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Sebastian
Painadath, SJ * When the Saccidanda Ashram Santivanam was founded in 1950 hardly anyone thought that it was the beginning of a new movement in the Church in India. During the last fifty years over eighty ashrams of Catholic initiative have evolved in this country. Most of them took inspiration from Santivanam. The three acharyas of Santivanam, Jules Monchanin, Swami Abhishiktananda and Bede Griffiths inspired many seekers in India and outside to experiment with an ashram way of life. Santivanam is hailed today as the motherhouse of the Catholic ashrams in India and abroad. When Santivanam gratefully recalls the grace and light of the last fifty years one could also thank the Lord for the gift of ashrams in the Church. This golden jubilee is an occasion to reflect on what the Spirit is telling the Church through this `sign of the times'. Ashrams are an integral element of the spiritual heritage of India. Today there is a grooving interest in the ashram way of life in India and abroad, both among Hindus and Christians. This epochal phenomenon has to be understood in the broader context of the global interest in mystical experience. A mystical wind blows over the religious landscape of the world today. People are seeking for authentic and practical ways of experiencing the Divine in their life. They are not impressed by dogmatic formulations or routinised rituals, nor do they feel at home in big institutions or large communities. There is a growing interest in meditative pursuits, mystical literature and ascetical ways of life. The Spirit of God is breaking down the walls which we Humans put up in the name of religion and culture, nationality and language. Beyond the fences of traditional religions people are seeking a liberative and integrative spirituality. This search takes Christians often to the spiritual wellsprings of other religions, to their sages and Scriptures, symbols and meditation methods. One authentic way of Christian response to this global quest for genuine spirituality would be to explore the ashram way of life. The word ashram is derived from the Sanskrit term ā-śrama, which means total pursuit, full dedication "tireless striving stretching its arms towards perfection."1 Ashrams are places where an intense spiritual sādhana takes place. However the term spiritual has to be understood in a holistic sense. In the Indian heritage everything is spiritual, everything has a sacred dimension. The ashram is a place where the seeker wakes up to this inner divine depth of reality. Hence it is more than a static place. Ashrams are rather a movement of the Spirit in the spirit. "The discernment of spirits belongs to the Spirit who plunges to the depth of God."'2 In the ashram the seeker discerns the movements of the divine Spirit and responds to them creatively. Ashrams therefore did play a formative role in the socio-political life of the people in India: in the ashrams seekers were initiated to the methods of meditation, princes were trained in martial arts, kings were given political counsel, students learnt the Sacred Scriptures, householders received instruction on their family duties, farmers got training in agricultural skills and young artists were introduced to music and dramatics. From ancient times ashrams were powerhouses of spirituality and creativity in socio-political life. Hence the leaders of Indian renaissance of the last two hundred years discovered in the ashram heritage a transformative power for shaping the life and destiny of the people. The liberative potential of spiritual pursuits became alive in the new ashrams which evolved in the wake of the struggle for India's independence. No wonder, Mahatma Gandhi wanted the Sabarmathi Ashram to be the base of spiritual support in the Freedom Struggle. The main thrust of an ashram is the integrative approach to life. The overall concern is the liberation and formation of the whole person in communion with society and in harmony with nature. The characteristic elements of an ashram are the following: a contemplative atmosphere conducive to spiritual pursuits (sādhana), a relentless quest for the Divine (Brahmajijñāsa) with an intense pursuit of Truth and Beauty, an all-embracing simplicity of life-style coming from authentic renunciation (tapas), a compassionate attitude to people (karunā), leading to a genuine hospitality towards all, and a vibrant harmony with nature expressed in a culture of non-violence (ahinisā). The ashram is a place where one realizes the Self by experiencing the divine depth dimension of reality. The