Ongoing Report From India
SHANTIVANAM

Peace and Good in Christ!

The drive to Shantivanam, our main destination here in India, was long and wet. It is the dry season, but we have been hit with a heavy rain forecast to last four days. But while most Indians are complaining about the cold and wearing wraps and such, we North Americans are rejoicing in the cool breezes.

Shantivanam consists of two ashrams: one for the brothers and one for the sisters. The guests are received by the sisters. Sr. Mary Louisa, a contemporary of Fr. Bede Griffiths, nearly moved us to tears of joy and gratitude by the reverent way she received and greeted us. The other sisters were also most kind.

I am happy with my little hut/hermitage. It is primitive by our standards but sufficient to take care of basic housing needs. It has minimal electricity, a most simple bath and toilet facility, but a more than adequate cell with a bed, desk, and two chairs. We sleep under mosquito nets and praise God for them! But as I arranged my stuff, I found everything works out just fine, as long as a computer and such are not too important to you. These accommodations remind me of our first days at Ometepe in Nicaragua.

Upon settling in we attended Evening Prayer, which consisted of normal psalms as found in most monasteries and some Tamil chants and music indigenous to the area, Tamil Nadu. The psalms were recited, but the Tamil songs included beautiful Indian melodies that stirred my soul to meditation and prayer. Also included was a traditional Indian ritual of bringing the blessing of the fire to your face in a way very similar to the "smudging" practiced in Roman Catholic worship among the Navajo in the USA. I found it solemn and beautiful.

Afterward we ate in the guest dining room inside a building that is open to the outside without a formal door. The food was offered to us with great reverence. We were told they had been awaiting our visit with anticipation. I was surprised by this since I am a newcomer to India and to interfaith communities regardless of my years of study and practice in hermitage. I am just getting my feet wet in an actual visit beyond my hermitage to a center of interfaith practice that retains an unquestioned focus on Jesus, but without doing violence to the authentic spiritual leaders of the Hinduism of India.

I feel especially close to Sr. Mary Louisa but I think she makes everyone feel that way. She seems the unquestioned spiritual mother of Shantivanam. Their numbers are small here, but they are great souls with big hearts.

In Jesus,

John Michael Talbot

John Michael Talbot

Founder and Spiritual Father
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage