DNC times November- 2015

appears to be just one big myth. The series of recent
atrocities in the name of “sacred cow” and the malicious
acts of Shiv Sena, a BJPally, have brought the worst type
of disharmony in the country. These all depict the
gloriousfallofthe'greatdemocracy'.
How do we respond as Christians? Pope Francis
beckons us to change, reading the signs of the times
whilst remaining fixed to our faith in Jesus. As a sign of
authenticity as disciples of Jesus, Pope urges us, to pray
to Lord for the grace to be merciful to those who do us
wrong. Mercy is the only way to overcome evil.
Moreover, I strongly feel that as true Indians, peace-
loving people need to break silence on growing
intolerance, all for the sake of befriending the other, for
peaceandharmony.
The November edition of DNC TIMES presents
an array of perspectives on “Befriending Others”. Our
veteran ex-professor Theodore Bowling bases his
expectations on befriending the nature and the people of
the other faiths. As a true Jesuit, Fr. Vincent Crasta
expresses his optimistic view about “Befriending the
other” in our context. Sujay focuses on the right
relationship with the other, a sense of inter-relatedness.
Sudhir explicates the way to befriend our body and Sr.
Shalini brings out the social concern and reality on the
'friendship' between men and women. As Pope Francis
says, “Culture of encounter is the foundation of peace.
We must meet one another doing good.” Wish you a
meaningfulencounterinyourreading.
nd
(Joseph is a 2 year philosopher at JDV, Pune)
veryone needs other people, but not everyone
has someone. Jesus befriended all, fisherman,
Eleper and prostitute. St. Ignatius of Loyola
believed in everyone's unique way of responding to this
invitation by being “contemplative in action”. Pope
Francis always reminds us of our need for the so-called
“other” – the poor, and the ones whose perspective on
God and faith is different from ours. His recent encyclical
on “Laudato Si” has urged all people to befriend the
creation, our common home, because “everything is
connected”. Everyone, particularly Christians are called
to be 'good Samaritans' breaking all barriers in
befriending all especially the poorest of the poor. No
matter where the other is from, what s/he does, or what
s/hebelievesin,befriendingvalueseveryone.
This academic year 2015-16, Jnana-Deepa
Vedyapeetha (JDV), is celebrating the Diamond Jubilee
of the transfer of the Papal Athenaeum from Kandy to
Pune with a befitting theme “Befriending the Other”.
Taking the leading role as an intellectual center for the
Catholic Church in India, JDV has prepared thousands of
priests and religious. After the Second Vatican Council
there was a greater need felt of women religious in India
to make religious life more meaningful and relevant in
the Church. As a result Mater Dei ('Mother of God':
Theological center administered by the Conference of
Religious of India, Women's Wing) was born in 1964,
affiliated to JDV. Since its very inception Mater Dei has
trained more than 6000 women religious enhancing the
Church's mission of social transformation. This is in fact
the act of God “befriending” his chosen people who in
turnbefriendhumanitytoHim.
Let me draw your attention to the wave of
growing religious and social intolerance in India after the
BJPgovernment came to power. Religious intolerance in
particular has emerged as the dominant factor in
conflicts.Today,'unityindiversity',theprideofIndia,
02 November 2015November 2015
Joseph Soren, SJ
The EditorialThe Editorial

household chores, she is expected to do sexual servicing
to the husband and give birth to his children, preferably
malechildren!
Why do we have such a situation? Is it that man is
not ready yet to befriend a woman? Though man is
created to find a soul mate in woman, often he fails to do
so. In a patriarchal society he is socialized and
conditioned to believe in the inferiority of woman. The
patriarchal culture that is still prevalent in our society
prevents man to befriend
women. In most places
there is strict segregation
between boys and girls.
They are not allowed to
freely interact with one
another. Moreover,
c o m m e r c i a l a d s ,
pornographic movies,
websites, etc., almost
force men to view women
as a sex object than as a
person. The increasing number of rapes and molestation
ofwomenisanindicationtothisfact.
How do we bring about a change to this unhealthy
situation? Conducting gender sensitization programmes
for various groups and creating awareness of the situation
is a must.There is a need to create space and opportunities
for men and women to freely interact with one another as
mature adults. Co-ed schools and colleges can play a big
role in creating that space where young boys and girls can
learn to relate to one another as friends. Today as more
and more co-ed schools and colleges are coming up, we
see that the friendships between boys and girls, men and
women areontherise.This is awelcomesign indeed.
(Shalini is a professor of theology at Vidyajyoti, Delhi)
n God's original plan for humanity man and woman
were created equal in dignity and worth (Gen 1: 27).
IThey were created to be partners and collaborators
sharing equal responsibility for taking care of the earth.
With the entry of sin, the scene changes and we see
equality and mutuality giving way to domination and
control (Gen 3: 16).Are we condemned to remain in that
fallen state where man rules over woman instead of
befriending her? As Christians we believe that Jesus has
liberated us from that
sinful situation through
h i s d e a t h a n d
resurrection. Therefore
how do we respond to the
question, 'are men ready
tobefriendthewoman?'
Women and men
are created to befriend
one another. My daily
travel in Delhi Metro
prompts me to answer the
question in the affirmative. Yes, there are men who are
not only ready but also want to befriend women. I see
couples who are in love; I see groups of young
school/college going boys and girls freely interacting
with one another. I know quite a number of husbands and
wiveswho relatetoeachotherasfriends.
However, this is not the whole picture. The other
side of reality is horrifying, the attitude of seeing woman
as a sex object and not as a person.There is no question of
befriending her if she is perceived as an object. In many
Indian homes, the husband-wife relationship is not one of
equality and mutuality but of domination and
subjugation. In India, almost 60 % of married women are
victims of domestic violence! Wife is seen only to fulfill
certain roles in the family. Besides attending to all
Sr.Shalini M,pbvm
Are Men Ready to Befriend the Woman?Are Men Ready to Befriend the Woman?
Article

