FR JOE PEREIRA-KRIPA FOUNDATION-WORLD COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN MEDITATION: PART 1

FR JOE PEREIRA-KRIPA FOUNDATION-WORLD COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN MEDITATION: PART 2

The Kripa report was updated in September 2007, but not published, and the current updating was done again in May 2009.

After my visit to some Catholic Ashrams, I could boldly accuse the movement of “New Age, heresy, blasphemy and sacrilege”. In that initial report, I showed that Kripa Foundation is loosely linked with the Ashrams movement.

The initial report provided enough evidence that Kripa Foundation is New Age, no matter that its founder is a priest of the Archdiocese of Bombay. The Catholic Ashrams report with the Kripa report appended to it was sent to most of the Bishops who possess email ids, commencing the first week of October 2005. To a number of them it was sent twice, even thrice. To the Cardinals and some Bishops and the Nuncio, a hardcopy was posted, again twice in a few cases including the Nuncio.

The list of Bishops and Commissions who did not even acknowledge receipt is too lengthy to reproduce. About 40 did.

The Apostolic Nuncio to India, who asked for the report as early as January 2005 in response to my pilot letter informing him about the problems at the Ashrams, has steadfastly refused to acknowledge receipt of it despite 10 reminders and follow-ups. The office of Cardinal Toppo of Ranchi finally acknowledged receipt only after the 10^th reminder.

The offices of Cardinals Toppo and Vithayathil assured this ministry that the Cardinals were not in India and that the report would be placed before the Cardinals on their return. The third Cardinal, Ivan Dias, like the other two, did not respond.

Even among the many Bishops’ reponses, there was no firm commitment to do anything about the very serious issues that I brought to their notice. Some of the assurance turned out to be empty promises. As time passed, the report has been completely forgotten and I have watched the Catholic Ashrams continue their campaign to destroy the Church from within.

A follow-up report on the Catholic Ashrams movement is under preparation.

I have also watched Kripa Foundation and Fr. Joe Pereira grow from strength to strength, receiving prestigious Church as well as National awards, enjoying the patronage of more Archbishops and Bishops, and expanding their operations into new archdioceses and dioceses. It is well known that this priest and his Foundation have received the equivalent of crores of rupees in aids and grants from foreign associates. Money and power buy silence and compromise. It cannot be disputed that Kripa Foundation is doing a great humanitarian service “weaning people away from chemical dependency on alcohol, tobacco and other narcotics, and rehabilitating people affected with HIV and AIDS”. But does the end justify the means?

This priest is the diehard devotee of a Hindu yogi who practices the occult forms of Kundalini and Tantra Yoga. What the disciple learned from his guru and Master, philosophically and practically, he teaches and applies in his programmes.

The priest admits that he “follows the 8-fold path set down in the yoga sutra of Patanjali.”

As if the above were not serious enough, “Kripa blends Western techniques [not only] with Indian yoga, [but also with] Buddhist vipassana meditation, Chinese Tai Chi martial arts and Japanese Shiatsu massage”.

There is also another “blend with Western techniques”. Kripa has linked with the WCCM or World Community for Christian Meditation, London-based, founded by two Benedictine priests, the late John Main and the current head, Laurence Freeman.

*NOTE: THIS PAGE IS NOT NUMBERED. THE NUMBERING COMMENCES FROM THE FOLLOWING PAGE WHICH IS PAGE 1

In this report, I provide ample evidence that the “Christian Meditation” that they promote is not really Christian at all.

They use a “mantra”-based meditation technique which was taught by a Hindu Swami to Fr. John Main OSB. They also incorporate the enneagram personality-typing tool which the Vatican has warned Catholics about in a Document.

The WCCM website FAQ admits that there is an “essential harmony” between Centering Prayer and their “Christian Meditation”. Centering Prayer is not Christian. They hold joint seminars and workshops with New Age personalities who use “tai chi, chi gung and Iyengar yoga”. Theirs is an “ecumenical” meditation, Fr. Freeman finally admits, pages 61- 63, 90.

Kripa Foundation advertises itself as
a project of the Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay. His Eminence, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai, heads its Board of Trustees. Fr. Joe states that Mumbai’s Cardinal Ivan Dias, who was in 2006 appointed Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of People, strongly backs him. Thomas Dabre, Bishop of Vasai and Chairman, Doctrinal Commission of the CBCI blessed the Kripa Vasai centre. He felicitated the priest at a special Holy Mass on April 2, 2009. Bombay Bishops Agnelo Gracias and Bosco Penha celebrate Masses for the WCCM.

And, The Examiner, the Archdiocesan weekly is a platform for the promotion of both the WCCM and Kripa Foundation.

PART 3

MORE ON THE WORLD COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN MEDITATION

1. CHRISTIANS AND BUDDHISTS FROM FIVE CONTINENTS MEDITATE TOGETHER

Phil St. Romain: John Main OSB (1926-1982) was a Catholic priest whose travels took him to Malaysia, where he met Swami Satyananda who taught him a simple method of meditation using a mantra (a word or phrase repeated in the mind). He began to use this method in his own spiritual practice, using the phrase maranatha (Aramaic for “Come, Lord”) and meditating with it for two 30-minute periods each day. He found deep peace and awareness from this discipline and was eventually led to embrace the contemplative life of a Benedictine monk.

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When he described his practice and how he had learned of it to his novice master, he was ordered to stop doing it.

He complied, but found the more traditional, intellectual forms of meditation emphasized in the Church to be unsatisfying.

During the course of his later studies of the Christian mystical tradition, he came upon the writings of John Cassian, whom he found to be teaching a meditation form similar to what he had learned from Swami Satyananda. He resumed his meditation practice and, around 1976, began to teach the method to others. The method is simple:

“Sit down. Sit still. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Silently, interiorly begin to say a single word (“maranatha” is recommended.) Recite it as four syllables of equal length. Listen to it as you say it, gently but continuously. Do not think or imagine anything — spiritual or otherwise. If thoughts or images come, these are distractions at the time of meditation, so keep returning to the simple work of saying the word. Meditate each morning and evening between twenty and thirty minutes.” (Light Within: The Inner Path of Meditation. Laurence Freeman. 1987. NY: Crossroad, p. xii.)

In 1991, The World Community for Christian Meditation was founded to continue the work of Fr. Main. Directed by Laurence Freeman OSB, the WCCM sponsors seminars and retreats to teach John Main’s Christian Meditation throughout the world.

The Christian Meditation movement, begun by John Main, OSB, is spreading around the world and doing great good by introducing people to the life of prayer.

In the spirit of gentle inquiry, however, it is possible to address some questions to its practitioners in the hope that any ensuing dialogue would only strengthen this movement.

1a. John Main learned to meditate using a mantra from his Hindu teacher, but what goal was his teacher aiming at? Was it the same goal as that of the Christian life of prayer?

b. If not, does this mantra meditation become Christian just because a Christian uses it?

c. Did John Main consider this mantra meditation of his teacher identical with the teaching of John Cassian, and The Cloud of Unknowing?

2a. In the terminology of John of the Cross, is this mantra meditation meditation or contemplation?

b. If it is meditation, why does John Main seem to insist that we must continue using the mantra?

c. What happens when we reach a point when meditation begins to fail?

d. Can this insistence on the mantra be reconciled with the teaching of centering prayer?

e. If this mantra prayer is a very simple form of meditation, should beginners be introduced to it indiscriminately before they have gained experience in more discursive forms of meditation?

f. If it is contemplation in the sense of John of the Cross, how can it be recommended to everyone?

3. It would seem that the deliberate simplification of discursive activity that takes place in this kind of meditation would have the psychological result of excluding energy from consciousness, and thus activating the unconscious. Does the Christian meditation movement make any provision for this activation?

Now it is your turn to contribute to this discussion. Send us your questions and comments:

Reply from Unitas:

In response to the questions posted here concerning John Main’s Christian meditation teaching, sixteen people met at Unitas and spent a day in discussion and reflection.

Unitas is an ecumenical centre for spirituality and Christian meditation, formerly the Benedictine Priory of Montreal founded by John Main.

The sixteen people referred to are those who continue at Unitas John Main’s practice of giving short talks to meditators on Monday and Tuesday evenings throughout the year. The questions provided a stimulating framework for our sharing, and we are grateful to the editor of the Christian Prayer and Contemplation Forum for his invitation to respond to the questions below. We do not purport to speak for the worldwide network of Christian meditation groups and practitioners, only to offer the fruit of our own discussion and reflection in the interest of understanding through dialogue.

The discussion is an organic one, and we welcome its continuance.

1a.
John Main learned to meditate using a mantra from his Hindu teacher, but what goal was his teacher aiming at? Was it the same goal as the Christian life of prayer?

