This is the seventh edition of Prajwalana - an offshoot of Writers' Forum

3. Prajwalana
Page 3
You Remain My Hero
I am bad or rather lazy at researching a place
before I travel, tending just to show up and see what
happens. When you travel this way, what typically
happens is that you end up spending a lot of time in
the middle a of crowded station feeling confused,
looking at people to choose the right person to give
you the direction. But in India the moment you are
out of a train the first people to welcome you are
either auto or taxi drivers. Before them you need to
appear as if you are a local man and that you are
coming to your own place. But I have never learned
how to arrange my face into that blank expression
that is so useful when travelling to unknown places
that ‘super relaxed’, ‘totally in charge’ expression
which makes you look like you belong there,
anywhere, everywhere. As for me, when I don’t know
I look like I don’t know, when I am excited or nervous
I look excited or nervous, when I am lost my face
shows it. My face is a transparent transmitter of my every
thought. And I have other bodily weaknesses too.
The moment I get into a bus my head starts spinning,
stomach starts aching and within the next fifteen minutes
I puke. I threw up many times when I travelled and
had to face the angry faces of my co-travelers. Despite
all this, travelling is the great love of my life, because
many of my lessons I have learnt while travelling.
Let me share with you one of them. Recently I
was travelling from Hubli to Bangalore. As usual I was
unprepared for the journey. I had not reserved my
seat, so I had to travel in the general bogie.
With all the jumping, pushing, stamping, kicking
and shouting I managed to secure a seat for the next
12 hours of my journey. We were ten in the beginning
and could sit comfortably; slowly our number
increased to eleven, twelve… and reached fourteen.
I sat sandwiched between an old man on one side
and a fat man on the other. This old man looked extra
grumpy. The whole compartment smelt coconutty
and salty, coconut from the hair oil of the old man
and salty because of the sweat of the fat one.
At the next station around twenty people
wriggled in, into an already full compartment. Among
them was a Muslim couple with three children - two
boys and a little girl (Muslim from their attire). The
moment she entered, the woman placed her bags
above our heads on the rack and
while doing so she stamped my
foot. A Hot flush began in my
stomach and reached my face but
I said nothing.
She asked the old man to
move a bit to make place for her children. The old
man looked at her as if she was asking for a share in
his property! Actually there was no place at all. The
three children were cute and the little girl with a pink
dress was extra cute. I liked her eyes. I fought the
feeling before it took control of me and took the
mobile as if I received a call. The woman tried asking
others but got similar responses. So the couple and
the three children had no choice but to remain
standing.
As the train picked up speed vendors pressed in
selling snacks and soft drinks. Many around us bought
them and began munching. Some opened their food
packets. I too took out my box full of chips and nuts
and began eating, not daring to look at the others.
Almost an hour passed. The train did not stop
anywhere. The children were still standing. The
woman was still busy trying to secure a place for them.
The atmosphere was very tense, unfriendly and
cold, but in the next few moments the atmosphere
changed with a single act of love.
Looking at everyone eating, the woman brought
two packets of cream biscuits for her children and
gave them to her eldest son. He opened one of them
and shared it with everyone beginning with the old
man. With a charming smile he forced people to take.
He offered it to me too. Opening the other packet he
gave it to his little sister, brother and his parents; at
the end one remained which he happily ate. Guilt
knotted within me. I felt very small before that little
boy. I guess everyone felt the same because within
minutes someone offered a seat to the little girl and
the little boy. I made the elder boy sit on my lap.
People exchanged their eatables with the children.
It was a happy journey thereafter…
Oh Boy! Wherever you are, you remain one of
my heroes.
Sch Prashanth Sequeira SJ

4. Prajwalana
Page 4
My Understanding of Freedom
”You can muffle the drum, and you can loosen
the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the
skylark not to sing?” says Kahil Gibran. Indeed one of
the deepest longings of every being is freedom. It is
freedom that helps us to grow and makes us what we
are. It is the ultimate goal of every human person, in
other words, “liberation.” I would describe it as a
journey towards one’s own interior self, being able
to be in touch with the core dimension of oneself.
I understand freedom as courage to be myself
where I am not overburdened with the tension of
how I appear to others or how others perceive me. I
accept myself as I am with all my strengths and
limitations. I am able to be at home with myself. I
enjoy being what I am without trying to pretend what
I am not. I may encounter a lot of limitations which
are unavoidable as I grow up, but then I handle them
without letting myself down. Everyone has some
‘givenness’ in life, which may be limited. But when I
am free, my givenness which may be limited can be a
starting point to make my life beautiful out of what I
am given by God. Hence I believe that freedom is a
demanding vocation to be true to oneself. I also
understand freedom as dying to one’s ego. Thus I am
no more a slave to my egoistic feelings. No more do I
become the slave of my
thoughts and feelings; rather, I
control them. I learn to go
beyond my selfish desires.
In my opinion freedom and
responsibility complement
each other. My freedom enables
me to be responsible and in the
act of being responsible I walk towards the goal of
attaining freedom through my dedication. Freedom
as for me is a joyful commitment. I never think that
freedom is a license to do anything that I like. Rather
it is responding to the call of one’s innermost being.
Freedom is a means to become what we are supposed
to be. It is a creative energy that helps one to face life
boldly by not being attached to persons, things and
possessions but by being the master of oneself. Victor
Frankl once said that the greatest freedom of human
beings is freedom to make meaning. No matter what
situation life may offer me, I gain the best from it.
Freedom is also a foundation where true love builds
up. Love always grows in freedom. True freedom also
provides lots of self-control by not giving a chance to
yield to ones temptations, greed and selfish desires.
Erich Fromm says, “there can be no real freedom
without the freedom to fail.” Freedom helps a person
to accept failures and to learn from them.
Freedom is the essence of becoming human. It
is a path to transformation by the concrete realization
of one’s goals. Attaining freedom is an ongoing
process. No one is born free. But as we walk the
journey of life it is our attitude and will power that
helps us to be free. Freedom demands struggle,
challenges, pain, sacrifice; but the fruits of freedom
give us lifelong bliss and a joyful living. So, I strongly
believe that freedom is a source of strength to live
life to the full.
Sch Ashwin Cordeiro SJ

