all a part of
theWhole,whichisParmatma.”
“Then, what is the meaning of worship?”
I asked, bewildered. “If we are god
himself, then who is it we must
worship?”

5. DO YOU PRAY?
5
“We worship as long as we are ignorant
of ourselves, of who we really are,” she
replied.
“Once we realize the truth, we cease to
worship in the same manner because
what we seek in worship and who we are
isthesame.”
None of us could understand clearly. The
more we talked the thicker the wall of not
understanding grew. Opaque as it was,
we fumbled with thoughts and words to
clarify the meaning, but indeed it only
gotworse.
“This is because of avidya, the thick wall
that keeps us from understanding our
reality. The more we talk about our true
nature,themorewebecomeconfused.”
Welaughednervously.
She continued with a smile, “This is why
self-realization is more a practice that a
discourse,Patanjalisays.”
“And what might be the practice?” asked
thenewlyweddedbride.
“For now, it is better to enjoy your
marriage and live it fully. It is one of the
practices called karma, action, doing
one's actions, although, as Patanjali says,
it must be done without any hope for
fruitsorresultofthataction.”
“Very difficult!” the bride's mother
exclaimed, 'Very difficult! It is easier
saidthandone!”
“I absolutely agree,” the pravrajika
agreed, “which is why, we do what we
have to do, without bothering about what
the consequences might be. Although it
is good to know that there is another path
which leads us, out of human suffering
and that is the path of yoga, as a spiritual
practice.”
I continued to be interested, but the rest
had switched off. The pravrajika, went
back to her book while we engaged in
worldlytalks.
For a while, the rapt silence in the
compartment and the sound of the
running wheels of the train were in stark
comparison with each other. It was like
the clash of the inner and the outer world,
the very thoughts read out this moment
of how to rise above the ordinariness of
life. To me the reading was like taking a
holy dip in the river Ganga, to many
othersitaffectedinotherways.
“Actually, our lives are so different in the
world, we have no time to think of the
other-worldly things. Thank god, we are
traveling with you; we too have tasted
the nectar, which for you is your daily
practice and purity of thought and
action,”saidtheladywithherdaughter.
The pravrajika smiled. “Not at all, I
would say. I have my own afflictions,
which may differ from yours, but they
arethereaswell!”
- Julia Dutta
Please read Julia’s book
‘One Life Too Many’
I loved this interpretation of Prayer. What is prayer? Prayer doesn’t just happen
when we kneel or put our hands together and focus and expect things from God.
Thinking positive and wishing good for others is a prayer. When you hug a
friend, that’s a prayer. When you cook something to nourish friends and family,
that’s a prayer. When we send of our dear ones and say, ‘drive safely’or ‘be safe’,
that’s a prayer. When you are helping someone in need by giving your time and
energy, you are praying. When you forgive someone in your heart, that is prayer.
Prayer is vibration, a feeling, a thought. Prayer is the voice of love, friendship,
genuine relationships. Prayer is an expression of your silent being. Keep praying
always.

6. Happiness is not what you have, it's
what you Feel. From the time I was a
child, my G​rand-mother and Mother
have embodied, taught and lived that
ideal that experiences and equations are
what makes Life a Joy. Sometimes a
thing or a piece of chocolate can too, but
it should never become our raison de
etre! Memories are made of people,
places, events and memories they
evoke. Childhood comfort and
experiences lead to adult security and
spirit.
What am I doing to make my life and
my space better? Happier? Safer?
Fairer? Can I be kinder? Would it
dissolve someone's grief or hunger if I
shared? Or spoke a softer word? Then
thatiswhatmustprevail.
Money is paper if not put to good use.
How are you going to take it after you
pass this world? Where? After meeting
your needs, why hoard? Why allow a
generation to be complacent and
arrogant because they have the fruit of
your hard labour to plump them up! We
all have a destiny to fulfill. Long after
we're gone, no one will remember the
jewellery I wore or the sofa I sat on. But
hopefully, they will remember how my
words and my actions altered their
perception of the World and made their
daysjustalittlebitbetter.
Fear seems to be of paramount impetus,
propelling our professions and careers.
I have always found that appalling.Yes,
we need to sustain and survive, but if we
choose what drives our passion and
being, harnessing it into a career, it
would be magnificent! Irrespective of
how much money we made, the
outcome would be Joy and Gratitude.
