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Ashram People Claim Their Lifestyle Links Christianity To Other Religions

Updated: November 13, 2007 05:00 PM GMT
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Catholic priests and nuns who follow Indian spiritual methods claim their life connects Christianity to other religions.

Some 70 people who follow an ashram style of life met Nov. 1-4 to share experiences and garner mutual support. They met in Varanasi, one of Hinduism´s holiest cities, 750 kilometers east of New Delhi.

The meeting was the 15th gathering of the All India Ashram Aikya Satsang, a federation of Catholic spiritual centers that incorporate a traditional Indian approach to spirituality. The federation began in 1978.

Participants later told UCA News how following Indian spiritual methods has enriched their life and society.

An ashram is an "easy meeting place of Hindu-Christian thoughts, hence interreligious dialogue becomes easier," said Father Anil Dev, who heads Matridham (friendship house) Ashram, where the meeting was held.

"When we imbibe values of Indian spirituality, such as ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truth), simplicity and God centered-ness, our own Christian life becomes deeper and fruitful," said Father Dev, who carries the title acharya (teacher).

For Hindus, an ashram is the dwelling place of a spiritual guru who has attained a high level of renunciation. In ancient India, ashrams were set in secluded and tranquil places.

Among Christians, the ashram movement began in the early 1970s as part of the renewal inspired by the Second Vatican Council (1963-65). Several theological research papers supported it, and the Church in India welcomed the movement as another way to promote contemplation, inculturation and interreligious dialogue.

Today some 80 Catholic and 20 Protestant ashrams operate in India, but not all in secluded places. They promote spirituality, meditation and prayer using Scriptures of other religions as well as the Bible, and conduct retreats and interfaith dialogue sessions. Their members live an austere life of prayer and meditation, wear Indian ascetic dress and eat only vegetarian meals.

Father Dev claimed, "In the Indian context, the Bible is better understood and Christian spirituality is better lived through the ashram way of life."

For Jesuit Father Sebastian Painadath, ashram "is a movement in the spirit and a radical evangelical way of life within the Church." He heads Sameeksha (discernment), a Christian spirituality center in Kerala, southern India.

The priest said ashrams each have a unique life and mission, but share common characteristics such as simplicity, closeness to people, harmony with nature, genuine hospitality, openness to religions, and an atmosphere of study and contemplation. He also said ashrams function as spiritual refueling stations for social activists, theologians, parish priests and those in formation.

Another participant at the gathering, St. Anne Sister Jaya J. Victor, serves at Vardan (blessing) Ashram in Nainital, a northern Indian hill station. She said 13 years of ashram living has "simplified" her life and helped her become more "compassionate to the poor" and people of other religions. It also has deepened her spiritual journey. "It is another phase of dedicated Religious life," she added.

Destitute Sister Augusta said she has practiced ashram life in Kerala for the past 10 years. She practices yoga and meditation, and instructs others.

"I feel comfortable with myself, others and nature. My relationship with others and my outlook have widened," she testified.

Father James Maria Susai, a parish priest in Andhra Pradesh, practices ashram methods and Bharatnatyam, a form of Indian classical dance, as part of his personal prayer.

In the morning, he dances alone. Dance, he explained, awakens the "totality" of his body and "helps me to be in communion with the Lord."

Most participants denied their methods resemble practices of the Hindu priestly Brahmin caste.

Father Korko Moses, who manages a dialogue center in Tamil Nadu state, said Catholic ashram people take whatever is good in other cultures and traditions.

"There is nothing Brahmanical (about Christian ashram life), but an impression was created about it," he added.

The meeting discussed the life and teachings of Brahma Bandhav Upadhyaya, a 19th-century Brahmin convert to Christianity who tried to find Indian ways to live the Catholic faith. He set up a monastery and tried to synthesize Christian theology with Indian spirituality.

Father Moses, who presented a paper, hailed Upadhyaya as the father of Indian Christian theology and an inspiration for people who live ashram life.

END

(Accompanying photos available at here)

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