5. Prajwalana
Page 5
Ignatius Inspires Me!!!
At first St.
Ignatius wanted to
win over the
world. He wanted
to impress a
queen with his
skills. He dreamt
that his ambition
would be fulfilled.
He fought in the
battlefield against
the French. Here
he could not
defeat their
powerful army.
Ultimately, he
landed up in bed
wounded and
broken. This phase of his life transformed him from
becoming a soldier of the world into a soldier of
Christ; from Inigo to Ignatius.
Mother Mary with the child appeared to him.
After recovery, being short legged he surrendered to
Jesus with all his sins and drawbacks. God came to
him every now and then with lights and consolations.
He started realizing all that he had done against God’s
will. He attended to his heart that was broken and
peeled off. Jerusalem was his only dream to come
back to Jesus. However, things became clear for him
as he moved forward. He travelled long journeys. In
all his goodness he began to preach to people he
came across. Many false accusations were levelled
against him. The church authorities did not allow him
to preach further. He felt the need to study. However,
elementary education paved the way for him to have
a clear idea of philosophy and theology. He was a
man on a journey with Christ carrying the cross. The
spirituality he taught impressed a lot of those who
came to him.
The University of Paris was everything to Ignatius
to do his master’s and to gather men and women for
others. He met Francis Xavier there; Peter Faber was
his source of inspiration. The
man we now call St. Ignatius of
Loyola went on to found one of
the most influential religious
orders of priests in the Church,
namely, the Society of Jesus, its
member known as the Jesuits.
Perhaps St Ignatius’
greatest contribution to the
Church, in terms of spirituality, is the Spiritual
Exercises. During a personal retreat in a cave at
Manresa, Spain, where he spent several months in
prayer purifying his soul of inordinate attachments
and seeking God’s will for his life, Ignatius conceived
the Spiritual Exercises as a method of contemplation
and discernment.
The process of my life in the Society has been an
interesting one as I follow the path of Ignatius. It has
continued to build in me a pattern for modern
concerns. I am able to live up to the Discernment of
the Spirit with reason and faith. There is a complete
enrichment in my way of proceeding. Thus things are
changing worldwide between the cross roads. My
heart is entering into the heavenly court of love and
freedom. The 32nd General congregation mentions “A
Jesuit is a sinner yet called by Christ as Ignatius was.”
This is faith’s long journey into a Jesuit’s heart.
I think fidelity to one’s Jesuit vocation implies
fidelity to the vision of La Storta. By this inspiration I
wish to measure the complete authority of Christ
crucified. My treasure and my constant prayer is: That
I may see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly,
and follow Him more nearly.
As I move forward with this inspiration of St
Ignatius, I zealously desire to turn totally to God, to
be faithful in doing His will after the example of Christ.
My life is incomplete if I do not come out of the
inordinate attachments that bind me. I desire to serve
the poor and the needy as Ignatius did.
Sch Ashwin D’Silva SJ

6. “I have never let my schooling interfere
with my education.” Mark Twain
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Prajwalana
Page 6
Once a father asked his little daughter Karen,
“Dear, would you give me the necklace that was gifted
to you on your birthday?” The little girl with a sad
face refused her father’s request and said, “I would
give any of my play items to you but not this, because
it is very dear to me.” The father with a gentle smile
kissed her and left the place. After three days the
same little girl was at her father’s door. She had tears
in her eyes. She went close to her father and
embraced him and opened her palm where there was
that same necklace and she said, “Dad, I love you more
than this, take it for yourself.” The father drew her to
his side, kissed her on her forehead, opened a new
jewel box and presented to her a new costly diamond
necklace. He said, “I LOVE YOU MORE THAN THESE…”
When we lose ourselves in unconditional
universal love we are totally free. Freedom is not
merely a social agenda to be fought for but an inner
self to be realised. The key word for freedom is LOVE;
to love everything as it is.
Ignatius beautifully
describes freedom in the
Spiritual Exercises as
‘Detachment.’ The one who is
fully detached from the world
and from oneself can love as
God loves. Freedom is above all
to love oneself as one is and to
accept others as they are.
When the little girl was free to give what she
thought she loved the most, she received more
abundantly in return that which was beyond her
expectation. Freedom multiplies love between
people. When we are not fully free, we fail to taste
that love. Many times we get stuck to tiny things that
restrict our own freedom. “Are there things in your
life that have restricted you from being free and from
loving others?”
Sch Ashwil Lobo SJ
Freedom to Love
“Education is not preparation for life;
education is life itself.”
John Dewey
“Education is the key to unlock the
golden door of freedom.”
George Washington Carver
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a
free human being with an independent will.”
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
“I did then what I knew how to do. Now
that I know better, I do better.”
Maya Angelou
Laugh!!!
· A humble Jesuit - a rarity!
· A Jesuit Pope - an impossibility!
· A humble Jesuit Pope - a MIRACLE!

