I was recently invited to the Pilar Seminary by Fr Elvis Gomes to interact with the young brothers studying there, soon to be ordained as priests. It is a 4-year immersive programme for seminarians between the age of 22 and 27 yrs after which they are ordained priest. In this period they learn theology, are assigned modules to work with community and finally present a thesis at the end of 4 yrs. It was such a lovely opportunity and I considered talking to the brothers about values and convictions as guiding principles to live by and serve the community. But how and where do we find these values? And when do we build these convictions?
Have you heard of the Olive Ridley turtle that is a regular visitor to Goa’s coastal stretches of Morjim, Aguada and Galgibaga? These turtles live in the ocean and live in water all their life. They come to land only to lay eggs. The females come to the same beach of their birth to lay eggs! The female turtles lay eggs by digging a pit in the sand and then return to the ocean/sea. She does not wait to nurture her babies. After more than a month the hatchlings come out and rush to the waters of the sea/ocean. So you see there is no contact between the baby turtle and the mother. As humans we are lucky that unlike the turtle, our mother constantly nurtures us. Our parents are there to help us. We learn to walk, talk and grow up. Along the way we imbibe values from what we see and hear. We lament when things do not work out and yet there are so many like the turtle that are born alone and grow up in the mighty ocean to learn the tough lessons of life and return to its birthplace like magic.
Have you watched the recent Lion King movie? I love the scene where Mufasa takes his cub, Simba to his high point on the rock from where they see the entire Savana forest and tells his cub that all this will be his when he becomes king. And Simba is so excited and says, ‘You mean, I will own all of this, Dad?’ And Mufasa asserts, ‘Yes son, all this will be yours, not to own, but to care for.’ It was such a profound statement and we can so easily apply this to our existence. We are born on this earth, it is our home. We use its resources for our needs. But it is not ours to own. It is ours to care for.
There’s another brilliant film I watched years ago. Megamind. It is about a super villain who is raised by prison inmates and learns the ropes of the trade. He achieves his dream to be the most evil and conquers the world. But the turning point comes when he feels empty after getting what he had always wanted by being evil. And he then tries to be good to others! And again we can connect this to our lives. Our moments of pursuing materialism, dishonesty, corruption. And the feeling of emptiness. A void. And that feeling is replaced by joy when we do good to others.
So at what point do we pick up the values that guide our conscience? As children, a large part of our lives is spent in observing those around us. Our parents, family members, friends, teachers, etc. We learn from what we see and experience. We learn to be compassionate to others, we learn to love nature, we learn to be honest and truthful, we learn to be kind, we learn to love, we learn to give, we learn to think the best about others.
As we grow up, this learning is put to test. Do we continue to be compassionate if others are not? Do we continue to love nature, even if there are calamities, hurricanes, floods and tsunamis? Do we continue to be honest and truthful even if others are not? Do we continue to be kind, love, give and think the best about others even if we are not treated the same way? This is the point where we build our convictions. A point where there may be no others to follow our example. To do right. To follow the path of truth. To walk the talk. To walk the less trodden path. To walk alone.
And then we grow into adults. Where we become the persons who mounded us. Who mentored us. Who influenced us. Who taught us. It’s that point. Not to own but to care. To be. To be responsible. And to do that, we have to live beyond our own selves.
As individuals, we will all do the jobs and duties we are trained for. We will all be teachers, architects, lawyers, musicians, dancers, artists, doctors, engineers, journalists, etc. We will also be spiritual leaders, priests, etc. We will fulfill our roles and duties. But is that enough? Is that all?
To care is to go beyond those set limits of our roles. Can I do more? Can you do more? Can we do more? Can I step outside my profile, beyond my shadow to do more? Can I step beyond the limits of my home to care for my neighbourhood and community? Can I step beyond my office to care for my people and environment? Can I step beyond my world to care for the whole world? Yes I can, so can you. There is so much to do.
(Tallulah D’Silva is a practising architect in Goa).
