Why Anthony de Mello Is Important For Indian Christianity

Anthony de Mello was a Jesuit priest who founded the 'Sadhana Institute of Pastoral Counselling' at Pune. After having worked as as 'retreat master and spiritual director' for Christian retreats, he published his book: Sadhana – A Way to God with the subtitle: 'Christian Exercises in Eastern Form in 1978.

The book, though mainly meant for the Christian clergy, became immensely popular with all seekers of the '80s cutting across religions.

At the outset, given the constant appropriation attempts and strategies designed by the Church, the book may look suspiciously like another similar attempt. But it was not so.

De Mello openly acknowledged the sources and their distinct spiritual greatness with gratitude. In the introduction to the book, he wrote:

Inside the book we find this:

In his book The Song of the Bird (1984) de Mello wrote about the Dancing God:

Two years later he would elaborate and make both Jesus and Judas complementary movements of this vast cosmic dance of the Divine.

… I see Jesus Christ and Judas,
I see victims and persecutors,
the killers and the crucified;
one melody in the contrasting notes.
I think of the people who dislike me and attack me
and I see them and me as different,
yet not-two,
engaged in one task,
one dance,
one work of art.
...
Finally, I stand before the Lord.
I see him as the dancer
and all of this maddening,
senseless,
exhilarating,
agonizing,
splendorous thing
that we call life
as his dance. (Wellsprings: A Book of Spiritual Exercises, Image: Doubleday 1986, pp.152-3)

At the same time, he was clear about his religious identity. This he communicated to his readers in no uncertain term—particularly when he wrote for readers of all religions and no religion.

The dedication he wrote for The Song of the Bird reveals his faith and dedication to the Church as his spiritual nourishing mother:

In his One Minute Wisdom (1985) the Master he introduced, gets described this way:

One should observe two important aspects here:

One, the marginalisation of historic-centricity that so characterises, and forms a significant basis of, Christian theology.

Second, the placing of Jesus as not the only but one among the spiritual personalities of the world.

Both are highly significant leaps.

In 1987, Anthony de Mello SJ suffered a heart attack and passed away.

His legacy continues to live like a breeze. And then the Empire struck back.

On 24 June 1998, the day considered as the birth day of John the Baptist, the 'Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith' (CDF) which was formerly known as the 'Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition', issued a ‘notification’ – 'Concerning the writings of Fr. Anthony De Mello SJ':

When a Catholic priest wants to publish a book concerning religion, the book should have the the Imprimatur ('Let it be printed') of the authority from Catholic Church (Bishop or in the case of Jesuits the Provincial of the Order or Congregation).

All the nine books of Anthony de Mello were published after being granted the Imprimatur. Yet, the result of the ‘notification’ though not an official ban, was that Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, the Jesuit publishing house with a secular name, was stopped from printing new editions of the books and they ‘disappeared from the shelves of Catholic bookshops overnight until the controversy was cleared.’ Today the books are allowed to be published with the following note:

The phenomenon of Anthony de Mello and the subsequent response of the Church showcase both the opportunities and problems in the Hindu-Christian encounter.

Mark Tully, the former BBC ‘South Asia’ correspondent wrote in 1996 about an Indian Catholic priest, :

The Indian Catholic Jesuit’s closeness to Krishna may mainly be because of the non-rigidity and the accommodative space of theo-diversity Hindu culture has cultivated through and around Sri Krishna.

The entire Anthony de Mello phenomenon then can be considered as showing this feature - at varying levels of dormancy and manifestation, among Indian Christians. Though they might be Christians for generations, the very fact of them being immersed in the inescapable Hindu ocean of theo-diversity with all its colours of festivals and celebrations, rituals and art forms, has created a synthesis. A synthesis which the global Christian community can make use of: to adapt itself to the post-colonial world. A world where the cosmic visions unveiled by science demand a universal religion. A religion which is qualitatively different from a monopolistic expansionist faith and which should even include and recognise atheism as a spiritually valid way of life.

In India, the Church has tried to respond to this challenge by creating a history-centric narrative with ethnic overtones – a Dravidian St. Thomas; Christianity being corrupted by Brahminical Aryan Hinduism. Such pseudo-scientific and racially-inclined narratives are dangerous and can only generate more conflicts.

On the other hand, recognising the flowering of many more Anthony de Mellos and not trying to restrict and control them, can benefit humanity at large beyond the religious boundaries and Church herself.