spiritual vision of an ashram is articulated in the Isa Upanisad: "All this is permeated by the divine Lord; enjoy everything through renunciation. See the divine Self in all, and all in the divine Self" (1.6). During the last fifty years the Church in India has been sensing this transformative value of ashratns in shaping the Christian presence in India. There is a growing interest among priests, religious and some circles of the laity to take to an authentic ashram way of life. Under the auspices of Ashram Aikya, the All India Fellowship of the Ashrams of Catholic Initiative, the ashramites meet together every other year for sharing their experiences with one another and for studying the spiritual classics of India. The All India Seminar on the Church in India Today, 1969, in the wake of the inculturation thrust of the Second Vatican Council, took note of the role of ashrams in shaping a truly Indian Church. Swami Abhishiktananda attended this seminar and played a decisive role in it. In the final declaration of the Seminar it is said: We Christians are the People of God on pilgrimage... in communion with the other religions of our country, which we value for their great contribution to the spiritual treasury of humanity. In India today we should encourage the setting up of ashrams both in rural and in urban areas. Thus we must project the true image of the Church which is the sacrament of God's love, and not merely an efficient welfare agency (II,3). The significance of ashrams in the life of the Church in India should therefore be explored in terns of a twofold concern: to make the Church's life more authentic and to make her relation to sisters and brothers of other religions more transparent. In terms of this twofold concern I am trying to explore in this article the spiritual and theological perspectives emerging from the ashram experience of the last fifty years. 1. A Meditative Search for the Divine An ashram is a place of silence. The distinctive feature of an ashram is its culture of meditative pursuits. Seekers come to an ashram in search of guidance in spiritual life. "Ashram is in the heart of a guru and in his personal contact in the depth with the Indweller."3 In the process of integral meditation one deepens one's consciousness to realise the divine depth of reality and broadens it to perceive the Divine in all things. The sages of India speak of two inner faculties of perception: manah (mind) and buddhi (intuitive intellect). Manah objectifies everything and analyses reality; buddhi enters into the reality by uniting it with the perceiving subject. Manah looks at the structures and qualities of reality, while buddhi delves into the core of reality. Manah pursues the logic of reality; buddhi seeks the mystique of reality. Manah operates within the subject-object polarity and arrives at the knowledge of things (vfjñāna); in buddhi this polarity is overcome: the subject and object merge into a unity of transcendental consciousness in which wisdom (jñārna) emerges. Manah speculates on the horizontal level; buddhi intuits vertically into the depth of reality. What the mind does is reflection over realities; what happens in the buddhi is meditation. The "so-called contradictions are such only at the mental level, but are in reality complementary aspects-for the over-mind" (intuition) .... "Truth is hidden beyond words and concepts."4 Meditation is therefore ekstasis at the heart of reality, the conscious movement to the divine centre of all beings, the disciplined diving into the depth of consciousness. At this level of deeper consciousness God is experienced not primarily as the divine thou, object of veneration, but as the divine Self, the antaryāmin, the subject out of which one "lives and moves and has the being." All the spiritual k pursuits of an ashram are meant for growing into this consciousness. "The centre of ashram life is not liturgy but contemplation."5 Three times a day (at sandhyās) the ashramites come together to sit in meditative silence. All the works they do and their dealings with people, their prayers and studies evolve from this inner silence. In an ashram primacy is given to the relentless quest through sadhanas or specifically Indian spiritual practices. It is a place where, above all, people can experience God and live in an ever-deepening awareness of his presence. This is fostered by renunciation and detachment and an atmosphere of silence, peace and joy."6 The Church today needs such oases of silence which could be spiritual refuelling centres along the streets of a speedy life. "Contemplative prayer is the most urgent need