By Subhasis Chattopadhyay –
The Buddha(s) say that anger is like an arrow in one’s eye. It blinds us to our own selves. Thus it is with infinite compassion and forgiveness that we as a community called into existence by Brahman qua God are to view the lives of celibates. Most celibate women and men are overworked, underappreciated and struggle with issues of loneliness which lead to various addictions. Therefore, all major religions in the world advise against celibacy for most women and men. Very few can be chaste, leave alone be celibate.
Chastity and celibacy are gifts from Brahman qua God and therefore with extreme caution I write on the current crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in India. I am neither chaste nor celibate and thus, my great hesitancy in judging others. All I as a Hindu can say is that all of us, throughout the length and breadth of India trust holy people. We do not expect them to mix with the other sex. Hinduism warns that any form of mixing of the sexes is akin to playing with fire. Even listening to the laughter of the opposite sex or remembering the joys of being with the opposite sex can bring up repressed libidinal urges. Power, sex and money go together; where there is one, certainly the other two are there.
This is what we as Indians can learn from this controversy and other high profile Hindu Godmen’s behaviours:
- The Catholic Church in India will now force us Hindus to look at ourselves. Soon there will be #MeToo movements in Catholic India and Hindu India. Women abuse is a problem which as a nation we have to face squarely. Not only child abuse.
- Hindus who want to live the life of the spirit will now learn from this controversy to eschew the company of the other sex.
- There will be greater vigilance within the Catholic Church and Hindus too, and I shall not be surprised if both Catholics and Hindus report child abuse by celibates in India on social media.
It is my misfortune that I was in touch with a celibate Catholic (convicted paedophile) Brother who wrote to me of holy things from Australia. He continues to enjoy access to the internet and uses his congregation’s domain name to go online for predation. This is not a uniquely Catholic phenomenon. I also know of a Hindu monk who sodomised little kids and now is being treated for schizophrenia. What do these prove? Evil is there and learning and wearing religious dresses are no protection from the fires of lust.
All I can say is that but for the grace of God there go I. And if you have little children, then sadly, be careful with whom you leave your kids. Even for a moment do not think that learning, social status or assumed sanctity can protect your kid. A monk can be called a monk only after he dies. Satan tempts even the wisest. The Bhagavad Gita says:
यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चित: |
इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मन: ||
[Sensory delights] are so powerful… that they can delude the mind even of a person endowed with discrimination [between right and wrong] and practising self-control.
See Mukundananda, Swami. “Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 60.” Chapter 2, Verse 60 – Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God – Swami Mukundananda, Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog, USA, www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/60.
Subhasis Chattopadhyay is an Assistant Professor in English, teaching at the PG & UG Department of English at Narasinha Dutt College, Howrah (affiliated to the University of Calcutta). He has further qualifications in behavioural sciences and in spiritual psychology. He blogs at https://personaljottings.wordpress.com & at www.livesinletters.blog. His Twitter handle is @bookbewitched