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Author: Francis X.
Clooney
Publisher: Orbis Books, New York, 1998
ISBN: 1-57075-164-1
Reviewer: Anuradha devi
dasi
In the first chapter of Hindu Wisdom for all God's
Children, Francis X. Clooney states 'No encounter with another
religion very different from my own can be fruitful unless I explore
my own self'. As Clooney suggests, this is not a book
for 'mere spectators' but is an open invitation for the reader to
become actively involved by reflection on personal insights and
experiences.
In his book, Clooney introduces readers to the spiritual riches
of Hinduism, drawing on his own experiences whilst teaching at a
Jesuit college in Kathmandu, Nepal, in the early 1950s. Through
this Clooney learned to respect and appreciate the traditions and
practices of Hinduism which in turn led to a better understanding
of his own faith.
The book consists of seven chapters, each exploring
a different theme. Through the use of stories, poems and nuggets
of information drawn from a generous scoop of Hindu traditions,
Clooney eases the reader into the heart of Hindu thought and feeling.
The reader is taken through the development of his deepening understanding
of his own faith by exploring the many facets of the Hindu faiththe
reader experiences his journey as he dips into Hindu understanding
and then returning to his own faith with deepened insight and understanding.
In the first chapter he uses the creation myth from the Brhadaranyaka
Upanishad, a largely unknown Indian text, which reflects on the
basic Hindu thinking behind such things as creativity and awareness
of the one true self which are still influential today; in the second
he concludes that to learn religion, be it one's own or a different
faith, one must necessarily come to self-knowledge; in third chapter
he seemingly departs from the Hindu tradition to tell the story
of the Buddha's search for enlightenment although, as he explains,
it is only by recognising the important contribution that the Buddha
made to India's perception of life and death, freedom and bondage,
that one can begin to understand the wisdom of Hindu philosophy.
In the following three chapters Clooney returns to the more traditional
roots of Hinduism, focusing on the desire to see God face to face,
and how devotion to Krishna is regarded by many Hindus as the fulfilment
of this wish; the need to accept the contradictory of nature of
God as destroyer as well as creator, symbolised by Shiva, and the
perception of God as the source of all life. In chapter six 'Mother
of the Universe', he uses the image of the Goddess in the Sanskrit
text entitled 'Ocean of Beauty' to illustrate the Hindu belief that
God is also Mother, and that it is only by becoming aware of the
world around us that we begin the climb towards full spiritual understanding.
In the final chapter, Clooney proposes that in the search for God,
one may look no further than our neighbour, or indeed ourselves.
To illustrate this point, he draws on the writings of Mahatma Gandhi
and Mahasweta Devi, who through their experiences in working with
India's poor and disadvantaged souls, and their encounters with
harsh truths and violence, discovered a greater understanding of
the subtle interconnections between self, non-violence, truth and
God. Clooney sums up his own realisations by emphasising the
need for individuals to contemplate how God has acted in their lives
thus far, in order to comprehend what He is showing them in their
lives at present. The author suggests, in order to fully appreciate
the true nature of God, one has to experience life to its fullest
extent, unhampered by personal fears or prejudices, and that the
attainment of self-knowledge is only possible with a mind open to
the wisdom to be found in other religions.
In Hindu Wisdom for all God's Children, Clooney's
insights appear to stem from his own spiritual vitality that seems
to breed openness to deeper religious experience.
Rather than focusing on tedious philosophical arguments, Clooney
concentrates on personal realisationsnot only his own but also those
experiences by others. His conclusion that 'religious traditions
stand in complementary to one another, they do not flourish if kept
rigidly apart; perhaps we need one another to remain alive' is perhaps
one of the most profound, and considered perspectives on the case
for interfaith dialogue that I have ever encountered.
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