Having the good fortune of knowing
what my bliss was and embodying that
as my profession, I do know it is the
onlylifeworthliving!
Surround yourself with what you enjoy,
with what pleases you. Don't wait for
tomorrow. Dream of it, await it, but
don't not deny today for it. Every single
day is precious, every single
relationship that you cherish is worth it.
And laughter, how we forget this
magical emotion and relegate it to the
back burner! Laugh. Out. Loud. And
don't forget to laugh at yourself first.We
take everything so seriously! Especially
ourselves and of course all the other
myriad plugs and trappings of society:
Religion, morality, sexuality and social
status. Defy them, surprise yourself. It
will change your Life and the calm that
follows is transforming. Believe only
that which your soul tells you too, not
what the prying mob does. Human
civilization has always been in the
throes of crisis. so much hatred, such
aggression.
I'll tell you a secret, love an animal, any
animal. It will harness your anger and
teach you to understand the soul of
another living being. And their love is
unconditional, totally exempt from
malice or connivance. If the human race
would treat other species and our
environment with respect and love, it
would wipe out all anger, all war. If we
ill-treat our Home, how can we tolerate
one another? Simple principle to
contemplate.
So, awake tomorrow….... pray, ​stretch,
deep breathe, salute the Sun. Make
yourself a fantastic mug of coffee and
drink blissfully whilst hearing the birds
herald a new day. ​Call your parents and
tell them you love them. Discard that
ego and gift someone your smile. Hope
and believe that this will be the best day
ever!
- Divya Seth Shah
Born Actor
EPIPHANY
6

7. 7
WARM HEARTS
In Crown Heights, there was a Jewish
man named Yankel, who owned a
bakery. He survived the concentration
camps, and always said, You know why
itisthatI'malivetoday?
I was a kid, just a teenager at the time.
We were on the train being taken to
Auschwitz. Night came and it was
deathly cold in that boxcar. The
Germans would leave the cars on the
side of the tracks overnight, sometimes
for days on end without any food, and
noblanketstokeepus warm.
Sitting next to me was this beloved
elderly Jewish man from my
hometown. He was shivering from
head to toe, and looked terrible. So I
wrapped my arms around him to warm
him up. I rubbed his arms, his legs, his
face, his neck. I begged him to hang on.
All night long, I kept the man warm this
way.
I was tired, and freezing cold myself.
My fingers were numb, but I didn't stop
rubbing heat into that old man's body.
Hours and hours went by until finally,
morning came and the sun began to
shine. When there was some light in the
boxcar, I looked around to see the other
people. To my horror, all I could see
were frozen bodies. All I could hear
was deathlysilence.
Nobody else in that cabin made it
through the night. They died from the
cold. Only two people survived: the old
man and me. The old man survived
because somebody kept him
warm...and I survived because I was
warming him.
Can I tell you the secret to survival in
this world? When you warm other
people's hearts, you remain warm
yourself. When you seek to support,
encourage and inspire others, then you
discover support, encouragement and
inspiration in your own life as well.
That,myfriends,isthesecrettolife.
- Dr. Eliezer Gonzalez
Mygrandsonsittingonsofa
Lookedthroughthewindow
Onthetreeoutsidecrowsflying
Merrilyfrombranchtobranch.
Ononebranchclearlywecouldsee
Twocrowshappilycawingandplaying...
Daditwotwocrows
Iwanttogivethembiscuits...
Hiscutesmilingfacelooks
Epitomeofhappinessas
HerepeatsTwoTwocrows.
Ifondlylookedathisface
AndIthought..
Adultswithtwocroresinhand
Willbecravingforthethirdcrore
Notenjoyingthetwoinhand.
Timeindeedtolearnfrom
Innocenceofatoddler.
-UrmillaRamrakhiani
TwoCrows

8. WHEN RELIGION BECOMES AN IDOL
This must have been a little short of forty
years ago, maybe when I had just about
entered my teens. Sijo, our home-help,
was dusting my writing-table when he
accidently caused an object that I
considered'holy' tofallontheground.
And doyouknow whatIdid?
Islappedhim!
And doyouknow whathappenedthen?
Rightthereandthen,Sijobegantocry!
Yes, I slapped a man much older than me
and I made him cry all because he had let
an object I considered 'holy' to fall on the
ground!
Can you imagine? How much more
disgustingcanoneget?
