A prayer for the new year

Loving God, may this new year be one which realizes our potential and does not seek to satisfy others. It is not new resolutions that we need dear God, but the fulfillment of your promises. Inspire us Lord to be compassionate, merciful, understanding and adjusting. Offer the year 2017 for us and make it perfect enough for each of us in a special and different way. Instead of pressures give us challenges, instead of dejection give us new possibilities and instead of negative thoughts give us positive vibes of your wonderful energy. We pray gracious God that every day of this year 2017 be a new beginning and that these beginnings will give the passion to work hard in our lives. Help us to be formed by you and not just educated by society. May this formation offer the guidance of the Holy Spirit to recognize what is right and wrong.  Merciful God, form us to be you, so that 2017 need not be the most perfect year, but just perfect for us. Amen.  

2015: Happy light year

Genesis 1:3-5
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.


Light forms an important aspect of spirituality in the bible and Christian traditions. Light and its comparison with darkness is indeed very old and has been used relentlessly. Can we wish people a blessed new year 2015 by wishing them the light of God and are we in the process undermining dark and black and making them bad symbols and super imposing bright and white as good symbols? Or does light and its characteristics offer us enough food for thought as we enter into the new year 2015.

2015 has been decided as the International Year of Light (IYL) by the United Nations to make people understand the importance of light and fiber optic and light energy. “The UN’s 68th general assembly proclaimed 2015 an official “International Year of Light” that will focus on the science and applications of light, and seek to raise global awareness of how optics and photonics can have a positive impact in fields as diverse as energy, education, agriculture and health.” The emphasis is to make people understand the value and importance of light and how it has made a very deep impact on the lives of all kinds of people.

Some of the characteristics of light are that it is a form of energy produced by luminous objects, it can travel through vacuum, it can penetrate through transparent materials but cannot pass through opaque objects, light travels in a straight line in an optically homogeneous medium, it bounces back when made to fall on polished surfaces such as mirrors or metal surfaces, light takes the path of least time in passing from one point to the other and it appears to have a dual nature. So what does this offer us for the year 2015?

1. The duality in the singleness of God and the duality in the singleness of light- even though we are two, we are one. There is no white light but light which is a blend of various colours. It was only in the 17th century that Sir Isaac Newton showed that white light is made of different colours of light. At the beginning of the 20th century, Max Planck and later Albert Einstein proposed that light was a wave as well as a particle, which was a very controversial theory at the time. How can light be two completely different things at the same time? Experimentation later confirmed this duality in the nature of light. In the new year we must realise that one should not jump into clichés of branding people and communities as good or bad and instead understand that there is a strand which links all of us together. Together we become bearers of the light of God. Any difference is brought together for the light to shine and become useful for many. This single approach even in the face of differences brings about a calling which asks for giving credit to many people for the single achievements that come out in our lives.

2. Spirituotonics and photonics- identifying the essence of God and the essence of light and how it can be used for the good of humanity is indeed a great work we can do in 2015. Photonics is the science of light. It is the technology of generating, controlling, and detecting light waves and photons, which are particles of light. The characteristics of the waves and photons can be used to explore the universe, cure diseases, and even to solve crimes. Scientists have been studying light for hundreds of years. The colours of the rainbow are only a small part of the entire light wave range, called the electromagnetic spectrum. Photonics explores a wider variety of wavelengths, from gamma rays to radio, including X-rays, UV and infrared light. Photonics generates, controls and detects light waves and photons. Similarily spirituotonics should bring about an urge in us to identify the complex yet assuring power of spirituality and what it can offer to people.

Even if we cannot see the entire electromagnetic spectrum, visible and invisible light waves are a part of our everyday life. Photonics is everywhere; in consumer electronics (barcode scanners, DVD players, remote TV control), telecommunications (internet), health (eye surgery, medical instruments), manufacturing industry (laser cutting and machining), defense and security (infrared camera, remote sensing), entertainment (holography, laser shows), etc. Spirituotonics is also everywhere. It resonates in different spheres and offers various kinds of solace to people even though they are sometimes unaware of it. Understanding spirituotonics is like understanding photonics. It is to understand that we are intrinsically linked to God in some way or the other in everything that we do.