In Christian Meditation (published by the Benedictine Priory of Montreal, 1977) John Main explains the following concerning of his teacher, Swami Satyananda:

For the swami, the aim of meditation was the coming to awareness of the Spirit of the universe who dwells in our hearts, and he recited these verses from the Upanishads: “He contains all things, all works and desires and all perfumes and tastes. And he enfolds the whole universe and, in silence, is loving to all. This is the Spirit that is in my heart. This is Brahman.” (p. 11) It should be noted that while Swami Satyananda was a Hindu monk, he was educated at a Roman Catholic school and had considered becoming a Christian. Although he studied Raja yoga, Sanskrit and Eastern disciplines, his awareness of and love for the Christian tradition should not be overlooked. Perhaps the fact of speaking to a Christian audience determined both the swami’s choice of Hindu Scripture above, and John Main’s reiteration of the same, placing emphasis on a concept that is comprehensible in Christian terms. It is clear, whatever the case may be, that Swami Satyananda’s understanding of the goal of meditation coincides with the Christian concept of the aim of contemplative prayer as conscious union with the Indwelling Spirit of God. The parallel deepens when the Swami explains the general goal of his life as the restoration of the consciousness of the Kingdom of God among his fellow men (Neil McKenty. In The Stillness Dancing. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1986. p. 50). 63.

1b. If not, does this mantra meditation become Christian just because a Christian uses it?

While in the case of Swami Satyananda and John Main obvious parallels may be drawn between mantra meditation and the Christian goal of prayer, the fact remains that at the time the Swami transmitted the teaching to John Main, the technique involved was one of Hindu meditation, not Christian prayer. Only later did John Main discover similar practices within the history of the Christian tradition. Therefore, the question remains valid: what makes mantra meditation – a practice transmitted out of the Hindu tradition – specifically “Christian”?

The “Christian-ness” of the prayer is contained in the intention of the meditator.

This intention of opening oneself to the triune God revealed to us in Jesus may also be reiterated at the beginning of each period of meditation. This intention, while not consciously dwelt upon during the period of meditation itself, is formulated in the meditator’s daily life which grows out of lived awareness of the Christian tradition and its fruits. It is a question of context, wherein the Christian’s whole life, through intention, becomes “Christian” and this necessarily extends to whatever mode of prayer the meditator practices, including mantra meditation.

1c. Did John Main consider this mantra meditation of his teacher identical with the teaching of John Cassian, and
The Cloud of Unknowing?

Having discarded mantra meditation on the advice of his novice master when he entered the Benedictine order, John Main resumed the practice when he found in the Conferences of John Cassian what he took to be a definite Christian parallel with mantra meditation. It might be argued that John Main placed undue emphasis on those aspects of Cassian’s writings that synchronized with his understanding of mantra meditation – the suppression of thought and image, the repetition of a short phrase to facilitate this letting go, the concept of the poverty of spirit of this type of prayer – while not dwelling on aspects that differ : Cassian’s understanding that the meaning of the phrase is of great import, for instance. Whether or not John Main’s choice of emphasis constitutes putting his own “spin” on Cassian, he clearly understood his own interpretation of Cassian as coinciding with mantra meditation: “In reading these words of Cassian and Chapter X of the same [10^th] Conference on the method of continual prayer, I was arrived home once more and returned to the practice of the mantra.” (Christian Meditation, p. 17)

While John Main reclaimed mantra meditation for himself (and for Christians as a whole) via the writings of John Cassian, he also cited the 14^th century The Cloud of Unknowing as corresponding in form and intention to mantra meditation. He pointed out (see his Word into Silence. NY: Paulist Press, 1980) the Cloud’s use of a single repeated word to overcome thought (p. 51), the concept of prayer as listening and being rather than speaking and thinking (p. 10), and the fixing of the word in the heart (p. 52). In fact he characterizes The Cloud‘s teaching on the use of the prayer-word as “say your mantra” (p. 52).

However, John Main chose not to underline The Cloud‘s cautioning that the practice was not for everyone or even for many (see The Cloud‘s “Forward”), offering the teaching of mantra meditation to all. Further, his insistence on staying with the mantra faithfully throughout the prayer period does not dovetail with The Cloud‘s “If you do not feel inclined to pray with words, then forget even these words [recommended by The Cloud‘s author].(Ch. 39).

Whether or not John Main understood mantra meditation to be identical to prayer as taught in the writings of Cassian and The Cloud of Unknowing, he certainly interpreted both works to be congruent in form and intention: imageless prayer through repetition of a word or short phrase with the aim of union with/awareness of the Indwelling Spirit was to be found not only in the spiritual disciplines of the East but also in the Christian tradition. He did also apparently feel that the similarities were enough to justify his own experience with mantra meditation and his return to the practice, as well as his passing the practice on to others, all within the Christian context. Distinctions are not hard to find among the various teachings, and John Main did not dwell on the distinctions. However it might be over-scrupulous to allow these differences to overshadow the deep correspondence that also exists among Eastern mantra meditation, Cassian’s prayer, and the teachings of The Cloud of Unknowing. The intuiting of this correspondence and the handing back to Christians of a valuable but neglected practice not foreign to their tradition was a gift of great genius on the part of John Main.

2a. In the terminology of John of the Cross, is this mantra meditation meditation or contemplation?

Among Carmelites, meditation usually means all that we do to establish communion with God in interior prayer. Contemplation is what God does in us, the inflow of divine loving knowledge into our very being.

Meditation, however, can be either discursive or non-discursive.

Discursive meditation involves thinking, reasoning, imagining, remembering, and feeling.

St. John of the Cross calls this discursive process “meditation”.

Ernest Larkin, O.Carm., recognizes in his article in Review for Religious (January/February 1998) that there can be an unnamed middle step or bridge between discursive meditation and infused contemplation. Infused contemplation, defined strictly as gift, goes beyond words, thoughts, feelings. This “middle step” aids in the movement beyond the faculties and fosters the disposition of openness and surrender. This middle-step is appropriately named non-discursive meditation. It seeks to quiet these mental activities in order to be silent and passive before God, receptive to whatever God wishes to communicate to us. Non-discursive meditation usually involves four basic elements: a suitable place, a proper posture, a mental instrument or object of focus, and a receptive attitude.

In the terminology of John of the Cross, the word “contemplation” would be used only to refer to God’s direct self-communication to a person disposed through self-emptying in faith and love to receive this intimate revelation. It is not our activity, but God’s. It is not something we do to ourselves, but something that God does in us. We dispose ourselves in non-discursive meditation to receive this grace, but ultimately contemplation is God’s free gift to us.

Meditation as practiced in the tradition of John Main would fall into this middle-step category of non-discursive meditation.

2b. If it is meditation, why does John Main seem to insist that we must continue using the mantra?

The greatest problem in meditation is the wandering mind. It takes years of practice before the mind will respond obediently to the commands of the will. Providing the mind with an object of focus is very helpful in developing concentration. Thus John Main’s constant counsel was to “say your mantra” and not to let go of it too soon. “Too soon” is if you can still repeat it or be with it.

For example, when concentration is focused and there is a pleasing experience, there can be a temptation to let go of the mantra because it seems to put some distance between oneself and the delight. One may want to let oneself become absorbed in the agreeable feelings with a resultant lulling of mental clarity. While unclear absorption may feel very good, one is no longer meditating when sharp clarity of mind is lost. Meditation requires keeping high clarity in deep concentration. Repetition of the prayer word keeps attention bright and alert.

2c. What happens when we reach a point where meditation begins to fail?

If “fail” means no longer be able to say the mantra, then we are describing an experience in which God’s activity has overtaken our own, i.e. contemplation. As this is what non-discursive meditation is oriented to, it could hardly be described as failure. John Main spoke out of the tradition of Cassian in which the emphasis is on the absolute simplicity of ceaselessly revolving the prayer formula in one’s heart as a way of ridding oneself of all kinds of other thoughts and keeping one’s mind fixed on the continual recollection of God. One says the mantra until one can no longer say it. And one does not choose when to stop saying it. As soon as one realizes one has stopped saying it, one starts again.

2d. Can this insistence on the mantra be reconciled with the teaching of Centering prayer?

There is a difference in the two schools in that Centering prayer puts less emphasis upon the continual recitation of the word. People in both schools of practice experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their lives as a result of their practice. In every tradition of spirituality there is an understanding that it is best to find your path and remain with it.

What the two schools of teaching clearly share is the work of restoring the contemplative dimension of faith and prayer to the life of ordinary Christians, common ground in the roots of Christian contemplative prayer in the monastic tradition, and the conviction that the monastic tradition has relevance to the whole church today.

2e. If this mantra prayer is a very simple form of meditation, should beginners be introduced to it indiscriminately before they have gained experience in more discursive forms of meditation?

John of the Cross counsels discursive meditation for beginners to deepen their knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.

John maintains that leaving discursive meditation before this knowledge and love is established in their souls can be as detrimental as continuing discursive meditation when God clearly is leading them into contemplation.

However, many Christians report never being able to pray discursively. They indicate that from the very beginning of their spiritual journey, they have practiced some form of non-discursive meditation. As their meditation has deepened, their knowledge and love of God has also grown.

It would seem that Christians can begin interior prayer with non-discursive meditation, provided their knowledge and love of God is being nourished through other sources, such as spiritual reading or liturgical worship. When knowledge and love of God deepen through other sources, insisting on discursive prayer is not necessary (Perhaps this is the reason why they deceptively claim that the reciting of mantra is non-discursive prayer). Simply doing the meditation practice, continually opening oneself to God’s purifying action, is itself an ongoing act of love for God.