I am happy that an optional course on Ecology is
being taught at JDV and that the Taru Mitra group of the
campus is taking the Ecological message to the school
childrenof Pune.
The Second of my expectations of staff and
students is that both should work together so that students
as future priests are able to preach relevant and
meaningful HOMILIES. As I recall the theology and
scripture professors of my student days at DNC and JDV,
they gave hints in class on how theology can be explained
in a homily. The content of the homily is obviously the
most important part, namely, the Good News as preached
by Jesus, namely, our goal in life and the way to achieve
it. However, the best written homily is useless unless the
speaker speaks distinctly and clearly. Talking to a lay
person one day about homilies, this person said: “Father
we go to mass every Sunday, and so hear a homily once a
week. However, we do not understand what the preacher
is saying.” Yes, good diction in any language is also
necessary.
My last expectation of staff and students is that
they give due importance to Religious Dialogue. The
Bishops' Conference of East Asia has strongly
recommended Religious Dialogue because of the
plurality of religious beliefs in East Asia. What these
Bishops have recommended is also applicable to India.
To enter into Religious Dialogue with a person of another
faith requires a great effort to listen carefully to what the
other person is saying. Then the listener himself or
herself must be well informed about his/her own faith so
thathe/shecancanexplainhis/herown tenets.
This is where the theological faculty once again
comes into play. Will their teaching be such that the
students are enabled to explain their basic beliefs to
people of another faith? Even during their studies
students might have an opportunity to engage in
ReligiousDialogue.Thisobviouslywouldbeonasmall
th
n the 60 anniversary of JDV on our campus, I
have been asked to write briefly about MY
OEXPECTATIONS of the present and future
JDV staff and students. I write as a Professor Emeritus of
Basic Science at JDV as well as an ordinary human
observer.
There are a number of topics which come to my
mind as being important. The First one is ECOLOGY,
that is, to care for the planet earth, our own living space.
This is one of the topics that Pope Francis wrote about at
great length in his newest Encyclical “LAUDATO SI”
and whenever he has the opportunity he frequently
speaks aboutit.Thistopicis surelydeartohis heart.
Most of us are already aware of the danger done
to “Mother Earth”. For one factor, the earth is warming
up; the ice is melting at the two poles and the mountains
so that the ocean waters are rising. If this phenomenon
continues, scientists warn that coastal cities might be
inundated. The warming up is due mostly to the burning
up of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. Some mechanism
needs to be put into place to limit the use of these fossil
fuels. Solar and windmill energy sources need to be
expanded; also the burning of leaves or grass should be
reduced. Why not dig a pit and throw the organic matter
into the pit to rot and form
compost?
U n p r i n c i p l e d
mining of coal or of the
ores of copper, iron, silver
etc. is also a cause of
defacing the earth. There
are enough laws to govern
mining practices, but to
what extent are they
enforced? If enough letters were written to the editors of
newspapers to bring attention to malpractices in
industrialmining,someremedialactioncouldresult.
Theodore Bowling, SJ
My ExpectationsMy Expectations
Cont’d on pg.7
Analysis

seen sans a mask. No one knew the real face behind the
mask. Was there a real face at all? No-one knew... the
legend goes that the tribe was granted a boon by a God.
They had asked for a boon that they would be as perfect
and refined as this God himself. So the God granted them
this boon of not being able to express their emotions, for
he thought it to be the cause of imperfection. All of them
became rational and perfect and they never expressed
anything. But soon they realized that there were miss-
communications but the boon cannot be undone. They
thus beganusing masks todisplaytheiremotions.
However in due
course of time, few people
used their masks wrongly.
For e.g., on the occasion
of his marriage a person
wrongly used the mask of
sadness instead of Joy.
Following him the guests
too put on the masks of
sadness and consequently
his bride abandoned him.
W h i l e s o m e w e r e
innocently ignorant of
what masks stood for the emotions they felt, others
misused it as a guise to hide their real feelings. Gradually
all the people forgot what mask stood for what emotion
and began using wrong masks. The one feeling hatred
used smile, the one feeling dissatisfaction used
contentment or joy. The God who gave them this boon
wasApollo.
Why do we cry when we are happy and smile
when we are actually sad? Are we, the people of this
globalized village also blessed by the same God Apollo?
CanIbefriendmyselfso thatIcanbetrulyme.
nd
(Seenia is a 2 year philosopher at JDV, Pune)
ll of us, right from our birth, are taught to be
what we are today. Our parents, environment,
Ateachers, friends taught us to behave in a
particular way, to speak and to show emotions in a
particular way. Finally, they nailed this behavior as 'your
own personality'. But few questions that remain to be
asked are - is there anything called as my own? If
everything is given to me then what is my own? Wouldn't
my personality be different if I were to be born in some
other corner of this world? In that case where is the real
ME? In my case my role was to be a daughter, then
daughter plus elder sister,
later daughter plus elder
sister plus student, thus the
list is cumulative. Am I
busy playing the role that I
am expected to play, in the
bargain forgetting the real
me? Our fast-paced
civilization, hybridization,
corporate culture, ready-
made culture, high
degrees, respective status
in life, even our religious
formation have made us sophisticated beings and refined
us. But in this progression has it also made us like the
impersonal God of Aristotle? Has this progression led to
a slow death of humanness in me? In the death of my
humannessthereis birthof atragedy.
There is a legend that goes about a tribe that lived
in a faraway island. The people of this tribe, whether
child or adult, wouldn't step out of their house without a
bag hanging around their necks.…..a bag which
contained different kinds of masks representing different
emotions – mask for sadness, joy, anger etc. Each time
they wanted to display an emotion the people of the tribe
would put on the respective masks. Never was anyone
05 NOVEMBER 2015NOVEMBER 2015
Sr Seenia K, MSMI
The MasksThe Masks
Article

