An Inner Journey: Some Observations
By Rev’d Barnabas J Alexander
02 May, 2013
Countercurrents.org
This is my third-trip to South India: Tamil Nadu. Each visit has been a fascinating discovery of this ancient land -- An exploration into the interiority of the self. The landscape and the people do not fail to make deep impression and influence in the way in which one views the world. Its spirituality and faiths make enormous impact. In my case, I will return to this intricate land to find myself in the light of its multiple contexts.
I spent four weeks of my Sabbatical a few years ago, living among the Cittars (Siddhas) in Tiruvannamalai. It was indeed a journey of discovery...
In April this year, thanks to a Church of South India (CSI) priest serving as an Anglican priest in England organised my trip to Trichy (Thiruchirapalli). My accommodation was in the lush surroundings of Bishop Heber College. It is within these academic circles that I began to reflect on both the spiritual and social ministries of the CSI – Trichy/Tanjore Diocese. In this piece, I wish to focus very briefly on the following: 1) Caste 2) Inter-religious dialogue 3) Church growth
1) CASTE
The chief Librarian of the college shared with me his own story (he granted me permission to write about it). He hails from a backward place called Theni. He proudly said, “My father was a grave digger. It is through the work of the Christian missionaries that he got himself educated and later became an army officer...” Dr Manalan’s story reveals the thraldom of caste discrimination. The exploitative treatment of an outcaste received in the hands of the others is appalling. Education was key to the success story. Thanks to the mission schools.
The other side of the coin however, is that the caste consciousness and its adverse influence is still rampant in the Indian Church. The inner workings of the Church are often plagued by caste discriminations. Factions based on caste lines dominate politics of the Church. The light of the gospel has in one sense, liberated the outcaste. However, the gospel truth is yet to breakdown the “Wall of separation.” Casteism is ingrained in so deeply that even the Gospel texts is viewed and interpreted through the prism of the caste system. Some are of the view that the oppressed have now become the oppressors. In the local scene, there are churches ONLY for the outcastes. There are also churches for other caste people. Inter-Church relations can be rather complex: Perhaps, non-existent!
I visited an ancient Jain monastery dug out of the rock face with its 1400 year old murals. There I met a very elderly woman in the 40-degree heat. During our conversation, she started chewing beetle leaves with tobacco. I asked her to give me some beetle leaves to chew...She was reluctant...then she whispered to me that she belongs to SC. That means “Scheduled castes”. Constitutional categorisation of Dalits. The old woman was still conscious of the so-called untouchability!!
Dalit theology of liberation has highlighted the plight of the broken people. The Dalit consciousness makes one to be proud for who you are as a human person. There is self worth and dignity. Such awareness however, must endeavour to enlighten others in order to transcend their prejudices and embrace common humanity. Within such context, the Church must be a tool that which dismantles the caste system – at least among professing Christians.
2) Inter-Religious dialogue
I visited a Hindu priest friend in Tirunelveli. The young man who drove me to this temple is a local Youth leader and a candidate for Christian ministry. He is going in May for theological training at Serampore College. After a long conversation with my friend, I left to go to my hotel. The young man who was driving me back was asking me many questions. He told me that he was surprised that a Christian priest would visit a Hindu priest and we would be warmly welcomed into a Hindu home...
I was surprised at such a reaction. When speaking to the Bishop in Trichy I queried about the inter-religious dialogue. My understanding was to my surprise, there was hardly any dialogical process in progress. As Christians, if we do not invest in understanding our neighbour...Would that mean that we are comfortable in our insulated approach to the world outside with a “Minority complex”?
3) Church Growth
In stark contrast to what we are experiencing in the West, particularly in Europe, Church Growth in the India is there to be seen and felt. Amidst the complicated issues raised above in 1 and 2 the reasons for growth is multifaceted. In CSI churches one can see both young and old -- the churches are overflowing...One essential ingredient that I found among them was the simplicity of child-like faith. Now, this simple faith in the Divine is not devoid of complex and sophisticated perception of spiritualities.
Conclusion
Secular India can and will handle spiritual growth with ease because the core soul of the land is anchored in the Ageless Spirit. World religions have co-habited in India for centuries and it will continue to do so...Extremism in any religious sector is a complete misapprehension of the Truth.
Thank God, no one has the monopoly of truth.
Rev’d Barnabas J Alexander is a Methodist Minister serving in the Leicester Circuit, U.K.
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