2f. If it is contemplation in the sense of John of the Cross, how can it be recommended to everyone?

Christian meditation in the tradition of John Main is not understood as contemplation in the sense of John of the Cross. However, as a way of disposing oneself to receive the gift of loving communion that God wants to give, it can be recommended to all.

3. It would seem that the deliberate simplification of discursive activity that takes place in this kind of meditation would have the psychological result of excluding energy from consciousness, and thus activating the unconscious.

Does the Christian meditation movement make any provision for this activation?

John Main obtained permission from his abbot late in 1974 to establish a small lay community in a former novitiate house at Ealing Abbey in England, primarily devoted to the practice of meditation. The tradition out of which he would teach was that of Western monasticism from its beginnings. He gradually developed, from his opening talks, a theology of meditation based on the “secret” of St. Paul’s letters: the real presence of the risen Christ in the human heart. John Main’s understanding of prayer was simple, basic, and deeply grounded in Scripture and tradition (In The Stillness Dancing: The Journey of John Main, pp. 82-84).

In 1977 he moved to Montreal to open a house of prayer. He died in 1982. In those few intervening years, his teaching consisted of talks given to lay meditators or monastics, which talks were later transcribed and published as books. He never wrote a book as such on meditation. One might say he never had the time. He found himself on the front end of a burgeoning renewal of Christian meditative prayer and much taken up with the founding of a new Benedictine Priory in Montreal which soon began to receive novices, guests and retreatants from around the world.

There is very little in his teaching that addresses the psychological effects of meditation. Several things might be said about this. It could be said that neither the format of his teaching—fifteen minute talks to beginning meditators—nor the fact that, in those days, most everyone was a beginner, favoured delving into that subject. It could be said that he would have been content to stay within the framework of the bible
and the history of Christian spirituality in speaking about meditation. It could be said that had he been given more than 56 years to live he would have been invited to address this aspect of the meditative experience as the renewal movement developed, and to enter into dialogue on this point with its leaders in other places. In the end, however, it is a moot point. The fact is his teaching does not address it at any length. 65.

With the help of others doing work on questions relating to the psychological effects of meditation, those of us engaged in handing on the practice of Christian meditation are in the process of developing our appreciation of these dynamics in the practice of meditative prayer. While not being our central preoccupation, we recognize that it is something we should be aware of both in our own practice and in our efforts to serve as guides to other meditators.

On behalf of those giving talks on Christian meditation at Unitas, Thomas Ryan, csp, and Sara Terreault
Response from James Arraj
I was impressed with the thoughtfulness and lack of defensiveness with which the Unitas meditation teachers approached these questions. I would like to try to respond in the same spirit.

I don’t deny that there is a theistic dimension to Hinduism and other Eastern religions, or further, that supernatural mystical graces might not be found among Hindu meditators. At the same time, Hindu meditation is often geared to a nondual religious experience which is then expressed in some sort of nondual philosophy. Both the experience and the post-experience reflection can be difficult to reconcile with Christianity as witnessed, for example, by the struggles of Henri Le Saux (Abishiktananda)*. *see my report on Catholic Ashrams- Michael
So the issue that I am trying to get at here is whether the same exercise of mantra meditation can serve as a vehicle for either nondual experience such as is found among the Hindu Advaitans, and for loving union with God, which is the goal of Christian prayer. The answer given is that the intention of the meditator is paramount. I agree that this is a vital consideration. But doesn’t the meditation exercise, itself, have some kind of interior finality by which it aims at a particular goal?

Does intention totally transform the nature and finality of the kind of meditation we are using?

Let me use an example from another tradition without claiming that it forms an exact parallel with mantra meditation.

Suppose as a Christian I decide to do zazen, and I have the intention that it will somehow bring me closer to God. Does this transform zazen into Christian prayer, or does zazen still maintain its interior goal of enlightenment?**
**see this report, page 49. I have made the same arguments as James Arraj- Michael

It is certainly not my intention to claim that the manifold spiritual traditions of the Church need to be expressed in the terminology of John of the Cross. However, I do find that John of the Cross has played a critical role in the formation of the modern Western Christian mystical tradition, and he gives us the basic principles by which we can focus on the nature of contemplation and its relationship to meditation.

I am afraid that I would have to disagree with the Unitas meditation teachers when they call mantra meditation a nondiscursive meditation between meditation and contemplation.

For John of the Cross there is no such state. Either we work with the faculties, or God works in us in a special way by giving us contemplation in the depths of the soul.

I leave it to Fr. Larkin to respond, himself, as to whether he believes there is such a middle state in John of the Cross, but I refer you to his remarks in the discussion of centering prayer in this same section of the website. There are certainly simplified forms of meditation or what could be called affective prayer, or exercises in the practice of the presence of God. And it is fair to distinguish these states from formal discursive meditation, if we mean by that imagining a scene from the Gospels, making considerations following through affective dialogue, etc., etc. But when John of the Cross is talking about meditation, he means all the kinds of prayer that we can do by our own effort by using the faculties of the soul. Thus, the various forms of affective prayer and John Main’s mantra meditation would fall under St. John’s heading of meditation, and it is entirely possible that someone beginning the life of prayer might derive more benefit from these kinds of meditation than from formal discursive meditation in the narrow sense of the term. These kinds of meditation can dispose one to the graces of infused contemplation.

The key here, however, is that we are still using our faculties in these kinds of prayer, however simplified this activity is. I am not sure we should say that we are silent and passive before God without qualifying that statement. We need to clearly distinguish between any disagreements which are only rooted in terminology, and the deeper issue of whether it is correct to talk about a nondiscursive state of prayer that transcends the faculties and yet is not infused contemplation. This brings us back to my original consideration because various forms of Eastern meditation are aiming to go beyond the discursive activity of the intellect, and yet they are not aiming at infused contemplation. I am not sure, either, how valid it is to say that such a nondiscursive kind of meditation is what is found in Cassian and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing.

Is it wrong to call John Main’s Christian meditation a form of meditation that we can do whenever we desire and which makes use of the faculties in a very simplified fashion and which can dispose us for infused contemplation?
James Arraj

A Response from Paul Harris Meditation, known also as contemplative prayer, is the prayer of silence, the place where direct contact with Christ can occur, once the never-ceasing activity of the mind has been stilled. In meditation we go beyond words, thoughts and images into the presence of God within.

The goal of meditation, as Swami Satayanda expressed it, was to “restore the consciousness of the kingdom of God among his fellow men (women)”. It seems to me this was also the purpose of the teaching of Jesus. For the swami the aim of meditation “was the coming to awareness of the Spirit of the Universe who dwells in our hearts and in silence is loving to all” (a verse from the Upanishads). 66.

The swami insisted it was necessary to meditate twice a day, morning and evening, and being very enlightened he gave John Main a Christian mantra. He said to John Main “and during the time of your meditation there must be in your mind, no thoughts, no words, no images. The sole sound will be the sound of your mantra, your word. The mantra is like a harmonic. And as we sound the harmonic within ourselves we begin to build up a resonance. That resonance then leads us forward to our own wholeness … We begin to experience the deep unity we all possess in our own being. And then the harmonic begins to build up a resonance between you and all creatures and all creation and unity between you and your Creator.”

This was the teaching, a way to an authentic interior life, to ‘the cave of the heart’ that John Main had long been seeking. What makes this teaching a path of contemplative prayer for us is simply the Christian faith we bring to the practice of this daily spiritual discipline. If one reads the teaching of John Main on Cassian and the Cloud of Unknowing one comes to the realization that John Main is simply reiterating the exact same teaching but putting the teaching in 20th century contemporary language. In #2 John Main teaches that one says the mantra until one cannot say it, in other words, until one has come to complete stillness of body, mind and spirit, the contemplative moment. However once one is aware of the silence, the silence is lost and one must come back to the recitation of the mantra. Regarding Centering Prayer and Christian Meditation, both are in the apophatic tradition of prayer.

Experience shows us that God leads many people to contemplative prayer without any prior knowledge or practice of discursive meditation. I have personally seen this many times myself. God often gives a person the gift of this prayer at a time of crisis or a time of personal illness and pain in an individual’s life. The idea that contemplative prayer is not for everyone was beautifully answered by Thomas Merton who says every Christian is called to the heights of Christian prayer simply because of their Baptism. The Cloud says contemplative prayer is simply the development of the ordinary Christian life. No big deal! The release of the unconscious through the practice of Christian Meditation does start a healing process in the practitioner. Paul Harris

My biggest fear:” What if I free fall into this silence and I land in the arms of the Buddha instead of Christ… or even scarier, into the arms of my own illusions?” (this is where I was starting from but didn’t know it at the time)

I was in the middle of a contradiction that I could not resolve. The courage to proceed came from the words of a Catholic priest and a Yogi.