The print and the digital media in some sense, is
responsible in dividing people and posing a great threat
to secular democracy. There is a growing need today to
befriend people by continually unveiling truth from
untruth and leading people from darkness to light.
Enhancing mutual dialogue based on deeper
understanding of each other is essential today and church
has a great role to play in this regard. The document
'Redemptoris Missio' clearly states that promoting
dialogue is not only for
peaceful co-living rather it's
the fundamental dimension
of church's missiontoday.
In a world ruled by
communication media,
what is the role of religious?
The task, I believe is
straight forward; to counter
the falsely created reality
that divides people and to
work for truth, for truth
shallseteveryonefreetoliveasonehumancommunity.
Thus, Can we think of 'Catholic Social
Intelligentsia' to combat the intolerant storm and to
befriend people? What is Catholic Social Intelligentsia?
This is a group of thinkers and activists who are well
informed about the current affairs and in general has a say
in these matters given to their background. For eg: Fr
Cedric Prakash, Fr Rudi Heredia, Fr Ambrose Pinto etc.
The team also needs a group of secular personalities like
Teesta Setalvad, Medha Patkar, Sunitha Krishnan, John
Dayal, Ram Puniyani, Kancha Illiah etc who are actively
working for a cause. I would call the members of this
team as 'Counter Cultural Prophets' This combination of
secular and religious thinkers, need to be further assisted
by a small group of technicians and designers.
Cont’don pg.7
esus who walked on this earth 2000 years ago was
an ambassador of truth. He spoke of a kingdom
Jwhich is built on and ruled by love and justice. He
used the spoken word and the contextualized examples
and imageries as part of his effective communication.
Revolutionary Jesus was ever ready to challenge the
unjust structures and the false and dehumanizing
practices. I believe no one ever in the history of humanity
has befriended people as him. Obviously it cost him his
life.
We Christians have a
mandate to walk in the path
of Christ and to be a counter
cultural and a contrast
community. We, as religious
h a v e e v e n g r e a t e r
responsibility, 'to read the
signs of the time and respond
to them creatively' (GS 4).
Pope Francis, in his apostolic
Exhortation recalling the Latin American theologians
reminds us that 'it's not enough to say that we have been
like this (EG 33), rather we need to move out of our
churches,withoutwaitingpassivelyinside.'(EG 12)
Freedom of Expression is one of the greatest gifts
citizens of any nation can ever have and we Indians are
privileged to be a secular democracy. Communication
media plays a vital role in the Indian Society and politics
today. One cannot deny the role of media in the ever
increasing religious intolerance in the country. It's the
opinion of many that the communication media in India
of late, has been creating, projecting and selling the
reality dictated by the ruling and the elite section of the
society. It's unfortunate that a large section of the
country's population has been receiving only the
projectedrealitypassively,withoutdeeperanalysis.
Catholic Social IntelligentsiaCatholic Social Intelligentsia
Rayan Lobo, SJ
Article

Catholic Social IntelgentiaCatholic Social Intelgentia
Cont’dfrompg.6
The team needs to carefully and constantly keep
watch over various false propaganda carried out in the
print and digital media and counter it with factual claims
of truth and reality.The utmost task of this team would be
to expose the 'Other Side of the Hype'. Digital media
with various websites including the social media like FB
and Twitter needs to be constantly monitored and
clarified. At the same time the constructive
communication through art, music and other forms of
aesthetics, should be promoted continually. The
resources available with the younger brand of religious
could be a great help in this regard. Catholic Social
Intelligentsia must keep preparing second and third
generationof counterculturalprophets.
Pope Francis, in his apostolic Exhortation speaks
of a dynamic church; 'I would prefer a church which is
bruised, hurt and dirty because it has been out on the
streets'. The Church's document on Justice (Justicia in
Mundo), invites the church and the clergy to be a voice of
manywho arevoicelessandsilenced.
Signs of the times are placing a clear invitation
before us religious to work for the Kingdom of God and
Catholic Social Intelligentsia would be an effective tool
in befriending people and forming a humane society. I
wish 'CatholicSocialIntelligentsia becomesareality.
(Rayan is doing his diaconate ministry at Bengaluru)
It was a beautiful and graceful blessing
It was so warming and heart soothing
Sleeping calm beneath the tree, amazing
Yes! Opening eyes covered the shadow of dreaming.
Soon eyelashes twinkled at black water flowing
Trembling to breathe nostrils waver panting
Everything is dry, dusty sand storm excruciating
Distarous! Skin dazed with stench sweating.
Unknown mosquitoes are breeding
Various diseases are increasing
High temperature is gearing
Seasons are curelessly disappearing.
Farmers have lost hope in farming
Government lands up in blaming
Consumerist interest multiplying
Vision of Digital India seems to be killing!
Our world is on the doldrums of developing
Lending ears to the cries of nature withdrawing
Voice of befriending needs immediate understanding
Otherwise, bitter end searches our realm of surviving.
nd
(John is 2 year philosopher at JDV, Pune.)
John Prashanth, SJ
Care …the Tear !!!Care …the Tear !!!
Cont’d from pg.4
scale. Formal Religious Dialogue is a special gift and
requires more knowledge, skill and tact. I personally
have not been involved in any face to face dialogue but I
have been engaged in dialogue by receiving letters from
peopleof anotherfaithandwritingbacktothem.
My Expectations
Poem

