Respect all: Archbishop

TOI, Patna 26.12.2008

Respect all: Archbishop

It is time for people to step out of the shadow into light,
says Patna Archbishop William D’Souza in his Christmas-eve message.

‘We notice that in recent time and in the name of religion how we have slipped into a darkness that cries out for illumination.’
Have we come to realise that without the enlightenment of truth, without the support of mutual respect, without the warmth of human love, we can all lose our way in life. Indeed we can lose the very meaning of life? Are we so caught up in the things of darkness ... The threat of war and violence, the despicable acts of human depravity in the abuse of the innocent, the disrespect for life, human freedom, religious freedom and fundamental civil rights, the neglect of the poor and the lack of appreciation of the value of forgiveness and mercy ... That, in the words of the Prophet Isaiah, we have become a people who live in a land of deep shadow?’ Asked the Archbishop in his message.

‘Avatar’ and Inter-Religious Harmony

TOI, Patna 26.12.2008

‘Avatar’ and Inter-Religious Harmony

Christian incarnation and Hindu ‘avatara’ are two important concepts that present God with a human face. Christmas signifies God’s identification with humanity by being born a human and sharing every human experience, except sin. This understanding was scandalous to the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ time, and perhaps scandalous to many of us today.
Yet, a careful look at such an understanding will help us see our relationship with God, with other human beings and especially with people of other cultures and religions in a new light.
Religious experience of diverse traditions point to two ways of understanding God. First, God as transcendent, unapproachable, indescribable and almighty.
Brahman, Yahweh and Allah are three expressions used for such an understanding of God in Hinduism, Judaism and Islam respectively.
In Hinduism, the upanishadic Brahman is one (Ekam) without any name, form or qualities (Nirgunam), without any body (Niravayavam) and cannot be described n human language (Anirvachaneeyam). In Buddhism, the Ultimate is not even called god but ‘Shunyata’ (emptiness). The Bible speaks of God as I am who am _ no name, form or any attributes. In Islamic faith too Allah has no name or form.
This is the reason why in Judaism, to a certain extent in Christianity, and in Islam giving human or any other form to God was considered a grave sin.
Nevertheless, in all religions, there can also be found an intuitive experience of God being very close to us humans; he is a friend, a father, a lover etc. God even assumes human and other forms to reveal himself out of his grace and love for humanity. In Hinduism we understand this is terms of ‘avatara’. The word ‘avatara’ is derived from the preposition ‘ava’ meaning ‘down’ and the root ‘tr’ meaning to cross over.
Thus ‘avatara’ implies a point of departure and a descending movement; i.e. the descent of God to the human world. The Bhagvad Gita, chapter four, speaks of it as the descent of Vishnu in various forms for the protection of the good and for the destruction of the evildoers, repeatedly age after age (yuge yuge). There are different kinds and degrees of ‘avataras’.
‘Purnavatara’ are fully human whereas ‘Amsavatara’ are in semi-human or animal form. In the Hindu liturgical sphere ther is ‘Archavatara’, the descent of the deity to the object of worship such as an idol. The ‘avatara’ represents the presence and action of the divine in human history.
Though there is an obvious similarity between the Christian doctrine of incarnation and the Hindu doctrine of ‘avatara’, there is a point of dispute with regard to the ontological nature of ‘avatara’ in both the traditions. For some Hindus, ‘avatara’ cannot really suffer like humans because He is God. Rather, ‘avatara’ is an appearance, a play (leela).
The great Hindu theologian Shankaracharya, in his famous work ‘Gitabhashya’, says that Vishnu partially (amsena) became Krishna, though he is the unborn (aja) Lord of all beings (Bhutanam ishwara); by his own power he is perceived (lakshyate) as if (iva) with a body (deham), as if (iva) born etc. On the other hand, Christian doctrine of incarnation clearly states that God "became flesh", became fully human with all its connotations of true bodiliness, limitation and weakness, "except sin".
In the original texts of the Ramayana and Mahabharata too, Rama and Krishna behave very much as human beings and suffer pain authentically.
In Buddhism and Islam too we find divine experience in very human and proximate ways. In Buddhism, the Bodhisattvas, though endowed with suprahuman powers, postpone their nirvana for the sake of helping other humans. Buddha himself says, "Let all the miseries, suffering and diseases of humanity fall upon me".
In Islam too God is attributed with human qualities such as compassion and mercy. The Sufi mystics and saints too articulate God in various forms as lover, friend etc.
Bethlehem and Brajbhoomi are two different geographical, cultural and social contexts into which God is said to have descended and became human, thereby affirming God’s affinity with all cultures, languages and people.
The chasms of irrational religious divides stem from a false idea that God has an exclusive preference for a particular culture, language and people and revelation comes to us only in and through these.
Such a view goes totally against the core of every religious faith that god is the creator and protector of the entire world and all beings. The doctrine of Christian incarnation and the Hindu ‘avataras’ stand counter to any extremist view that denies divine revelation in other religions.
Religious groups can be harmonizing agents rather than fragmenting forces if they recognize the universal presence of the divine in all cultures.