I can't remember now - although I wish I
could - if I immediately realised what a
terrible thing I had done and apologized
to Sijo. I can only hope that this is what I
did.
As I type out these lines, forty years or so
later, Sijo, who is now almost 60, is
swabbing the floor in front of me while I
replay the events of that day in my mind.
What a faithful man Sijo is - kind,
cheerful, compassionate, helpful and
honest. I wish I could fall at his feet and
ask him to forgive me. But I hold myself
back. It might be just too embarrassing
for him, I think. In my mind, though, I
bend down and touch his feet, and in my
heart I say to him, “Sijo-ba, I want to tell
you something. Remember that day,
many, many years ago, how cruel I was to
you? I hit you, and you started crying.
Yes, I, who think of myself as very
compassionate and kind, had the nerve to
slap you—somebody almost old enough
to be my father and such a loving and
caring person - just because of something
minor that you had done, and that too by
mistake. I had the cheek to do that only
because you were what they call a
'servant', who, for that reason alone,
could never retaliate or even complain
about anything. I wouldn't have dared to
do that to anyone else. I beg you to
forgiveme.”
I can imagine Sijo saying, “No, No,
Baba! I don't know what you are talking
about! Nothing of the sort happened. You
didn't do such a thing. You keep
imagining all sorts of silly things all the
time!”
Or, he might say, “Oh ho Baba! Such
things keep happening in life, and I've
long since forgotten it. Why do you
remember such things and make yourself
unhappy? Forget it, and now tell me, what
doyouwantforlunch?”
***
That incident is a lasting reminder to me
that I am not as compassionate and kind,
especially to the economically-poor, as I
sometimes love to imagine I am. It also
continues to remind me of how
vulnerable domestic servants are to abuse
by their employers and their families and
how powerless they are to speak out
whentheirrightsareviolated.
There is more to it than that, though. The
fact that I had got so worked up over an
object I considered 'holy' being allegedly
profaned that I was willing to violate a
fellow human being's very dignity with
such impunity should forever remain a
compelling reminder to me of how easy it
is for us to make an idol of our religious
beliefs and practices, so much so that we
are sometimes willing to completely
dehumanize others, and ourselves, too,
fortheirsake.
The memory of that awful incident forces
me to remain aware that if in our devotion
to beliefs, ideas, prejudices, practices,
dogmas and objects that we have
fashioned ourselves (and that we install
in that place in our hearts that God alone
should occupy) we demean, degrade,
detest and despise our fellow human
beings with no compunction whatsoever,
we can be sure that religion has become
for us a mere idol and that we have
strayedfar, farawayfromGod.
- A. Kasvari

9. In recent conversations with a few
friends at work, to whom I was offering
some mangoes that my mother had
thoughtfully sent me, I realized
something shocking: My love for
Alphonso mangoes was not universal.
There are other mangoes that are good,
even better, I was told. Alphonsos are
over-priced, and over-hyped. (Cue to an
image of my jaw dropping down and
hittingthefloor.)
This honestly and truly did shock me.
Here my friends were, talking as if
they're just some other fruit – some…
commodity to be evaluated and
assessed, I thought. What is wrong with
them? More importantly, was it me that
was missingsomething?
What's in a mango, after all?After some
very enjoyable soul-searching, here's
myanswer.
On the surface of it, the Alphonso's
reputation precedes it. I'm not the one
who calls it 'The King ofAll Fruit', after
all. It's juicy, succulent, extremely
sweet, decadent… and only available
for a few months a year (and no,
drinking Slice is not a worthy
substitute). It's easy to make a purely
gastronomical case for why it's a
fabulousfruit.
But what I realized was that for me, it's
not that. There are lots of things in the
world that taste fabulous, but none of
them mean as much to me as this does.
Why?
Because it takes me back to the best
time in my - and likely any kid's -
childhood : Summer holidays. Summer
holidays! It conjures up an image of my
grandmother's tiny flat in Bombay,
where I would escape to as soon as it
became too warm for schools in Delhi
to be open anymore. Where we would
talk, play dress up, play cards, and then
very occasionally, sitting on the
balcony outside and watching the crows
in the big banyan tree opposite, we
would eat a precious Alphonso mango.