of the Church in India today."7 2. Experiencing Christ as the Inner Master In an ashram of Catholic initiative one explores the mystery of Christ through a disciplined practice of meditation. In the traditional forms of theology, spirituality and liturgy Jesus Christ is projected onesidedly on the object side: one encounters Christ as the divine thou and surrenders oneself to him. What is forgotten is that our life actually evolves in Christ: Just as Jesus lived through the Father we live through Jesus; we are in Christ; like the branches of a tree and the living parts of a body we are one with Christ (Jn 15:10, 6:57, 17:21-22, Rom 8:917, Eph 5:30). Paul who was gripped by this inner experience exclaimed: "I live, not I, Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20). Jesus himself promised us that he would be like "living streams welting up from the centre of our being" (Jn 7:38). Christ is the real subject of our being, the true Self of our self, the source and fountain from which we live. In the ashram spirituality this mystical consciousness of Christ as subject is awakened. "Christians need to open their hearts to Christ within, experience Christ within as their guru. This is the function of the ashram."8 Christ is experienced not as a teacher outside, but as the inner master, the Sadguru, who inspires us from within the cave of the heart. "I have often written that Jesus is my Sadguru. It is through his mystery that I have discovered God and myself, that I have caught hold of my identity."9 Meditation, sinking into the depth of reality, thus becomes a mystical experience of Christ within. In truth this is a discovery of the divine core of one's being. Through meditation one realises that one is a branch on the divine stem that Christ is, a spark of the divine fire that the Spirit of Christ inflames, a stream from the divine fountain that is opened in Christ. At a time when people are getting tired of the language of conceptual theology and the symbols of routinised liturgy the Church has to rediscover and communicate the mystical dimensions of Christ experience. It is here that the ashrams make a significant contribution to the evolution of an integral spirituality. There is a danger in Christian spirituality in centering on the human Jesus and losing sight of the divine mystery which is revealed in him. The ashram is a leaven, inconspicuous, feeble but essential, and called to bear witness to the mystery of Christ, hidden in the heart, and those in the ashram are called to awaken the Church to this mystery.10 3. Awakening the Mystic in the Church Mysticism has been a deficit in the Church. With the tendency to overemphasise conceptual formulations and community structures the Church has been marginalising the mystics, and even persecuting them. Those in authority feel threatened when the mystic demands that the sense of the incomprehensible mystery of the Divine must be kept alive in all spiritual and liturgical practices as well in theological reflection. In the circles of popular piety there is a tendency to objectify God in rituals and devotions; but genuine growth in spirituality takes place only when the mystical dimension is made alive. God cannot just be an object of devotion if he is not at the same time subject of experience.11 All through the centuries ashrams have promoted a mystical spirituality. "That is what an ashram is concerned with: meeting the transcendent mystery beyond sacramental expression."12 Hence ashrams initiate seekers to various mystical forms of meditation and the study of mystical literature. A guru with mystical insights has been often the centre of an ashram. The ashrams of Catholic initiative too offer an initiation to the mystical dimension of Christian spirituality. The forms of contemplative prayer, the singing of bhajans, the way the liturgy is celebrated and the spirituality programmes offered at the ashram evoke the mystical sense of the participants. The focus is not on worshipping a God above, but on the silent perception of the Spirit within: "No possible exchange even of 1 and Thou, only an infinite I, aham, present to oneself alone, aware of oneself alone, the Ego sum of the Exodus, but here not heard from another, but simply welling up from the innermost recesses of one's own heart."13 This is the call of the advaitic sages of India and of the mystical masters of the Church. Those who believe in Christ have to open themselves to this experience. "Contemplation ought to be the very breath of every disciple of Christ."" The Christian of the future will be a mystic, or no Christian at all! (Karl