The call from Pope Francis to be inclusive and to
be able to create space for the “other” to dialogue to the
point of asking all Catholic Parishes in Europe to adopt at
leastone refugeefamilyis reallya new sign of the Church
moving towards a destination to build a new relationship
with the people who are in a great need. Today to build a
just society we need to dialogue with others. Dialogue
with the poor and with situations as Mother Teresa did,
and cultures as De Nobili and Life as Panikkar did, are
the needs for befriending. According to the philosopher
Raimon Panikkar “there
should be not only inter-
religious dialogue but also
intra-religious dialogue,
where the purpose of the
dialogue is neither to win over
the other nor to come to a total
agreement but to understand
each other. Dialogue can be
considered as the way of life or
spirituality of today. It is the
exchange of views on equal
grounds for mutual enlightenment. Dialogue is a
communitariansearchfortruth.”
Jesus forgave and healed. He purified prostitutes
and made uneducated, fisher men and tax collectors his
disciples. Being with him the weak became strong. This
should be the criteria for the Church to befriend others
today.
We have failed to imbibe Jesus' spirit of
befriending. There is no depth in our approach. World is
the horizon of relations and befriending is the part of it.
Why is that we (Christians) do not raise voices when
people of other faiths are attacked? Then how can we say
as a Church that we have befriended other people and
nature?As Jesus befriended,canwebefriendothers?
nd
(Pratap is a 2 year philosopher at JDV, Pune)
ne of the most important needs in the Church
today is building relationship with others, be it
Onature, religions, culture, traditions, languages
etc. Needing each other to survive in the dance of life is
the present phenomenon in the world. The human beings
are interdependent and the other is needed for our
existence. But today the exclusive policy of politics,
religions, and cultures has become threat for human
existence. There are more dividing factors found in
presentreligionandpolitics.
The world is the
horizon of relations and
befriending is a part of it.
According to the historian
Arnold Toynbee “Our
current globalisation, free
market and networking
have made our civilization
almost totally dependent
on each other. The fall of
one causes the fall of all
others. Ours is one world and one civilization and either
we sink together or flourish together”. But due to weak
and lack of ethical leadership in politics and religions the
disparity between poor and rich is increasing in the
society. There is a strong egoistic & nationalistic feeling
where my concept of country, religion & language
narrows down the ability to think otherwise. Most of the
times our leaders, be it religious or political, don't want
others to grow and become future leaders. Men who
develop us are the men who have faith in us. There is
always lack of political and religious will to bring
harmony between people. In the political concept of
divide and rule, the conflict is greater than unity for the
political parties. People become victims of
communalism, instigated by politicians who try to get
maximumsupport withtheminimumeffort.
Befriending – A Mutual GrowthBefriending – A Mutual Growth
Pratap Samad, SJ
Article

might be the other to the person begging at the signal or
the person who comes to clean or an in-patient in the
hospital or someone serving in the army across the border
oradamagedkidney…
Then what's theproblem
We think we know the mind of God; and it is the
same in each and every instance. It's got to be, right?Who
likes a God who is fickle?Although, it is so freeing when
God accepts me, with all my shades and degrees of
enthusiasm... It's so nice when he understands my
explanationof why Ihadtodo whatIdid.
I have found that
…I am more easily moved to pity than patience to
understand. I have found that my friend, who smokes, is
just a friend who smokes. He is a friend first. Do I care for
his health? Yes, I do and he knows that. And yet, is his
smoking as sinful / God-hurting as my coldness to
corruption or my unavailability for the aunt with a
terminal illness or indifference to my neighbour's needs
or my quiet complacency to the newly arranged, dowry-
ed marriage of my cousin or the friendly, well intentioned
torturoustauntstomyunmarriedcousin.
I pray
When I am unable to befriend a person, based on
their choice, I pray God to please grant me a glimpse of
me, my image compared to His. A bible commentator
says that the defining feature of a Jew's faith was about
what s/he could do for God whereas that of Gentile's
faith was to revel in what God had done for him/her. As
absolute as our zeal for doing the right thing, it seems we
can only go ahead in degrees, incrementally and that the
journey of life is not a race. What matters is to run it well
totheendtoknow thatwehavemadeiteasierfor some.
(Princy works with International Justice Mission, an
organization working with human trafficking issue)
What does yourGodlook like?
One of the first lessons in getting to know
children living on the streets or on railway platforms is to
engage them in some fun, engaging activities so that they
have less time to be idle and therefore less time to seek
instant pleasure so that they gradually grow stronger in a
drug-free and productive daily routine. In the process, I
needed to get used to the smell of 'solution' or paint or
gutka or some kind of solvent that most of the 15-20
children at the centre were in the habit of consuming.
Some had run away, at a young age, from their distant
home due to a fire or drought or a fight with a step-parent;
some had just got lost on a train journey and finally gave
up attempts to remember the way home; others were born
on the street, under the bridge and knew only this life.
Laxmi was one of the seniors in the centre and outside
and was of assistance to maintain order in the centre. She
hadAIDS.Thirteen year-old Rina was not pregnant when
I met her 5 weeks ago. I belong to the generation who
didn't typically run into pregnant teenagers; also popular
in my growing up years were HIV-AIDS awareness
commercials that somehow led me to have a one-track
mindtothinkaboutwhatcausestheillness.
Who istheother?
Anyone not having the same language, financial
status, confidence level, dressing style, education,
parents, age, favourite beverage…is the other, to me.
And yet, the friend I would call in time of a major
plumbing crisis or
spiritual crisis or
job crisis can fit the
above description,
i.e. they are the
“other” and yet,
very near to me,
when I need them
to be. And who
Befriending the OtherBefriending the Other
PrincyJoseph
Article

following the method itself. Hath yoga speaks about the
aid received at various biological levels. It also helps the
person to realize the importance of knowledge and
experience of Pranayama and its dynamics. This makes
body andmindtomaintaintheirunity.
Raja yoga advises the yogi to proceed on the path
of the highest reality with the aid of the mind at various
levels of higher consciousness. It restrains and keeps in
check the outgoing function of the mind which helps him
or her to be in direct and intimate touch with reality. Laya
yoga invites the traveller on his/her path to proceed with
the help of sound at various levels of vibrations, so that
s/hecanreachthefinalgoalthroughsoundless sound.
Yoga helps our body to remain in discipline. It
trains our body to channelize the energy within us.
Befriending yoga promotes spiritual and physical
balance. This befriending makes our body a fit
instrument for a chaste and contemplative life. With the
regular practice of yoga, we can easily overcome the
general health problems and can increase our capacity for
work. We can become stronger and attain greater clarity
of prayer and have our emotions under control. As
Christians, students and employees let us befriend our
body throughyogaandunitewiththeAbsolute.
st
(Sudeer is1 year theologian at JDV, Pune)
hy befriending? We befriend the other to
support and to lead a meaningful life
Wrealising that God's gift is precious and
must be lived to the fullest. By the way, are we friends
with our body? Do we appreciate our body, the colour of
our skin, the figure, the size and the shape? Most often
many of us are not able to accept the way we are and end
up wasting a lot of time and energy trying to become or
looklikesomeoneelse.
Befriending the body is a concept that is
commonly employed in traditions of yoga, psychology
and Buddhism. It is neither new nor unique to the yogic
path. However, for me with my limited experiencesYoga
has been the main ground for a change in my mind-body
relationship. What I have discovered is that being
compassionate towards my body and maintaining a
strong mind-body connection are vital for my well-
being.Yoga has helped me to a great extent to be aware of
my conscience which enables me to achieve a greater
unityofmind–body andsoul.
Initially it was difficult to bring harmony
between body and mind until I devoted myself to some
practice of yoga. Yoga means "joined together." The
word comes from the ancient Sanskrit root word
which means "to unify." Many experts and practitioners
of yoga have said that the primary aim of yoga is “a
particular way of fashioning oneself” by means of certain
disciplines,physiologicalandpsychical.
Traditionally there are four major categories of
yoga: Mantra yoga, Hath yoga, Raja yoga and Laya yoga.
Different practitioners give different names but they fall
under one of the above categories. Some are just
repetitionswithdifferentattractivenames.
Mantra yoga, it is basically about chanting and
repeatingof mantras.The followers of this yoga carefully
pronouncethenamesofdeitiesandbefriendthemindby
yug,
SudheerEkka, SJ
Befriending the Body through YogaBefriending the Body through Yoga
Article