7. Prajwalana
Page 7
The Role of a Teacher
Children spend more time in school than at
home. What happens in the school? Here, much
depends on the teacher. The school may provide a
good environment with pleasantly decorated
classrooms, attractive pictures on the walls, teaching
aids etc. But if the teacher does not attempt to realize
and accept responsibility to foster mental health and
make students competent on the one hand and
humane and compassionate on the other then
everything else will not be of much use. Students
whom we find in school are basically eager and they
have the aptitude to learn what is good, provided we
create an atmosphere for them to grow.
There is a beautiful metaphor that compares
children to seeds. Every seed has the potentiality to
grow into a mighty tree. But every seed does not
actualize it potency, because it doesn’t get proper
moisture, good soil, adequate manure and sunshine.
Similarly every child has potentiality unlimited
qualities to become a true human-being. Like a seed,
they too need a favourable atmosphere to actualize
their innate power. Therefore we have every onus in
the school to create a suitable atmosphere for a child
to grow mentally healthy. In this regard, teachers
have to play the role of a farmer who creates a
conducive atmosphere for every seed to grow.
Mental health is a state of well-being in which
an individual realizes his or her own abilities to cope
with the normal stress of life. Promoting mental
health and wellbeing of students is a vital part of the
core responsibility of a teacher. Therefore teachers
must create a supportive school environment that is
conducive to learning.
Recent researchers enumerate some of the
areas that affect the mental health of children. They
are poverty, harassment,
embarrassment, anger and
rejection. Other barriers that
were identified include fear of
being stigmatised, fear of
hospitalisation, issues of trust
and confidentiality, stigma,
perceived loss of esteem, lack
of social connectedness, lack of
knowledge of how and where
to seek help as well as low mental health literacy.
Teachers have a unique relationship with young
people and are often persons who help them to open
up their secrets. Addressing social and emotional
wellbeing more explicitly in pre-service training,
particularly in secondary education, may help early
career teachers to feel more confident about creating
supportive environments, participating in whole-school
programs and responding to troubled young
people. It may also aid teacher retention by ensuring
that these aspects of their role are not unexpected
and unduly stressful.
Teachers also play an important role in
promoting mental health and wellbeing, and in doing
so preventing or reducing the risk of mental ill-health.
Research demonstrates that in connection to a school,
a significant relationship with a trusted adult and self-efficacy
skills are important protective factors that
reduce the risk of mental ill-health.
Limited mental health power among children
who are not able to cope with life situations is
growing day by day. It is a sure indication to us
teachers to take proportional measures to ensure the
well being of a child who is under our care. It can thus
reduce the stress a child goes through while growing
up. So a teacher is not just an educator but a constant
companion who walks along the mental growth of a
child. It is the teacher who helps the child to have
constructive coping efforts to undertake difficult
situations in their personal lives. Let us as teachers
become effective communicators to foster healthy
relationships. Let us become untiring persons working
towards the wholesome growth of a child. Let us be
instruments of gentleness to mould children to live a
healthy balance life, and thus ensure every child in
our class / institution to grow up as a holistic person.
Sch Bartholome SJ

8. Prajwalana
Page 8
The Gift of Freedom
Freedom is a gift, a precious gift after life itself.
It is earned during the course of life. It is a slow
process and it needs time and patience to perfect it.
Thus, it is a long process wherein I learn to be free. It
is precious and fragile. It enables me to be ‘myself’,
gives me my worth and dignity. It makes me special
as I am. It gives me the courage to commit myself to a
cause, to love everyone and even to say ‘no’ to something.
Freedom is a deliberate choice to be true to my
inner self. This pre-supposes that first of all, I accept
myself as I am in freedom and I own up my actions, to
be responsible for myself, for my strengths and
weaknesses. It is to know that I can be myself. Freedom is
the spontaneous expression of my true self. It doesn’t
make life easy but makes it worthwhile.
Freedom also involves control and realization
to be a master of the self. Self control implies the
control of senses, not to suppress them but guide
them towards a goal that is set for my life. Without
basic control over self I cannot be human. If totally
thrown into passion, there is no freedom to grow and
cherish. When I am master of self and allow others to
be theirs, we all flourish in freedom and humanity
becomes more humane.
My Freedom implies that I am ‘free from’ my
selfish motives so that I am ‘free for’ others. This
enables me to be committed to a cause, to a person,
to a group or to an issue. My freedom helps me to
stand for the cause of
somebody or something and
even to that of my enemies. My
freedom makes me responsible
for the other especially the less
fortunate. So, freedom is the
response to the world outside.
This gives us true peace.
Freedom presupposes
responsibility, that I use the given freedom
responsibly. It also presupposes that I do mistakes
and I let others too. As I fail in responsibly making
use of my freedom, so too I respect the freedom of
the other, even in committing mistakes. I respect the
freedom of the other, just as God does. True freedom
lies in accepting and cherishing differences and
diversities existing in the other. This lets each one
grow in his or her way.
Freedom is painful and risky. Freedom demands
that I choose for my life out my free will. My use of
freedom may land me up at times in trouble. My free
choice or decision may fail me. I need the courage to
own it up. Freedom demands so much. Without risk
there is no glory. This aspect of freedom makes it
unique and makes me courageous to take decisions
for my life and own it responsibly.
Freedom is a spiritual longing, because humans
are spiritual beings. It can’t be quenched by any other
thing. It’s a spiritual openness from my part, an
internal disposition, and a self-surrender. Deepest
freedom of humans is the freedom of the soul and no
one can take it away, it is expressed through other
aspects of our lives. This experience is the greatest
of human experience.
Finally freedom calls us to be different, to take
the less travelled path. It is a call to go beyond,
transcend and grow from what we are now. It is in
and through my freedom that I am able to go to the
frontiers, explore myself and others, broaden my
horizon. Human freedom is fulfilled not only in the
ability to choose but to choose that which is of
common good. In simple words true freedom implies
choosing the best possible good.
Sch Vishwas Misquith SJ