Rahner). Ashrams will be places where the mystical dimension is awakened in the Church. Jules Monchanin recalls the words which Henri de Lubac told him as he left for India: Rethink everything in the light of theology, and rethink theology through mysticism.15 4. Inculturation in Spirituality Spirituality is response to the Spirit. Christian spirituality consists in the basic openness to listen to what the Spirit is telling us here and now. Such an attitude demands a sensitivity to the dynamics of the culture. It is through the manifold forms of culture that the Spirit speaks to us today. A spiritual person develops the capacity for discerning the movements of the divine Spirit within and beyond the concrete cultural forms of life and thought. Culture is not merely the heritage that comes from the past; it is rather the way people live in the present and express their creative thoughts, ethical sense and aesthetic feelings. Forms of Christian life have to resonate with the cultural patterns. Christian life in India has to be rooted in the emerging cultural patterns of the people with all its diversity and richness. The Gospel enlightens culture, culture interprets the Gospel. This is the basic dynamics of inculturation. Ashrams are places of the inculturation of faith. "If an ashram is a place for God-seekers, it should be also and preeminently a place where God can be found in a language milieu and theology which are indigenous and natural." 16 Bishop James Mendonca who encouraged the pioneers of Santivanam in all possible ways said: "The ashram experiment was intended to be a first step in the process which will one day make the Christian culture and the Indian culture meet and mingle with each other."17 In the satsangs and theological reflections, in the liturgy and devotional practices, in the formation programmes and publications of the ashrams there is an all-embracing concern of inculturation. Some ashrams have been functioning as centres of experiments in the areas of inculturation, especially in liturgy, in the last thirty years in India. Liturgy is oriented towards contemplation. The words and signs of the liturgy will be seen as means to realize the presence of God. This may help to overcome the great danger of all liturgical prayer becoming a formal routine, in which words and signs have lost all depth of meaning.18 Since the steps of inculturation have to be taken with sensitivity to the feelings of the local community, responsible experiments can be made in the ashrams where the seekers sense the power and beauty of the inculturated forms of spirituality and worship. Another important contribution of ashrams has been the sessions of reading and reflecting on the major Scriptures of other religions and the study of the spiritual classics of India. The Christian spirituality of the future will have to take nourishment from these sources as well. 5. A Culture of Interreligious Dialogue At the dawn of the new millennium humanity finds itself in a new phase of its spiritual evolution. The world is shrinking into a global village. This process affects the religious landscape too. Believers of different religions often come together and share their spiritual experiences and get involved in the promotion of a just society. What evolves through the dialogical interaction of world religions is a humanising spirituality, a vision-and-way of life that sets each person in harmony with nature, in fellowship with others and in union with the Divine. Within and beyond the boundaries of particular religions a new spirituality is evolving globally. Dialogue of religions has been a lived experience of ashrams. In fact an ashram cannot be restricted to the framework of a particular religion. There is no Hindu or Christian ashram. An ashram evolves beyond the boarder-lines of religions. The spirituality of an ashram is alertness to the divine Spirit `that blows where it wills'. In an ashram of Catholic initiative faith in Christ is not something exclusive, but an invitation to open oneself to the `length and breadth, the height and depth of the transforming presence of the divine Spirit in all religions and cultures. The divine Logos became flesh in Jesus Christ so that we may perceive the universal presence of the Logos in all cultures and religions. The ashramites welcome sisters and brothers of other religions as "co-pilgrims on a fraternal journey in which one accompanies the other towards the transcendent goal which God sets for all."19 An ashram community is a pilgrim community, a trans-religious fellowship. It bears living witness to the truth that the religious