Daily Archives: April 17, 2021

The perceived tension between science and religion is a misunderstanding of the relationship between faith and reason writes Dr Andrew Meeszaros

The alleged incompatibility between a scientific worldview and a religious one has been a major and consistent factor in the rise of the nones, or those with no religious affiliation. Because religion seems to contradict the methods and conclusions of science, increased education especially immersion into STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) seems to coincide with a decrease in religious commitment. At the heart of this perceived tension is a misunderstanding of the relationship between faith and reason.

The Catholic worldview embraces both faith and reason, for they can never contradict. They are, as St John Paull II taught, like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth. While the Catholic intellectual tradition has long defended the mutual vitality of faith and reason, a key and authoritative moment in the Churchs teaching on these two gifts came at the First Vatican Council in 1870, whose 150th anniversary was overshadowed by the pandemic.

While Vatican I is often remembered for its definition of papal infallibility, this council also promulgated the Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Dei Filius, a seminal, under-appreciated, and all too often ignored text. It was in this great document that the Church affirmed not only that God is the creator and sustainer of all that exists, but also that God can be known by us through reason as well as by revelation; that divine revelation offers us truths that surpass what reason can deliver to us; that faith is a supernatural gift of God whose exercise is reasonable; that reason, philosophy, and science have a rightful and noble place in the humans search for truth; that there can be no discrepancy between faith and reason, and that they also mutually support each other.

Most intellectual ills within the Church and without, both in 1870 and today, can be traced either to subordinating faith to reason, or to relegating reason to the margins. Back then, they called these errors rationalism and fideism. Today, we still find both, whether in the Catholic who reinterprets or waters down the faith in order for it to become more palatable or reasonable, (i.e., rationalism) or the catechist who in his or her communication of the faith, shrinks away from using reason and all too quickly declares, Its just a matter of faith (i.e., fideism).

To help Catholics appreciate and benefit from the teaching of Dei Filius, St Patricks College Maynooth will host an online symposium to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Vatican I. Spread over three different afternoon sessions on three consecutive days (22-24 April) the symposium will consist of invited scholars presenting and offering commentary on the key issues of the text. The goal of the symposium will be to offer all those interested (including students, scholars, religious, priests, lay pastoral workers, etc.) an opportunity to immerse themselves in an important, but much-neglected, text that explains the foundations of the Catholic faith.

Registration is free by clicking here.

Dr Andrew Meeszaros lectures in theology at St Patricks College, Maynooth.

Related

Excerpt from:

Catholics: don't be afraid of reason and science - here's why - The Irish Catholic

Early on April 4 morning, the following message appeared on the Twitter account of the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the newly elected U.S. senator from Georgia: The meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you are Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves.

He later deleted the tweet, but not before strong reaction from both conservative and progressive Christians. Some conservative Christians denounced Warnock as a heretic for, in their view, downplaying the story of Jesus bodily resurrection and for claiming that humans can save themselves rather than God, who alone saves humans from their sins. Other Christians came to Warnocks defense, citing his credentials as a theologian and pastor of Atlantas Ebenezer Baptist Church. Rather than condemn his message, they applauded him for sharing a more humanistic message that included non-Christians.

As a Baptist minister and theologian myself, I believe it is important to understand how Baptists hold differing views on the meaning of the Resurrection.

Easter is the Christian holiday which commemorates the story of Jesus Christs resurrection. According to the Christian faith, resurrection is the pivotal event on which God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day after he was crucified by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate and then buried in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea.

While none of the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe the actual event of the resurrection in detail, they nonetheless give varying reports about the empty tomb and Christs post-resurrection appearances among his followers both in Galilee and Jerusalem.

They also report that it was women who discovered the empty tomb and received and proclaimed the first message that Christ was risen from the dead. These narratives passed down orally among the earliest Christian communities and then codified in the Gospel writings beginning some 30 years after Jesus death.

Earliest Christians believed that by raising Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, God vindicated Jesus from the torture and death he unjustly incurred at the order of Pilate, and that Jesus now as the crucified and risen Lord shares in Gods power to transform the creation and put an end to evil and suffering.

By affirming the resurrection, Christians do not mean that Jesus body was merely resuscitated. Rather, as New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson indicates, resurrection means that [Jesus] entered into an entirely new form of existence.

As the risen Christ, Jesus is believed to share Gods power to transform all life and also to share this same power with his followers. So the resurrection is believed to be something that happened not only to Jesus, but also an experience that happens to his followers.