TOI, Patna 26.12.2008

‘Avatar’ and Inter-Religious Harmony

Christian incarnation and Hindu ‘avatara’ are two important concepts that present God with a human face. Christmas signifies God’s identification with humanity by being born a human and sharing every human experience, except sin. This understanding was scandalous to the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ time, and perhaps scandalous to many of us today.
Yet, a careful look at such an understanding will help us see our relationship with God, with other human beings and especially with people of other cultures and religions in a new light.
Religious experience of diverse traditions point to two ways of understanding God. First, God as transcendent, unapproachable, indescribable and almighty.
Brahman, Yahweh and Allah are three expressions used for such an understanding of God in Hinduism, Judaism and Islam respectively.
In Hinduism, the upanishadic Brahman is one (Ekam) without any name, form or qualities (Nirgunam), without any body (Niravayavam) and cannot be described n human language (Anirvachaneeyam). In Buddhism, the Ultimate is not even called god but ‘Shunyata’ (emptiness). The Bible speaks of God as I am who am _ no name, form or any attributes. In Islamic faith too Allah has no name or form.
This is the reason why in Judaism, to a certain extent in Christianity, and in Islam giving human or any other form to God was considered a grave sin.
Nevertheless, in all religions, there can also be found an intuitive experience of God being very close to us humans; he is a friend, a father, a lover etc. God even assumes human and other forms to reveal himself out of his grace and love for humanity. In Hinduism we understand this is terms of ‘avatara’. The word ‘avatara’ is derived from the preposition ‘ava’ meaning ‘down’ and the root ‘tr’ meaning to cross over.
Thus ‘avatara’ implies a point of departure and a descending movement; i.e. the descent of God to the human world. The Bhagvad Gita, chapter four, speaks of it as the descent of Vishnu in various forms for the protection of the good and for the destruction of the evildoers, repeatedly age after age (yuge yuge). There are different kinds and degrees of ‘avataras’.
‘Purnavatara’ are fully human whereas ‘Amsavatara’ are in semi-human or animal form. In the Hindu liturgical sphere ther is ‘Archavatara’, the descent of the deity to the object of worship such as an idol. The ‘avatara’ represents the presence and action of the divine in human history.
Though there is an obvious similarity between the Christian doctrine of incarnation and the Hindu doctrine of ‘avatara’, there is a point of dispute with regard to the ontological nature of ‘avatara’ in both the traditions. For some Hindus, ‘avatara’ cannot really suffer like humans because He is God. Rather, ‘avatara’ is an appearance, a play (leela).
The great Hindu theologian Shankaracharya, in his famous work ‘Gitabhashya’, says that Vishnu partially (amsena) became Krishna, though he is the unborn (aja) Lord of all beings (Bhutanam ishwara); by his own power he is perceived (lakshyate) as if (iva) with a body (deham), as if (iva) born etc. On the other hand, Christian doctrine of incarnation clearly states that God "became flesh", became fully human with all its connotations of true bodiliness, limitation and weakness, "except sin".
In the original texts of the Ramayana and Mahabharata too, Rama and Krishna behave very much as human beings and suffer pain authentically.
In Buddhism and Islam too we find divine experience in very human and proximate ways. In Buddhism, the Bodhisattvas, though endowed with suprahuman powers, postpone their nirvana for the sake of helping other humans. Buddha himself says, "Let all the miseries, suffering and diseases of humanity fall upon me".
In Islam too God is attributed with human qualities such as compassion and mercy. The Sufi mystics and saints too articulate God in various forms as lover, friend etc.
Bethlehem and Brajbhoomi are two different geographical, cultural and social contexts into which God is said to have descended and became human, thereby affirming God’s affinity with all cultures, languages and people.
The chasms of irrational religious divides stem from a false idea that God has an exclusive preference for a particular culture, language and people and revelation comes to us only in and through these.
Such a view goes totally against the core of every religious faith that god is the creator and protector of the entire world and all beings. The doctrine of Christian incarnation and the Hindu ‘avataras’ stand counter to any extremist view that denies divine revelation in other religions.
Religious groups can be harmonizing agents rather than fragmenting forces if they recognize the universal presence of the divine in all cultures.

