Swami Shilananda

Swami Shilananda (born Peter Julia in 1925) is a Spanish Jesuit missionary who has lived in India since 1948. He has spent almost all his missionary life in and around Nashik. He founded the Sanjivan Ashram in Lonarwadi, Sinnar, in the State of Maharashtra, India.

Life

Shilananda was born in the Catalan village of Gelida, where he witnessed the ravages his homeland went through during the Spanish Civil War. He entered the Society of Jesus as a novice in August 1945, the month the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. He later said that both experiences strongly marked his outlook and goals in life, determining him to work for peace.[1]

He went to India in 1948, at the age of 23, still a seminarian, with Swami Shubhananda (Angelo Benedetti). He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1960. After some years in Nashik, in 1962 he adopted the dress of an Indian sannyasi, and began to live outside the Jesuit community in a rented space at Panchavati on the banks of the Godavari. He has made the traditional Hindu pilgrimage to the four Hindu holy places – Kedarnath, Dwarka, Kanyakumari, Puri – on cycle; as such he was highly regarded by the sannyasis who gather in Nashik for the Kumbha Mela. After 14 years at Panchavati, in 1987 he moved to the outskirts of Sinnar, some 20 km out of Nashik, where he purchased a one-acre plot of land with help from friends and constructed a small church in the style of the small traditional Hindu temples that abound in the area, and two small houses to serve as residence, etc. Eventually he also constructed another small space to serve as a dormitory for guests.[2]

In 1988, Shilananda built a chapel in the form of a temple to Shiva, where he chants his prayers to the accompaniment of an ektara. He teaches the local villagers about Christ but takes no converts, as he insists that conversion must be a total change of one's life to the values taught by Jesus.[1]

An interesting aspect of Shilananda's activity is his ecological concern: since the one-acre plot is fenced off, the native grasses and plants have had the chance to flourish. Shilananda also personally dug out a little tank at one end of the compound, and dug the rocky soil in other places in order to plant trees. The place today is a little oasis of greenery amidst the barren surroundings. Unfortunately, with the new Sinnar-Ghoti bypass nearby, the price of land has gone up and plots around the ashram are being bought up rapidly.

Bibliography

Primary
  • The Truth Will Make You Free.
  • Satya tumhala mukta karil. Marathi tr. by S.N. Suryavanshi of The Truth Will Make You Free.
  • A Rainbow of Feasts.
  • Sent Forth.
  • "Hinduism and Christianity: A Comparative Study." Divyadaan: Journal of Philosophy and Education 8/3 (1999) 62–83.
  • "Integrating Christianity and Hinduism." Divyadaan: Journal of Philosophy and Education 9/1 (1998) 18–40.
  • "Objective Truth." Divyadaan: Journal of Philosophy and Education 10/2 (1999) 226–253.
  • "Principle of Polarity: Creative Tensions." Divyadaan: Journal of Philosophy and Education 8/2 (1997) 162–172.
  • "Justice: Secular or Transcendent?" Divyadaan: Journal of Philosophy and Education 11/2 (2000) 211–271.
  • "Mission and Dialogue." Divyadaan: Journal of Philosophy and Education 12/3 (2001) 397–412.
  • [Editor.] 'Sanjivan Ashram: Dawn – Noonday – Twilight'. [Correspondence about the mission of Sanjivan Ashram.] Sinnar: Sanjivan Photostat Publication, 2006.
  • 'The History of Three Books. [Typescript of 76 pp. Correspondence about and reviews of The Truth Will Make You Free, A Rainbow of Feasts, and Sent Forth.] Sinnar: Sanjivan Ashram, n.d.
  • "I've waited for 40 years, but..." Jivan: News and Views of Jesuits in India (Apr. 2008) 90.
  • 'The Practice of Dialogue'. [Photocopies and typescript of 86 pp.] Sinnar: Sanjivan Ashram, 2010

Secondary
  • Degrez, Etienne. "Indian Road to Truth." Review of The Truth Will Make You Free. The Calcutta Herald (18 Dec. 1981).
  • "Freedom through Truth." Review of The Truth Will Make You Free. Ignis (Nov.-Dec. 1981).
  • "The Truth Will Make You Free." Review of The Truth Will Make You Free. The New Leader (19 Jul. 1981).
  • Hambye, E.R. "The Truth Will Make You Free." Review of The Truth Will Make You Free. Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection (Jan. 1982).
  • Mangatt, George. Review of The Truth Will Make You Free. Bible Bhasyam.
  • Patil, B.R. "Book of Instruction on the Christian Religion." Review of Satya tumhala mukta karil. Gavkari (22 Apr. 1984).
  • Mendonca, Theresa. Review of A Rainbow of Feasts. The Examiner (8 Jul. 1995).
  • Sharma, Anika. Review of A Rainbow of Feasts. The Teenager (Aug. 1995).
  • Gopalakrishnan, N. "Inter-Religious Appreciation of Festivals." The Hindu.
  • Gispert-Sauch, G. Review of A Rainbow of Feasts. Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection (Mar. 1996) 215.
  • Pereira, Myron J. Review of A Rainbow of Feasts. Jivan: News and Views of Jesuits in India (Aug. 1995) 31.
  • Ryan, Thomas M. Review of A Rainbow of Feasts. In Christo (Jan. 1998) 70–72.
  • “Mixing Religions- Cross on Shivling, Christian Priests Worship the Hindu Way.” The Week (20 October 1996) 30.

References
  1. "Spanish Missioner Praises The Lord At Christian Temple In Hindu Village" (PDF). UCA News. October 5, 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  2. "I've waited for 40 years, but..." Jivan: News and Views of Jesuits in India (April 2008) 90.
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