The Catholic priest: Fr. Lewis a.k.a. Thomas Merton “Contradictions have always existed in the soul of man. But it is only when we prefer analysis to silence that they become a constant and insoluble problem. We are not meant to resolve all contradictions but to live with them and rise above them…” The Yogi: Yogi Berra (ex-catcher for the NY Yankees.) “If you come to a fork in the road, take it”

In a sense, I had nothing to lose. I was at the point in my Christianity where I had to REALLY seek Christ or go crazy, and I figured I’d either find Him everywhere or nowhere at all. So I began. It’s been quite an experience so far… I seem to live in this constant state of being lost and found at the same time…but truly Loved through it all. I would have to say that while the actual times of meditation so far have been mostly distractions, the fruits have been amazing. The most pronounced has been compassion, both for others and myself. Out of this compassion somehow, came more freedom, freedom to look for Christ in the most “taboo” and threatening places..i.e., in the depths of my own humanity. Thomas Merton in a letter to the lay community said (of his solitude) ” …I have been summoned to explore a desert area of man’s heart in which explanations no longer suffice, and in which one finds that only experience counts, and arid, rocky, dark land of the soul, sometimes illuminated by strange fires which men fear and peopled by specters which men studiously avoid except in their nightmares” Fr. Freeman, in one of the archive writings at wccm, said “His descent into hell and His ascent into heaven means that there is no shadow we can encounter that has not been graced by His Light…in the worst shadows we meet the crucified and risen one” This dovetails with Jung’s findings that we need discover, explore and incorporate our shadows so that we might become whole. Wholeness is what Christ is about to me…to recognize me in Him and Him in me in the fullness of His humanity and divinity. Being free to explore and incorporate Carl Jung’s wisdom was another fruit of my meditation. Jung helped me find Sophia, God’s feminine nature. As a man, I was able to feel truly loved by God for real and for the first time. Perhaps more importantly, I was able to stop demanding from others (my wife in particular) a love they were incapable of giving, and became humble and receptive enough to be content to live each day in reverential hope…which I believe is the attitude I must have in meditation. I can’t tell you what an unexpected joy it has been, though sometimes it scares the pants off me, to have found the freedom to simply “let myself be”, in whatever season of the heart God grants. And the freedom to look where ever I need to look to see the Truth. Where ever I go and in whoever I “meet” along this silent journey…be they Christians, non -Christians, believers, non-believers. Wherever the Truth or seeking of truth is evident, I find Christ, with His arms around us all. God bless! pax, Tom

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Here are some thoughts about John Main’s Christian Meditation..

In Christian Meditation: Contemplative Prayer for a New Generation, Paul Harris states:

In all essential aspects, with the exception of the Mantra itself, the similarities between Cassian’s ‘formula’, the Jesus prayer, and the ‘mantra’ of John Main are expressions of the deeper practice of prayer in the Christian tradition..

The anonymous English classic The Cloud of Unknowing is important because we see continuity in the teaching on silent prayer of John Cassian (4th century), the Cloud of Unknowing (14th century) and John Main (20th century). All three teachers offer the same essential teaching. (Harris 1996:31).

I believe that these three types of apophatic prayer techniques cited by Harris above are unique in a number of significant ways.

The Formula of John Cassian:

John Cassian, a 4th century spiritual seeker with one of the early desert fathers Abbot Isaac, who instructed him on a method of continuous prayer. The Abbot states: And what follows now is the model to teach you, the prayer formula for which you are searching. Every monk who wants to think continuously about God should get accustomed to meditating enlessly on it and to banish all other thoughts for its sake. But he will not hold on to it unless he breaks completely free from all bodily concerns and cares. This is something which has been handed on to us by some of the oldest of the fathers and it is something which we hand on to only a very small number of the souls eager to know it: To keep the thought of God always in your mind you must cling totally to this formula for piety: ‘Come to my help, O God; Lord, hurry to my rescue’ (Luibheid. 1985, Conference 10:10. page 132). Here we see that the old Abbot recommends his prayer method as a constant practice, breaking free from all bodily concerns and cares. It was considered to be such a powerful practice that it was only handed on to a ‘very small number of souls eager to know it’.

The aim of the formula was to bring the practitioner to a point where they think continuously about God.

In contrast, the WCCM recommend meditation for 20-30 minutes a day, rather than constant prayer.

They often combine meditation with such practices as Rolfing and Hatha Yoga, rather than abandoning all bodily concerns and cares. And rather than teaching only a very small number of eager souls the WCCM very publicly recommend their practice to anyone who comes across their literature or attends their meetings.

Abbot Isaac continues:

It is not without good reason that this verse-(Psalm 69:2) has been chosen from the whole of scripture as a device. It carries within it all the feelings of which human nature is capable. It can be adapted to every condition and can be usefully deployed against every temptation. It carries within it a cry of help to God in the face of every danger. It expresses the humility of a pious confession. It conveys a sense of our frailty, the assurance of being heard, the confidence in help that is always and everywhere present. (Lubheid, 1985. Conference 10:10. page 133).

Clearly the meaning of the formula is a very important part of saying the formula in contrast to the attitude of WCCM meditators. It is hard to escape from the feeling that what the Abbot is recommending is
an ejaculatory prayer, rather than a Mantra, where the meaning of the phrase is unimportant. For example Paul Harris states:

In meditation we are attempting to enter a silence, beyond thinking about Jesus; a silence where our union with Jesus can be fully realised. This is why Father John Main recommended the mantra Maranatha in Aramaic, a language that would not conjure up any thoughts or images. (Harris. 1996:30).

The Cloud of Unknowing:

The 14th century spiritual Classic, ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’ is cited by the WCCM as recommending the same essential practice as John Main’s mantra meditation. Laurence Freeman writes in the introduction to Evelyn Underhill’s translation of the work that “John Cassian’s formula and John Main’s Mantra, is the ‘one little word’ of the Cloud”. (Underhill 1997:19).

Yet the author of the Cloud gives a different impression:

A man or woman with any sudden chance of fire or of man’s death or what else that it be, suddenly in the height of his spirit, he is driven upon haste and upon need for to cry or for to pray after help. Yea how? Surely, not in many words, nor yet in one word of two syllables. And why is that? For him thinketh it over long tarrying for to declare the need and work of the spirit. And therefore he bursteth up hideously with a great spirit, and cryeth a little word, but of one syllable: as is this word ‘fire’, or this word ‘out’. (Underhill 1997:121).

Here we have a specific recommendation to use
only one syllable not four as in the word Maranatha. There is the same ejaculatory sense of urgency we get with Abbot Isaacs teachings. The analogy is of a person who is in great danger who needs to pray for help, rather than the calm gentle repetition that the WCCM recommends. There is also the sense in the Cloud that this technique is not for everyone:

Fleshly janglers, open praisers and blamers of themselves or of any other, tellers of trifles, ronners and tattlers of tales, and all manner of pinchers, cared I never that they saw this book. (Underhill 1997:34).

The author is clear that it is not a practice for everyone but only for those with a high degree of purity and maturity in the Christian life.

Again specific words are used and close attention is paid to their meaning. One of the aims of the practice is to get good and remove evil and to obtain forgiveness of sins.

It is understandable that in the face of an intolerant religious heirarchy, John Main prefered to emphasise the similarity of his mantra meditation to forms of prayer in the Christian tradition rather than the South Asian mantra meditation of his original teacher, Swami Satyananda. 68.

I feel it is important for the WCCM to acknowledge that its methods have much more in common with Eastern techniques than traditional Christian ones. Given the degree of involvement that the Community has in the process of Inter-Religious dialogue, particularly with the diaspora Tibetan tradition, I think it is important that the WCCM fully acknowledges that it practices a hybrid of Hindu and Christian meditation techniques, rather than meditation in the Christian tradition. Sam Murray, Derby, U.K.

Bibliography:

Harris, P. (1996) Christian Meditation: Contemplative Prayer
for a New Generation. London. Darton Longman & Todd
Luibheid, C. (1985). John Cassian – Conferences: New York. Paulist Press

Underhill, E. (1912/1997). The Cloud of Unknowing: Rockport. Element

Phil St. Romain:
Already in this early chapter, we are encountering questions and themes that will run throughout this book. For example, there is the issue of the relationship between a method of prayer and the goal of the Christian life. Does it make any difference whether one uses a method taken from another religious tradition whose mystical tradition seems to lead in a different direction from that of Christianity? There is also the question of whether all states of consciousness beyond thought and concept are experiences of God. Might there be other explanations, other states of silence? Also, is it not possible that there are different kinds of experiences of God? We will be revisiting these themes again and again, with the hope of coming to a deeper understanding of Christian spirituality and spiritual practice. 

Another thought I had as I read through this exchange is that the issues at stake are similar to those pertaining to Christians practicing Transcendental Meditation®. Indeed, the only formal distinction between Christian Meditation as taught by John Main and TM as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is the wording of the mantra itself. There is also the matter of the strong Hindu flavor of the TM initiation process, but setting that aside, once one begins the practice on one’s own, it is structurally identical to Christian Meditation. Where Christian Meditators repeat maranatha, a TM meditator is given a Sanskrit phrase. In both cases, the manner in which the mantrum is repeated does not engage the will in a relational orientation to God. Rather, any such intention is to be made before or after the meditation, and that is what Christian TM meditators say they do. In both cases, too, the ensuing state of silence is interpreted as direct contact with the divine.

We will reflect more on TM and Christian practice in a later chapter, but I just wanted to point out the similarities at this point. 