3. Churchsynthesis and photosynthesis- Photosynthesis is converting the energy from the sun into chemical energy which becomes plant protein. We should be able to identify and convert the energy from God into the energy for the people. The process that converts energy in sunlight to chemical energy used by green plants and other organisms is called photosynthesis. Although it is performed differently by different species, the process always begins when energy from light is absorbed by proteins called reaction centers that contain green chlorophyll pigments. A seemingly simple process, photosynthesis is actually quite complex and is the basis by which we grow all of our food and produce important resources such as fossil fuels.

Churchsynthesis should allow people to feed on the vast energy of God available in the church through Christ, Mother Mary and the numerous saints. This should be an equitable, sustainable and just process which is made available for all.
Let’s make 2015 a special year. This can only be done through a concerted and sustained effort by the church and people through the ever shining presence of God. Let us work together, identify God’s presence in our lives and synthesise the energy freely available from God to energy that will feed the poor, heal the sick and sustain the earth. Amen.


(Excerpts from a sermon preached in St. Ignatius Church, K.R. Puram, Bangalore on 1-1-2015)

Picture courtesy www.iyl2015.nl

2014…1, 2 ka 4…4, 2 ka 1

After leaving behind a 0123 year 2013 we have entered into 2014 with the usual excitement. Even though there is no big deal and many a time much ado about nothing is being made out about the entry into the new year, it does help to have something to look to and be inspired at the beginning of a year.

2014 does give that edge over 2013 even though it does not make much numerical sense. This is apparent if one looks at the 1989 Bollywood movie “Ram Lakhan”. The movie had a long star cast including Raakhi, Dimple Kapadia, Madhuri Dixit, Anupam Kher, Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor. The movie had a song titled “1, 2 ka 4…4, 2 ka 1.” On the one hand the song meant how Jackie Shroff playing the elder brother saw his younger brother as someone who was always looking to make easy money. On the other hand the movie ends with the message that the younger brother is not that bad a person after all and the two brothers come together for a fight against evil.

The idea is that usually 1x2= 2 but this can be 1x2=4. If this is used to accumulate wealth and work against the people this will be one of the most corrupt things one can do. But if this same concept is used for good, it can bring about benefit to the people. 1x2 cannot be 4 practically and yet corruption has become part of our system. The idea is then to use this impracticable concept for the benefit of the people.

There is a lot of interest being generated on the subsidy announced for electricity in Delhi for those who consume up to 400 units of electricity. Even as some say that it is utter madness, there is a method in the madness being professed. This can be attributed as the 1,2 ka 4 method whereby money is used for the benefit of the commoner rather than for private enterprises distributing electricity.

John 15: 13-15 says “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” There is an invitation for a calculated madness which basically makes use of the concept of taking what is available and multiplying it to unimaginable levels. This brings us to a raised position of being friends of Jesus and being privy to what he knows.

This 2014, a 1,2 ka 4 concept will serve us well. It is a way to say that the welfare of the people is the only and ultimate aim for us. Those below in the social ladder should get an opportunity to come up rather than being kept where they are citing procedural and practical reasons. 2014 is also a year where we can make things happen rather than just talking and discussing what could happen. Let’s multiply goodness. Happy new year.

From the municipality with love: A few loads of waste for new year

The town of Thiruvalla is sandwiched between the important towns of Chengannur and Changanachery. Its importance can be attributed to a high NRI population and a railway station which caters to small villages outside the railway corridor. The past two decades have seen enormous activity in terms of big apartments and new shopping malls. The mad rush was kick started by the gulf war and the fleeing workers of the oil rich state of Kuwait. Now people see Thiruvalla as a town which has all basic facilities and is conveniently placed.

The speedy construction and new buildings has also given rise to a serious problem which no one knows how to solve. The town is producing huge amounts of waste and the municipality does not know what to do with the piles coming up each day. The public stadium was seen in the eighties as the pride of the people, leading to the hosting of state level football matches and inter-state level cricket matches. But that image of the stadium changed with huge piles of waste being disposed all around the stadium. Early morning walkers and sports lovers were forced to retreat because of the unbearable stench of the waste.

This forced the authorities to shift the waste disposal to a private plot near the stadium and then to the area next to the private bus stand. All the while people have been protesting this haphazard outlook of the municipality whereby people are not able to wait for buses without covering their nose and getting nauseated. Every time some event comes up near the stadium the authorities shift gears to transport the waste to other areas. One such area is the vacant municipal plot next to the temporary KSRTC bus stand on the railway station YMCA road. Residents of the area were woken out of their sleep by the unbearable stench of the waste.