9. Prajwalana
Page 9
Value-based Subject Learning
The perennial question that has been disturbing
me is: Why is that the people who study in Christian
or other good institutions, later on don’t show
elegance and respect? They seem to excel in studies,
but their personality never gets groomed. They turn
out to be communal men and women in society. They
seem to show a different face and speak and work
against the values of secularism. They criticize the
service of minorities though they have benefitted
from their very institution.
I think that the fault is in the system of value
education which is isolated and taught as a different
subject. I believe we need to think beyond value
education as a separate subject in
principle, because I observe that
students have an aversion to such
separate classes. Their interest
level is in subjects that
increase their grade.
Therefore why not give value
education as part of those very
subjects when taught. Every
lesson can end with an
application for life or an exploratory
value. It all depends on how a teacher helps
a student to apply it to his/her life. Students must be
given time for personalising what is taught.
The present generation, influenced by
globalisation of various kinds, needs to be given
value-based subject learning than a separate subject
called value education. Wouldn’t a child remember
and enjoy the lesson that speaks of the values of life
than a mere boring and isolated value education class?
Why can’t teachers moderate each session so as to
discuss, at the end of that lesson, the values that can
be imbibed from the learning of that lesson or topic
or issue?
Eg: From Maths – Students can learn the value
of transparency, accuracy, accountability and honesty.
These values can be stressed in relation to society
outside which is drowning in the sea of corruption.
From History – A student can learn that in
personal life too, the past has an effect on the way
we live. But one can also learn
lessons from past events and
improve one’s life. Every
person has gains and failures as
the rulers had. Everyone makes
mistakes. Responsibility is the
core value. Every ruler tried his
best. So we too should try to
give our best to society.
Stalwarts teach us to be like
them at least to some extent. Future generations
should remember the good deeds of each individual,
not the conquests.
Civics – A student can think how he/she can
contribute to the country at that concrete
level.
Geography – A student
can learn to respect land,
water, air and other natural
resources. Respect for nature is
learnt not only from science. A
sense of wonder at the cosmos can
be developed in geography. Even an
analysis how Tsunamis and landslides can
be prevented can be worked out. Land issues
like – mining (sand, coal, mineral), quarrying, bore
well deaths etc. can be discussed. Waste management
or waste separation can be discussed as a value to be
imbibed or a personal responsibility to be accepted.
Languages (Eng, Kan, Hindi …) – Our way of
speaking a language speaks of ourselves. Languages
help us to build relationships. The words we use must
be appropriate and modest. The more we read rich
literature the more we learn. Today people express
views that hurt other religions. Politicians make
irresponsible remarks. We must express ourselves
well. Our expression in literary form must be for the
good of society, not to harm others. We must
communicate good ideas through writing and
speaking, beneficial for all.
Botany – Plants teach us that what makes a good
tree is the sap within. The variety of leaves in a plant
teaches us to wonder at our uniqueness. Even an
contd...

10. Prajwalana
Page 10
individual plant teaches us volumes of lessons. A
cactus can teach us that letting one’s roots deep is
important to survive and gain nourishment in times
of adversity. A creeper can teach us that we need the
help of others to move on in life. A flowering plant
can teach us the value of generosity and happiness.
Today growing of crops has become a business.
Physics – We must devise technologies that help
people. We must discover ways and means to save
energy. The poor should benefit from the discoveries.
Various laws speak about principles for life.
Chemistry – We need to cooperate and help each
other in building up society like the elements and
compounds that share electrons and form strong and
weak bonds. We need to complement each other
through our interaction. Value of sacrifice, sharing,
giving and bonding are evident.
Zoology – It teaches a student to respect animals.
The way animals adapt themselves to environment
is an insight for us. They too sometimes exhibit
feelings of some kind. An ant works hard. A bird finds
its way to build a nest in spite of our destroying it.
The way a honeybee lives and the way it chooses the
right place is a wonder in itself.
I think this model of teaching every subject with
a moral for life will be remembered by the student in
the exam and beyond it. This approach may not be
easy. It demands a lot from the teacher and also an
adequate atmosphere in the class for personalising
matters. Even an assignment on the practicality of
the value for life can be given. Our mode of Education
needs a change. Variety and personalising will benefit
the student-centred approach.
Sch Lancy Fernandes SJ
Freedom to Live
There lived a rich man in a city. He had
tremendous wealth and he possessed many costly
things. In his house he employed a 16 year old boy to
look after the cleanliness of the place. The boy was
very poor and he worked hard, day and night. But the
rich man would not pay him anything for the work he
was doing. Whenever the boy approached him, he
would get arrogant and angry and all that the boy got
was a severe beating. The man had no respect for the
boy’s human dignity.
One evening the little boy recalled his own
family background. Theirs was a low caste family; his
father had taken a loan from a high caste man to dig a
bore well. When he could not
repay it in due time, the high
caste man seized everything
from this poor family. The
parents of the little boy became
his slaves, and the boy was sold
to a wealthy man in the city. As
the boy came to realize it, he
met one of the honest social
workers and shared his entire life story with him. The
latter promised the boy to help him and his family.
He confronted the rich man and the high caste fellow;
he had to undergo many risks on behalf of the boy
and his parents, besides working relentlessly for this
cause. Seeing his determination, both the rich man
and the high caste person tried to bribe him. When
the honest social worker stood firm in his resolve,
they turned against him and hiring some goondas,
they secretly finished him off.
In this present world, do all people have the
freedom to live? Do the rich and the poor, the high
and the low caste experience the same degree of
freedom? Do you and I have the freedom to live by
helping each other? As we go through this story, do
we realize the value of freedom to live? Let us try to
make ‘freedom to live’ every human being’s wealth
and property.
Sch Preethesh Misquith SJ

