Avoidable distractions

It is said that the main purpose of understanding other religions/traditions is to gain new perspectives on one’s own religion. Of course, this works much better after one has understood one’s own tradition at some level of depth. To me, this has been the main benefit of reading Rumi. For example, one of the ideas about Jesus Christ that touched me very deeply (that the greatest miracle of Jesus is himself) was triggered by reading Rumi (see Miracle).

Recently, I came across the following words from Rumi (From the story ‘Moses Learns a Lesson’ from the book ‘Rumi: Tales to live by’). "I have bestowed on everyone a way of believing and worshipping according to his understanding and temperament. Praying and worship is a kindness I have bestowed on my creatures so they may be tied to me with chords of love. The Hindu worships me in his own way, and the Jew in his. Let them pray any way they know. Do not seek rules or methods of worship, but love me however you can!"

Considering that there are so many divisions in Christianity that often fight among themselves based on differences in rules and methods of worship, and thereby creating distractions that lead away from the core of Christianity, this is indeed a highly useful perspective!

The way

One of the verses in the Bible that I used to have difficulty in relating to is John 14:6, in which Jesus says “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Does it mean that being a Christian is a necessary condition for salvation?

While I have never had any serious intention of following any religion except Christianity, the ‘exclusivity that seemed to be implied by this statement made me uncomfortable as I have been brought up in an environment that respects other religions and also encourages learning from them (See Celebrating Onam in the Church). I have seen many very noble and pious people in other religions. Does this exclusivity mean that they are on the ‘wrong’ path? While I still haven’t fully resolved this (and maybe, I never will, thank God for that!), of late some ideas have started evolving in my mind.

The term ‘way’ means a path or a route. So, it becomes imperative to find out what is the way that is Jesus Christ. To me, 'the greatest miracle of Jesus is himself' (see Miracle) – the very act of being fully man and fully God. I think that God became human so that humans have a route to be one with God. So the life, love, rejection, acceptance, frustration, fellowship, loneliness, joy, sorrow, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus on earth is in a way a 'path-breaking' activity, establishing a new road, a new level of understanding and a new relationship between humans and God. 

The main goal of Christianity is to be more like Christ (being fully man and fully God at the same time) - by nurturing both our humanity and divinity. Maybe, it is that very act that enable to 'come to the Father'. 

I also think that ‘being in Christ’ is not necessarily the same as being a Christian (in the sense of being part of the Christian religion). Even the second council of Vatican said something like 'while salvation is through Christ, it is not limited only to Christians'. 

May be, it is an invitation to be more like Jesus (fully human and fully divine at the same time) and not meant to be an instruction to follow any particular belief system about Jesus Christ. As we have seen in 'From belief to experience and faith', a 'hand me down' belief system could be a big impediment to knowing Christ. For most of us (except those who have had a ‘direct experience’), the Christ we know is essentially the ‘Christ in the Bible’ (a picture that can capture only some aspects of Christ and that is also subject to the limitations of context, language and interpretation) and not the ‘real Christ’ or even the ‘historical Christ’!

Hence the highest understanding that I am capable of at this point on this matter is that by being fully man and fully God, Jesus has created the royal road to salvation for us! Now, I am not yet sure about all the different manners in which we can walk on this path though I have an inkling  that nurturing the both the humane and divine in us won't be a bad idea! Also, as Jesus himself said that 'God is love' that is probably the meeting point between the humane and the divine!

My God

To me, God becomes real to us in the context of our relationship with Him. Since all of us are unique human beings each of us would relate to (connect with) God differently based on our (God-given) uniqueness.


This creates a problem for those (interpretations of)  religions that prescribe a standard way of understanding God and relating to Him. So it becomes imperative to us to explore and go beyond these prescribed ways and arrive at our own personal understanding of God and our personal ways of connecting with him. No amount of secondhand understanding would help in forming a deep personal relationship.


Yes, worshipping in a group (which is also important and useful) requires common procedures and rituals. But how each of us experience the group worship and what each of us 'takes away' from the group worship can be (encouraged to be) shaped by our uniqueness. In a way, group worship can provide a spiritual atmosphere and mutual encouragement that can help us to further our unique understanding and relationship with God.


Thus, 'My God' is based on my personal understanding of (and personal relationship with) God. So in a way, 'My God' is mine only and the role of religion is to encourage all of us 'find' the 'My God' for each of us!