That's the word – there was the
preciousness to the experience. Those
were days when buying a dozen was
inconceivable, so two or three would be
purchased in honour of my visit. There
was the theatre of cutting it open and
seeing that beautiful bright orange
flesh, and learning how to eat the gutli
(with your hands, sucking every drop
you can out of it). There was the
heartache of having to share it. (I loved
my grandmother deeply, but I was so
greedy when it came to mangoes!) And
the heartfelt promises not to touch
ANYTHING, including my clothes,
after I was done, but to go straight to the
basin and wash my hands, because
mangostainsnevergo!
And so even now, when my mother
generously couriered a box to me in
Gurgaon from Bombay, it was almost
too good to be true. These weren't just
fruit – they were droplets of heaven,
rare to find and so delectable and sought
after! As I opened up the carton and
unpacked each beautiful golden fruit
from the straw, I stopped and smelled
them. That smell that takes me back to
the Bombay heat. To endless weeks of
no school, with a chance to play with
the building kids downstairs and
befriend the cats downstairs and see my
cousins soon. And feast, in the middle
of all of it, on the King of Fruit. And
smell my fingers long after it was
finished to remember how yummy it
hadbeen.
How fortunate I was, not just to have
experienced such a beautiful childhood,
but to be able to evoke it every time I
smellabeautifulAlphonso mango:)
- Shahine Ardeshir Baul
MANGOES AND MEMORIES

10. 10
DESPONDENCY
How is 'sadness' a thought that blocks
the work of the Holy Spirit in us? Isn't
it just a normal emotion? Isn't it
healthy to be sad when sad things
happen?What could the desert fathers
mean by characterizing it as a moral
problem?
We have to distinguish the simple
emotion of sadness from the thought
of sadness. Still more do we have to
strongly state that the disease of
clinical depression is something quite
other than those. The desert fathers
knew all about depression, although
of course they didn't have the name
for it. They speak of a causeless
sorrow that engulfs the human
person, against his or her will, and
which they are powerless to
overcome. They are quite clear in
their writings that this is not the
thoughtofdespondency.
Nor is the simple emotion that
thought, either. Emotions come and
go and we have little immediate
control over them—they are not in
themselves morally significant. The
thought of despondency is something
quite different. It is, essentially, the
fixed conviction that I cannot be
happy unless I have things my own
way. When I don't get what I want
(which, not being God, happens to me
fairly often), I will be sad. And I will
be miserable, and make everyone else
miserable, until I get it. Such is the
drivingforceofthedespondentsoul.
What I want will only coincidentally
be what you want, and quite often be
quite different. Only one of us can be
happy at any given moment, if the
above notion of happiness prevails.
Despondency thus links arms with
anger and life becomes a pitched
battle for dominance, and nobody
endsupespeciallyhappy.
There are people whose lives are
r u i n e d b y t h e t h o u g h t o f
despondency—people who end up so
bitter over the hand they were dealt,
constantly complaining, never
satisfied, always finding something
wrong in any day, any situation, and
focusing on that with laser precision.
And we all know other people who, in
spite of fairly serious afflictions and
tragedies in their lives, come through
to a place of joy and peace, hard-won
perhaps,butallthemorerealforthat.
Most of us fall somewhere in
between, with little flashes of
despondency, large or small veins of
self-centredness and childish self-
will lacing through our person. But
the truth all of us need to return to is
that happiness has nothing—nothing
at all!—with getting one's own way.
Happiness lies in coming to love
God's way, in growing to see that our
life, our real life, is to live in a
communion of love with God in
which 'what we want' is more and
more purified and simplified to
wantingwhatGod wants.
And the great surprise twist ending of
not just our life, but the life of the
whole cosmos, is that what God wants
is, in fact, to fulfill every desire of our
hearts in the right way, a true and good
way, and that the path He sets for us of
obedience and surrender, trust and
abandonment, is in fact the path to
perfect self-fulfillment, to having
everything just the way (uh huh uh

11. 11
I have a young woman friend who has
encouraged me to speak my mind.And
so I will. There are volumes inside of
me.Hereiswhat's onmymindtonight:
Life is not governed by the way we feel
but it is the stuff that provides never-
ending opportunity for self-mastery.
We must learn to quietly change the
anger into love or we will be limited by
our circumstances over and over again.
Life is governed by the law of cause
and effect so the most important thing
is to develop ourselves into people of
such conviction that we can continue
on our chosen path no matter what
happens...polishing our lives so we can
make causes for our lives based on
convictioninsteadofdoubt.
