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Designed , developed & Hosted By Kishoo, Barkur |
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Fr. Tony |
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Dear brothers and sisters, and the viewers of this web site Barkur.com, I am Fr. Joseph Anthony Andrade better known as Fr. Tony Andrade. I was born and brought up in Barkur. My primary education was in Barkur. In 1980 I joined the seminary to become priest and was ordained to the Holy Order of priesthood on the 19th of December, 1992. I served a short period of time in Bangalore (India) and then went to the USA to serve in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in the state of Minnesota. Presently I am the parish priest of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church located in St. Paul, Minnesota (visit our web site:- www.stthomasap.org). I Hope and pray this column "Spiritual Corner" will inspire many viewers of our Barkur.com web site. As all of us know the need of spirituality in our daily life. We walk our faith journey trusting in God our creator and we are certain one day we will meet our creator God in Heaven. Meanwhile here on earth we need good insights to enlighten our minds and hearts in our spiritual life. in this column I will write articles which will be short and precise that may help our interested viewers to reflect on their own spirituality. I welcome others also to share their articles and reflections. This column is open to all the faith denominations. What is important is that we inspire each other on our own spiritual journey. My sincere thanks to Kishoo de Barkur, the designer of this beautiful web site, and for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts and reflection on our Barkur.com web site. |
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INDEPENDENCE DAY...AUGUST 15th. Fr. Joseph Anthony Andrade Dear brothers and sisters and viewers of our web site www.Barkur.com, On the 15th. of August we will celebrate our Independence Day. This year is the 56th. anniversary of India’s independence. In the picture above of the map of India you see written, “50 Golden Years of Independence.” I bought that map of India in 1997 and it now hangs in my office to remind me daily that I should not forget my beautiful Mother India. Even though I recently became a citizen of the USA, I love India and hope and pray someday that I may be able to obtain dual citizenship. I am sure many of our Indian born brothers and sisters, who have become citizens of other countries, feel the same as I do. Every year as we celebrate this Independence Day we recall and remember all those brave people who sacrificed their precious lives for the cause of freedom. Because of their efforts and determination, today we enjoy freedom in our country. We remember some of the prominent figures who led our people to fight for freedom through non-violence. One of the prominent figures being Mahatma Gandhi. It is not enough that we only think of the leaders, rather we should also remember those thousands and thousands of brave Indian citizens who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom. The day India woke up to freedom in 1947 was a day of great rejoicing and celebration! Our country rid of her foreign yoke, became a sovereign nation. A triumph for the numerous martyred souls. It was a day of fulfillment, a day of new beginnings, a birth of a nation! At the stroke of midnight, our country was reborn as the British handed over the governance of the country to Indian leaders. The long and difficult struggle had borne fruit but sadly India was divided into India and Pakistan. Even today that division has caused a permanent scar in the life of our nation and our people. On August 15, 1947 India became completely independent. It was on this historic date that Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister, unfurled the Indian tricolor flag on the ramparts of the magnificent Red Fort, symbolically marking the end of the British colonial rule. Some parts of India, however, still remained under the colonial power of Portugal such as: Goa, Daman, Diu, and Nagar-Haveli. These colonies were liberated on December 19, 1962. Pondicherry, under the colonial power of France, was also liberated in 1962. Since 1962 our country has been totally free from foreign rule. Goa became a state in 1987. The rest of those colonies still remain Union Territories. I have had the opportunity to visit all these places in India. The rectangular flag of India is made up of three horizontal colors: saffron , white and green. Saffron, represents courage and sacrifice, white is for purity and green is for fertility. There is a wheel with 24 spokes in the middle of the white section, representing the Dharma Chakra. If we make this day a day of remembrance and prayer, we can return to the path of Mahatma Gandhi, a path toward h, Swadeshi, and Ram Rajya. As we continue to enjoy religious freedom and as we celebrate our own faith let us, on this day, remember to pray for our nation and continue to support our nation. In conclusion, I recall the words of John F. Kennedy, former president of the United States, who was assassinated. He said once, “let us not ask what the nation can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your nation.” Long live my beautiful Mother India and “JAI HIND.,” FOR ARCHIVES...... |
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Barkur, located in Udupi Taluk, Karnataka, India. 576 210 |
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Copyright Kishoo, Barkur 2002. |
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