11. Prajwalana
Page 11
Is Teaching a Profession or a Vocation?
I fondly remember some of the beautiful
experiences I had while pursuing my primary and
secondary education twenty years ago that revolved
around the walk to the school, play with the mates,
some naughty adventures and as a result beatings
from teachers and of course the learning of lessons.
Though we were frightened of the teachers because
of their cane, we respected them, for they passed on
to us something more than what the regular subjects
would provide. Even today whenever I visit my native
place, I make it a point to visit my teachers. Things
have changed over the past twenty years.
Commercialization of education has reduced all stake
holders to a mere commodity to be
bought and sold. Last month, I was
wonderstruck and overcome with disgust
to read the story in the newspaper of a
teacher raping a 6-year old girl in a
school in Bangalore. If this incident
made headlines in the news
channels, there are many more
atrocities and cases of harassment
against students taking place that
are being swept under the carpet in
the schools. Today many teachers
are worried about their fat salaries, but
have forgotten their responsibility
towards the child in shaping him/her to become a
responsible human being. In this context we need to
ask a question: Is teaching a profession or a vocation?
In this post-modern era where information and
communication technology has reached at its best
with 3G and 4G, information reaches the student
before the teacher could step into the class. Students
are ready with questions before the discussion of a
particular topic begins. In this context where does
the teacher stand? If this trend continues, do we need
teachers at all? The answer is simple: if teaching is
reduced to a profession, then in my opinion we do
not need teachers; machines can very well do the
job. But teaching is more than that; it is a work of art.
Once we recognize that teaching is a basic human art
rather than a professional practice like medicine or
law, it goes beyond the mere transfer of information.
Each religious tradition
defines a teacher in a unique
way. In the Hindu tradition we
have the concept of Guru, one
who dispels the darkness of
ignorance. In Teravada Buddism
a teacher is the source of
inspiration on the path to
enlightenment. For us
Christians, Jesus Christ is our true teacher. Jesus was
teaching, preaching and healing. These were the
three main aspects of His ministry. Teaching shows
Jesus’ concern for understanding;
preaching shows his concern for
commitment; and healing
shows his concern for
wholeness. We are called to
imitate Him and follow in His
path to bring home the values
of the Kingdom.
Despite these deep
insights from various religious
traditions of our own land, we
have moved far away and have
reduced education to a business.
Vocation, on the other hand, is a
theological word. It has been defined as a
career with a spiritual calling from deep within. It is
important that other people recognize and confirm
your vocation, but ultimately it is something very
personal, concerned with the core values you believe
in. Unless a teacher considers teaching to be a
vocation there is no remedy to the present
catastrophic situation. Teachers have a huge
responsibility to bring out the best in every student.
They are like beacons of light guiding the student.
We need teachers who walk along with the students,
encouraging them to ask difficult questions and
inspiring them in their search for meaning. This is
possible only when a teacher considers teaching to
be a vocation and commits himself/herself to attain
the goal.
Sch Norwin Pereira SJ

12. Prajwalana
Page 12
I am in a dark room alone. I am afraid of hearing
strange sounds from the walls. The noise is so strong
that it pulsates my body. I am horrified because there
is no way out. I hardly see things around me. Besides
being lonely, I also feel that somebody is near me.
As the days passed, I was curious to know the
person beside me. I took courage and stretched my
hands. All of a sudden, I heard the person ask, “Who
are you?” I said, “I am… you need not be afraid.” I
asked the person, “How did you come inside this dark
room?” The person answered, “I do not know, this
seems to be a strange world.” I discovered from the
voice that the person was a girl. Then I asked her,
“How do you feel?” She answered, “I feel just as you
feel here!” Gradually my fears disappeared. We
supported each other and talked about the dark room.
One day the room shook dreadfully. I was
troubled and thought that the room would collapse.
We hugged each other and prayed. Surprisingly, the
room was able to bear up. I exclaimed, “Miracle! We
are saved by God’s grace.” But a horrible scream heard
outside the room echoed in my ears for a long time. I
asked the girl, “What happened to the room?” she
replied, “It might be some kind of a quake.” I heard
the girl groaning and asked her, “What happened to
you?” She exclaimed in pain, “I am hurt by the quake
of the room!” I was not able to control myself when I
heard the groaning of the girl in excruciating pain,
because she was my only source of support in the
dark room. There was no first aid to treat her. I
realized that this mysterious dark room was not safe
for us anymore. Therefore, I started to plot a way to
get away from the room.
One day the darkness in the room seemed very
unusual. We were distressed and agitated. In the
middle of the night, we heard somebody whispering
outside the room saying, “We should kill the girl.” We
were deeply shocked as anxiety overwhelmed us. The
girl started fainting. She exclaimed sadly, “What have
I done? What will they get by killing me?” I was
speechless for a moment and consoled her by holding
her face in my hands and wiping her tears with my
fingers though I could not see.
It was a horrifying time especially for Rose for
that was her name, because the plot to kill her was
whispered behind the walls again and again. To our
surprise we also heard a mild voice, “I will not let you
kill the girl.” Rose heard this and
became very confident to face
any situation. She cried out,
“Ah! I would like to see the
person who wants to save me.”
The room started to
contract swiftly. I said, “This will
be the end of us.” I took hold of
Rose, but she slipped. She was
going away from me. As she
was disappearing through the wall, I saw her tiny legs
at last. I was able to hear her cries for help, but I was
helpless. Without delay I was also dragged to the wall
and I saw a beam of light becoming brighter and
brighter. I blissfully said, “I am going to the place
where Rose went.”
I suffered a terrible pain in the stomach as I was
pushed out of the dark room. I burst out with a loud
cry, I could not stop crying and all of a sudden I started
to breath. I could feel huge fingers holding me. When
I opened my eyes bit by bit, I saw four people
surrounding me with a mask on their face. They had
strange instruments in their hands. They seemed to
be harmless, as they smiled at me. I hastily turned
around to look for Rose. She was just beside me. I
was happy to see her and thanked God for saving us.
Then I saw the eyes of my mother filled with love and
compassion. I also saw deep scars on her face which
bothered me a lot. Amidst all the difficulties and
struggles, my mother hugged Rose and me to her
breast.
Suddenly, my father came in. The nurse laid me
on his hands. He was very happy to see me, but not
Rose. I looked into his eyes and asked, “Why did you
hurt my mother and Rose?” But he did not reply. The
nurse laid Rose on my father’s hand. He was feeling
uneasy. She too looked into my father’s eyes and
asked, “Why do you hate me daddy?” Immediately
the stony heart of daddy started to melt. He started
shedding tears. The gentle and innocent look of Rose
transformed my father. He started loving her.
Finally, my sister was named ‘Rose’ because of
her red cheeks and I was named ‘Michael’.
“Security of every girl child lies on the shoulder
of every man.”
Sch Joseph Jerald SJ
In the Dark Room