God who suffers with us

To me, the concept of the 'God who suffers with us' is as important as the concept of the 'God who suffered for us' (passion/crucifixion of the Christ). It is because of the former is in our current reality (it happens even now) and as it comforts us (we are not alone in our suffering). Also, it makes the act of lessening someone else's suffering a holy one as in that process we are also lessening God's suffering. Again, it (our act of lessening some else's suffering) enables that person to 'see the invisible hand of God' in our actions and hence strengthening his/her belief in (relationship with) God!


It can also be argued that one of the key reasons of the 'Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us' in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14) was to enable God to be more compassionate with the humans. After all, can one really be kind to someone else without being kin?

When science triggers spirituality...

This post is an attempt to bring together some of statements (most of them by scientists) that triggered a spiritual impulse in me. I guess there is something spiritual about any quest for truth - both scientific and religious. Also 'the wide-eyed sense of wonder' (typically associated with children or the child in adults) is probably the passport to both religious and scientific progress. Again our shared sense of 'beauty' can act us a guide in both religious and scientific pursuits.


The following are statements that somehow struck a spiritual chord in me. I don't want to over analyze them. So I am capturing them without comment. In some cases I have brought together statements made by a scientist in different occasions. So here we go....


1. Every formula which expresses a law of nature is a hymn of praise to God. Book of Nature is also a Book of God (Maria Mitchell)


2. Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry (Richard Feynman)


3. Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light-years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both." (Carl Sagan)


4. Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe - a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naïve. Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” (Albert Einstein)


5. It was not by accident that the greatest thinkers of all ages were deeply religious souls (Max Plank)


6. For most scientists, I think the justification of their work is to be found in the pure joy of its creativeness; the spirit which moves them is closely akin to the imaginative vision which inspires an artist (James B Conant)


 7. I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me (Isaac Newton)


8. It is strange that only extraordinary men make the discoveries, which later appear so easy and simple (Georg C. Lichtenberg)


9. The saddest aspect of life right now is that gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom (Isaac Asimov)


10. Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less (Marie Curie)


11. You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself (Galileo)

Miracles and God

'Can we expect God to perform miracles?' This is a question that has bothered me for quite a while. It is very comforting to believe that when we are in need (or when we want something) we can pray to God to do a miracle to help us out. The problem is just that God seems to 'act' in 'strange' (difficult to understand) ways. Sometimes things work out the way we want them to be and sometimes they don't and whether this can be attributed to God doesn't seem to be clear. So the question remains!


I have had many 'answers' (hypotheses) on this matter. Mercifully, the none of the answers have persisted for a very long time. I have learned quite a bit about myself and my relationship with God by watching how my answers have evolved over time. So what follows is just 'my current thinking on the matter' (what a beautiful 'consultant-like' phrase!)


First, our understanding of what is 'natural' and what is 'super-natural' has evolved significantly. As we understand nature more, we become more aware of the 'miraculous' nature of nature. So 'miracles' might not as unusual as we might think they are. Also, to me, trying to understand the creator by understanding the (patterns in the) creation definitely qualifies as a spiritual pursuit.


Yes, God is not a genie (that will do our bidding) or even some sort of s cosmic vending machine (that can give us what we want if we 'pay' a specified 'price'- like a particular prayer or a ritual or an action). It would be an insult to both God and us to think of God as an entity that can be compelled to respond in a particular way.


So what is my 'current thinking on the matter'? I think that the most important thing about God is that He is always with us. When 'miracles' do happen I prefer to think of them as a message from God that he is very much around and that the overall tendency of the universe is towards life. I think of miracles as gratis - something that happens without we causing it or earning it. Yes, we can definitely make ourselves open to grace and to miracles (or at least stop resisting them). So, to me miracles just happen without we doing anything - essentially to encourage us to look beyond the mundane aspects of life - to be more aware of the miraculous nature of the world that we are living in -  to recapture our wide-eyed sense of wonder and childlike zest for life - to be more enthusiastic (en theos : with God) - to be aware of the presence of God in our midst!