Over the years, Christians have engaged in passionate debates over this central doctrine of Christian faith.

Two major approaches emerged: the liberal view and the conservative or traditional view. Current perspectives on the resurrection have been predominated by questions: Was Jesus body literally raised from the dead? and What relevance does the resurrection have for those struggling for justice?

These questions emerged in the wake of theological modernism, a European and North American movement dating back to the mid-19th century that sought to reinterpret Christianity to accommodate the emergence of modern science, history and ethics.

Also known as liberal theology, theological modernism led liberal Christian theologians to attempt to create an alternative path between the rigid orthodoxies of Christian churches and the rationalism of atheists and others.

This meant that liberal Christians were willing to revise or jettison cherished Christian beliefs, such as the bodily resurrection of Jesus, if such beliefs could not be explained against the bar of human reason.

Just like all other Christian denominations, Baptists are divided on the issue of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Arguably, what may be unique about the group is that Baptists believe that no external religious authority can force an individual member to adhere to the tenets of Christian faith in any prescribed way. One must be free to accept or reject any teaching of the church.

In the early 20th century, Baptists in the United States found themselves on both sides of a schism within American Christianity over doctrinal issues, known as the fundamentalist-modernist controversy.

The Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick, a liberal Baptist pastor who served First Presbyterian Church and later Riverside Church in Manhattan, rejected the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Rather, Fosdick viewed the resurrection as a persistence in [Christs] personality.

In 1922, Fosdick delivered his famous sermon Shall the Fundamentalists Win? rebuking fundamentalists for their failure to tolerate difference on doctrinal matters such as the infallibility of the Bible, the virgin birth, and bodily Resurrection, among others, and for downplaying the weightier matter of addressing the societal needs of the day.

In his autobiography, the late civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. explains that in his early adolescence he denied the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

While attending Crozer Seminary in 1949, King wrote a paper trying to make sense of what led to the development of the Christian doctrine of Jesus bodily resurrection. For King, the experience of the early followers of Jesus was at the root of their belief in his resurrection.

They had been captivated by the magnetic power of his personality, King argued. This basic experience led to the faith that he could never die. In other words, the bodily resurrection of Jesus simply is the outward expression of early Christian experience, not an actual, or at least, a verifiable event in human history.

Others within the Baptist movement disagreed. Like his fundamentalist forebears, conservative evangelical Baptist theologian Carl F.H. Henry argued in 1976 that all Christian doctrine can be rationally explained and can persuade any nonbeliever. Henry rigorously defended the bodily resurrection of Christ as a historical occurrence by appealing to the Gospels telling of the empty tomb and Christs appearances among his disciples after his resurrection.

In his six-volume magnum opus, God, Revelation, and Authority, Henry read these two elements of the Gospels as historical records that can be verified through modern historical methods.

Despite their predominance, the liberal and conservative arguments on the resurrection of Jesus are not the only approaches held among Baptists.

In his book Resurrection and Discipleship, Baptist theologian Thorwald Lorenzen also outlines what he calls the evangelical approach, which seeks to transcend the distinctions of liberal and conservative approaches. He affirms, with the conservatives, the historical reality of the Resurrection, but agrees with the liberals that such an event cannot be verified in the modern historical sense.

Other than these, there is a liberation approach, which stresses the social and political implications of the Resurrection. Baptists who hold this view primarily interpret the resurrection as Gods response and commitment to liberating those who, like Jesus, experience poverty and oppression.

Given this diversity of perspectives on the Resurrection, Baptists are not unique among Christians in engaging matters of faith practice. However, I argue that Baptists may be distinct in how they engage the question of Jesus resurrection and why it matters for their faith.

According to Warnocks tweet, the meaning of Easter goes beyond the question of what happened to Jesus body, making resurrection a matter of what human beings can do to make a more just and humane society regardless of religious affiliation.

However, as some Baptists protested, the meaning of the resurrection is a matter of precisely what happened to Jesus body some 20 centuries ago which has implications for how Christians live out their beliefs today.

[3 media outlets, 1 religion newsletter. Get stories from The Conversation, AP and RNS.]

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How Baptists hold differing views on the resurrection of Christ and why this matters - The Conversation US

BETHESDA, Md., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EDITION Hotels today announced its further international expansion by the end of 2022, with the slated opening of eight new properties across three continents. The new openings include sites in Rome, Madrid, Dubai, Reykjavik, Tampa, Doha, Mexico's Riviera Maya at Kanai and EDITION's second property in Tokyo. With 11 hotels worldwide currently, these planned openings underscore the brand's strong growth and will bring the portfolio to a total of 19 properties globally. In addition to these new properties, EDITION Hotels expects to announce further expansion later in 2022.

