How on earth do we find ourselves again when things go heartbreakingly wrong? I was enchanted to discover a clue in the writings of Father Gispert, or to give him his proper handle, G. Gispert-Sauch, SJ, of the Vidyajyoti Theological Seminary, Delhi. This Jesuit priest from Barcelona has spent thirty-five years in India (he first came out east as a young man to Bombay). In the fine, scholastic tradition of the Jesuits, he studied Greek and Latin (preferring Church literature to the classics), went on to study Sanskrit - and Pali! - and finally wrote his doctoral dissertation on the concept of Ananda or Divine Bliss, at Paris. I thought it was a marvellous choice of subject. Don't you agree that there does not seem to be as much joy in God as there should? And is it not shocking how the same faith that produced a Meera could have spawned a Manu? Or elsewhere, in the tradition of another Word, created both a St Francis of Asissi and a Torquemada? One embraced absolute poverty and wandered around speaking to animals and birds with utmost tenderness, the other masterminded the cruelties of the Spanish Inquisition. Meera defied home, husband and all earthly convention, babbling of God in songs full of yearning, Manu set forth rules in the name of the Trinity that scorned and excluded half the human race. If there is a moral in this somewhere, perhaps it is the obvious one, that even the Word of God is ultimately what we, its users, make of it. No more, no less. We can Talibanise it to ensure it benefits only a small, elite group. Or we can broaden, include and share social, emotional and material benefits with Women and Others. All patriarchal religions need to whisk around with a long broom and clean out the cobwebs of dated attitudes. Especially when it comes to helping ordinary people hang on to God, even when the circumstances of their lives go against the prescribed rules of their religion. It is in this context that I found such joy in the writing of Father Gispert in the Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, July 2000. Writing of Sharanam, or shelter/refuge in God, Father Gispert traces the meaning of this important word in Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. "Does Sharanam not cultivate an attitude of dependency, and if so, is it liberative?" he asks. "Faith or personal effort - which is the way?" Reflecting on the nature of Sharanam, he points out the luminous truth that "faith in God is faith in oneself, since God is not `outside' oneself. Our `leaning on' the divine support is really leaning on the deepest sources of the Self, the creative act of God who wills us into being and who remains the permanent foundation, the pratishtha of our existence." It is no surprise that a Jesuit priest is so well-acquainted with Hindu thought, for they have lived amongst us since the 16th century. In fact I'm jolted to realise that I feel more included and happy in the company of a learned Christian priest than with some shastri who can't or won't share knowledge. One small example: I've been hunting high and low for the full text of Vaak Devi's magnificent hymn about herself in the Rig Veda. The Lal Bahadur Shastri Sanskrit Academy near my office is a dusty dump, full of rude, unhelpful bhaiyyas and behenjis.The vaadyaar in a temple I rather like visiting is sweetly vague and quite useless. Previous experiences with the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan have scared me off it for life. So, not really expecting to strike gold, I asked the Jesuit. In three minutes flat, he'd whipped it off a shelf and personally gave it to be photocopied. Sharanam, indeed.