MY COMMENTS:

1. Despite the best defensive arguments of the WCCM [Paul Harris, Fr. Thomas Ryan, CSP., and Sara Terreault of UNITAS/WCCM], the CATHOLIC VERDICT [James Arraj, Phil St. Romain, Sam Murray] of their “Christian Meditation” is that it is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Hindu Transcendental Meditation with a different name, that it is NOT IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION, but a hybrid of Hindu and Christian meditation techniques, that it is tool for inter-religious dialogue more than Christian prayer to God, that it is used in combination with New Age techniques [mentioned are hatha yoga and Rolfing. Yoga is named in the Vatican Document on the New Age. So is Rolfing, #2.2.3], all of which is exactly what I have been saying all along. John Main might well have used a Hindu mantra instead of Maranatha if not for the Church’s intolerance to such things when he formulated his recipe for meditation over three decades ago. Today, he might have got away with it.

2. Fr. Thomas Ryan wrote that some of Laurence Freeman’s writings dovetail wth C.G. Jung’s and “Jung helped me find Sophia, God’s feminine nature. As a man, I was able to feel truly loved by God for real and for the first time.” Who is Jung? See Catholic Ashrams report pages 39 through 41. EXTRACT:

In THE DECLARATION ON THE ‘NEW AGE‘, His Eminence Cardinal Georges Cottier OP, at the International Theological Video Conference, 27 February 2004, General Topic: The Church, New Age and Sects, said, “Two psychologists have exercised their fundamental influence [on the New Age]; the first is William James who reduces religion to religious experience, the second is Carl Gustav Jung, who introduced the idea of the collective unconscious – but above all sacralized psychology adding contents involving esoteric thoughts.“

Father Paolo Scarafoni of the Academy of Theology and Rector of the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, one of the speakers at the same worldwide videoconference organized by the Congregation for Clergy, commented,

“New Age is nourished by Jung’s psychology, whose approach is clearly anti-Christian“: ZENIT 04030220

The February 3, 2003 Vatican Document on the New Age has much to say about the propositions of Jung [see
pages 16, 33, 39-41 etc. of the Ashrams report]: in the section on Notes, nos. 24 and 34, on “left brain” rational thinking vs. “right brain” intuitive thinking, # 2.1 and # 2.5; on “the god within”… we are gods, # 3.5, # 2.3.2;

A Select Glossary: Androgyny, # 7.2; Depth Psychology, # 7.2; and, notes 24 and 34. For Christian Reading, the Document also recommends ex-New Ager Jesuit Fr. Mitch Pacwa’s Catholics and the New Age : How Good People are being drawn into Jungian Psychology, the Enneagram and the New Age of Aquarius, 1992, # 8.

So, Fr. Thomas Ryan of UNITAS, defender of the WCCM, is quite clearly into New Age.

3.
New Age guru Marilyn Ferguson found the French Jesuit priest/paleontologist
Teilhard de Chardin [see next page] to be the single most influential individual in the thinking of 185 New Agers
who she surveyed when writing ‘The Aquarian Conspiracy‘, [see Ashrams report pages 34, 54] a manifesto on the New Age Movement. Most named in order of frequency was
de Chardin, with psychologist
C. G. Jung
at number 2.

69.

In the report on the Catholic Ashrams, I had written in great detail about Fr. Bede Griffiths OSB., the Benedictine yogi-priest of Shantivanam, Saccidananda Ashram, in Tamil Nadu where I had stayed for a week in December 2004 to do my research on the Catholic Ashrams movement before writing my Oct. 2005 report.

In 1979, Bede and some brothers went to Rome “to propose affiliating Shantivanam with the Holy Hermitage of Camaldoli” which is in Italy. Since 1980, the ashram has been “part of the Benedictine Order as a Community of the Camaldolese Benedictine Congregation” who are a reformed movement in the Benedictine tradition. When I discussed the proposed Ashrams report with an Italian friend, explaining that I had sent a brief letter by post as well as by e-mail in January 2005 to the Superior General of the Camaldolese concerning the experiences I had during my visit to their Ashram, and that I had followed it up several times without any response, he told me that he was not surprised and that I could not expect a response because
Camaldoli too is afflicted with New Age! I then examined the Camaldoli website. The details are in the Ashrams report, but I must reproduce here some information that is connected with the Kripa and the WCCM.

THE CAMALDOLI BENEDICTINES’ WEBSITE, THE WCCM, AND THE KRIPA CONNECTION

[FR. BEDE GRIFFITHS & THE PRIESTS OF SHANTIVANAM ARE CAMALDOLI BENEDICTINES]

The following testimonies posted on the WCCM [World Council of Christian Meditators] website, 2003, are disturbing in their ignorance of the Bible and Christian spirituality.

Read them and judge for yourself if they express a proclamation of Jesus, or another doctrine other than Christian?

1. “…By 1992 it seemed crisis time was approaching in my spiritual life. Then one Sunday after Mass I saw a small advertisement inviting people to come to a certain church hall in Brisbane to hear Dom Bede Griffiths
speak. The photo of a man with long white hair and beard did not fit my image of a monk but I said to myself, “Why not go?” The hall was packed. Down the centre aisle walked a thin, frail-looking, bearded old man in saffron robes. I couldn’t believe he was a Benedictine monk. And then he began to speak with his beautiful Oxford English accent!

He spoke about the Universe, morphogenetic fields, the interconnection of energy fields, then on to the Vedas, the Vedanta and the Upanishads.
I was turned upside down and I can remember that evening as if it were yesterday.
The first step I took was to buy “The Marriage of East and West.” I began to meditate. I bought “New Vision of Reality” and tapes and videos, anything by Bede Griffiths! I also turned to John Main, Laurence Freeman, Abishktananda and there have been many other teachers. However it is with love and gratefulness that I look at Bede Griffiths. I never met him or knew him personally but it doesn’t matter because we will meet again in that other way.“ [Priest’s name omitted by the author], OSB Oblate – Kenilworth, Queensland, Australia.

We note that there is NO mention of Jesus Christ or the Gospels in Griffiths’ teachings to this priest. On the contrary, Griffiths espouses, preaches and extols the virtues of metaphysics and New Age concepts along with the Hindu scriptures and gives no testimony to the Lorship of Jesus Christ or of the Christian Bible. It is clearly Hinduism and Buddhism along with
New Age
metaphysics et al that are promulgated by these meditators following Bede Griffiths OSB, John Main OSB and Laurence Freeman OSB.
2. When asked for direction about a dream in which a Buddhist statue smiles at a participant on a guided retreat, the priest concerned does not explain about Jesus Christ, but directs the person to Bede Griffiths’ book, The Marriage of East and West. Judging by the response of the participant it only approves of, and reinforces his previous involvement with Hinduism:

“I was at the Pecos Monastery, that is part of the family of monasteries that Fr. Laurence belongs to. I had a dream: a Buddhist statue turned and smiled at me. I was on a guided retreat, so the next morning I asked my spiritual adviser, Fr. —-, how would you interpret this dream? He was quiet for a moment then popped up and said: “Read Fr. Bede.” Soon after, in reading Fr. Bede’s book “The Marriage of East and West,” I was introduced to
Fr. John Main. I am looking forward to this year’s John Main Seminar. I was raised catholic, I spent 4 years in a Hindu Ashram, Christ is again Lord and Sat Guru.
For anyone who has been touched by Hindu spirituality
this seminar will be wonderful. If you cannot make it, get the tapes.“ [Name omitted] Phoenix, Arizona, USA

To the discerning reader these letters should speak for themselves as a witness to the deceiving spirit at work here. However, I do not cast any judgement on the authors of these testimonials and they are published here in good faith that they are public domain. I have removed reference to any names other than those of whose doctrines I am concerned with. However, I do cast the responsibility on those priests who teach this to them. Their ordination should compel them to preach Christ and him crucified and not the doctrines of false gods. I do call upon the Church to take these matters to heart for a more serious consideration and I hope that She wakes up quickly to this spiritual syncretism and accomodation.

The teachers of these techniques wrap their argument up in the Christian Mystical Theology of St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Cassian, the Desert Fathers and many others implying, no, stating clearly, that this is what they were doing way back then. John Main allegedly ‘discovered’ this ancient tradition and developed it to its present form. The truth is that John Main developed this so-called ancient Christian method of meditation from Buddhist and Hindu teachings. I have read all of those works including the Book of Privy Counselling and The Cloud of Unknowing as well as The Desert Fathers and I cannot find anywhere the word mantra, let alone the style of prayer taught today. Jesus certainly didn’t use Yoga. 73.

Unless of course, you believe he went to India between the Resurrection and Ascension to learn this stuff as the New Age Movement, Theosophists and Cabalists would have us believe.

For many years I have challenged Catholics who have maintained that they were only using the techniques, telling them that, “Prayer is not a technique – It is a relationship”. I noticed recently on the WCCM web site, that the new word replacing Techniques is now “Disciplines”.