EDITION Hotels redefine the concept of luxury through offering an unexpected collection of one-of-a-kind hotels. Conceived by hotel visionary and cultural icon Ian Schrager and Marriott International, the brand also benefits from Marriott's global scale and operational expertise. The commitment to uncompromising quality, true originality and impeccable modern service continue to challenge traditional perceptions of luxury and entrench EDITION's position as an industry leader. Every EDITION hotel is unique, reflecting the social and cultural milieu of the time and place of its creation. Each new property is individually developed in collaboration with one of the world's most eminent designers chosen specifically for that location, and introduces original food and beverage concepts from internationally renowned chefs. The end result offers the best of dining and entertainment, modern luxury services and amenities "all under one roof."

"I've always been committed to being involved in special projects on a global scale that reach new heights.I'm thrilled to work together with Marriott, and the opportunity to see these hotels come to life across the world is a dream come true." Ian Schrager.

Please find further details on the properties and their scheduled opening dates below:

The Reykjavik EDITION

Launching mid 2021

The Reykjavik EDITIONis anticipated to launch in summer 2021 in one of the world's most sustainable capitals. Located in the historical, scenic heart of downtown Reykjavik by Old Harbor port, the hotel is just steps away from Laugavegur Street, the city's vibrant shopping district, and the Harpa Concert and Conference Center.The hotel is the perfect jumping off point for exploring the wonders of the region, with the renowned Blue Lagoon within driving distance and the Northern Lights visible in the city during the winter solstice.

Ian Schrager Company has collaborated with architects T.arch and designers Roman & Williams to introduce EDITION Hotels to Iceland. Poised to offer 253 guestrooms and suites, The Reykjavik EDITION will house a rooftop, nightlife, spacious meeting and event spaces (502 sqm/5,402 sqft) and a spa. In addition, the hotel is expected to offer guests and locals a diverse culinary offering with a signature restaurant, destination bar and a caf.

The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza

Launching late 2021

Following the successful launch of the first Japanese EDITION hotel with The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon in late 2020, the opening of the The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza will further strengthen the brand's position as one of the most exciting lifestyle pioneers in Asia. Slated to open in late 2021, The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza will be situated just off Chuo Street, one of the largest upscale entertainment and shopping destinations in the city.

The newly constructed property will include 86 guestrooms and suites, three incredible food and beverage destinations including rooftop bar, together with meeting studio and a state-of-the-art fitness center.

The Rome EDITION

Launching late 2021

Expected to open late in 2021, EDITION Hotels' first Italian property will feature 95 guest rooms and suites, including a Penthouse suite with a private 130 sqm (1,399 sqft) terrace. The Rome EDITIONwill offer uniquely designed food and beverage outlets, including a signature restaurant with outdoor dining space that will make locals and visitors fall in love with its cuisine and all that comes with it; a Punch Room Bar with exceptionally crafted cocktails; and a Rooftop Terrace where guests can have the choice of a seasonal bite, a drink overlooking the city, a private gathering with friends, or all of the above. In addition to customizable indoor and outdoor event spaces, the hotel will also be home to a rooftop swimming pool, a very spacious hi-tech gym, and two treatment rooms including a couple-massage experience.

With its central location a few steps from Via Veneto and Bernini's Tritone Fountain in Piazza Barberini, The Rome EDITION is within a short walk of all the best that the city has to offer, such as the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Borghese Gardens and Gallery, and many other wonders that make Rome a must-see destination. At the corner of modern luxury and history, the hotel is housed within a historical striking building designed by Cesare Pascoletti in collaboration with architect Marcello Piacentini, one of Italy's most famed architects of Rationalism in the early 20thcentury.

The Dubai EDITION

Launching late 2021

The anticipated opening of theThe Dubai EDITIONin late 2021 will mark a significant expansion for the brand into the Middle East's most popular travel destination. Situated in downtown Dubai, the hotel will be located in one of the city's most popular locations, opposite the world-famous Dubai Mall.

Designed with LW Design Group LLC, the hotel will feature 275 guestrooms and suites. The property will also be home to multiple food and beverage outlets, pool, spa and fitness center, in addition to dynamic events spaces boasting meeting rooms and a flexible ballroom.