Celebrating Onam in the Church - A Syrian Christian Perspective

We celebrated Onam in our Church, with the traditional onasadya (the traditional Onam feast) and games. Many of us also wore onakkodi (the traditional Onam dress) to mark the occasion. There were some 'murmurs' about the appropriateness of celebrating Onam in a Church. But, a vast majority of the church members were strongly in favor of conducting Onam celebrations in the church. For a Malayalam language church outside Kerala, the church is also the strongest link to our homeland, to our mother-tongue and to our culture! 

The discussion about the appropriateness of  celebrating Onam in the church prompted me to think more deeply about the aspects involved. Onam is the most popular festival in Kerala. While it is essentially a harvest festival, the underlying mythology of Onam is a distinctly Hindu one, about the benevolent daitya King of Kerala named Mahabali and Vamana (who is considered to be the fifth avatar of Vishnu). However, the complex* (even secular) nature of the narrative is exemplified by the fact that it is Mahabali and not Vamana who is welcomed back to Kerala on the Onam day. Onam is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm by Keralites of all communities as a cultural festival. Celebrating Onam in the Church is also an accurate reflection of the cultural identity of the St. Thomas Christians (also known as Syrian Christians) in Kerala, the community that I belong to. 

The population in Kerala is about 55% Hindu, 25% Muslim and 20% Christian. When I grew up in Kerala, my friends were from all the three communities and I used to visit their homes. I used to feel more 'at home' when I was in the homes of my Hindu friends as compared to that of my Muslim friends. I was not sure why. It was surprising as Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions (as opposed to Hinduism which is polytheistic)  and they even worship the same God (the God of Abraham/Ibrahim - remember, Christianity and Islam are called 'Abrahamic religions', along with Judaism). Then it came to me in a flash - I am culturally Hindu, while being Christian by faith. This is very much aligned to the way of life of St. Thomas Christians (Syrian Christians) in Kerala. 

Christianity hasn't been perceived to be a 'foreign religion' in Kerala. Kerala has had the advantage of receiving Christianity very early(from AD 52, with the arrival of the apostle St. Thomas). Another great blessing was that Kerala received Christianity from its original source (the Middle East) without getting westernized. The westernization of Christianity (most visible in the westernized images of Jesus and some of the rituals that are more reflective of the western culture than of anything fundamental to Christianity) is so impactful that many people don't realize that the historical Jesus was an Asian and that Christianity originated in Asia. Anyway, Saint Thomas Christians have lived in harmony and in close interaction with their Hindu brothers in Kerala for the last 2000 years. 

This has led to the current situation where most of the Christians in Kerala practice a way of Christianity that is very much aligned to the local ('Hindu') culture. For example, 'thalimala'  (the wedding necklace) used in the weddings is very similar to the mangalsutra used by Hindus (with a cross inscribed, of course). Also, many of the churches have lamps that are very similar those used in Hindu temples (with a cross added) and the bishops of some of the churches have saffron robes (similar to that used by Hindu spiritual leaders). Again, many of the traditional St. Thomas Christian names are 'indigenized' versions of Aramaic/Syriac names. For example, my surname 'Kurian' is derived from the Aramaic name 'Quriaquos' which means 'Of the Lord'. To be more precise, 'Quriaquos' became 'Kuriakose' (another popular surname among St. Thomas Christians in Kerala) and then its shortened version of 'Kurian'.    

Syrian Christians show a high degree of respect for other faiths. Many of the bedtime stories told to the children in Christian households are from the Hindu puranas (Hindu mythology), and, to me, this facilitates cultural integration more than anything else. (Please see here for an amazing example of respect for other traditions- Catholic priests arranging a Brahmin priest for a funeral and participating in the ceremony!)

Kerala is the state with the highest number of Christians in India (a remarkable feat considering that Kerala is a small state in terms of overall population). It is also a state where Christians have had a huge influence in most spheres of life. Apart from the 'traditional' fields for Christian influence like Education (word for school in Malayalam is 'pallikootam'. 'Palli' means a church building and hence pallikootam literally means an annex of the church) and Healthcare, it is evident in the political sphere also. For example, the previous Chief Minister (Oomman Chandy) is a Christian even though Christians constitute less than 20% of the population in Kerala. Hence, the 'Kerala model of Christianity' has been very successful - at least more successful than most of the other models of Christianity in India. 