A similar attempt was prevented by the public a couple of years ago which may be the reason of the night attempt this time. The health official present had a few things to say. One, that this waste is produced by the people and therefore there is nothing wrong in disposing it in a residential/town area, two, don’t stop the authorities from doing their work (The official even took photos of the people present in a overt attempt to scare off those assembled.), three, disposing waste and putting mud on top is scientific and the municipality usually fills land with waste and this can then be made use of for the public. The public on the other hand had their version. One, the huge amount of waste is produced by hotels and other institutions. They then pay money for this to be disposed by the municipal workers. Two, mud is not put properly on top of the waste and this leads to crows and dogs scavenging the remains and spreading it all over. The sparsely covered waste will then start smelling and people start falling sick and the water table is polluted by the authorities themselves. Three, money changes hands over mud filling and dispensing of waste and there is an unholy alliance between the authorities and private players. Four, history has shown that the authorities have failed big time in waste managements and all they do is to pollute the soil and the air.

The options in front of the public are two. One, file a complaint with the municipal authorities and two, file a writ in the honourable High Court seeking stopping of the waste disposal in areas where people live. The municipal chairperson has already assured that the waste will not smell and that this is a one time affair. For some reason the public refuse to believe this.

As I sit writing New Year wishes to people, my mind simply won’t function the way I want it to. I can’t help drawing parallels with the municipal authorities and church authorities. Both are called to serve and both end up serving themselves and threatening the people of dire consequences if they show the courage to speak out. What is the common woman/man supposed to do? Approach the political leaders, approach the court or take to violence? As I think about my local experience I realise that this is what happens in my country as well. Why should 2012 be any different? All statistics show that corruption has increased, high handedness is the norm and the public are the least everywhere. The words public servant and service are a joke. Is something going to change? Will the people get what is rightfully theirs? Will we still bend our backs and tie our towels around our waste and say ‘yes, yes’ to our authorities or will we demand service? As a servant myself, will I be able to serve others rather than rule and boss over them in 2012? Let the small expectant sparks (if any) be the fireworks of 2012. Happy new year.

Knowing who you are.

The beginning of a year also poses the difficult question of what to start writing on. For obvious reasons, the beginning of the year post will be scrutinized. Many will start with resolutions and promises and what they see are the challenges for the new year. For me, the new year is as much important as the years that have passed by. The years which have presented me with rich experiences through various people and channels. Thus the new year and the years gone by present me with the challenge of knowing “who I am.”

I can blurt out a volley of resolutions, some of which I might do, some which I will repeat the next year and others which will always be inscribed in the hall of fame of resolutions. I hate resolutions anyway, so I won’t go the common path but will take a deviation down a dusty path which is not even on my map. Call it a rush of adrenalin, insanity, a sense of adventure. But maybe I don’t want to take the neat looking road of certainty but would want to toy with a bit of uncertainty.

Knowing who we are and what we want to do are supposed to go hand in hand. But there are several of us who end up doing (working) what we don’t like. Circumstances and the need of the hour are responsible for this as several of us do not have the luxury of doing what we like to do. We do try hard to convince ourselves that we have figured out things for ourselves and we know what is good. But the new year is also a time when we could be hit by a bolt of realisation that maybe we haven’t hit the bulls eye, atleast not yet.

I wanted to be a pilot (like most kids) when I was young. My neighbour friends even called me for games where we would play being in an aeroplane and played roles to fit the scene. As soon as I had to see a doctor, my thoughts shifted to being one myself. That didn’t last long as I dreamt of being a taxi driver, a mechanic, an IAS officer, a police man, a teacher, a mime artist, an actor and what not. Every week or month was a different phase of life, when the dream and need for achievement would be re examined and re fixed. This avatar could not be placed in one bracket.

Coming through all this I still don’t know who I am. I know what people call me. I am an achen or priest in Kerala and am expected to fulfil some roles which someone has fixed. After all the role plays of young I am again put into a role play which I am expected to perform. Any deviance from the original plot is not always seen as a stroke of genius, but misbehaviour and disobedience. But I guess the job that I have is also a mix of all the role plays I did when I was young. It’s a mixture of euphoria, excitement and disappointment in varying degrees.

This new year there are no resolutions. This new year 2010 is about learning who I am, over and over again. It’s a time of stepping into the shoes of various people, in various roles and understanding what the role is about. It’s the time when I will have to say ‘cut’ if I am not doing justice to my role. It’s a year to listen and learn from other people so that I find myself out from the billions of others around me. Happy 2010.