We must determine that everybody
wins in every situation that causes pain
& heartache so we can advance
together towards the light. I have to
keep hope that if I practice enough to
be like the sun, I will eventually
understand that the sun and I are
inseparable and we always were. If I
fall down and get back up enough
times, eventually my strength and
wisdom will become so developed that
I will just remain standing because
that's what happens when we practice
diligently. It's a natural result and I can
relaxintotheprocess,nevergivingup.
The tough stuff is a beautiful
opportunity, It's the ground from
which we plant seeds in our heart's &
minds for the upcoming harvest, it
provides rich & dark soil with the most
potential for growth. We become
stronger not ridding ourselves of
weakness, but by using our
weaknesses to propel us ever forward
inthedirectionofself-improvement.
We should not close our eyes and
empty ourselves of our human desires;
Rather, we should summon the
courage and the strength to overcome
the negativity so we can change from
the inside...so we can always respond
withjoy!!!!!
There is so much more inside of me...
Ihopethisisencouragingstufftoread.
- From the Internet
TOUGH STUFF
huh)welikeit,forever.
As the Bible ends 'every tear will be
wiped away' (Rev 21:4) – sadness
ultimately is done away with in the
kingdom, but the path to that
kingdom is to forget about ourselves
and our own ideas and follow the
Lambwhereverhegoes(Rev14:4).
- Fr. Denis Lemieux
Of sunrises and sunsets
days gone by and a life lived
loves lost and love attained
dead ends and new beginnings
- Revati Malati

12. 1. Jesus said so. Happy are you poor. If
you wish to be perfect, sell your
belongings, give to the poor and come
follow me. Be perfect as your Father in
heaven is perfect. It is easier for a
camel to pass through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of heaven. All that stuff.
Thomas Dubay talks about it in Happy
are You Poor. Jesus knows what we
need, and He knows we need poverty.
Not destitution, but less stuff. A
simpler life. Less for me and more for
you. If He is really about giving us
fullness of life and joy, then we have to
trust that He isn't trying to deprive us,
but pry our fingers off our play money
so Hecangiveus realgold.
2. Less to carry. Yes, on your backs
but also in your hearts.You have less to
worry about, less to protect, less to
insure. One tends to think about the
things weighing you down and holding
you back when you are lugging around
all your earthly belongings, and you
kinda wish you hadn't thought that you
needed ALL those books. You'll know
what I mean when you give something
away.Yes, joy from giving it away, and
also joy and freedom from the
attachment to it, the weight of it on
yourshoulders.
3. More to give away. It's surprising,
but when you have less, you have more
to give away. How does that work?
Well, you are in a constant state of
receiving and giving, without much
holding on in between. People give
you stuff, and you give away stuff.You
are used to having less, so you don't
store away and gloat over each thing
you receive. Hey, thanks for the cute
top. Oh wait, maybe I should give
away this other cute top that I like but
don't really need, because I have
enough, and I know someone who
doesn't. (Almost) everything you own
is ready to be given away. It's yours,
but it's not yours until death do you
part.
4. More spiritual openness and fruit.
Sometimes I wonder why full-time
Catholic volunteers often get to see
such dramatic changes and fruit in
their lives and in the lives of the people
they work with. I think it's because
there is more room in our hearts for
God to work, when we get rid some of
the non-essential junk taking up space
in our hearts and lives. When your
mind and heart are focussed on stuff
(even non-bad stuff), there's not so
muchplaceforan'undividedheart'.
5.An authentic witness . “If a brother
or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily
food, and one of you says to them, “Go
in peace, be warm and filled,” without
giving them the things needed for the
body, what does it profit? So faith by
itself, if it has no works, is dead.” So
says Saint James. Guess what? That 'if'
isn't really an 'if'. Brothers and sisters
are in lack of daily food all over the
place. Just because we don't yet know
those brothers and sisters by name,
doesn't make their suffering any less
real. Any when I DO know their name
(which I do), then my selfishness is all
the more culpable. If my faith is real,
then for sure I can't justify the luxuries
that could be feeding the hungry.When
I'm tempted to minimize the suffering
of the poor, I just need to fast for one
morning. Works every time. Love is
the center of our faith. If we're not
loving, we're not Christians. And
contrariwise, they WILLknow you are
Christians by your love. You know
what Gandhiji said, “I like your Christ,
IdonotlikeyourChristians.”