Of course, the Christians need to be careful not to bring in aspects like the caste system in Hinduism into the Christian community. This is a real problem as many of the Syrian Christian families in Kerala have the habit of maintaining a kudumba charithram (family history) that traces their origins to a Namboothiri ('high caste' Brahmin) household that 'adopted' Christianity based on the interaction with Saint Thomas himself. They consider themselves superior to the Christians (mostly from 'lower' castes) who were 'converted' to Christianity by the British missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries. Therefore, the word 'Syrian' has acquired a caste dimension through it was originally meant to signify the allegiance to the Church in Syria, which was mentoring the Christian Church in Kerala. Of course, there is no way of validating the accuracy of the kudumba charithram (family history) mentioned above. However, this 'smuggles in' caste system into a religion that doesn't support any sort of caste system!

So what does all this mean? To me, 'being culturally Hindu while being Christian by faith' seems to be sustainable model. Seen in this light, celebrating Onam in the church is very much appropriate (and it is definitely not a case of  'appropriating a Hindu festival'). Also, it is not just a matter of 'eat, drink and be merry'! Celebrating festivals together is a great way to bring the community together and to enhance religious harmony. Flowers, colors, dance forms and feasts are all part of the Christian way of life.  Festivals are an important part of culture, and, being part of a country culturally goes much beyond just celebrating Independence Day, Republic Day etc. If one is worried about the possible impact on 'religious purity', it must be kept in mind that many of the 'mainstream'(western?!) Christian festivals/customs probably have 'pagan inspirations' if not 'pagan roots'!  

When we have a 'double-heritage' (for example, being a Keralite and being a Christian, in this particular context), it is psychologically (and spiritually!) healthier to integrate the two to the maximum extent possible as opposed to keeping them in separate compartments. Trying to be a 'pure Christian in the church' and 'pure Keralite outside the church' is more akin to demonstrating some sort of a 'split-personality disorder' as compared to demonstrating religious or cultural purity. 'Purity' is a dangerous concept in such contexts, and it is also counterproductive as faith and life go together. 
 

To me, the essence of 'Christian faith' is faith in Jesus Christ. Here, it is most appropriate to use the word 'faith' in its original meaning of 'trust' (from Latin 'fides', meaning trust or confidence in a person) and that implies an ongoing relationship with and living in the presence of Jesus. As long as we don't view Christianity essentially as 'a particular set of rituals and customs' or as 'a closed community', there is no contradiction at all in this position/model of 'being culturally Hindu while being Christian by faith'. Hence, celebrating Onam in the Church is very much appropriate, when we know what exactly are we are doing and why!

*Note: The beauty of Hindu mythology is that it supports multiple interpretations and even multiple truths (as opposed to clear black and while definitions of right and wrong). Even in the case of the Onam myth there is no clear oppressor or victim. See here for more details.

From belief to experience and faith

After practicing (albeit imperfectly) Christianity for more than four decades I have come to a realization - I really don't know what to believe! I do know that Jesus is my Lord and my God. Apart from that I am not sure if I really believe anything. May be, that is exactly the point. Any sort of belief limits your experience of God.

I have experienced Christ fleetingly though intensely. But I can't  make any generalization based on those experiences on 'how Christ really operates' - other than to say that He operates in mysterious ways (or ways that are best known to Himself).

Yes, there are parts of the Christian belief system that resonates with me - 'Christ being fully man and fully God at the same time' for example. Of course, I don't even begin to understand what that involved or even what that meant.

May be, knowing about Christ is the biggest impediment for knowing Christ (the same holds good in the case of mortals also). May be, God can only be experienced and not understood. Experience can lead to faith. If we keep the experience pure (un-corrupted by generalizations and belief), life can become a dance with God!

It is interesting to note that the 'direct experience' approach was much more mainstream in Christianity in earlier times that it is now. Direct experience is inherently personal and leads to personal (subjective) truth (MY GOD). Also it is quite unpredictable and difficult to describe using language. Hence it is a tricky proposition in the institutionalized forms of Christianity that often needs a common belief system, common rituals and common interpretation of the religious experience. At the same time direct experience is more authentic and 'scientific' (empirical) even with a degree of 'measurement error' (While the mystical doesn't need support from the analytical to be valid, any convergence is a definite plus). Yes, there is an individual  dependence of the experience. But observer dependence of phenomenon is a basic principle in quantum mechanics also!