TOI, Patna 24.12.2008

Christmas Eve At The Ramakrishna Mission

The buzz of prayer has existed ever since we began to look outward. It is like the hum of the Earth itself, a sound which scientists say can be recorded. The urge to lift one’s thoughts, to release the energy of the mind, to pray, is universal. No culture has not prayed. People pray for different reasons, often because of a sense of inadequacy or fear. Indeed many of our chronic emotional problems arise from a sense of incompleteness.
All spiritual thinkers say that the intensity of will that goes into the search for stability can, with some reorientation, be channelised to overcome this negative, inferior feeling; to tell ourselves that we have the capacity to be strong, complete and untainted. Ramakrishna Paramahansa would say that he was sure that our basic nature was pure. And that by continuously repeating "I am a sinner" one becomes just that. Instead, he advised, say something elevating to yourself, such as, "I have chanted the holy name – how can there be any sin in me?"
Ramakrishna spent time understanding other religions. The image and teachings of Jesus Christ attracted him in particular and a strong spiritual connection between Christ and the monastic order of Ramakrishna exists. He had one of his followers explain the New Testament in Bengali to him and on day, he studied a picture of the Madonna and Child for such a long time that it suddenly became a living effulgent image. It absorbed him into a mystical experience which he described later to an astounded group of listeners. In that vision, he said, he saw a church in which devotees were burning incense and lighting candles before Jesus. Ramakrishna spent three days in this state.
On the fourth day he emerged from his experience. H was in a grove at Dakshineshwar, when a serene looking person walked purposefully towards the Swami, eyes fixed on him. Ramakrishna’s realization was instantaneous. "This is Jesus who poured out his heart’s blood for the redemption of mankind. This is none other than Christ, the embodiment of love."
A biographical account of the Sage of Dakshineshwar says that in that marvelous face-to-face which all spiritualist aspirants long for, the Son of Man embraced Ramakrishna. They merged and the Swami who called Jesus "Isha" went into a state of transcendental consciousness or Samadhi.
A few days after Ramakrishna’s death nine of his young disciples were preparing to take their vows of renunciation when their leader – the future Swami Vivekananda – told his brothers the story of Jesus Christ. He asked them to be like Christ, to pledge themselves to help in the redemption of the world and to deny themselves – like Jesus had done – for a greater good. The monks, accustomed to following only the Hindu calendar, later found out that the same evening had been December 24, Christmas Eve – an auspicious occasion for their vows. Christ has been greatly honoured and revered by the Ramakrishna Mission with Christmas observed joyfully in all the Mission centrs and schools and many monks quoting Christ’s words to explain and illustrate spiritual truths, seeing an essential oneness between his messages and that of Hindu acharyas.
Profound truths break down walls and replace them with love and understanding. Evry universal thinker has said that the mind is the centre; a powerhouse that produces energy for change, both within and without. This truth has always been freely available in India, home and host to all religions where the maximum number of diverse sorts of prayers are said to the same sense of the Sacred.

TOI, Patna 20.12.08.

Preparing For Christmas In The Advent Season

Jamina Gomes
Ashankur or Seed of Hope, a women’s empowerment centre at Bhokar, a village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra was home for me for the past two months. The experience prepared me to embrace the spirit of Christmas.
I woke up every morning to the pungent yet soothing smell of fresh earth, with a view from my room of shimmering green fields. Mynahs flew in and out of the room. I could see the Seven Sisters, parakeets and Kingfishers twittering in the branches of trees, koels calling out to each other in song and wasps grubbing on insects, while squirrels darted from tree to tree. All these sights and sounds of nature were like balm, soothing and healing the wounds of hurt.
Nature at Ashankur was at its beautiful best with lilies, roses, gerberas and other flowers, with Gulmohur trees arching over. Cool breeze accompanies by sudden cloud burst and rain would sometimes cover the village in darkness. Living close to nature, and away from the noise and bustle of the city, I could not but take a second look at my life. The question before me this Christmas was : How to commit myself to the reconstruction and recreation of my own life and that of the earth?
Having come to the village in inner turmoil, I kept hearing a voice within that said: "Be still and now that I am God". The hushed silence at Ashankur helped me come into the presence of God on tip-toe, to experience a deep peace that is a divine gift. I stood free of everything that had enveloped me in personal darkness, and found myself in the presence of an all-pervading light, which could only be a sign from God.
Ashankur made me experience a call within a call, prompting me to pray like the blind preacher from Scotland, George Matheson, who said: "Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbows."
The season of Advent, which is a preparation for Christmas, made me stand in awe of the fact that Jesus took birth to bring to us the blessings of a God-filled life, which would transform us and teach us to pay heed to His call.
I once again found encouragement and hope in my life and found myself immersed in an all-sustaining love that renewed my faith in God and human beings. I have rediscovered faith this Christmas in a compassionate and loving God who renews the face of the earth and all those who wait on Him. I can only share this divine treasure with all those who are willing to be part of this experience.
My stay at Ashankur was short. I went there with a heart heavy with many questions to which there seemed to be conflicting answers. I watched and waited in silence and the answers came slowly but surely. God was once again inviting me to renew my life and to experience His power that helps to overcome all difficulties, however daunting they may seem.
I does not matter if our place in God’s ranks is a hidden and secluded one and if our place is just where we stand in the conflict. The answers will come. This advent has been an occasion for me to lift myself up, to let my spirits soar skyward and to experience the calm and the peace that the festival of Christmas brings to everyone, irrespective of where we belong, our persuasions and who we think we are.