person of the future will be an interreligious person. It is at the level of mystical experience that interreligious encounter evolves into an intra-religious osmosis. Recalling the silence witness of Jules Monchanin, Bede Griffiths wrote: "It is in the abyss of silent contemplation, as Father Monchanin was well aware, that a vital contact of Hindu and Christian religion must be found."20 Genuine respect for the sacred space within the cave of the heart is the basic element of the ashram spirituality. This is a vital element in the life of the Church at large today. "Dialogue is the new way of being the Church today" Pope Paul V I said in 1964 pointing to the direction the Church will take in the coming decades.21 It is here that the ashrams play an inspiring role in developing a culture of inter-religious dialogue. 6. Cordial Hospitality All religious consider compassion as the basic element of ethics. Every human person has an inalienable dignity and hence everyone has to be respected and accepted. The poor and the suffering need special love and compassion. It is on the face of the human person that one recognises the face of God. An ancient principle of ashram is therefor cordial hospitality. "May the guest be God for you"-this is the instruction of the sages. Mahatma Gandhi wrote on his ashram: I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows t be stuffed. I want the culture of all lands to be blown about my house a freely as possible because I refuse to be blown off my feet by any of them Mine is not a religion of the prison house. It has room for the least among God's creations. It is proof against insolent pride of race, religion an colour.22 Ashrams are known for their spontaneous hospitality. Seekers of all religions and castes, nationalities and cultures are treated a welcome guests in ashrams. The ashramites hold table-fellowship with them and share their spiritual insights during the satsangs. One is her reminded of the table-fellowship of Jesus with people of all background and beliefs. In this sense an ashram is a community that embodies the values of the Kingdom of God (a basileic community). "The Christian ashram is an effective witness of the Church as a sign of the Kingdom of God. It disseminates the values of the Gospel appealing to genuinely human concerns and needs. There is wholeness and holiness in the Christian ashram."23 At a time of institutional crisis in the Church such ashram initiatives offer a credible form of Christian fellowship. Too many rules and too much loyalty to the traditions often hinder the Christian communities in fostering warmth of fellowship with people. The experience one gains by living in an ashram opens more humane ways of relating oneself with others. Ashrams have normally a good rapport with the neighbours. The local people consider an ashram as their own and contribute to its wellbeing. They feel at home in the ashram premises and get spiritual nourishment through contacts with the ashramites. An ashram is not an insulated community, but an insertion community. "An ashram is open to all, welcoming men and women of all persuations, religions, status and race, who come in search of peace and enlightenment."24 Inmost ashrams some sorts of spiritual and social services are rendered for the local people irrespective of caste and religion. In this way, an ashram embodies a Basic Human Community in a definite form. The Christian presence in the Asian countries has to attend to the formation of Basic Human Communities, said the FABC. 7. Renunciation and Simplicity What characterises as ashram at the first look is the genuine simplicity of life. The living quarters are often constructed as small cottages built in a form attuned to the local socio-ecological milieux. The conveniences are kept to the minimum. There is nothing that smacks of luxury or extravagance. The food is simple and invariably vegetarian. The ashramites wear very modest clothes made of cotton. In their dealing with guests and the local people too there is simplicity and approachability. These are genuinely Gospel values which characterised the life of Jesus. In the course of centuries the structured forms of religious life and the institutionalised types of pastoral care in the Church developed certain behaviour patterns which do not communicate these evangelical values. As a result they often lack credibility in giving witness to the message of Jesus. Ashrams experiment with a way of life that takes us back to the original inspiration of Jesus. Without embodying the values of simplicity and renunciation the Church cannot preach the crucified