EIGHT REASONS WHY GOSPEL POVERTY IS THE WAY TO GO

13. 6. Solidarity with the poor. I found
when I was serving in the Philippines
that when you make real friends with
the poor, it's also easier to live more
simply. What kind of 'friends' would
we be if we couldn't identify withANY
of their concerns? But we could
commiserate with each other over
taking cold showers on cold days,
because they didn't have water heaters,
and neither did we. One day, I was
really tired, and I found I had no
change in my pocket for a motorella so
I had to walk home from town. I
bumped into one of our friends from
the slum. She didn't have the money to
spare either, so we walked home
together. The same day I was with
another two friends. We pooled all our
change and still didn't have enough
money for all three of us to go home by
motorella. So we all walked together.
We sometimes ran out of money
because we'd given away too much.
But we never had to go hungry. We still
had more than they, even when we
were living simply, but it was hugely
different to the kind of relationship we
would have had if we lived in luxury
whiletheystarved.
7. Better health. You eat simpler food
and less junk food. You don't take
second helpings because there isn't
enough. You walk more because you
want to save the eight pesos you would
spend on a motorella. Who needs an
expensivegymmembership?
8. More space to receive gifts and
surprises from the Lord. What do
you give the person who has
everything? Sometimes you don't even
feel like bothering. But we get gifts and
surprises from the Lord all the time.
Once, we were low on funds and with
not a lot of food in the house. Fr. Gil, a
good friend of ours, turned up at the
door with bananas, mangoes, oranges,
a pineapple and eggs from a mass he
had celebrated.An hour later our house
was filled with our friends from a
neighbouring slum and their babies
who had been on doctor visits with
some of our volunteers. We set before
them fruits and egg rice, a feast
provided by the Lord. Every volunteer
I know has multiple stories like this.
We get to see our God as a Provider,
because we don't try to provide
ourselves with every single thing that
we need and want. Our own comfort is
not the first priority. But every now and
again, just when we need it, the Lord
romancesus withathoughtfulgift.
Disclaimers: When I talk about
poverty, like Father Dubay, I do not
mean destitution. Instead I refer to a
life of simplicity, what he calls a
'sparing-sharing' lifestyle.Also I know
that one man's necessity is another
man's luxury, so no one can really
define exactly what simplicity is. And
you'll probably always have more than
SOMEONE, no matter how simply
you try to live.That doesn't mean that it
an unachievable goal, so why bother.
The point is to start asking the Lord,
“What is a necessity and what is a
luxury? What would you like me to
give away? What changes would you
like me to make in my life?”Also, I am
not suggesting that every Christian
should leave their well-paying jobs
and become itinerant volunteers
(unless God calls them to). Not at all !
Keep earning that money, just give
away more of it, and don't keep trying
to upgrade your life. I know people
who are doing this and they are a
beautiful witness. Also, big
disclaimer: this message is as much
for me as for you. I am not suggesting
I've got this whole 'gospel poverty'
thingdown. Okay,donedisclaiming.
- Susanna D

14. 14
ClinicalStory
I was at my clinic the other day
addressing a client through
consultation.
A Young Mother, who herself was
raised in the consciousness as a elder
child seemed to carry a lot of anguish
andmentalturmoilwithinher.
Upon our conversation, got to know
that she did face a lot of conflicts with
female relationships and was finding it
hard and difficult to control her
emotions when it came for her own
child.
To the impending doom and the fear of
losing herself in rage and so also losing
herself in the relationships that she
nurtured everything surfaced up as
nightmarishdreams now.
She was depressed, under confident,
angry, violent and so too not feeling
herself in the body and eventually the
mental picture showed a lot of
hopelessness about the immediate
future.
An inner reflect therapy reflected
repeated ignorances and abuse that she
went through at the various stages of
life as a child and thus the deep need of
healingwithin.
The cumulative effect of a tumultuous
childhood, abuses and inner escape of a
reality that was altering towards
different perception had diagnosed her
with the clinical condition of
BorderlinePersonalityDisorder.
TheErupt ofLife
Aseedisinaconstantstateoferuption!
Mind is one such seed that is a gift to
the mankind which is in a constant state
ofawakening!