DISCIPLINE: A state of order maintained by training and control; instruction and excersise designed to train to proper conduct or action. – Webster’s Dictionary

Faith and Reason – East and West Dialogue.
Dialogue, which is a frank exchange of ideas or views in an effort to attain mutual understanding, is vastly different from actually practicing something. In the encyclical ‘Faith and Reason’ the Pope encourages us to learn from what he calls ‘the rich heritage of the East’, but nowhere does he encourage us to take on their religious practices and disciplines as Dom Freeman is doing. What is offensive to me is the propagation of the idea that these yoga meditations using mantras, are Christian.
I‘m not saying that we shouldn’t investigate that which is good and compatible and, I firmly believe that many of those Christians who practice these things are genuinely seeking the Lord with a good heart albeit in ignorance and error. However, I cannot say the same for Dom Freeman and the other Catholic nuns and priests that teach this eastern mystical snycretism. Therefore by presenting this article I am not trying to be uncharitable to anyone. I am simply attempting to make people aware of what they might be doing without understanding it. I am however, saying to those who know the difference – Stop lying, confusing and deceiving people by your words. You are guilty of corruption and deception and as Jesus said, “It is far better for you to be thrown into a lake with a millstone around your neck than to lead one of these little ones astray”.
Does Freeman [The successor of John Main] forget that Buddhism is the ultimate atheistic humanism, or does he simply ignore the fact? Since the object is to learn prayer from the Dalai Lama’s Buddhism, how is it that someone who doesn’t believe in [a] god and yet has so many acts of worship, teach anyone about praying to the living and true God? Clearly it is not prayer, nor is it meditation as practiced by the Christian Saints and early Desert Fathers as John Main has claimed.
Recently published in the Record Catholic Newspaper in Western Australia, Freeman told how John Main learned meditation and mantra prayer from Eastern religions. He said this is the prayer-methods used by the early Desert Fathers and Christian mystics like St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and many others. As stated above, I have read all the works of St. Teresa, John of the Cross and others and there is absolutely no mention nor even the slightest hint that they ever did such a thing! In addition, you will not find this in the Bible or any Catholic teaching.
I noted after reading about a recent WCCM retreat in Penang in January 2003, that Freeman and participants refered to this meditation as a gift. “Each participant was asked to relate his/her own experience on how they received this gift.” – “Fr Laurence reminded us that meditation is a gift to be shared.”
Titles of Freeman’s publications reveal what I consider to be a subtle shift establishing this Christianised Eastern meditation to be accepted as a Christian [Holy Spirit] Gift. Such titles as ‘Sharing the Gift’ are very interesting. For example, using a capital G for gift gives it a Holy Spirit connotation.

If it is in fact Christian, why is there such a strong connection and promotion of these Eastern religious methods? It seems that the term CHRISTIAN MEDITATION is a wrong terminology. CHRISTIANS MEDITATING would be a more accurate and fitting terminology to describe the prayer methods of the WCCM.

Buddhism is NOT accepted by His Holiness Pope John Paul II.

Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Pope John Paul II
Vittorio Messori:
I would like to ask you to speak more fully on the subject of Buddhism. Essentially – as you well know – it offers a “doctrine of salvation” that seems increasingly to fascinate many Westerners as an “alternative” to Christianity or as a sort of ”complement” to it, at least in terms of certain ascetic and mystical techniques. John Paul II: Yes. you are right and I am grateful to you for this question. Among the religions mentioned in the Council document Nostra Actate. it is necessary to pay special attention to Buddhism. which from a certain point of view, like Christianity is a religion of salvation. Nevertheless, it needs to be said right away that the doctrines of salvation in Buddhism and Christianity are opposed.
There is no such thing as “Christian Zen” nor a “Marriage of East and West”. The only marriage for the Church is to Christ! That is the only wedding that Jesus of Nazareth will attend when He comes for His Bride. He will expect her to be ready for Him, prepared and waiting, clearly distinguished as His. He is not going to enter a relationship with other gods nor practice their ways. There is only “One Way” for Christians to follow: Jesus Christ, the One and Only True God, the “Word” that has come in the flesh!

The teachers of these techniques wrap their argument up in the Christian Mystical Theology of St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Cassian, the Desert Fathers and many others implying, no, stating clearly, that this is what they were doing way back then. John Main allegedly ‘discovered’ this ancient tradition and developed it to its present form. The truth is that John Main developed this so-called ancient Christian method of meditation from Buddhist and Hindu teachings. I have read all of those works including the Book of Privy Counselling and The Cloud of Unknowing as well as The Desert Fathers and I cannot find anywhere the word mantra, let alone the style of prayer taught today. Jesus certainly didn’t use Yoga. Unless of course, you believe he went to India between the Resurrection and Ascension to learn this stuff as the New Age Movement, Theosophists and Cabalists would have us believe.
Never-the-less, the excommunicated Dominican priest Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing, the foundation of his teachings on Creation Spirituality says in the book, Breakthrough – Meister Eckhart’s Creation Spirituality in New Translation. – Introduction and Commentaries by Matthew Fox – The work of the 17th century Polish mystic-poet Angelus Silesius has been called a “seventeen-century edition of Eckhart” and, the 14th century Flemish mystic Jan van Ruysbroeck was influenced by him. – Fox continues, “We can be sure,” says scholar Jeanne Ancelet-Hustache, “that through the intermediary of Flemish mystics, Eckhart’s thought had anonymously found its way even into Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross”…
Meister Eckhart was condemned posthumously by a Papal Decree issued on March 27th 1329, and yet, in spite of this, Eckhart still seems to influence Catholic spirituality today and the connection between the WCCM and its New Age Syncretism might not seem immediately clear, but a closer examination shows this to be so. There is more about Eckhart later. In the meanwhile let us continue with a closer look at Dom Freeman and his so-called ‘Christian’ Meditation.

Neo Paganism and Eastern Mysticism.

At times people have said that we are against Buddhists, Hindus etc. Our answer is, “On the contrary, we are not against anything or anyone – we are simply for Christ”. In fact, we see it valid for these people to believe in and practice what they want and respect that. However, we are against the false gods and the lying spirits that hold people in superstition and bondage and believe by revelation that Jesus Christ is The Truth that all true religions seek. We can therefore say to the reincarnationists, “The good news of Jesus is that you do not have to keep dying; your karmic debt was cancelled on Calvary and the end of the never-ending cycle of birth-death-birth-death to reach your perfection is found by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior in this life. By his death and resurrection he has beaten the power of death, forgiven your sin [or bad karma], cancelled the debt and made you acceptable to God. (Romans 8: 1-13)
When we accept Baptism we die with him and are raised with him. Therefore, the sting of death is removed, and as a believer in the saving Grace of Jesus Christ you will not see death when you leave this life, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the Lord and giver of Life, you will pass from life into everlasting life. (Romans 8: 11)
Our concerns in this article are addressed to Christians who are compromising the Good News of Jesus Christ which we believe is confusing the truth that he has revealed for all people to know and accept in order to be reconciled with God (Romans 1:16-23). Therefore we can also say to the Neo-Pagan, “What is more important, the gift, or the giver? Why subject yourself to the worship of the creature rather than its creator? – It is illogical and belittling to love the gift given by a lover more than you love your lover, and the truth we proclaim is, God loves you.” (Galatians 4: 3-7).

Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation

3. Christian prayer is always determined by the structure of the Christian faith, in which the very truth of God and creatures shines forth. For this reason, it is defined properly speaking, as a personal, intimate and profound dialogue between man and God. It expresses, therefore, the communion of redeemed creatures with the intimate life of the persons of the Trinity. This communion, based on baptism and the Eucharist, source and summit of the life of the Church, implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from “self” to the “you” of God. Thus Christian prayer is at the same time always authentically personal and communitarian. It flees from impersonal techniques or from concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut, imprisoning the person praying in a spiritual privatism which is incapable of free openness to the transcendental God. 76.

And this is what I found: THE LINK OPENS TO THE HOME PAGE OF THE “BUDDHIST CHRISTIAN VEDANTA NETWORK”!!!!! THE PAGE HAS A “Painting of Christ and the Buddha by Carlos di Sequeira”.

The Buddha and Jesus Christ stand side by side, with one of their hands extended in the upadesa mudra.

I REPRODUCE THAT PAGE HERE:

Welcome

The Buddhist Christian Network was formed in 1999 by Elizabeth West. 
The aim of the network is to provide a link between the many people who are interested in the teaching and practice of meditation as taught in Buddhism and Christianity. There are many Christians seeking to understand the contemplative dimension of the spiritual journey more fully by using Buddhist teachings. Others who have embraced Buddhism still have an interest in their Christian roots.

Many people today find difficulty in joining any particular institution, but feel the need to share the journey with link minded people who are serious about spiritual practice.

Above all the network seeks to foster and promote friendship and a growing relationship of trust between sincere practitioners of both these great traditions; in fact anyone on a serious spiritual path is welcome to join. Buddhist-Christian dialogue is well advanced and takes many forms. Inter-monastic dialogue and exchanges have been going for many years. Theological and philosophical dialogue is also very common. The Network seeks to put people in touch with resources of all types and to provide links with other organisations and local groups that are available.

Although the main focus is on Buddhism and Christianity, it welcomes anyone interested in the contemplative journey through links with other traditions as well. It has close links with the Bede Griffiths Sangha, The World Community for Christian Meditation, the Awakened Heart Sangha and the International Satsang Association. The Network publishes a Newsletter and holds seminars & workshops. The Network welcomes everyone who is drawn towards a wider view of religion.