The Madrid EDITION

Launching early 2022

The Madrid EDITIONwill showcase 200 beautifully appointed guestrooms and suites, some with terraces, and five unique food and beverage outlets including a signature restaurant, cocktail bar, Sky Bar and rooftop terrace, together with an outdoor pool, state-of-the-art fitness center and spa. Flexible studios with over 350sqm (3,767 sqft) of dedicated space will host creative meetings and events for large or small groups.

Set in a tranquil square surrounded by historic buildings, The Madrid EDITION is near Puerta de Sol in the heart of the Spanish capital, one of the city's most famous sites, and within walking distance to The Golden Triangle of Art three of the most important art museums in Madrid.

Slated to open in early 2022, the hotel will reflect the people and the culture of the city and will become a stunning microcosm of one-of-a-kind food, beverage and entertainment offerings, innovative design, and luxury service. The Madrid EDITION will be the second EDITION Hotel in Spain, following the successful opening of The Barcelona EDITION in 2018.

The Tampa EDITION

Launching early 2022

Planned to open in early 2022, The Tampa EDITIONwill become the fifth US property from EDITION Hotels. Situated withinthe new 56-acre Water Street Tampa neighborhood, the hotel will be home to172guestrooms and suites and six food and beverage outlets, including a signature restaurant, rooftop bar and terrace. The property will also feature a 204sqm (2,195 sqft) Penthouse Suite, expansive spa, fitness center and over 550sqm (5,920 sqft) of flexible meeting and events space. Bringing some of the world's best talents together into one project, design is care of the acclaimed New York-based architecture practice Morris Adjmi in collaboration with Florida-based firm Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates; with interiors designed by the renowned Roman & Williams. The hotel is situated within immediate proximity to the best that Tampa has tooffer interms of cultural institutions, entertainment, recreational, dining and shopping options.

The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai

Launching mid 2022

The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanaiis expected to open in mid 2022. With 180 guestrooms and suites, the hotel will be situated within the luxurious Kanai development, and home to six food and beverage outlets including a signature restaurant, pool bar and beach club, destination spa and an expansive 206sqm (2,217 sqft) Penthouse Suite. In addition to multiple meeting spaces, the hotel will also house an extensive outdoor deck for large scale events and parties.

Located on a pristine beachfront site, EDITION Hotels' first property in Mexico will find its home in the blissful stretch of Caribbean coastline. Riviera Maya is known for its mangroves and lagoons, ancient Mayan cities, tropical beaches, ecological reserves and the world's second largest coral reef.

The Doha EDITION

Launching late 2022

The DohaEDITIONisanticipated to open in late 2022in Doha's central business district, West Bay,whichedgesthePersianGulf.The hotel will have 200 guest rooms including 29 suites, two restaurants, three bars and a nightclub and nearly 929 sqm (10,000 sqft) of event space. The hotel tower will punctuate the already eclectic Doha skyline and will house167 EDITION branded residences.

Note on Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws, including expected hotel openings, future expansion announcements and similar statements concerning anticipated future events and expectations that are not historical facts. We (Marriott International, Inc.) caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous evolving risks and uncertainties that we may not be able to accurately predict or assess, including those we identify below and other risk factors that we identify in our U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Risks that could affect forward-looking statements in this press release include the duration and scope of COVID-19, including the availability and distribution of effective vaccines or treatments; its short and longer-term impact on the demand for travel, transient and group business, and levels of consumer confidence; actions governments, businesses and individuals have taken or may take in response to the pandemic, including limiting or banning travel and/or in-person gatherings or imposing occupancy or other restrictions on lodging or other facilities; the impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response to the pandemic on global and regional economies, travel, and economic activity, including the duration and magnitude of COVID-19's impact on unemployment rates and consumer discretionary spending; the ability of our owners and franchisees to successfully navigate the impacts of COVID-19; the pace of recovery when the pandemic subsides or effective treatments or vaccines become widely available; general economic uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global economic conditions or low levels of economic growth; the effects of steps we and our property owners and franchisees have taken and may continue to take to reduce operating costs and/or enhance certain health and cleanliness protocols at our hotels; the impacts of our employee furloughs and reduced work week schedules; our voluntary transition program and our other restructuring activities; competitive conditions in the lodging industry; relationships with customers and property owners; and the availability of capital to finance hotel growth and refurbishment. Any of these factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations we express or imply in this press release. We make these forward-looking statements as of the date of this press release, and undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

ABOUT EDITION HOTELS

EDITION Hotels is an unexpected and refreshing collection of individualised, customised, one-of-a-kind hotels which redefine the codes of traditional luxury. Displaying the best of dining and entertainment, services and amenities "all under one roof," each EDITION property is completely unique, reflecting the best of the cultural and social milieu of its location and of the time.

