Yesterday, the third of January, went I to a "Christmas Gathering" of the Bihar Chapter of the Temple of Understanding. I was invited by a well-meaning senior citizen, and being interested in efforts that keep India rich, diverse, and multicultural, I decided to give it a try.
The result:A truly Dickension experience - such as in 'What the Dickens am I doing here?'
The venue was the Ursuline Convent hall, next door to a little Catholic Church in a quiet neighbourhood in mid-town Patna.
The temple of Understanding looked like a collective of old guys about to fall off the perch, if you get my drift, many of whom were rather dressed as undertakers.
A rather dry afternoon, with a lot of hot air about how profound the Christian religion was, and how much it had contributed and is yet to contribute to the multicultural fabric of India.
One chap, a Muslim gent, spoke of Christians in such superlatives, that one wondered whether he was back from a trip to Utopia. Christian nuns and priests were supposed to be the most selfless beings on God's own earth, according to him. One wondered whether the old boy hadn't read about the child abuse trials and other stuff that's been on the news in the past decade or so. Of course, with the small hall filled with a genreous amount of clery and religious, [mostly in their autumn years], this sort of talk was expected. After all it was a Christmas gathering!
One does not however want to dismiss the work that The Temple of Understanding is doing. these old chaps would be wise to induct a lot of youngsters into their fold and give them the reins of administration.
The Temple builds bridges between people of all faiths and supposedly fights discrimination. Unfortunately, with the currrent leadership being over threescore and ten years of age, and nobody [except a Muslim cleric of about thirty-five summers old], being of a reasonably young age in its membership, it looks like a species facing extinction.
6 comments:
Frank has a way with words! His understanding of the 'Temple of Understanding' contains lots of truth and a bit of bias. True, the Temple is a club of old, retired guys. I was one of the invitees to the meeting who was asked to speak and I did oblige. I wish young people like Frank would come forward and turn the Temple into a movement. i wished at least one woman was invited to speak. I wished the gentlemen did not heap such a lot of praise on christianity and christians. On the other hand, it is nice to hear a Muslim praising christians, and a Christian praising the good in Islam. The world will be better if one can see more good in others and accept the wrong in oneself. Frank, there is much more good happening in and through christians and christianity than child abuse and such things. Thomas Chillikulam S.J.
The dawn of infant J and the autumn of the Patriarch: ek ticket me do khel!
Interesting read. But taking issue with Annonymous, Frank has been doing and continues to do great work for polycultural India, and probably may not have time to join the Temple of Undertsanding. I'd rather read his blogs. BTW, the Bihat chaopter of the temple of undrestanding has stuffy, old fogies. It doesn't need middle-aged guys like frank but guys and girls in their teens and twenties!!!
OOPs.. sorry, bad spelling, I meant Bihar Chapter of the Temple of Understanding in the previous comment
What about athiests? Don't they count for something too?
The atheists count among the very noblest. They can never be sectarian in their prescriptions for humanity.
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