I have accessed the web site of the Buddhist Christian Network through the web site of the World Community for Christian Meditation!!!!! And it as Buddhist as it can ever get. So the WCCM did not truthfully answer the FAQ question we had seen earlier [pages 49, 50]. Let us now examine some of the links to this site, the Buddhist Christian Network, and let us see what we find.

First, the WCCM site is not up-to-date. The name of the Network has been changed since the year 2007.

It is now renamed the Buddhist Christian Vedanta Network.

THE BUDDHIST CHRISTIAN VEDANTA NETWORK, A CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF THE WCCM

For some time now I am unhappy with the limitation to Buddhism and Christianity implied in the title of the network. My original roots in the Eastern journey were with Yoga and Vedanta, Now that I have returned to and strengthened my connection with the International Satsang Association, this limitation seems even less appropriate. References to Vedanta in this edition of the newsletter also emphasizes this problem. Thus I am thinking of changing the name of the Network to The
Buddhist Christian Vedanta Network. This will also increase its appeal to members of such groups as the Bede Griffiths Sangha, The International Satsang, and the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre to name but a few…

Elizabeth West.

Once more a confirmation that all the organizations examined in this report are interconnected in different ways. The Bede Griffiths Sangha is connected with the Catholic Ashrams movement in its direct association with Shantivanam Ashram and the tradition of Fr. Bede Griffiths’ teachings, and again through The International Satsang whose founder Sr. Ishpriya is a Catholic nun, a former associate of Fr. Bede Griffiths and of Vandana Mataji [see pp. 16, 47] and an ashram foundress herself. And let us not forget Fr. Joe Pereira and Kripa Foundation which is the conduit for the WCCM in India through the Archdiocese of Bombay.

WHO IS ELIZABETH WEST OF THE BUDDHIST CHRISTIAN VEDANTA NETWORK? AN EX-NUN!

Buddha Mind and Kingdom of God retreat, 23-28 July, 2008 at the Centre for World Peace, Holy Isle.

Before a statue of the Buddha, they conducted and celebrated Tibetan pujas, Green Tara pujas, Chenrezig pujas, “visualization and mantra practices”, “internalizing the energy”, “Buddhist panikhidi service to remember loved ones who have died”, “the interconnectedness of all people and phenomena”, “right-brain way into the experience of interconnectedness”, etc.

“At the end of the retreat we each held in turn a crystal which had sat in front of the Buddha statue throughout the week. As each person in turn held the crystal, the others all focused their attention on sending that person a deep sense of gratitude and compassion.”

Annual Gathering at St. Mary’s Convent, Edgware 21-23 September, 2007.

Vedanta study and enneagrams were a part of the programme. 78.

“Some present had confidence in the universe (God or energy) which was always there upholding all… It was thought that to make the connection with the universal love (God or energy) one needed to be in the now, desiring the connection… Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese Buddhist monk) came up in our sharing… In response to a question about Vedanta, Elizabeth spoke about the Patanjali Yoga Sutras.”

The “book list offered by participants” includes two books by New Ager Ken Wilber*, Integral Spirituality and A Brief History about Everything. *pages 88, 101

New Ager Ken Wilber‘s Spectrum of Consciousness discussed by Elizabeth West.

In this Newsletter, one can note their close connection with the Bede Griffiths Sangha

In this Newsletter, one can note their close connection with the Christian Meditation Centre of the WCCM where they wold hold their March 3, 2007 programme.

In this Newsletter, one is informed of the forthcoming events with Sr. Ishpriya in March 2008. We are told that “along with Vandana [Mataji] she founded three Christian ashrams” in India, and “In the Catholic Ashrams movement she was closely associated with other [ashram] founders such as Bede Griffiths.”

MY COMMENTS:

1. WHO IS SR. ISHPRIYA? COPIED FROM MY REPORT ON CATHOLIC ASHRAMS, PAGE 42: Sr. Ishapriya, formerly Sister Patricia Kinsey “was born in Britain, spent her novitiacy in London and then a year in Rome. She was sent on mission to India where she was deeply impressed by the spiritual values of the country. She stayed first at [Swami Sivananda’s] Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, studying and eventually, she says, taking sannyas diksha from Swami Chidananda.”

“A correspondent for Hinduism Today met briefly with Ishapriya in Carmel, California. She was conducting a
six week retreat program in Ashtanga Yoga at the Angelica Convent“ reports the Saiva Siddhantha Church monthly Hinduism Today, in its issue of December 1986.

The crest of the Divine Life Society [DLS] has an OM at the centre of the sun representing the realisation of the self, attained through knowledge. Vishal Mangalwadi, in The World of Gurus, pages 41-51, writes on the DLS that it follows “the advaitic.. philosophy of… Shankaracharya. According to them, God is not a person or spirit. He, or rather ‘it’, is pure consciousness… [They] teach a synthesis of yoga… According to Swamiji, OM is the best mantra.“

Swami Sivananda himself said: “Wholesale preaching of Vedanta to the masses is not advisable. It will cause chaos, bewilderment and stagnation,“
Bliss Divine, page 377. His followers, like Ishpriya and Vandana, will do well to heed him.

2. It is clear that the Buddhist Christian Vedanta Network is very closely associated not only with the Catholic Ashrams movement, and the Bede Griffiths Sangha which is part of the Ashrams circuit, but that they all are closely allied with the World Community for Christian Meditation.

3. They are all steep in Hindu Vedanta and in Buddhism, including Tantric Tibetan Buddhism. They promote advaitic and nihilistic teachings rather than anything remotely Christian. They are Trojan horses within the Catholic Church.

4. If it can be imagined as worse than that, they promote and practise New Age [“the interconnectedness of all people and phenomena”, “right-brain way into the experience of interconnectedness”, the universe (God or energy), universal love (God or energy)], enneagrams, cystal therapies, etc.

WHO ARE THE CLOSE LINKS OF THE BUDDHIST CHRISTIAN VEDANTA NETWORK?

3.The World Community for Christian Meditation in the UK
christian-meditation.org.uk

June 21, 2009 – June 28, 2009:

“ascending along the path of the Great Perfection to the realization of the ‘rainbow body’.“

5. The Retreat Society of the Bamboo Grove

Promotes yoga and meditation.

“Please bring your own mat and Zen cushions if you have one. You are welcome to sit on a chair or on the floor as you choose. Sitting (Zazen) is a centuries-old practice by which we seek to experience clear reality in the present moment by sitting still and silent in God’s presence, quieting the constant stream of thoughts.” NOTE: ZEN BUDDHISM

8. Religious Tolerance www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism3.htm:

Sources of information and materials on Buddhism including The Buddhist Christian Vedanta Network

Dear Michael, Thanks for sending me the Ashram report*. I am so depressed about it that I can’t even express myself properly. I seem too confused what to do next!

…I am worried about you and Joe Pereira*. He has a Hindu Guru!! So I read in the papers. Even Fr. Rufus Pereira will not even pray about this. I requested him, as I see a real, even physical danger to arise from there. I assume you know what I am talking about!!

*The last 10 pages of the Catholic Ashrams report are on Fr. Joe Pereira and Kripa Foundation.

I then arranged for this letter to be sent to Fr. Joe Pereira:

Dear Linus,

The ghost of this sick man Raymond is still hanging over us.
Please reply to this Angela and let her know the details of our finalising the return of the property. If as she says he needs some documents, please have them given to her.

All’s well with our centres in Europe. Will get a better response inspite of the econonic crisis. Unlike Raymond Lobo as the Nation gave me the Padma award so God is affirming our work all over the world.

God bless him, fr.joe

Mr. Lobo has given us copies of many abusive email letters written and signed by Fr. Joe when Mr. Lobo simply pointed out as the legal owner that his property leased to Kripa was not being managed to his satisfaction, and requested it back from you, well within his legal rights.

Considering that you are not only a Catholic priest but also a yoga master, it appears from the correspondence that you have shown little peaceful tolerance to Mr. Lobo, who was your benefactor, especially by repeatedly and unnecessarily denigrating his charismatic spirituality and calling him degrading names.

Your being awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India certainly does not mean that you or your Foundation are favoured by God. It is simply a human recognition. The world honours its own. One would get an award from the Government even for promoting astrology, and in your case, yoga. Dear Fr. Joe, it is more important that one’s name is written in the Book of Life. With regards, Angela

Dear Fr. Joe, Thank you for your response. After reading it, on checking my records, I found that our correspondence had trailed off last year after you did not get back to me with the promised email addresses from your side.

MY COMMENTS:

1. Mendonca admits that “Fr. Joe Pereira of Kripa Foundation is the Coordinator of Christian Meditation
(WCCM) for India.”

2. He further admits that the WCCM’s New Age “Christian Meditation is listed in the Catholic Directory of the Archdiocese of Bombay as one of the Spirituality Centres,” that WCCM’s books are sold in the parish Church at the Kripa centre, and that archdiocesan premises are used for the meditation sessions.