Conceived by Ian Schrager in collaboration with Marriott International, EDITION combines both the personal and intimate experience that Ian Schrager is known for with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott. The authenticity and originality that Ian Schrager brings to this brand coupled with the scale of Marriott International results in a truly distinct product that sets itself apart from anything else currently in the marketplace.

For affluent, culturally savvy and service-savvy guests, the EDITION experience and lifestyle explores the unprecedented intersection and the perfect balance between taste-making design and innovation and consistent, excellent service on a global scale. EDITION manages 11 hotels around the world including two in New York, and one in each of London, Miami Beach, West Hollywood, Barcelona, Shanghai, Sanya (China), Abu Dhabi, Bodrum (Turkey) and Tokyo.

About Marriott International

Marriott International, Inc.(NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,600 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 133 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy, its highly-awarded travel program. For more information, please visit our website atwww.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visitwww.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us onFacebookand @MarriottIntl onTwitterandInstagram.

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EDITION Announces Eight Anticipated New Hotel Openings Across The Globe By The End Of 2022 - Herald-Mail Media

Amit Das recollects a little anecdote from his grandmothers life. If she ever saw any of us praying to an idol before going to school, she would immediately rebuke us, he says. Her point was that if one had studied properly then they would do well regardless of whether they pray to God or not. The 57-year-old is a fourth generation member of the Brahmo Samaj, a Hindu reformist movement that began in the early 19th century.

His great grandfather, Sundari Mohan Das, a freedom fighter, doctor and social worker of the late 19th century, was the first in his family to have joined the Samaj. Like many young Bengali men of the time, he too was a follower of Keshub Chandra Sen, who influenced them to dream of a world devoid of superstition; where widows could remarry and womens education was deemed essential, says Das.

One of the most influential religious movements of the 19th century that took birth in Bengal and spread far and wide from here, Brahmoism is today reduced to a few thousand members. The community, for the past few years, has been demanding minority status from the government of India. Das, an active member of the religious organisation, is a firm believer in the principles laid down by the Brahmo Samaj: denunciation of idol worship and polytheism, rejection of the caste system, emancipation of women, respect for all religions, and others.

Back in the 19th century, Brahmoism was established as an effort to reform Hinduism from within, in response to the criticisms being levelled against Hindu society by the West. It was a movement that struck a fine balance between reform and rejection. These were people willing to change contemporary Hindu society without uprooting themselves from tradition- obviously, this was guided by the emergence of a sense of cultural pride and patriotism to which, paradoxically, modern Western education had greatly contributed, says historian Amiya Sen over the phone. In other words, the Brahmo Samaj was both an effort to alter Hinduism through western ideologies, and at the same time stay true to its traditional principles.

Although the movement lost momentum by the end of the 19th century, the Brahmo Samaj did have an impact on the psyche of the Bengali middle class. At a time when the political landscape of Bengal is witnessing the possibility of inroads being made by the Bharatiya Janata Party, adherents of Brahmoism say the party will be unable to understand the liberal nature of religion practised by them.

Historian David Kopf, who authored the book The Brahmo Samaj and the shaping of modern India, explains that the establishment of the Brahmo Sabha by the social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, needs to be understood in context of the Unitarian movement that was raging in large parts of the Western world since the 16th century. Unitarianism was a radical approach to religion, society and ethics which looked to substitute popular religious traditions with a rational faith.

By 1822 he (Roy) had helped form the Calcutta Unitarian Committee and by 1825-26, his scattered writings in their cumulative effect already contained a kind of syllabus for activists dedicated to Hindu reform, writes Kopf. Roy formed the committee in collaboration with a missionary, Rev. W. Adam. Apart from conducting Unitarian services, the committee also established the Vedanta College meant for churning out Hindu Unitarians. But Roy and Adam fell off soon after and the mission was abandoned.

Consequently, in 1828 Roy along with a group of wealthy upper caste men started a more Indian variant of the Unitarian movement. This was named the Brahmo Sabha and its first meeting was held on August 20, 1828 at a house in Chitpore road in Calcutta. Among the most notable supporters of Roy in the Sabha was Dwarkanath Tagore, grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore. Activities carried out by the group included chanting of verses from the Upanishads, and then translating them in Bengali and singing of theistic hymns composed by Roy. There was no organisation, no membership, no creed. It was a weekly meeting open to any who cared to attend. Ram Mohan believed he was restoring Hindu worship to its pristine purity, writes John Nicol Farquhar, a Scottish education missionary in Calcutta who authored the book, Modern religious movements in India.