of inter-relatedness. This eternal wisdom has moved us
from within and directed us from above. Glimpses of it
can be found in the popular proverbs – subhashitas,
religiouspractices,popularconvictions,etc.
One of the Sanskrit subhashitas is “Ayam
bandhurayam neti ganana laguchetasam ;
Udaracharitanam tu vasudaiva kutumbakam”. It
means that only small minded men discriminate saying,
one is a relative and other is a stranger. For those who live
magnanimously the entire world constitutes but one
family. 'Vasudha” means earth or the entire creation or
cosmos, “eva” means certainly and “Kutumbakam”
means family. Thus the entire world is tightly knit,
nuclear family. Yet another saying is from a wise Tamil
poet Kaniyan Poongundranar, who lived 2500 years ago,
“yathum oore yavarum kelir” which means, every place
is my home town, everyone my kith and kin. A famous
kannada poet, DVG calls us to be one with everyone -
“ellaralondhagu”. Religious convictions as Zakat in
Islam, Langar is Sikhism, community bonding of the
tribals and dalits, sacrificial love of Christians all speak
volumes about our common ethos of acceptance,
accommodation and affection through inter-relatedness.
Holiness and humanness is measured through these
relationships.
But, today the fine balance is being threatened in
the name of unity, uniformity and stability. Uniformity
can bring no more unity and stability than what diversity
can offer. What can bring unity and stability is the sense
of being inter-related, a sense of right relationship with
the other, befriending the other as the other. Only then
can love rule over hate and indifference. We need to go
back to our well springs of our common spirituality. We
need to draw from these ancient sources of wisdom –
“withoutyouIamnot”.
rd
(Sujay is3 year theologian at JDV, Pune)
he world that we live in is a horizon of inter-
relationships. Existence gives itself to humans
Tas an incomprehensible gift to be in relation to
things and persons. Human beings as “beings-in-the-
world” are intrinsically related to both the animate and
inanimate in a social, familial, tribal, cultural, and most
importantly ontological level –the existential level. This
inter relationship makes us not a finished product but
rather as “beings in process”. We can never be formed to
perfection in isolation and insulation.We invariably need
the “other” to find ourselves. The presence of the other,
whether active or passive, is necessary to challenge,
influence, mould, enrich, fulfil, fashion and beautify us.
Itforms theveryground of beinghuman.
Then the question arises, what kind of a
relationship do we share with the others? Each of the
other is distinctly and uniquely related to us. According
to some phenomenologists, human beings engage in
three basic relationships with the other – love, hate and
indifference. Every other type of relationship is just a
footnote or a nuanced form of these three. It is they
which govern, influence, and direct our approach,
attitudeandactiontowards theother.
How does this apply to individually or
collectively to us Indians? Are we guided as nation by
one of these or a mixture of these? If it's a mixture, then
what are the proportions? India has always been known
as a land acceptance, accommodation and affection.
What characterizes us is diversity and unity. These two
seemingly opposite characters are somehow kept in a
fine delicate balance and so what unites us is our
diversity. This claim, of course doesn't rule out the rare
internal clashes we have had in the name of ideologies,
religions, castes etc, but they never hindered our union,
harmonyandinter-relatedness.
What would be reason for this? I would say it
comes from a common ethos and a common spirituality
Without You, I Am Not…Without You, I Am Not…
Sujay Daniel, SJ
Article