13. Tiresome was the journey so long
That made Him thirsty and forlorn
At Jacob’s well he sat alone
To rest a while and move beyond
Water to draw, came a woman by noon
To fill herself with sustenance to live
Give me a drink, oh woman, asked He
For He needed it badly to continue the journey
A Jew you are and ask me for a drink!
Don’t you know - Jews are at loggerheads with us?
If you’d only known the Man asking for the drink
You’d have asked Him, He would’ve given you living water
Sir! The well is deep and you have no bucket
Is it possible to get water?
Water you drink makes you thirsty again
The living water brings thirst never again
Give me that water Sir!
That I may not come here again
He told her all that she had ever done
Baffled was she at the man He was
Oh! A prophet you are, I see it for sure
Yes, the Messiah is yet to come
Are you the one, oh stranger?
I am He, the Messiah, who sets you free
Sch Calvin Michael SJ
Prajwalana
Page 13
The Stranger Who Set Her Free
“They changed our church into a mosque, ruined
historic museums, destroyed a monastery and
manuscripts that were 1000 years old. Iraq is gone.
Iraq is finished. We’re finished. It’s impossible for us
to go back,” says an Iraqi Christian. The Body of Christ
suffers today. Militants continue to demand that
Christians should leave, convert or die. Few weeks
ago, Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, which is also
the site of the ancient city of Nineveh, was the first
city to receive the ultimatum. It now stands empty of
Christians. It’s a time for us to wake up and seriously
reflect about our faith. How deep is our faith in Jesus
Christ? How do we give witness to the people where
we live? As a follower of Jesus when I see our brothers
and sisters suffering, can I ever keep quite? We need
to reflect how effectively we can respond to this
situation? Perhaps the most
powerful thing we can do is: to
pray. What we need is the grace
and strength to accept His plan
for us. Let us therefore believe
in the power of prayer. Let us
sincerely pray for God’s
protecting hand to be with them
so that they may experience His
provision at this time of distress. May this experience
lead us to feel solidarity with the suffering Church of
Christ. May these martyrs of the 21st century
strengthen our faith and make us fervent Christians
to bear witness to the person of Christ.
Sch Dheeraj D’Souza SJ
The Suffering Church

14. Prajwalana
Page 14
Education: Formal v/s Progressive
Education happens in various forms of
communication. Parents explain ideas to their
children, friends talk and share, people demonstrate
skills to each other, craftsmen pass on trade secrets
to new colleagues and teachers teach young people
in schools and colleges. It happens all through life
from womb to tomb. There isn’t a deadline for
learning. Therefore the question that arises in our
minds is whether education is to be limited to schools
and colleges? Should schools and education
necessarily be linked to each other? Einstein
summarises the whole process of learning as,
“Education is what remains when we have forgotten
everything that has been learned at school.”
It is worth remembering the Latin root of the
word ‘education’, educere which means ‘bringing out.’
One’s inner talents and skills are cultivated, nurtured
and brought forth for a wholesome development. I
feel that present day schools are distancing
themselves from this thought and compelling the
pupil to develop a ‘culture of acquiring.’ Students are
busy acquiring grades and degrees for a lucrative job
and career. In this context imbibing values for life is
out of the question. Therefore the outcome of schools
seems to be the creation of a generation which is
highly individualistic and egoistic. Hereby I would like
to suggest a progressive education instead of
the formal one.
Formal education has been passed on for
centuries now. Its core theme has been to pass on
information. Its main idea is to transfer knowledge
and wisdom of our culture and civilization. All through
this the teacher remains as the sole authority. Pupils
have a passive role to play. Here
teaching becomes the heart of
transmission and the process of
transmission is education. On
the other hand, progressive
education stresses the child’s
development from within. It
believes in the ability of the
child to think critically. It is
child- centred and focused on problem solving.
Learning becomes natural, and happens all the time
and not merely within the four walls. Humans have
an instinct for learning like a child who learns to talk
without any teaching at all. Children get an
opportunity to think rather than being told what to
think. All need a learner friendly environment just in
order to unfold themselves.
A teacher’s role in today’s educational system
should be that of a facilitator. The teacher has a great
responsibility of accepting the pupil and giving
personal attention to all. He/she has to deal with ‘one
pupil at a time’ and assess the growth. It’s in the hands
of a teacher to bring out the uniqueness of a child.
Every pupil should be made to feel loved and
accepted. It’s also the duty of a teacher to create
interest and involve the pupils in a task or a subject.
Many believe that ‘learning by doing’ has a greater
impact. It results in the development of ‘intrinsic
motivation’ among the pupils. One who is intrinsically
motivated knows the ‘what and why’ of learning. The
satisfaction of working with others helps to progress
in cooperation. As a result, development comes from
within and the student-teacher relationship gets
strengthened. Along with this value-based education
helps us to ‘bring out’ the integrated self of the pupil.
This educere will no doubt create an ideal society.
When learning forms a person to be an integrated
human being, the school should be playing a vital role
in this process. The school creates an atmosphere for
the pupil to develop a culture of learning for life and
not just for grades, degrees and career. Therefore
education and school should join hands to ‘bring out’
the best in the pupil for a better tomorrow.
Sch Cyril Castellino SJ