Christ. Bishop James Menconca, in his note on the objectives of founding Santivanam ashram wrote: "It will be a purely contemplative institute which, with its roots firmly and securely planted in Christian principles of true mysticism, will try to bring out the best in the Indian ascetic mode o1 life."25 With the elements of simplicity and renunciation ashrams are effective pointers of a counterculture in the midst of today's consumeristic culture. "The ashram life challenges the uncontrolled development of the world's mechanistic industrial complex."26 Ashrams are also eco-sensitive centres. The ashram spirituality enables one to perceive the divine presence in nature. Across the centuries ashrams in India have sprung up in the sylvan surroundings of a river bank, hill top or mountain valley. Some ashrams are located in a serene corner of a village or even in a city but with a campus full of trees. Several ashrams keep a herbal garden in order to conscientise the people on the healing powers of plants and trees. Satsangs and spiritual discourses often take place under an auspicious Tree thus recognising that the Tree is the primal teacher of humanity. For meditation one sits on the floor: earth is experienced as the body of the Lord and as the primordial mother of all living beings.27 In order to face the challenges of the current ecological crisis there is need to develop an eco-sensitive spirituality. Nature has to be taken not as something for us to exploit, but as the home of life entrusted to our care. The experience of the ashrams can be very valuable in discerning the direction which humanity should take for its survival. Sarvesām mangalam bhavatu - may all things enjoy wellbeing - this is the basic prayer of an ashram. 8. A Holistic Spirituality The classical Scriptures of the India, especially the Bhagavad Gita offer perspectives of a holistic spirituality, which has three constituents; the contemplative perception of the divine presence in the universe (jñāna), total surrender to the divine Lord in love (bhakti) and participation in the work of the divine Spirit in the world (karma). All these three dynamic elements are operative in the spirituality of all ashrams, though a particular ashram following the guidance of a Guru may emphasise one or the other element. Meditative pursuits and the study of spiritual classics foster the jñāha experience. Certain forms of worship and devotional practices keep alive the bhakti element. Every ashram has some form of karma, involvement in the life of the people to offer spiritual formation or to bring about integral liberation and wellbeing. What is significant is that these three factors are integrated to one another in the evolution of a liberative spirituality. This pattern of jñāna-bhakti-karma offers a theological paradigm for an integral Christian spirituality.28 Out of a contemplative experience of one's being in the life of the divine Father, one surrenders oneself in devotion to Christ and inserts oneself creatively into the transforming work of the divine Spirit. One realises that one's life evolves within the inner-trinitarian dynamics of the divine life. In this experience action is anchored in contemplation, study is integrated with devotion and solitude is oriented to solidarity. Such an integrative spirituality is an epochal need in the Church today. Commitment to active works of liberation can be truly liberative only if they arise from a contemplative depth and are characterised by a compassion that is nourished by devotion, In this regard the experiences of the ashramites mean much for the Church 9. An Integral Social Concern A question has been sometimes asked: are the ashrams insulated from the struggles of the people? The concern behind this question is valid. If the spirituality of an ashram does not respond to the movement of the divine Spirit in the actual context of the life of the people it could be insensitive to the cries of the people and to the groanings of the Spirit as well. But the social involvement of an ashram has a different dimension. It has been an insight of the Indian sages and the teaching of Jesus that the root cause of suffering and exploitation is the greed that poisons the human mind. Hence lasting social transformation demands a radical change in the mentality of the people. As long ~ as the competitive drive of the powerful circles and the consumeristic attitudes of the people reign supreme in modern life, poverty, marginalisation and exploitation will continue. With their authentic life of simplicity ashrams offer a place where people can come to a critical