Missionaries from India Karibuni Africa!
The other day I met Neema. She is a Tanzanian, and a candidate for a congregation of sisters who hail from South India and who have now some convents in Tanzania. She wears the churidar, speaks English with a strong Indian accent and shakes her head like a doll as she gives her assent. Whose fault is it? Is it the 18 year old Neema’s, who agreed to be Indianized, or is it that of those holy nuns who refused to be indigenized?
I heard from a fellow Indian missionary that in a convent in Tanzania, the local cook speaks very well one of the languages of South India. In fact I was told that on the one hand, the sisters are proud of their feat, on the other hand they regret that they are not able to speak any secret among themselves at table anymore. I […]
Reading Room
Reading Room
Weary Feet & Hopeful Eyes
What it means to be young in South Sudan Today?
February 2005. Under one of those mighty mango trees that dot the plains of South Sudan I sat. Waiting for a mango to fall. No one is allowed to pluck mangoes from the tree; you may only pick the mangoes that fall. No, I was waiting for the boys who were working at the nearby construction site to come back after their long lunch break. I wanted to pick a conversation with one or two of them, or if they did not know English, at least to say Cibaak! – that’s the local greeting. I have noticed that the boys of Rumbek relate to strangers very easily. So, language is no problem.
Then came my friend James Malouk. This was our second day of conversation. He wore a broad smile as usual. The Dinkas value white teeth, I came to learn. Most […]
An African Epistemology
The Multiplicity of Truth :
An inquiry into African Epistemology
In this brief article I would like to reflect on how the African people look at truth. (I am grateful to my friend Babu Ayindo. A conversation with him has been the real confirmation of my own postulations. Some of the examples used here are his too.) The concept of truth is based on a metaphysics – a way of interpreting reality. Thirdly, it has its implications on ethics.
I would like to speak of these three aspects in the following theses:
1: A ‘Yes’ may mean a ‘No’.
2: The different aspects of reality are not contradictory but only complementary.
3: That is good which simply preserves relationships.
I noticed that in stating these theses I had to be extra careful to state them without absolutizing them – in the African way. Therefore, I notice that English being a non-African language has its limitation in expressing […]
Beyond The Secret
(Rhonda Byrne, The Secret. New York: Atria Books, 2006)
I had heard a lot about the book that followed the sensational video production. I looked for an opportunity to read it. And in the recent months almost every bookshop I entered had the book exhibited at the entrance among bestsellers. I couldn’t get to read the book since I kept giving out as gifts the copies I had bought. Then mysteriously one day the book came to me. That is THE SECRET: you get what you want!
I thought the people – young people – who had received gifts of this book from me also deserved a serious review of the same. Secrets are always tempting. It is important to look at them critically.
To begin with, let me summarize the contents of the book in the following simple points:
1. What is this book about? It is about a law: The Law of […]
Spirituality of the Essential
Spirituality of the Essential: Christian Responsibility towards the Environment
The message of John the Baptist in the gospel text of last Sunday (2nd Sunday in Advent – year C) was, “Prepare a way for the Lord…” (Lk 3:4). After hearing this message, we see in the gospel text of today people going to him and asking him, “What must we do” (Lk 3:10). How do we prepare for the coming of the messiah? His general message to everyone is ‘Charity’. His message to the tax collectors is, ‘Justice’. And to the soldiers, “Be content!” John the Baptist seems to be well aware of the situations of each group and quite down to earth in his proposals.
So I too went to John the Baptist. “What about me? What must I do?” I asked. He said, “Live simply. Live a spirituality of the essential.” It took some time for me to realise that […]