15. Education: To Form A Complete Person
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include
the freedom to make mistakes.”
A novice (who had recently got a pair of spectacles) when asked by his companion, Why are you not
wearing your glasses during morning and evening prayers? replied, “You know, the
doctor told me that I should wear them always except while sleeping.”
Another Novice went to the Master and said that he had sore eyes. Master asked
in the reason why his eyes were paining and the Novice replied, “ I strain my eyes
too much in order to discover Jesus in my fellow Novices.”
Sch Prajwal Vincent SJ
Prajwalana
Page 15
Today education plays an important role in the
life of an individual. Education not only shapes but
also prepares one to face the future. If someone is
respected, it is only because of the qualification the
person has. Therefore education is an indispensible
part of human life.
Thomas Alva Edison can be a model for
education. His teacher considered him a useless child,
because he was a slow learner. In school, the young
Edison’s mind often wandered, and his teacher, the
Reverend Engle, was overheard calling him “addled.”
This ended Edison’s three months of official schooling.
He recalled later, “My mother was the making of me.
She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had
something to live for, someone I must not disappoint.”
His mother taught him at home.
Education must not be restricted to the four
walls. I salute some of our institutions where students
are allowed to learn from the class room as well as
from outside. As a result students grow happier and
healthier. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “By
education I mean an all round drawing out of the best
in a child and a man - body, mind and spirit.”
What is the need of formal education? Daniel
Webster would say, “If we work upon marble, it will
perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if
we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if
we work upon immortal minds and instil into them
just principles, we are then engraving that upon
tablets which no time will efface, but will brighten to
all eternity.” Formal education
truly brightens the eternity. It
gives sufficient knowledge
about various aspects of human
life.
Undoubtedly today’s
education seems to have
missed the mark. Education is
so commercialized that it has become nothing but
mere business. To me personally if one’s knowledge
does not help in one’s day-to-day life, it is sheer
rubbish. When the students go out into the world
after completing their studies, the syllabus taught in
the classroom becomes outdated. With our entire
syllabus if we are able to help our students to imbibe
some values which will build a better tomorrow, then
it is worth having formal education.
Who is my maker? Does my basic education have
value in today’s reality? If you are a teacher: Do my
students learn from me some basic values along with
the prescribed syllabus? Do I learn from my
observation, or is my knowledge limited merely to
my books?
Sch Anush D’Cunha SJ
Ha Ha Ha!!!
Mahatma Gandhi

16. Prajwalana
Page 16
India – Globalization in Education
At the time of Independence there were close
to almost 19 universities and 591 colleges with around
0.2 million registrations. It’s no longer the case today.
It has changed drastically with 261 universities, over
8,361 colleges and over 8.5 million enrollments. Each
day new colleges and universities are being
established. The growth story has been absolutely
significant. On one hand, India stands as having one
of the highest numbers of higher education
organizations in the world, on the other hand it is one
of the backward countries with respect to training
particularly in the higher education sector.
Looking back to the time of the British rule, we
find that access to school and university education
was limited then. The university system inherited
from the British is currently undergoing rapid
diversification and expansion. The reservation system
is promoted in the country to promote the education
of lower castes and tribals which were traditionally
turned out from instruction. During the fourth
dimension of British rule, technical education was not
imported in India and the British were indifferent to
industrialization, however, currently to bear out the
country’s planned economic growth through
industrialization technical education is now promoted
across Indian Universities.
In addition to several universities, several
specialized national centers of excellence have been
set up to offer training in engineering, applied
science, management, medicine, legal philosophy
and several other areas. Not merely this, currently
several governmental bodies have been instituted
to supervise the evolution of education in the country
and to find out the education standard. Despite the
massive addition of universities and enrollment of
scholars, the percentage of the population having
access to education is significantly lower, which is a
reason to worry about.
Globalization is seen
1. Increasing number of students going overseas to
analyze.
2. Many exchange programs are contracted with
foreign nations.
3. International growth of need of education and
marketing curriculum.
4. Campus recruitments and
effect of import and export
coeducational services.
5. The speedy development of
the technology as made
educational level very high.
Likewise the dedication
and passion in education among
people are falling. Today, many
campuses are empty. The employment scale of the
world is so low that people feel that whatever they
study has no worth. Today time is money and how
can we find money for education is the new thought
prevailing in many new creative thinkers. The value
of education today is for survival and not for the
growth of wisdom and knowledge. When are
interviewed, people for any job the questions posed
before them are simple general knowledge one.
Today’s training is only bookish rather than being an
experience based one. What we need today is the
pedagogy that helps us to make good choices.
Education in the globalized world should not become
primarily market oriented, rather life promoting.
Today our education is education of capitalism and
not of an anthropocentric spiritual- psychological
growth enhancing one. Macaulay’s English education
brought to India western thinking, similarly today our
education has become a western rooted capitalist
oriented one. If such education continues in India in
the long run our education system will become only
money making and money will be each one’s life goal
than drawing essence of educational values.
To sum up, today learning by prioritizing
employability over responsibility towards immediate
community and society and becoming a lifelong
learner only for the sake of his/her survival becomes
a consumer or a customer of packaged learning
commodities. Thus there is and must be a striking
shift with regard to the concept of a learner who is
involved in the process of education caused by
globalization. Today others controlling the self in
making a choice must be reduced. Make the
individuals autonomous by freeing him/her from all
the traditional regularities, mechanisms in choosing and
consuming the kind of education that he/she wishes.
Sch Royston Pinto SJ

