Mum just needs to get a whiff of something and she latches onto it like a shark sensing a drop of blood! But unlike the shark, she only wants her child to be happy and safe.
16 July 2019
Mothers
The Egyptian persecution and gender persecution
History is strewn with numerous instances of persecution. And among those groups of people persecuted most, the ones that top the list would be the Jews. In the book of Exodus we hear Pharoah punishing the Jews in anticipation that they 'might' join the enemy! Besides forced rigourous labour, he commands all male babies be drowned in the river.
One can view this as a gender disparity. Why only males? Why not all babies? Perhaps Pharoah was not aware that in Jewish tradition, the child receives its heritage from the religion of the mother. So one born of a Jewish woman, no matter which religion or group the father belonged to, the child would be a Jew. Going by that lineage, Pharoah killed the wrong gender!
But perhaps, Pharoah was not after destroying the whole race - something what Hitler tried to do. He was perhaps only culling numbers - especially of those whom he feared a threat from: male, capable of joining wars and fights. Females posed no apparent threat to him.
If only modern generation, which is quick to blame the female gender for most of its faults, picks up at least the last lesson from him - even though sadistic or inhumane it may seem!
One can view this as a gender disparity. Why only males? Why not all babies? Perhaps Pharoah was not aware that in Jewish tradition, the child receives its heritage from the religion of the mother. So one born of a Jewish woman, no matter which religion or group the father belonged to, the child would be a Jew. Going by that lineage, Pharoah killed the wrong gender!
But perhaps, Pharoah was not after destroying the whole race - something what Hitler tried to do. He was perhaps only culling numbers - especially of those whom he feared a threat from: male, capable of joining wars and fights. Females posed no apparent threat to him.
If only modern generation, which is quick to blame the female gender for most of its faults, picks up at least the last lesson from him - even though sadistic or inhumane it may seem!
07 July 2019
Vehicles
We're waiting for a new fleet of cars from the hiring company. Not that the existing ones are old. They are just four years old and in perfect condition. So perfect that there's hardly any scratch on some of them - they've all been professionally touched up! But compared to the vehicles we use back in India and the condition they often end up in, these are brand new!
I remember the old sumo of BIRDY house. Then the one I used - and loved most - while at Ramanthapur. We would get practically anything and everything in it. Flour bags for the bakery. Provisions for the kitchen. Bakery products to the Sunday sale. Cement bags for the maintenance. Rolls of cloth for the ITI tailoring section. All of these besides using it as a transport vehicle for confreres and boys! We could take off the seats, the overhead carriage, the spare wheel (if and when it did have one),... and the tyres, wow, there were so many patches on them that the one patching them up said that the oldest tyre which he used as a stool to sit on in his repair shop, was far better than the ones we had our vehicle running on! In spite of all these, the vehicle was great! I loved it more than the new ones we had!
Was reminded of those 'good old vehicles' when I watched this clip from one of the God's must be crazy editions...
I remember the old sumo of BIRDY house. Then the one I used - and loved most - while at Ramanthapur. We would get practically anything and everything in it. Flour bags for the bakery. Provisions for the kitchen. Bakery products to the Sunday sale. Cement bags for the maintenance. Rolls of cloth for the ITI tailoring section. All of these besides using it as a transport vehicle for confreres and boys! We could take off the seats, the overhead carriage, the spare wheel (if and when it did have one),... and the tyres, wow, there were so many patches on them that the one patching them up said that the oldest tyre which he used as a stool to sit on in his repair shop, was far better than the ones we had our vehicle running on! In spite of all these, the vehicle was great! I loved it more than the new ones we had!
Was reminded of those 'good old vehicles' when I watched this clip from one of the God's must be crazy editions...
03 July 2019
Cut flowers
Sitting for meditation the other day and having noticed the withering flowers at the altar, it occured to me that we bring to the altar only 'cut' versions of ourselves - pieces of time, occasions of the day, some events of the past, few bits and pieces of our inner selves. Just like the cut flowers. And just like cut flowers fade and wither away, faster than the ones not cut and left on the plants, so too do all these 'bits and pieces' of ourselves are like a big jigsaw puzzle before the altar, with quite a few pieces missing.
I've always preferred to place living and flowers (and plants) alive in front of the altar. That way, we do both - honour God and honour creation. Rather than cut flowers and then place them in water on the altar, I prefer the uncut flowers or plants adding beauty with their full life - not life cut short or only when in full blossom.
Perhaps those cut flowers are an analogy of what we actually do with ourselves too - and are happy with it. We only bring the 'best' so to say, to God. Not everything!
I've always preferred to place living and flowers (and plants) alive in front of the altar. That way, we do both - honour God and honour creation. Rather than cut flowers and then place them in water on the altar, I prefer the uncut flowers or plants adding beauty with their full life - not life cut short or only when in full blossom.
Perhaps those cut flowers are an analogy of what we actually do with ourselves too - and are happy with it. We only bring the 'best' so to say, to God. Not everything!
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