Throughout this period, the Brahma Sabha played a key role in modernising Indian society. Roy successfully campaigned against Sati or the immolation of Hindu widows, he established a number of educational institutions including the Vedanta College, the English School and the City College of Calcutta popularising English education and promoted a rational and non-authoritarian form of Hinduism. He also played a pioneering role in opening the Hindu School in 1817, which is now the Presidency University.

With Roys death in 1833, the still infant Brahmo Sabha lost its wind a bit. It was in 1842 that the Sabha was given a fresh lease of life under the leadership of Debendranath Tagore, son of Dwarkanath Tagore. Debendra followed Ram Mohan in his belief that original Hinduism was a pure spiritual theism, and in his enthusiasm for the Upanishads, but did not share his deep reverence for Christ, writes Farquhar. He was also the one to give an organised structure to the Sabha. In 1843, he drew up a Brahmo convent or a list of solemn vows to be taken by every member. Some of these included abstaining from idolatry and to worship God by doing good deeds.

In 1857, Keshub Chandra Sen joined the Sabha, and he would soon turn out to be its third leader. Under his influence, Debendranath decided on giving up the tradition of Durga Puja in the Tagore family, which was a grand annual affair. The Sabha also discussed caste, with its members giving it up altogether. Debendranath too got rid of his sacred thread.

Sen was heavily influenced by Christianity. At his suggestion, the Sabha began to follow the example of Christian philanthropy, gathering money and food for the needy.

In 1860, members of the Sabha realised the need to spread out from Bengal. In 1861, the preacher Pundit Navin Chandra Roy went to Punjab to spread the new faith. He established the Brahmo Samaj in Lahore. Another preacher, Atmuri Lakshminarasimham went to the Madras Presidency to spread the Brahmo teachings in the Telugu speaking areas.

Brahmo Samaj was not just restricted to Bengal. It was the first pan Indian movement of Hindu reform, says Sen. But Bengal was the first province to come under western influence through British colonialism. In cultural terms, Bengal was indeed the province of paradoxes. It was to produce the first crop of western educated intelligentsia, many of whom were anglophiles. On the other hand, this early and excessive enthusiasm for Western ideas or ways of life eventually also produced a wave of anglophobia which took the shape of a reactionary, antireformist position, he adds.

But the Brahmo Samaj was a very small community and that too an urban and elite community, explains researcher Snigdhendu Bhattacharya who authored the book, Mission Bengal: the Saffron experiment. Although it was a miniscule community, it remained one of the most influential ones since it included some of the finest social reformers and personalities of Bengal. Two of the most influential Bengali families, the Tagores and the Rays, were both Brahmos, he says.

Speaking about the kind of influence that Brahmo families had on middle class Bengali society, Bhattacharya says, every child in any urban area grows up reading Sukumar Ray. When they read the Ramayana, it is Upendrakishore Roychowdhurys interpretation in most cases. Then of course there is Satyajit Ray whose films have influenced every child and adult in all of Bengal. The influence of the Tagore family not just in Bengal, but all over India, remains unmatched. The essence of all their work remained humanism and rationalism which emerged from the fountainhead of Brahmo philosophy, says Bhattacharya.

From the 1860s, a number of schisms and splinter groups emerged within the Samaj. In 1866, the first formal division between liberal younger Brahmos and conservative older Brahmos led to the establishment of the Brahmo Samaj of India under Sen. In 1878, the marriage of Sens daughter to the maharaja of Cooch Behar in violation of the Brahmo Marriage Act of 1872 caused yet another major schism in Brahmo history, resulting in the formation of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. These splits resulted in the dwindling popularity of the Samaj, says Bhattacharya.

I would say that the Brahmo movement began to decline from the 1880s. Firstly, there was a distinct Hindu counter discourse, or Hindu revival. Also by this time, the political overtook the social, says Sen. By 1885 the Indian National Congress was formed. The Hindus realised that the best way to fight against colonialism is to politically unite, rather than focusing on social reform, Sen says.

Despite their decline though, the Brahmo Samaj made an enormous impact ideologically and culturally to Bengal and created an enduring value system in the region. They were the people behind promoting womens education, introducing widow remarriages, inter caste marriages, questioning the very hierarchy of caste, and democratising education. Unlike traditional Hindus, Brahmos gave as much importance to moral uprightness as to a spiritual life. In traditional Hinduism, moral purity was considered subservient to the spiritual call. Not so for the Brahmos. says Sen.

