By Fr. Joshan Rodrigues –
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the Yoga Day celebrations in Mysuru on the premises of the ‘Amba Vilas Palace’.
While the practice of Yoga has been gaining popularity all over the world lately as an effective and holistic fitness regime, a Catholic priest from Mumbai, India has been using yoga for the last 38 years for rehabilitating those who have fallen prey to alcohol and chemical dependency. Fr Joe Pereira (who is fondly referred to as “Fr Joe”) celebrated his golden presbyteral anniversary last year on Sept 23 and even met Pope Francis personally and received his blessings.
In the 1980s, he was appointed the head of Mt Carmel Church in the city which was close to the sea and a large fishing community. A part of the area was being reclaimed and the fishing community was hit hard. “People lost their jobs and it led to the rise in alcoholism. It troubled me deeply and I was determined to do something about it.”
Then one day, he visited Asha Daan (a home of the Missionaries of Charity) and saw some young addicts on the verge of death. “Mother Teresa told me that one of them had served as an Air Force pilot. Determined to guide them away from their addictions, I appealed to the Archbishop Cardinal Simon Pimenta and though it took some convincing, he gave me permission to run the de-addiction centre from the church premises for a year. Ultimately, he was so impressed he said ‘Joe, I believe you are doing God’s work’.”
Hence in 1981, in the Church premises, was born the ‘Kripa Foundation’ (Kripa means ‘Grace’ in Sanskrit). Over the years the centre has grown into one of the largest NGOs in the field of addiction rehabilitation. Affiliated with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Kripa now has 65 centres in 11 states, 16 archdioceses and dioceses, and collaborations in six countries. Today, the Kripa Foundation treats over 1,000 addicts annually and also offers care and support to the HIV-affected (it has rehabilitated close to 1,500 children grappling with the disease). Several reformed addicts have stayed on at his centres, taking on positions in administration or working on rehabilitation projects.
Fr Joe has received numerous awards during his lifetime. In 2009, he received the Padma Shri, which is the highest civilian award bestowed by the Government of India. In 2011 he received the National Excellence Award and then in 2014, a Lifetime Achievement National Award from the President of India.
Incidentally, Fr Pereira was a participant too, as in previous years, in the Mumbai Marathon, the largest marathon in Asia, which was held yesterday, Mumbai Marathon is one of the most loved and historic running events in India and draws runners from all walks of life.
Fr Joe has been practising yoga for 50 years now and is a practitioner of the Iyengar School of yoga. Fr Joe believes that to cure addictions, the healing must involve the soul and the mind. “Abstinence is not always enough. People who give up alcohol or drugs may develop addictions to sex, gambling, money, power, pornography or other things. The Kripa Foundation therefore aims to change the addict’s lifestyle through a holistic approach. That’s where, yoga comes in,” said Fr Joe, who has worked closely with Mother Teresa.
Yoga has sometimes been in the eye of controversy with some conservative Christians accusing the practice of yoga as propagating Hinduism. However Fr Joe dismisses this, by stating that yoga is completely compatible with Christianity. The Catholic church, he says, has actually been open to the idea of opening up to practices like yoga since the Second Vatican Council, when the church issued two documents – one about the church in the modern world and the other on its relationship with non-Christian religions. “In both documents, we have been encouraged to imbibe spirituality from world religions,” says Fr. Pereira. He however warns that all kinds of yoga are being popularised in the west today and some of them may be presented through a Hindu religious lens. He himself, practices and teaches only the Iyengar yoga, which he learned directly from BKS Iyengar, its legendary founder.
Fr Joe Pereira recently presented his latest book “Addiction – A Spiritual Paradox”, written in conjunction with Dr. Ashok Bedi, a Jungian analyst in Chicago. This book is the product of several years of drug-addiction research.
Fr Joshan Rodrigues is the Managing Editor of The Examiner, Catholic Newsweekly of the Archdiocese of Bombay. He is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome in Institutional and Social Communications. He has done brief stints with the DeSales Media Group in Brooklyn, New York and Communications Office of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, London. He frequently blogs on faith and culture in ‘Musings in Catholic Land’
This is so timely. This is the exact thing that we as a nation ought to be doing. Christians need to be aware that Hinduism is often non contradictory to Catholic dogma. & Hindus need to understand that Catholicism is part of what we call the Bhakti Marga. But as a Catholic is naturally weary about say, Tantra; I am weary of Catholic dogma about dualism. And then there is the difference about Karma.
But fortunately our great immeasurable gaps make us as Indians call the bluffs of nutcases either Christian or Hindu.
We understand we are one people and those who hate others, hate their own too. Therefore say, I hate all of some other community — if one makes enquiries it will be seen that I am a tyrant at home too. Preying and trolling the weak. Anthony de Mello SJ said there are those who love others and those who simply can’t. This is the real differentiator.
Thank you for writing this post. Our nation cannot be understood by outsiders. We as a people will exist because we have such great powers of assimilation. We are not tolerant of each other, that is arrogance. We as a people debate and love each other.