The Shantivanam Ashram had a wide impact
because its founder, Bede Griffiths, embodied the marriage
of East and West – he was at one and the same time
the brilliant Christian intellectual and the Indian sadhu (holy man)
and he knew that Christianity and Hinduism
could meet at the mystical level.
Griffiths also knew every one of the eight billion inhabitants
of Earth is circumscribed by their context –
their culture and institutions dictate what
books/entertainment/freedom/moral values/political system/
religion they should follow.
However, healthy psychosocial development means
individuals are not only shaped by their context
they choose and shape their context –
in other words, healthy childhood/adolescence/adulthood
involves self-regulation and self-agency.
Christians have a special agency to play in politics:
to fight for the common good, that is, to show how
authority can be harmonized with freedom
diversity can be harmonized with unity
initiative can be harmonized with communal good.
Jesus taught women and included them freely
in the early Christian community/ecclesia
and would ordain them today.
The Buddha also was naturally oriented to justice –
he invited women to be active and teach
in the Sangha (Buddhist community/ashram).
Our culture and institutions used to be guided
through psychological perils by the symbols
and rituals of our religious inheritance.
But now that all mythology/gods/demons
have been rationalized out of existence
we now have no overarching myth that binds us all together
we have no protection – no community/church/sangha/ashram
to keep us warm/comforted/sustained/fighting for the good –
sadly, our impoverished/individualistic lives means
we have to face our daily perils on our own.
Intelligent Christian Spirituality 