17. of the Spirit? It is the Spirit of God that leads us on
the path eternal. Thus, Discernment becomes handy
to know what exactly is expected of us. This makes us
stay better prepared to face all the odds that keep
diverting us from our aim.
I admire this great contribution of Ignatius,
through which one can know God’s plan. God
approaches every individual differently; this is what
Ignatius tells us through Discernment. Hence no life
is the same. Everyone has a specific plan in the sight
of God and He reveals it to those who earnestly seek
for it. The revelation of God to us through
discernment makes us ever brighter in our ministry
and apostolate.
Sch Avinash Lobo SJ
Prajwalana
Page 17
What I like most in St Ignatius
If there is one aspect I hold
dear in life, it is discernment
proposed by St. Ignatius of
Loyola. This process enables
one to have a deep knowledge
of oneself with divine
assistance. None on earth can
claim absolute mastery over oneself as we are
mortals, prone to failures and defeats as we move
on. This is no exaggeration. But if we intend to come
out of our defects, Discernment is the way that can
lead us to what we are destined to become.
Discernment is a process whereby we realize
that our ambitions tally with that of our Creator. In
today’s gadget and technology freak world, people
have absolutely lost the sense of discernment to seek
divine intervention. The modern world believes that
with technology anything can be achieved. Though it
may be true to a certain extent I am sure it can’t assure
complete success in the endeavor that the person is
undertaking. It is only the grace of God that makes a
person live the fullness of life.
Life according to Ignatius must be used to praise,
revere and serve God to the best of our ability. How
can we do this if we turn a deaf ear to the promptings
Once Raju met his old friend Ramu, who appeared very sad.
Raju: Ramu, Hi! What’s the matter, why are you so sad?
Ramu: Raju, I had won Rs 1000 last week.
Raju: Its good news, isn’t it? Then why are you sad?
Ramu: To keep that money I did not have a purse.
Raju: That’s not a reason to be sad. Why don’t you buy a purse?
Ramu: I did buy one. That’s how I have a purse now, but no money to put in it.
Sch Nithin Coelho SJ
Humour

18. Self-Organized Learning Environments (SOLE)
Prajwalana
Page 18
What is education? What kind of learning takes
place in our schools? Whom did we inherit it from?
What is the outcome of such an education system?
What is going to be the future of Learning? In what
way can we be different? These were the questions
that crossed my mind when I began reflecting on
education. You must be familiar with the story of a
blind man who was begging by the roadside with a
sign board... I am blind, please help! A poet who was
passing by turned the sign board and wrote... Today is
spring and I cannot see! If we change our strategy in
life lots of things can happen. Education is not simply
going to a school and digesting what is being spoon-fed
there. It must foster learning. We are in the
internet age and most of our learning takes place
through downloading; in fact, teachers are also busy
downloading... their notes into the notebooks of the
students. Can our strategy change at the very
grassroots? Education, according to Jiddu
Krishnamurthi, is learning that takes place in the
context of self awareness. Hence discipline is an
important pre-requisite for learning. Learning is not
theoretical - what is found in books; rather the whole
movement of life itself is learning. Education,
therefore, is enlightening oneself in and through the
whole process of learning.
In our schools today we learn to read, to write in
a beautiful handwriting and to do complex
arithmetical calculations in our heads. We also learn
about social reality and the nuances of languages.
Partly I agree that this is essential, but we need to
understand that this is outdated. This kind of an
education system is wonderfully constructed, but are
we really in need of it in this post-modern world of
today where people are being replaced more and
more by machines? We have reached the stage where
we can teach ourselves through the various media
available. Will we need to go to these schools in the
future? Will our schools be mere babysitting units
while the parents are away working with these
complex machines? Our present system of
examinations is not the only way to foster learning.
Indians learnt the present system of education from
the British, but they have moved far ahead and we
are still lagging behind. Education will become the
same old boring mechanical dictation and rote
memorizing kind of thing in the future as it is now if
we do not think of a new strategy.
Sugata Mitra proposes a
new creative method called
learning from the cloud. He calls
this method SOLE, a Self
Organized Learning Environment.
It is creative and it is different;
however, it cannot be
downloaded and implemented
directly into our context; certain
adaptation is necessary,
especially for India. As the method itself explicates,
learning is self organized; but this is not possible
through the cloud as in our context where we struggle
for roti, kapda, makan, bijli, pani, swasthya itself.
However, this method has fostered some new insights
into me. We need mentors, not so much teachers.
Inputs and classroom discourses ought to give way to
presentations, reading, reflection and self-learning.
That will surely create awareness and will in the true
sense, educate.
With the things that we have at hand what can
we do differently and creatively? I propose that in a
classroom setup itself the teacher can be a mentor,
not spoon-feeding their students, but rather drawing
out knowledge from them. Can we focus on the
students teaching themselves through the various
means that are available in today’s world? We may
not be able to implement this method with a bottom
up approach, but certainly we can try the top down
method, from our universities to our colleges, then
to our high schools and then through our elementary
schools with varied intensities. Fostering education
through this method will certainly have an impact
over a rather longer period of time. But can we make
a beginning? For our elementary schools we can start
right away with the teachers themselves changing
their language of teaching. How much do we make
our students think? Can our teaching language enable
our students to be creative, imaginative and
wonderstruck with learning? Can we foster a
searching mind? In the words of Steve Jobs, can we
bring in our students a hunger for learning i.e. to say...
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish... keep learning by being
creative. That will surely be a positive step towards
creating a Self Organized Learning Environment which
will let learning happen.
Sch Ryan Rodrigues SJ