and the stay in Galilee instead of native Judea are the
biblical texts attributing the title of migrant to the Holy
Family. Jesus lived as a migrant too (Lk 13:22). The
parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10: 30-36) is a
directivefor our attitudetowardsstrangers.
BefriendingtheRefugeesinToday's Context
Taking inspiration from scriptures, today we are
called to befriend the refugees/migrants at various levels
and areas. In order to befriend, primarily we ought to
understand ourselves and then move outside ourselves.
Some of the areas to befriend the refugees are religion
and culture (dialogue as one of the ways of befriending),
poverty (to let go some of our privileges or comforts for
the sake of refugee), safety (to make the life of refugees
less vulnerable to local people), occupation (fear of
losing employment for the nationals with the onset of the
migrantswhichresultsintohostility)andeducation.
It is true that the refugee problem will continue to
exist till states take the responsibility to solve the
problem. The Christian Marxism as presented in
Quadrogesimo Ano (the encyclical of Pope Pius XI)
speaks of equality of all and equal distribution of
resources will help to change the present situation.
People's attitudinal change will be the most important
factor.The Church has taken a stand towards the plight of
the refugees, and the Church members should imbibe its
spirit. The identification of suffering Christ with the
poor, uncared and humiliated migrants is an appeal and
challengetoone's commitmenttoJesus Christ.
rd
(Sandesh is3 year theologian at JDV, Pune)
igration is the result of war, poverty, human
rights violation, mistreatment of minorities,
Methnic cleansing and so on. As Pope Francis
says in his latest encyclical, 'Laudato si', “migration of the
people is the result of harm done to the ecology”. People
who decide to leave everything they have ever known,
fleeing with what they can carry to begin an unknown
future in a new country, usually make the decision only
when there seems to be no other option for survival, or
when the kind of survival they would experience at home
is unbelievably brutal and stark.The woes of the migrants
continue even after they land in the foreign country. They
experience ill-treatment by the local authorities, denial of
human rights, racist/ xenophobic aggression and violence
againstwomenandchildren.
Scripturalbasis forbefriendingthemigrants
Luke 4:18-19 sums up the mission of Jesus when
it gives a subaltern perspective on the migrants/ refugees
and the oppressed. It calls us to befriend the oppressed
sections of the society with concrete actions irrespective
of their faith. Being a Jesuit, I feel that we ought to place
ourfoundationfor work inscriptures.
The notion of being a stranger is very basic to
Israel's identity. Abraham's departure from Ur to the
place shown by God (Gen 11:31-12:5) and wandering
from place to place (Gen 12:9ff) is the first example of
migration in the history of Israel. Jacob's moving into
Egypt with a small family where they became a nation,
the Exodus and deportation to Babylon are various
experiences very basic to the history (salvation history)
of Israel. The commandments regarding strangers (Lev
19:33-34) is seen as a result of the experience of Israel as
a stranger and migrant. The commandment of Yahweh in
Deut 10: 17-19 to treat the oppressed can serve as
foundationfortreatingthemigrants.
In the New Testament we see the Holy Family as
a migrant family. The birth of Jesus, fleeing to Egypt
Befriending the MigrantsBefriending the Migrants
Sandesh G, SJ
Article

Tears rolled down my cheeks, when she, having
noticed my swollen leg, started to wash it with warm
water to apply some ointment. My heart quaked, so did
my religious prejudices. Because, in spite of knowing
that I was of a different faith and on my way to become a
priest, they treated me as their 'bhai' (brother). Their
message was very strong. 'Religion is a channel to reach
God. It helps the faithful to live a good moral life in
society. What is very important is
to have a dialogue with one
another'.
What our human history
teaches us is that many have
walked through the lanes of
history but only a few have
realized this truth. Our former
president APJ Abdul Kalaam
could reach out to bevy of people
from different stages of life. He
created a bond among the people
through dialogue, the most efficient instrument. But we
should not stop our dialogue with human persons alone;
we also need to dialogue with our environment; the birds,
the animals, the plants, the trees and so on as we are all
interdependent. Adialogue with the environment means
the responsibility of caring and protecting it. Without it,
we cannot live on this earth.We need to nurture the nature
forourfuture.
This is the task which each one of us needs to
carry out in today's century so as to befriend the other. If
we want to witness a new world of love, harmony and
peace among the people, we need to open the way for a
dialogue that breaks the borders of various identities and
unites the people of other faiths, following the spirit of
NostraAetateofVaticanIIandLaudatoSi.
st
(Oscar is 1 year philosopher at JDV, Pune)
mpermanence is the only permanent thing in this
world. As the time wheel rolls by, things keep on
Ichanging in every nook and corner of the world.
Novelty of thoughts and ideas is the need of the hour.And
so, to relate to and befriend the other calls us for a
'dialogue'.
It means to build a bond with those who are stated
as people of other faith. Pope
Francis' gesture towards the people
of other faith articulates this
friendship-based dialogue. I
personally feel that it is a need of
the hour to have a dialogue with the
people from various walks of life,
cutting across the borders of
language, culture, caste, creed and
code – not only with our fellow
human beings but also with our
mother earth. This dialogue
unleashes goodness and values to
make this world a better place, building bridges and
gluingourbrokenness.
I cherish an unforgettable experience, which
taught me the importance of this dialogue. In my second
year of novitiate, I was sent for a 'Begging Experiment'
for fifteen days. I was asked not to reveal my identity at
any cost. In the hot sun, I begged around the diamond
harbour in Kolkata the whole day. I was dead tired of
walking and begging. I hardly had anything to eat.At the
sun set, I entered a village to rest for the night. Hoping to
get something to eat, I knocked at the door of a Muslim
family. The mother, along with her little daughter opened
the door and looked at my queer appearance: uncombed
hair, dark skin, tired face with scanty beard and a funny
and colourless dress-code. After recognizing hunger on
myface,she tookmeinandgavemesomethingtoeat.
Open the Way for DialogueOpen the Way for Dialogue
Oscar Daniel, SJ
Article

andmother.
As we are very much conscious of the fact that we
are faced with a whole series of global environmental
problems affecting the atmosphere and humans in
alarming ways; our earth may soon turn out to be
irreversible in days to come. The great challenge of our
time is to create sustainable communities; that is, social
and cultural environments in which we can satisfy our
needs without diminishing
the chances of future
generations. Beautiful is
that which we can see;
more beautiful is that
which is hidden from our
sight; but by far the most
beautiful is that which we
cannot comprehend. We
need to listen to the voice
of the Lord, visualize the
life of Jesus in nature and
seethedanceof thespiritinnature.
The understanding of nature is extremely
important today, not only for our need and greed, but for
the posterity and, in fact, for the survival of humanity.We
must come together to bring forth a sustainable global
society founded on respect for nature, universal human
rights, socio-economic justice, a culture of peace, and an
interconnected life in solidarity. The care of the
environment should not be an option but should form an
integral part of our personal life and life of the society.
We have to reinterpret the norms of ecology seriously.
Recycling, flexibility, diversity are the some of the basic
principles of Ecology. Literally the survival of humanity
depends on our ecological system and on our ability to
understandtheseprinciplesofecology.
st
(Avinash is 1 year theologian at JDV, Pune)
he plants can survive without human beings but
can human beings survive without plants? No,
Tcould be the answer because we are dependent
on plants for our survival and every need. We should be
convinced that when we destroy the living forms of our
planet, the earth; we are actually destroying the modes of
divine presence in and around us. Nature in its
quintessence is the personification of the divine, the
maker and the creator Himself.
We cannot but accept that we,
the human beings have gravely
disrupted God's plans and
expectations.
Whether we are aware
or not we stand at the critical
stage of Earth's History. It is the
right time to choose our future.
We have to acknowledge that
we are components of an
enormous evolving universe.
Whether you believe it or not we humans are called to be
the stewards of the whole nature. As the world becomes
increasingly inter-dependent and fragile, the future is at
greatperilas wellasholds agreatpromise.
The eco-crisis here is aggravated by factors such
as erratic development and liberalization, a market
economy, bureaucratic corruption, lack of enlightened
political leadership and debt-trap. We, especially, in our
time of globalization and privatization have devastated
the wooded plains and valleys, polluted the water,
disfigured Earth's habitat, made the environment
unbreathable, disturbed the hydro geological and
atmospherical systems, and turned luxuriant areas into
deserts and undertaken forms of unrestrained
industrialization. These and many other allied factors
constitute acts of injustice towards the earth - our home
EcologyEcology
Avinash G, SJ
Article