self-reflection on their basic value systems. Such an attitudinal change presupposes a spirituality that enables one to perceive the transformative presence of the Spirit in oneself and in the world. The social contribution of an ashram is therefore a spiritual vision of reality. By welcoming all seekers irrespective of caste or creed, social or economic standards, an ashram bears witness to an egalitarian community.29 "An ashram is a place where what is broken is made whole, what is diverse in the spirit is integrated; a place where the oneness of the person, the self, with the whole of reality, with the whole cosmos, with Brahman, with the all-enveloping Reality, the only true Reality, is achieved."30 Indian sages demand that all work that is liberative has to be done in the spirit of yajña. One commits oneself to the welfare of others not from the angle of egoism (ahamkāra), but from within the experience of union with the divine Self (ātmabodha) Otherwise the question will remain: who will liberate the liberator. Theology and spirituality of liberation has to evolve out of contemplative perspectives. "It is the inner centre which is the real source of al life and activity and of all love. It we could learn to live from that centre we should be living from the heart of life and our whole being would be moved by love. Here alone can all the conflicts of this life resolved."31 This is the specific element that the ashrams awaken in the Church. Catholic ashrams offer social activists a chance to spend time in reflecting on the socio-economic dynamics of the country and discern the movement of the divine Spirit. "What better place than ashram where these committed men and women can have a living experience of this ideal and also learn by experience how such community can be built up?32 The formation programmes and meditation courses which the ashrams offer also contribute much to development of a spirituality of social action. The contemplation promoted in an ashram of Catholic initiative is not just a mystical immersion into the abysmal depth of being, but an awakening of consciousness to the perception of our history as God's history, an alertness to the divine Spirit that speaks to us constantly through the problems and struggles of our times. Then the gnosis (jñāna) of contemplation would evolve into agape (bhakti) of liberative action (karma).33
10. A Pilgrim Community in the Church An ashram is not a religious institution; it is rather a spiritual movement. An ashram evolves in the relentless quest of a person or of a community for the Truth, for the mystery of the Divine. It is a process of constantly discerning the movement of the Spirit in the spirit. The ashramites respond to the movements of the Spirit in ever new ways and not just within the framework of traditional religions. Hence the existence of an ashram cannot be understood in terms of the heritage and structure of a religion. An ashram is by nature a transreligious community, and hence a multi-religious community.34 This understanding of an ashram raises the question: How is an ashram of Catholic initiative related to the structures of the local Church? To respond to this question we need to have a clear understanding of the spiritual nature of the Church and of the charismatic character of the ashram. The Church is a communion of people living together in the Spirit. The institutional Church is a sacramental Church, the sacrament of Christ. Ashrams are called to go beyond the sacramental signs to the reality which they represent. Jesus did not preach the Church. He preached the Kingdom of God. Hence we must distinguish between the institutional Church and the eschatological Church. The ashram is a leaven, inconspicuous, feeble, but essential, and called to bear witness to the mystery of Christ hidden int he heart, and those in the ashram are called to awaken the Church to this mystery.35 An ashram of Catholic initiative tries to keep alive this mystical dimension of the Church and to point to the eschatological horizon of the Church. It reminds the community of the faithful constantly to listen to what the Spirit is telling the Church and to move on in response to the demands of the Spirit of Christ. Hence it relativises the structures and rituals emerging from the heritage of the Church. Strictly speaking an ashram does not come under the jurisdiction of the local bishop or of the Superior of a religious Congregation. "We must keep the distinction between an ashram and a religious community. An ashram does not belong properly to the hierarchical Church, that is, the sacramental Church. It is