Towards the wake of life, to regain the
flow, to rise above the earlier state, to
dissolve and perish and return to the
source known to the Truth from where
itcamefrom!
This SeedisYou!
The seed has life flowing through it in
every way, through thoughts, Flow - of
energy, through body, it’s inner
awareness, higher consciousness rise,
the spirit embodiment which is coming
from a connect of the Source, which we
call as the God, the Truth, the Creative
Intelligenceoranythingelse.
So why do the Souls take the form
through a body, where a mind is so
relevant to hold to the consciousness
that needs to undergo healing, attain
experiences, letting go, forgive and
ultimately surrender, before it joins the
TruthofSource?
This is the science the modern man is in
a quest with today, which is a path
towardsSelf-Exploration.
One may want to know why only some
are chosen for this and the rest pursue
themselvesonanormalpath?
Spirituality is an inward Path, where a
being in existence is lost to find Self,
experiencing the fear as a sensation to
break away from the inner pattern of
turmoil and attain Self-Liberation that
connects one with the most naturalistic
stateofPeace!
The Inner Awareness shares the
understanding that only the chosen
ones have to undergo this, who are
courageous to face the Truth Source,
who is now in a state of Awakening,
Enlightenment and so too erupting
with the Spirit of Life which gifts one
with ultimate liberation from the
cycles of all of the processes, existing
inthetimelinesofearthreality.
Healing comes as a natural gift from
theSpirituality.
The seed of Life is the truth towards
IN PURSUIT OF LIFE THROUGH SPIRITUALITY

15. Letter to all our readers:
I thank you for all your support for TMS. Thank you for writing in, for
sending wishes and prayers and letters and articles and poems and
stories! Please don't stop! We love to include original work from our
readers. Hearing from you makes my day. The Mustard Seed is a
community and communities should communicate!
We have a blog on <tmsthemustardseed.wordpress.com> Log on and
join us online!
Our digital PDF edition is available to all, email me for your online copy.
Please do share it generously.
I have been wading through a high pile of returned copies every issue.
I am sad to say many addresses are out-dated or wrong. Many of you
haven't received your copies although we have checked the addresses
and I have posted them personally. Please write in to confirm your
address with the pin code and correct spellings. If you, or someone you
know, haven't received your copy, let me know! Email me or send me a
regular post card. Share this with friends and family who receiveTMS.
As always, I humbly request you to donate generously to our near-
empty coffers. Printing and postage costs are huge and we do not
accept advertisements, sponsors or ask for annual subscriptions.
The Mustard Seed may be slow, late or lost in transit but my
commitment to you is from the bottom of my heart!
Onward in Faith!
- Raadhika
Spirituality and in it’s awareness mind
is free to explore, grow, evolve and
infinitely attain eternal freedom in the
TruthofSource!
Every binding, all limitations that are
chained within that would have
resulted in any limitations or
conditions in Mind, Body or Life are
liberated and healed through
Spirituality.
It’s ajourneybyitselfandAHugeOne!
Liberationtowards Life!
The classic case discussed above of
inner conflict could heal through any
modality, be it scientific or alternative
science, but what is aiding in the
modality of healing is the shift in the
innerconsciousness.
Spirituality is the gift for inner
consciousness. Gaining connect with
spirituality, however, is a inner
journey.
This journey helps you find your
purpose, thus helping and aiding in
yourinnerliberation.
You are the guide for self towards this
awakening, which gifts you the
freedom to live Life towards it’s
highest potential not explored, yet
known toInnerSelf!
Aboutthewriterofthisarticle-
- Ms Prameela Sreemangalam - TOI
Speaking Tree - Good Karma Award
Winner, Young Women Achievers
2017, Author, Psychotherapist, Life
Coach.

16. There is no better exercise for the heart
thanreachingdown andliftingpeopleup.
- John Anderson Holmes
Everyone thinks of changing humanity
andnobodythinksofchanginghimself.
- Leo Tolstoy
I don't know what your destiny will be,
but one thing I do know; The only ones
among you who will be really happy are
those who have sought and found how to
serve.
- Albert Schweitzer
Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing
dismay thee; all things pass. God never
changes. Patience attains all things that it
strives for. He who has God finds that he
lacksnothings;God alonesuffices.
- St Teresa of Avila
It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is
rich according to what he is, not
accordingtowhathehas.
- Henry Ward Beecher
The Mustard Seed as usual comes to you free of
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