“Now is the favourable time”

( A Lentern reflection)

If we remove the article ‘the’ from the above statement of St.Paul,  four words remain – now, is, favourable, time.  All the four words are intimately linked and mean the same.

Let us start with the word ‘is’. It is not difficult to identify the same meaning in ’is’ and ‘now’.   ‘Is’  is something that is now, in the present moment. That is why we call it a present tense.

Let us take next the word ‘time’.  It is much more difficult to see how ‘now’ and’ time’ are related. Some even speak of time and now as opposites. It all depends on the meaning we give to the word ’time’.

What is ‘time’? When we are talking about time we mean one of these three – past ,present, future.   If we say  time is  past or future, it is an illusion.   Yesterday is gone , you have only a memory of it. Tomorrow is not.  Past and future have no reality of their own. Their reality is borrowed from the present moment, from the now.  Future is an imagined now. When you think of past or future, you do it now.

When we speak of ‘time’,  if it means this one point of time, this present moment, this ‘now’,     it makes sense. ‘Now’ is all that there is. All you are given in life is now. Life is now. There is never a time when life is not now. The past and future are an illusion with no reality of their own. Don’t be fooled by the memories of the past nor the promise of a future.           

The art of living is to make peace with this present moment. That is all we are given in life – this present moment. He who finds happiness in the ‘now’ finds blessing , finds favour, finds heaven. Make your ‘now’ a favourable time and you will find heaven. Make all your moments like this moment. Then you will have found your eternity. Between now and eternity there is no time. Between now and heaven there is no time. Now is eternity. Now is heaven.  Live Now. Live heaven. Live eternity.

-        Fr T.V. George sdb

               

                                             

                        

                                                           Truth needs no defence

Truth needs no defence. Instead, lie and falsehood need swords and ‘senas’ to defend them. Truth is its own defence. Instead lies need to hire vociferous anchors and commercial TV Channels to convince everyone that black is white.

However loud one may shout or whatever clever argument one may employ, a lie can never become the truth. However high one may climb or how low one may descend, one can never hide from the truth. As Shakespeare has said ‘all the perfumes of Arabia’ cannot wash away the stain on one’s hand. One may rally around all the officials and institutions of the country to hide and bury the truth but as a Parliamentarian has said “truth has a way of coming out.” It will keep popping up until it meets with peace and justice. Peace, justice and truth belong to the same family. They go together. 

 We have been hearing shrill voices and loud noises on our TV Channels in the last week debating the BBC documentary on the ‘Modi Question’. We can have any number of debates or parliament sessions to establish the truth, it will be a futile exercise. When the highest court of the country is taking years to establish the truth, how can TV anchors and party leaders vouch for the truth, a hundred per cent, in the span of just a few minutes?    There is only one who knows the truth and fears the truth. The one living the lie.

Some equate themselves to the nation to make themselves immune to criticisms and ward off law agencies.  However high one may climb whatever position one may occupy, no one is equal to or higher than the country. Not even Napoleon made such a claim. No one should be allowed to rise so high that an attack on an individual is considered an attack on the nation. The nation is sovereign and integral but individuals who represent the nation are always not, even if they have been given a clean chit by the highest court in the country. There is always the possibility of a ‘ miscarriage of justice’ if not ‘Justice’ is being tutored!

“ What is truth?” Pilate asked Jesus during his trial. Jesus remained silent and looked at Pilate. Pilate looked into his eyes and in that look and silence, he knew the answer to his question, but rather than accept the truth and be free, he looked away. Truth is known in silence and stillness rather than in fiery debates and angry arguments. It is not that we don’t know the truth but it makes us uncomfortable so we employ all within our power to silence the truth. Isn’t it an irony that a big nation like India is not strong enough to withstand a foreign documentary film? If truth is on our side why fear?  If the truth is on their side, the truth will keep popping up. Pilate tried to bury the Truth but after three days it burst forth. It may take three days, three years or twenty years but certainly, the truth will rise again until it is victorious. Only truth can set us free.

-        George Chalil