a community called to transcend the sacramental order."36 Hence an ashram of Catholic initiative should not be brought under the legal structures of the Church. Those in authority in the Church should rather encourage the ashram experiments which seek God within and beyond the boundaries of the Church. On the other hand, in so far as the Christian ashramites take inspiration from the heritage of Christian faith, a sense of belonging to the ecclesial community and the consequent accountability to the its spiritual leaders are necessary. This is a safeguard against the infantile forms of personality cult and uncritical submission to a guru in an ashram. For the Christian ashramite Jesus Christ is always the Sadguru; the Church is the universal spiritual family. These theological and spiritual perspectives may be put into the framework of what Jesus said about the core of faith. The woman at Jacob's well put to Jesus a question of religion: in which temple does true worship take place? To this Jesus gave a answer of spirituality: The time has come when true worship takes place neither in this nor in that temple, but in Spirit and Truth. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must worship in Spirit and Truth (Jn 4:23-24). An ashram of Catholic initiative tries to respond to this spiritual dynamics of the message of Jesus. Hence ashrams are a valuable and credible form of Christian presence in the multireligious and pluricultural landscape of India. Notes: *The author is the founder-Director of Sameeksha Ashram, Kalady 683574, and is the Vice-President of the Ashram Aikya. 1 Rabindranath TAGORE, Gitanjali, 35. 2 Jules MONCHANIN, in Swami Paroma Arubi Anandam. A Memorial. Saccidananda Ashram, 1995. p. 225. 3 ABHISHIKTANANDA, Towards the Renewal of the Indian Church. Bangalore: Dharmaram College, 1970, p. 74. 4 Jules MONCHANIN, "The Christian Approaches to Hinduism", in Indian Missionary Bulletin, June 1952, p. 48. 5 Bede GRIFFITHS, "The Ashram and the Monastic Life" in In Christo, 22 (1984), p. 218. 6 Statament of the All India Constation on Ashrams, 1978, § 3 (VJTR 42 [1978] p. 383). 7 ABHISHKTANANDA, Hindu-Christian Meeting Point in the Cave of the Heart. Delhi: ISPCK, 1975, p. 11. 8 Bede GRIFFITHS, "The Ashram as a Way of Transcendence," in VANDANA (ed.), Christian Ashrams, A Movement with a Future?. Delhi: ISPCK, 1993, p. 32. 9 Abhishiktananda, Journal, quoted by Emmanuel VATTAKuzttv, Indian Christian Sannyasa and Swami Abhishiktananda. Bangalore: TPI, 1981, p. 187. 10 Bede Griffiths, in VANDANA, Christian Ashrams, p. 31. 11 Sebastian PAINADAIH S.J., "Awaken the Mystic in the Church," YJTR 59 (1959), pp. 815-22. 12 Belle Griffiths, in VANDANA, Christian Ashrams, p. 30. 13 AABHISHIKTANANDA, The Future Shore. Delhi: ISPCK, 1975, p. 67. 14 AABHISHIKTANANDA, Prayer. Delhi; ISPCK, 1974, p. 3. 15 Jules MONCHANIN, Ecrits spirituels, p. 178, quoted by Sten RODHE, Jules Monchanin. Delhi: ISPCK, 1963. 16 Sr VANDANA, Gurus Ashrams and Christians. Delhi: ISPCK, 1978, p. 59. 17 Cf. Swami Paroma Arubi Anandam. A Memorial, quoted by RODHE, Jules Monchanin. p. 63. 18 Bede GRFFITHS, Talk at Rishikesh, as quoted by VANDANA Mataji, Ashrams in Word and Worship, 1978, p. 42. 19 Pope JOHN PAUL II, at Assisi, 27-10-1986. 20 Jules MONCHANIN, Memorial, p. 126. 21 POPE PAUL VI, Ecclesiam suam, § 4. 22 M.K. GANDHI, Young India, 1-6-1921, p. 171. 23 Paul PATTATHU CMI, Ashram Spirituality. Indore: Satprakashan, 1997, p. 16. 24 Statement of the All India Consultation on Ashrams, 1978, § 4. 25 Cf. J. MONCHANIN/SW. ABHISHIKTANANDA, An Indian Benedictine Ashram. Santivanam 1951, Foreword. 26 Bede GRIFFITHS, in VANDANA, Christian Ashrams, p. 33. 27 Bhavavad Gita, 11, 10ff, Atharva Veda, X11, t, 1-63. 28 Sebastian Painadath, S.J., Ashrams-A Movement of Spiritual Integration," in Concilium, 1994/4, pp. 42-3. 29 Cf. Ernst PULSFORT, Christliche Ashrams in Indien. Telos: Altenberge, 1989, p 146-8. 30 Claude D'SOUZA, S.J., "Ashrams and the Socio-economic and Political Needs India," in VANDANA, Christian, Ashrams, p. 93. 31 Bede GRIFFITHS, The Golden String. London: Collins, 1984, p. 146. 32 Michael AMALDOSS, S.J., "Ashrams and Social Justice," in AMALORPAVADOSS (ed. The Indian Church in the Struggle for a New Society. Bangalore: NBCLC, 198 p. 377. 33 Sebastian PAINADATH, S.J., "Ashrams-A Movement," p. 41. 34 Sebastian PAINADATH, S.J., "Ashram Initiatives in the Indian Church, in Paul PUTHANANGADY, SDB (ed.), Kristu Jayanti Commemoration Volume. Bangalore: 2000. 35 Bede GRIFFITH, in VANDANA, Christian Ashrams, p. 31. 36 GRIFFITHS, ibid.
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