Given the dwindling popularity of the Samaj since the late 19th century, a majority of Brahmo members today are those by birth. Nonetheless, there are instances of those who have taken formal initiation in the community in the recent past. Ketuki Bagchi (67) took up formal membership of the Samaj in 2004. She says her parents were staunch followers of Roy and thereby she had been associated with the Brahmo ideology since her childhood even though not a member. The influence of the Samaj was such that there were many Bengali families who believed and practised the principles of Brahmoism, despite the fact that they were not formal members, she says. She explains that her parents perhaps never formally joined the Samaj because the organisation never went about promoting its beliefs or engaged in proselytising activities.

Prasun Ganguly, 74, a fourth generation Brahmo says the first thing that any new member of the Samaj has to do is give up idol worship and follow the basic principles of egalitarianism and rationalism promulgated by Roy. That apart, the social ceremonies of its members like marriage and funerals are in stark contrast to those in Hindu society. For instance at a Brahmo wedding, the bride and the groom assemble in front of people and declare their vows to each other. Similarly, at a funeral first the preacher presiding over the ceremony says a few words about the departed soul and then the others join in to sing a few Brahmo sangeet (spiritual songs written by Roy and other influential members of the Samaj), says Ganguly.

Speaking about what the current political situation in Bengal means to the Brahmo community, Ganguly says, In most Bengali families even today, there is a reverence for Brahmoism because of the kind of social reforms brought by them. It believes in a kind of religion devoid of the ill practices and superstitions of Hinduism. In that sense, Brahmoism is the essence of Hinduism.

Any political party in power must not try to impose its own understanding of Hinduism on anyone.

Further reading:

The Brahmo Samaj and the shaping of modern India by David Kopf

Modern religious movements in India by John Nicol Farquhar

Hindu revivalism in Bengal, 1972-1905 by Amiya Sen

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Celebrating the essence of Hinduism: How 19th century Brahmo Samaj altered Bengali society - The Indian Express

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In the new film from Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Norbu, a doomed man is thrust on a spiritual quest to find a lady with fangs and a moustache who could very well save him

In his fifth feature, Looking For A Lady With Fangs And A Moustache which premiered on virtual cinema recently, the Bhutan-born lama and write-director Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Norbu weaves a quiet, deliberately paced and deceptively simple story of a man who on discovering he has just seven days to live is propelled on a nerve-racking spiritual journey.

Tenzin (Tsering Tashi Gyalthang), a strapping human specie and a capitalist to boot, is a man committed to the supremacy of reason and skeptical of everything superstitious or religious, and like most skeptics is a bit of a grouch about it. He wants to set up one of the trendiest cafes in Kathmandu (Nepal).

One day while scouting for locations, Tenzin stumbles upon an old abandoned temple and promptly goes about removing things and taking pictures. This horrifies his best friend Jachung (Tulku Kunzang), a conservative, who tells him that the place is the womb of the goddess and as such should never be disturbed. Tenzin snickers.

Soon a series of phantasms upends the stability of Tenzins world. It begins with a vision of a young girl in a field of flowers followed by the chilling specter of his long-dead sister cleaning his kitchen.

When Jachung warns him This could be a bad omen and that he should at once seek a Buddhist monk oracle, Tenzin shrugs him off with a snort. You know those monks are just after your money. Jachung decides to bring the oracle to him anyway.

When the dark shades wearing and Google worshipping oracle with a penchant for good coffee (Blue Mountain and Mocha being his favorites) informs Tenzin, rather in an offhand way, that his visions were signs of his imminent death and that in fact he had only seven days to live, the incredulous Tenzin brushes him away.

But apparitions refuse to go. Until at last, beset with mounting fear and paranoia, Tenzin gives in to his friend to see the strange oracle again.

The oracle tells Tenzin that the only way to avert his fatal prophecy was to seek a peerless albeit an elusive lady manifest on earth known as a dakini. He directs him to a cranky old master sage for more information on the subject. The master sage, in turn, supply Tenzin with tips and ritual gestures to aid him on his journey.

A way to see the flaw as the truth

The search, a problem Tenzin must solve, form the dramatic heart of the film. How will he find the ambiguous dakini? Will he find one? These questions are answered with equal measures of wit and sublimity.

Khyentse Norbu lets the story unfold in a slow, poetic pace. Contemplation is given ample time in the form of long pauses between dialogues, phantasmic riverbanks and curiosities that Tenzin encounters as he rides his motor bike acrossthe narrow streets of Kathmandu.