3. Apparently unaware that WCCM has extensive New Age links, Mendonca tries to distance himself from Kripa’s yoga meditation: “People often confuse Christian Meditation with the Yoga sessions that Fr. Joe conducts. There is no essential connection between the two and I am at odds to overcome this misperception.”

*4. One of the few times that I have made a mistake. The priest DID mention Fr. Joe and Kripa, see page 31.

MORE FROM THE EXAMINER ON KRIPA/WCCM WITH MY COMMENTS:

The Examiner, January 27, 2001 Community of Christian Meditators by Fr. Joe H. Pereira [see pages 11, 13]

EXTRACT: “Not many may know that there is an International Community of Christian Meditators… We were fortunate to have with us Fr. Laurence Freeman OSB., who is part of that Community, to conduct a two-day Seminar on
Christian Meditation at the Retreat House, Bandra, at the invitation of the Kripa Foundation…”

The priest then goes on to tell us about John Main, the left brain-right brain dichotomy and the mantra. 87.

The Examiner, March 9, 2002 Christian Meditation [Local News] On page 1 we have already referred to the news item.

EXTRACT: The International Community of Christian Meditators (Bombay Unit) is conducting a 1-day programme of meditation based on the tradition of John Main at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Bandra on March 23, 2002… The programme will be conducted by Fr. Joe Pereira, the Director of Kripa Foundation… For Registration contact Kripa…

The Examiner, April 6, 2002 Christian Meditation [Local News] [see page 11]

EXTRACT: The reponse to the programme on Christian Meditation of Bombay Unit of the World Council of Christian Meditators was overwhelming. About 50 people gathered at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre on March 23, 2002…

After a brief introduction, Fr. Joe Pereira began the basic exercise of learning to listen to one’s breath and using that as a springboard, to graduate to listening to the Word. The practice turns us away from the use of the left-brain that is predominantly logical and thought-oriented, and allows us to use the right brain that is primarily intuitive and creative. In explaining the science and spirituality behind the practice of meditation, Fr. Joe showed how this practice is therapeutic and very good for relieving stress… The programme ended with the group meditation of twenty minutes…”

The above three news items in the Mumbai Archdiocesan weekly once again establish the direct association between the WCCM and Fr. Joe Pereira of the Kripa Foundation.

MY COMMENTS: The Word:
The ‘W’ is printed with the upper case. But it is not the Word of God that these meditators are talking about. They are talking about the mantra word that has to be repeated over and over to the exclusion of everything else. This “Christian Meditation” not only denies the Eucharist its primacy in the community life of the Church, as we have seen, but also replaces meditation on the living Word of God with “meditating” through a repetitive mantra which is the essence of this meditation.

The WCCM encourages meditators to spend twenty to thirty minutes twice a day, to become successful meditators. After that, how many Catholics will have the time left for Holy Mass, prayerful reading of the Holy Bible, the recitation of the Rosary, family prayer and personal prayer? I see “Christian Meditation” as seeking to ensure that Catholics spend as little time as possible in TRUE Christian prayer.

The Examiner, August 17, 2002 Christian Meditation Programme [Local News] [see page 11]

EXTRACT: The response to the Christian Meditation Programme was overwhelming. 60 participants attended the full day session held at St. Joseph’s Primary School Hall, Bandra
on the 3rd of August… The imbalance created by predominantly left-brain functioning needs to be redressed by bringing into focus the activity of the right brain. This is achieved by recitation of the “mantra”, and by paying attention to one’s breath… and the rhythm of the Word within…

MY COMMENTS: The right brain-left brain business is New Age, we have seen
[pages 6, 7]. The “Word”, capital ‘W’, is the mantra, not the Word of God. As John Main through the Hindu Swami [pages 43, 62, 63, 66, 68] and his successor Laurence Freeman got more deeply involved with Buddhists and with eastern meditations, they introduced the mantra and breathing components of the meditation into their formula, and as they sought the New Age ‘confluence between science and religion’ as explained by New Age physicists like Ken Wilber [pages 79, 101], they introduced the left brain-right brain theory to explain their technique.

The Examiner, August 3, 2002 The ‘JE’-‘SUS’ Prayer by Dr. Trevor Colaso, Bandra, Mumbai [Letter to the Editor]

MY COMMENTS: Dr. Colaso, one of the supporters of the erroneous St. Pauls’ New Community Bible published in 2008 [see page 43], in this letter to The Examiner, follows up on the article by Luis S.R. Vas on the WCCM, The Examiner, August 3, 2002 [see page 11, Vas is an author of books that are heavily occult, also published by St. Pauls] giving his own suggestions on how to “focus on Christ” using “pranayama or breath control” before the Blessed Sacrament.

If Luis S.R. Vas finds the WCCM’s “Christian Meditation” useful for prayer, it is more than sufficient reason for us to be certain that it is not genuine Christian meditation and to be avoided like the plague.

The errors and the confusions arising from “Christian Meditation” can be seen in these two articles [below] in The Examiner. I know Bro. Alvito personally, a fine young man and a late vocation to the priesthood. When I knew him first, he would spend hours before the Blessed Sacrament at the Carmelite Seminary. Today he is apparently into mantra-chanting. And is the visualization technique used by J.I. D’Souza Christian prayer?

The Examiner, [date not available in my records] Contemplative Prayer by Br. Alvito Fernandes OCD

EXTRACT: “The repetition of a word, an apparently ‘useless’ activity, (ma-ra-na-tha in the tradition of Christian Meditation) allows one to journey back into the Word. It is a journey from word to Silence.”

The Examiner, September 18, 2004 A Meditation Technique by J. I. D’Souza

EXTRACT: “Meditation or ‘stilling one’s mind’ or ’emptying one’s mind’ is simply being focused on living in each present moment. The following 10 minute a day only exercise preferably practiced at a regular time at home or on the train by sitting upright will benefit one’s spiritual, mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

Sitting or standing with one’s eyes closed, I initially focus on the relaxation in my toes and visualize how nice this feels. Next I visualize this relaxed feeling in my feet, then my ankles, next my legs, thighs… all the way up to the top of my head. Initially for the first five months, my thoughts will be distracted at each session and I will have to work hard each time to stay focused in the present moment. With regular practice my mind will adjust to the new mental pattern of living in the present and will influence my whole being for the better. A higher level of spiritual appreciation and understanding would now e within my grasp, remembering that my sincerity will be tested as I scale new heights.”

88.

THE LATEST IN THE EXAMINER:

The Examiner March 21, 2009 Living in the shadow of death by Christopher Mendonca

The Examiner June 6, 2009 and June 13, 2009 Christian Meditation Pogramme at St. Joseph’s Primary School…

Kripa turns gold and beyond

The Examiner May 16, 2009 [Local News] EXTRACT:

The 50^th centre of Kripa Foundation was inaugurated at Bareilly by Rt. Rev. Bishop Anthony Fernandes on April 16, 2009 in the presence of Padma Shri Fr. Joe Pereira… which is being headed by Fr. Joseph Topno.

The 51^st centre for Kripa Foundation… was inaugurated at Mira-Bhayander on April 26, 2009 by the Mayor, Mr. Narendra Mehta, Dr. Anthony J.F. Sequeira, and Padma Shri Fr. Joe Pereira… The opening of the centre was well attended with the blessing of the premises by the Parish Priest, Rev. Rudolf D’Souza…, well-wishers and staff of Kripa.

WHO IS FR. RUDOLF D’SOUZA?

Fr Rudolf V D’Souza OCD., is a Discalced Carmelite, the parish priest of St Joseph’s Church at Mira Road, Bombay Archdiocese. After securing a diploma in Yoga from Yoga Institute in Santa Cruz in 1989 he has given yoga classes and programmes in Spain, Italy, etc.

He secured his doctorate in Theology in 1995 from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. After coming back to India he was the assistant director at the Carmelite Spirituality Institute, Mysore from 1998 to 2001 and simultaneously he was the assistant provincial of Karnataka-Goa-Maharashtra province between 1999 and 2002. He took charge as parish priest of St. Joseph’s Church in 2002 and has been the pastor of more than 16,000 Catholics of the parish. Fr. Rudolf was instrumental in the building of the new Carmelite Spirituality Centre “ANUBHAV” at Mira Road, which was inaugurated on December 7, 2004 by Pedro Lopez Quintana, the Pro-Nuncio of the Vatican to India.

Fr Rudolf has written more than 15 books and has contributed more than 250 articles for various magazines and journals both in English and Konkani. He has lectured in Italy, Singapore, Spain, Australia, Sri Lanka and in USA on prayer and theology. He also offers courses and seminars at institutes of spirituality, colleges and convents.

The Bhagavad Gita and St. John of the Cross, 1996 is the doctoral thesis of the priest, first published by the Pontifical Gregorian University, as the first number of the Series Volumes of Spiritual Theology. He obtained the best thesis Award of the Year 1995 from the University. The book deals with the Comparative Spirituality of the Bhagavad Gita and St. John of the Cross – the Carmelite Reformer and Doctor of the Church.

WHAT DOES THIS SHOW? That error is in the very highest places. That entire parishes are being subverted. That one Catholic yogi was only too happy to promote the Centre of another Catholic yogi.

Here is my correspondence with Fr. Rudolf D’Souza: