November 7, 2024
Recently while addressing the students of the Pontificate Gregorian University in Rome, Pope Francis encouraged them to look inside, and have an in-depth perspective of the action they are doing. He urged them to explore whether they are devoting themselves to ‘fulfill ambition or to real work for the providence.’
Though the Pope is the head of a particular religious institution and his address was meant to the students studying a particular religion, one could see its universal significance. It may not be an exaggeration to say that religions have travelled far away from the vision of their founders or the founding ideas, and have clung more to rigid principles, and they are more about display. Many religions have become more about numbers – how big the institution is, how many new members have joined, how many missions are successful, etc. In a figurative way, the religious leaders have embraced the outer hard cover of the fruit – the institution and its material aspects – and abandoned the kernel of the fruit – the core spiritual values.
While cautioning the students against becoming ‘disciples of Coca-Cola spirituality’, the Pope asked them to perform a spiritual task: “It is necessary to know where one is going without losing sight of the horizon that unites each one’s path with the current and ultimate end.” This statement, I feel, has a profound spiritual message behind it. Religion has a spiritual element, though many times the dogmatic element is emphasized, in terms of fixed way of praying, fasting, serving, reading scriptures, etc. While the rituals might have some value in helping the seeker on the path of divine realization, the overemphasis on this visual, ritual, aspect has in many cases undermined the ultimate goal of religion.
Hence, the Pope urges the students to see beyond the horizon, beyond personal ambitions while keeping in constant view the ultimate end even while performing action at present. In this spiritual vision, present and future are connected. While doing action in the present, the student or the seeker also does not forget the larger goal of the religion, to divinize or at least bring a larger/divine perspective on individual, community, society and the world. I believe there are myriad ways to realize this larger goal, but I think the essence of the Pope’s message here is to probe deeper, reflect within, while not forgetting or neglecting the current responsibilities one’s station demands. Gita’s concept, Swadharma – one’s duty demanded by one’s station – comes to mind here. Pope’s words, “touch this flesh, walk in the mud, and get your hands dirty,” has parallels of the Sanskrit term, Karma Yoga – action in a religious-spiritual spirit while keeping in view the larger goal in mind.
The Pope also cautioned against, “arid intellectualism and perverse narcissism.” He encouraged the academic world, religious academies included, to put the heart – not a dry mind – into the work they are doing. His words, “open the gaze of the heart,” aptly emphasizes an empathetic outlook. The malaise the Pope is referring to is not only afflicting the religious teaching but also teaching in other fields. Arid intellectualism is more valued than a passionate advocacy of higher principles. Teaching and research are less guided by a vision of ‘enlightened reasoning’ – a reasoning that is not overtly quantitative, a reasoning that is not guided solely by calculation, fragmentation, or ratiocinating and utilitarian logic. Such arid intellectualism may be suitable for journal publication and tenure assurance, but a reasoning guided by the passion, by the love of the heart, than by a purely dry mind, is needed more for a positive and peaceful social change. I am not undermining the role of intellect in socio-spiritual transformation, but certainly, as the Pope rightly pointed out, dry intellectualism cannot show us the Ultimate Truth. Or, to use the language of Plato, dry intellectualism cannot bring us closer to the Idea.
Unfortunately, I would argue, arid intellectualism is the mainstay of the academic teachings, or at least it is the dominant trend. We do not have books like The Republic, Divine Comedy, Life Divine, written by scholars and university professors of our times. These books were not products of arid intellectualism but rather products of a higher vision, suffused with love and wisdom.
We have amidst us rare, or perhaps rarest, wise-academics or yogi-academics, who have transcended tunnel vision, who are not lost in the jungle of numbers and measures. Even quantitative or objective studies can be deceptive unless guided by wisdom, as knowledge production does not take place in a vacuum. The scholar’s preferences and prejudices creep in in most of the researches in social sciences. Even the choice of a research question shows a preference, and displays an implicit bias on the part of the researcher. Hence, the Pope’s call to listen to the heart, to be guided by the larger vision makes sense. His exhortation that one must develop “contact with the life of peoples, the symbols of cultures, and the cries of suffering of the poor” makes perfect sense in this context.
The above quote from the Pope sounded to me Gandhian. Gandhi’s advice to his followers, who confront a dilemma regarding how to take a decision in the face of myriad choices, resonates with the Pope’s advice. Gandhi’s famous exhortation, also known as Bapu’s talisman, runs like this: “I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, try the following expedient: ‘Recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless man whom you may have seen and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he be able to gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj or self-rule for the hungry and also spiritually starved millions of our countrymen?’ Then you will find your doubts and yourself melting away.”
The Pope’s message for peace was quite apt. Violent wars are taking place before our eyes, even though from a distance, whether in the Middle East or Eurasia, or other parts of the world as in Sudan. The Pope, as earlier on many occasions, discarded war as a way to resolve conflicts, and urged the followers to rise to the occasion and promote peace. He was sad that we live in a world “that seems to have lost its heart”. It was perhaps not an exaggeration to say, to use a word from the Pope, the world is in ‘flames’ as reflected in ongoing wars and daily devastation and deaths. He urged the people and leaders around the world to come out of the madness of war, “which covers every hope with the shadow of death.”
I have not followed the public activities and pronouncements of Popes of the Vatican, except that of Pope Francis. And I could see in his message of peace, love and brotherhood, an appreciation of diverse ways of thinking and living. The Pope emerges as a true messenger of humanity. Though he represents a particular religion, I could see in his message the core spirituality that transcends all religions and touches the very heart of every conscientious individual, practicing any religion and living in any part of the world.