Conservative attitudes and militant tendencies can give
way to more progressive thinking patterns. Non-
believers could start seeing the positives in religions and
believers could see the beauty outside religion. It could
make us aware of our responsibility to be
prophets/models of our world views, thus giving us a
chance to live a more examined life. The beautiful
friendship between Mother Theresa and communist
chief minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu could be the
best example of dialogue leading to greater benefits for
all the people around. Many of our workplaces are
beautifulexamplesofthisdialogueinaction.
This dialogue can open doors for a serious and
fertile encounter between secular culture (which is
struggling with values) and Christian culture (which is
struggling to communicate the values). Prominent
Christian theologians such as Paul Tillich and Karl
Rahner had fruitful engagements with atheism over the
last century. Dialogue with
atheistic ideologies like
Marxism had an influence in
the development of Liberation
theology and in Indian
theologians like Sebastian
Kappen. Rudolf Bultmann, a scripture scholar, was
strongly influenced by existentialism of Martin
Heidegger, a non-believer, to develop his Biblical
scholarship.
Finally a dialogue with atheism with due respect
to his/her convictions is an essential step in our attempt to
live out pluralism existing in the world. The existential
touch of the 'differently other' creates something new.
Thus when all of us are ready to be touched by the
different others, peace is a fruit and we need to open
ourselves to receive that peace. As Raimundo Panikkar
says, “Peaceis notproduced,butreceivedasagift.”
nd
(Arun is 2 year philosopher at JDV, Pune)
ope Francis has written a long, open letter to the
founder of La Repubblica newspaper, Eugenio
PScalfari, stating that non-believers would be
forgiven by God if they followed their conscience. Dr.
Schellnhuber, an atheist and a member of Pontifical
Academy of Sciences, was one of those who officially
presented the encyclical 'Laudato Si' to the world.
According to him, the common works to deal with
environmental problems can bring people from different
faith together. When we complain about the growing
intolerance in our country, dialogue with non-believers is
anessentialcomponentofthetolerancetobringpeace.
The belief in one God is the basis for dialogue
with Muslims and Jews and belief in God is the basis for
dialogue with other religions. The essential identity as
humans should be a starting point to dialogue with
atheists or agnostics. We believe that all human beings
(Christians and Non-Christians)
are created in the image and
likeness of God. The belief in
transcendent or importance of
values can be another area of
commonality. Mother Theresa,
Baba Amte, Che Guevera and Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
are some of the well known figures of the modern world
who have contributed for the emancipation of
underprivileged. Except Mother Theresa, none of them
believed in God. This passion to work for the poor
(option for the poor) is an opportunity to collaborate with
them. The working for common cause helps in
appreciating the other and to share our belief systems.
The pursuit of goodness is common to many atheists and
religious people, although their motivations may be
different.
Based on a book by Dale McGowan, there are
many benefits of this dialogue. It helps people to
discover the commonality shared in the values.
Dialogue with a Non-believerDialogue with a Non-believer
Arun PhilipSimon, SJ
Article

Opportunity
Today there is a lot of opportunity to be in touch
with youth by being a youth. I often reflect on the famous
phrase, to be young at heart. For me, it means to give
away the ego which we carry. Be ready to listen to the
youngsters; they may not be as experienced as you but
they have some innovative ideas within them. Today's
youth are looking for someone who could listen to them.
It's an opportunity and a challenge before us to lend our
ears to these youth and to channelizetheir energies for the
betterment of the society. The youth use social media to
the maximum. It is good to ask how many of us make use
of this social media to befriend these youth? Often we are
engaged in finding out the negative impact of these
opportunities. The youth of this day is the powerhouse of
the nation. They are curious and have many questions,
but have no companions to help them to entertain these
questions.
We need to understand the dynamics of being a
youth. It's an invitation to go beyond and to travel the
roads which are less travelled. To be a youth gives an
opportunity to be constantly in an exploration which
gives a new meaning to life. For a youth the definition of
life is to be vibrant and not to be satisfied with the
minimal. They are the people who can play an important
role in today's context of intolerance. We need to go out
of our ways and get involved with these youth to restore
the love and care for diversity. Be innovative and
dynamictobefriendtheyouthandtobeayouth.
nd
(Lijo is 2 year philosopher at JDV, Pune)
oday I have plenty of opportunities to
communicate, interact and chat with my
Tfriends. The virtualization of the world opens
up a new world in front of me. Many options such as hike,
whatsapp, facebook are available for me. I am connected
with different people at the same time. I have ample
opportunity to broaden my friend circle. Most of the
youngsters are spending lot of their time in
communication especially virtual communication. It has
its own advantages and disadvantages, but I am going to
shed light on the opportunities these technological
interactionsareprovidingtous, theyoungsters.
Youth
Let me begin with redefining the meaning of
youth;accordingtomeeachof us remainyouthtillweare
dynamic, till stagnation absorbs us. Innovation and
aggression is the hallmark of a youth.The upheaval in the
Cairo square; and many other revolutions of our era and
others are the result of innovative thinking of the youth.
The change was demanded by the youth who were
beginning to dream of a nation and future which gives
them better prospectus. Youth of this era are more
vigilant about the rights and other aspects of the life. In
the rape case of Nirbhaya it was the youth organisations
who steppedforwarddemandingfasttrial.
Clarion CallClarion Call
LijoPlacid,SJ
Article
Please Note
The opinions expressed in this magazine
are opinions of the writers’ themselves.
DNC Times is not responsible for any
ideological differences.
Please Note
The opinions expressed in this magazine
are opinions of the writers’ themselves.
DNC Times is not responsible for any
ideological differences.