The newcomer Tsering Tashi as the main protagonist Tenzin says so much without saying much, turning quiet moments of reflection and desperation into something rich and wonderful.

But it isnt until he meets the unconventional monk oracle and the raspy old sage (the master of the Left-Hand Lineage) that the film finds its lyrical voice and indeed its springboard for its playful and subtle, yet not so playful and subtle, messages.

The monk oracle, played deliciously by newcomer Ngawang Tenzin, is a total opposite of what most of us imagine a monk to be, or want a monk to be, which is of serene in demeanor and of decorous in attire and manner, much like a zen monk.

Sporting dark circular shades, red headphones, iPad, his maroon robe worn way above his ankles to show off a pair of black leather boots, rosary and holy threads tied around his wrists like a rockstar, Khyentse Norbus monk in the film looks like he might fancy a drive to a Paris couture show than to a monastery.

What comes out of his mouth is elliptical, designed to confound and provoke and, in our Tenzins case, infuriate. Tenzin: I dont know if I am dreaming or not. Maybe its just my imagination. Monk: Whats the difference? Anyway, youll die soon.

Or when he tells a baffled Tenzin that seeking out the evasive dakini was the only way to climb out from his misery. This is a special method. A way to see the flaw as the truth. And a way to see problems as the solution.

The monk oracle might as well be Khyentse Norbus alter ego. And he seems to be doing a lot more than poke fun at our morality and perception and at our attachment to our transitory bodies and selves, and at our laughable aversion to incontrovertible truths such as the impermanence of things.

But all that poking fun is not merely for poking funs sake. Its aesthetic splendors are tethered to an exalted purpose, which is to shine the light of the sacred on our foggy and fast moving reality.

The cantankerous master sage with a gift for wry sarcasm is an emblem of Tibetan mysticism, played to near perfection by Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche. Oh, you again, he tells Tenzin. So annoying! Or when Tenzin tells him he has only seven days to live, he responds dryly: If everyone believed they had only seven days to live, the world would be peaceful.

His grumpy persona, however, belie his wisdom. It was by design that he sends Tenzin on his spiritual journey, to open up his senses to the refreshment of impermanence, to the beauty of impermanence, to its infinite wonder and possibilities.

Cucurrucuc paloma

There are delightful moments of romantic comedy as when the master sage and the monk feed Tenzin with an assortment of secret dakini signals and pointers and Tenzin, as he watches and listens to them, is visibly torn between his loathing for superstitions and his fear of but what if. What if this is just an elaborate ruse? But, what if it is not?

Belief is at the centre of the film. But it doesnt come out preachy like other spiritually minded films. If anything, the film shines light.

Dakini, a divine feminine energy in Tibetan Buddhism, whose presence in the world is both the films overt subject and the source of its mystery, is used to convey, in the most subtle way a film can on the subject, the significance of belief and magic in our lives.

In many ways, the film is Khyentse Norbus nostalgia for the vanishing world of this magical aspect of Tibetan Buddhism. A world of magic diminished in the face of the all too powerful world of science and rationalism. But a world which the film says, is nonetheless accessible to us if only we keep an open heart.

Aiding to convey the films many layers of meaning is the masterful Taiwanese cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bing (In The Mood For Love, Renoir) who is known to work with natural lights. He doesnt disappoint.

The slow tracking shots of the saturated river banks, the long stationary shots of the insides of an enlightened master sages home, the kinetic handheld shots of the streets illustrating Tenzins turmoil, are all employed with elegance and charm to help coax Khyentse Norbus vision into vivid cinematic reality. Almost every frame is an expressive photograph worth putting in an actual frame and hanging on the wall.

The film flows to equally sublime music. Cucurrucuc paloma a beautiful, haunting song from Mexico captures the turbulent state of Tenzin even if you dont understand the lyrics. The duet scene between Tenzin and his mother, where on the last day of his prophesied death he goes to meet her, is especially nostalgic and uplifting.

You can walk away with a thousand meanings. Watching the film is like being held up by an enlightened sage from the mountain, who grips you with a mystical and life-altering message in his tale. Its an exquisite return to cinema for Khyentse Norbu and one of his best.

Contributed by Kencho Wangdi (Bonz)

The writer is a former editor of Kuensel and can be reached @bonzk on Instagram

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Movie Review: What if you had just seven days to live? Kuensel Online - Kuensel, Buhutan's National Newspaper