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The Editor
Goanet Reader
Email: goanet@goanet.org
Re. CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA TODAY
During my last term in Parliament (1999-2005) I travelled extensively
throughout the country to understand Christianity in India today. I met our
Cardinals, Bishops and theologians and visited several of our religious
organizations including Jesuit organizations such as the Vidya Jyoti
Theological Seminary in New Delhi, the Sameeksha Ashram in Kalady, Kerala
and the Xavier Centre of Historical Research in Goa. The theme at these
meetings was usually the need for interreligious harmony and dialogue in
India and the need for greater inculturation.
Asia is the cradle of all the great religions of the world and several of
them were born in India. The Asian religious psyche resonates with the
perception of plurality and the consequent attitude of tolerance. Jesuit
theologian Samuel Ryan asserts "Pluralism is a grace. No one person, race,
culture, language or religion can grasp and express exhaustively the will of
God".
Jesuit contribution to inter-communal and inter-religious peace and
harmony and to authentic Christianity today begins with their educational
institutions which try to conscientize students on the value of
inter-religious collaboration and instill in them a basic understanding of
and respect for the faith vision of the members of the diverse local
religious communities, while deepening their own faith response to God.
This contribution continues with the philosophical and theological
formation programmes of the Jesuits, which are geared towards forming
priests for the multi-cultural and multi-religious context of our country,
for inter-communal relationships in modern India, and commitment to
meaningful service of the Faith and Justice among the various groups of the
country, especially the more disfavoured.
Their specialized or more popular publications in every continent clearly
reflect the Jesuits' concerns of these last decades. The VIDYAJYOTI JOURNAL
OF THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION is published by the Jesuits from Delhi and
respected in the English-speaking world as a leading forward-looking and yet
most balanced theological Review. The NEW LEADER and JIVAN are enlightening
and inspiring magazines publicising views and actions of the Jesuits of
South Asia but read and deeply appreciated in every continent. They promote
authentic Christianity today.
Inculturation is the process by which a particular Church expresses its
faith through the local culture. In India, the purpose is to make the
Church both authentically Indian and genuinely Christian. At the Asian
Synod of 1998 the bishops called for "divesting of the Western image of the
Church in the liturgy, style of life, celebrations and trying to overcome
the present image of a powerful, affluent and domineering institution".
Fr. George Gispert-Sauch, Emeritus Professor at Vidya Jyoti is of Spanish
origin as St. Francis Xavier was. He has published two volumes of the
writings of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Upadhyay was among the first if not the
first to demand complete independence of India from the British Raj. He
died in jail in October 1907, a martyr of the freedom struggle. The poet
Rabindranath Tagore wrote about him "Upadhyay was a sanyasi, a roman
catholic, yet a vedantist. He was powerful, fearless, self-denying; he
wielded great influence on those who came near him. He had a deep
intelligence and an extraordinary hold on spiritual matters". Upadhyay was
born into a Hindu vaishnava family and he converted to Christianity. When
asked by a census official whether he was a roman catholic or a protestant
he replied "Neither. Put me down as an Indian catholic". The Upadhyay
message, as contained in his writings is simple. He was personally a Hindu
by birth and culture, a Christian by faith and religion. He was a Hindu
Christian. His culture and his faith were both valuable and not in
conflict. There was no contradiction because Hinduism is a cultural
reality. Christianity is a supernatural revelation that can be expressed in
any cultural garb. Fr. Gispert- Sauch believes that we should commemorate
this year the death centenary of Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. Jesuits have been
and continue to be agents of building healthy, progressive human communities
where discrimination of any kind, including cultural and religious, does not
have a place.
(The writer is a former Union Minister and presently holds a Cabinet rank in
the Government of Goa. This is the outline of his speech at the
inauguration of the International Conference on Jesuit History, Culture and
Identity in Goa recently).