situation then it's a sign that there is no place for the Cross
ofJesus inour lives.
3. What would besomeof thepossible ways?
· Dialogue is one of the important ways to befriend a
hostilesituation.
· Do a stake holder analysis before we enter into
dialogueitself.
· Learn from the recent elections of
Bihar where the arch rivals Nitish and
Lallu forged the alliance and defeated the
divisive forces. We need to break our
prejudices, fears, break conventions and
launchintonewpathsof'befriending.'
· We also need to make use of
democratic space available (face book,
social media, print and electronic etc) to
promoteourideasandprojects.
4. Who are the people who most require
befriendingtoday?
There are atleast 3 groups who need our befriending.
The first are those who love to hate us. The second is the
large neutral or indifferent group who seems to have
nothing to do with us. The third important category is the
media.
5. You are known to be a great missionary and
man of the nature; who are the people who have
inspiredand influencedyou?
The people who influenced me are from different
fields and their list is long. Some of them are like
Ignatius of Loyola, Miguel Pro, Little Flower, Hindu
Mystics like Basaveshwara, Purandaradasa, Akkamaha
Devi, activists like Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Arundati
Roy, Chomsky and Ramachandra Guha. Villagers,
farmers with whom I worked, LGBT community, HIV
Interview With Fr. Vincent Crasta, SJInterview With Fr. Vincent Crasta, SJ
1. What was the Idea behind choosing the theme,
“Befriending the other” for the diamond jubilee of
JDVand how isitrelevantforJDV?
When the theme was chosen, I was not part of the
jubilee committee. I think the person behind the theme is
Kuruvila Pandikattu, SJ. He is a person who lives it
literally in his life. To give an example- he was taking
care of a stray cat. After a few days
another small kitten entered his room.
The big cat would treat the kitten rudely.
He began slowly making the big cat to
play with the small one. After a few days
both the cats became very good friends.
Kuruvila seem to be a prophet of the
future.
We are aware of the present
situation of intolerance all over the world.
We are desperately searching for living
models of befriending the other. Recently I was at Pashan
for my retreat. Next to the retreat house there is Loyola
school. During the school assembly the students sang the
song “Men for Others”, a favorite theme of PedroArrupe
SJ, one of the great Superior Generals of the Jesuits. He is
onemoreperson who lived'befriendingtheother'.
2. Is “befriending the other”, possible in the
present Indian context?
There is no place for doubt here. When we glance
through the pages of Spiritual journal of St. Ignatius he
constantly befriended the very doubt itself in his search
for the will of God. Fr.Adolfo has the attitude of looking
at 'crisis' as an opportunity. We Jesuits in the past and
also in the present are befriending the hostile situations in
different areas and marching forward. GC 32 defined
Jesuit as a sinner standing under the banner of the cross.
Pope Francis reminds that everything is empty if the
cross is takenaway.Ifwestartlookingbackinanadverse

by such corporate people of today. I think Jesuits need to
learn a lot from the business world.What I say here is also
said by a seasoned business man to a young startup “do
what others dare not do; go where others will never
venture; read which others will never read;
communicate that which others are afraid to
communicate.”
Let us imitate Pope Francis. Should we not open our
doors for the internally and externally evicted by the
lopsided development agenda? JDV diamond jubilee
should not go down only with 'drone effect', International
seminar, Rite wise Eucharistic celebrations and cultural
'extravaganza' followed by a meal. Should we not plan a
good amount of space for the migrants in our houses and
in the proposed new buildings so they feel comfortable
and taken care? Should we not make this earth cooler by
planting more trees where the birds of the air will find a
place to stay, where the billions of insects have flowers
and fruits. Should we not employ all the scientific labs of
Jesuit universities to find ecologically sound ways of
stopping the contamination of the Sister rivers and
Oceans? JDVhas already initiated this process of finding
ways of cleansing the polluted river water. Please pray
thatourefforts bearfruit.
(VincentCrasta is theRegistrar atJDV,Pune)
infected people and their children, seminarians,
scholastics, priests, religious whom I had the chance to
dospiritualdirectionhavealsoinfluencedme.
6. According to you, what is the unique
contribution of JDV to the Church and Society at
large?
We Jesuits are a sign of 'contradiction' wherever we
are. We are a unique brand in the church and the society.
We have made a difference in the church and in the world.
Each time I look at the dates on the calendar I become
aware of Fr. Christopher Clavius,a mathematician and a
teacher of Galileo who set the world clock right.
Bertrand Russell in his book on 'Education' gives an
example how we Jesuits were the first to use education as
the technique of 'propaganda'.As we know JDV has been
a sign of 'contradiction' in the church and religious
circles. If we cease to be a sign of contradiction then we
have no business to be in this campus and in the church.
Our core competence is to be 'different' and make
'difference' wherever we are. Let us continue to be just
that.
7. What areyourdreamsforJDV?
These are not my dreams, but of the Society of
Jesus of SouthAsia. One of the dreams is to place JDVon
National and International map and efforts are being
made in this direction. The reason behind this dream is
the fact of 'globalization'. We are not doing something
new but just imitating Ignatius in this process. He made
the best use of the then process of globalization. If a
Jesuit brother Goes could influence Emperor Akbar to
reach out to China more than 450 years ago I think we are
far better placed to do more greater for the Greater Glory
ofGod.
St. Ignatius in his letter to the scholastics of
Coimbra gives the examples of adventurous business
people of his time who grabbed all opportunities and
risked their lives for the sake of wealth. I am also inspired
For a Lot More...For a Lot More...
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