“The approach to develop all facets of the students’ personality including the intellectal, emotional and spiritual, has remained the salient feature of Don Bosco educational institutions,” wrote Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his message to the Salesian centenary souvenir, “Don Bosco India Centenary 1906 - 2006.”
Rightly do people identify and wonder at the first instance, the special charism of the Salesian; above all the great legacy left us by Don Bosco and the early Salesian.
Legacy that is Ours
Rev. Fr. Joaquim D’Souza writing about the arrival of Salesians to India remarked, “Unlike the glamour and glitter of fads, God’s work mostly begins as something small and seemingly insignificant, like the tiny mustard seed. But then it germinates, takes root, grows and becomes a mighty tree. Such was the case with that small band of five Salesian and one aspirant that landed in Bombay on 5th January a hundred years ago.”
He further added, “They knew neither the people nor the language. They were not schooled in the customs and traditions of their ultimate destination. They did not know what the future held. But in their hearts they had a dream – a dream told them by their father, Don Bosco, a dream which was theirs to realize in this land and amongst these peoples, especially the young and the poor.”
While this was the humble beginning of the Salesian work in India, in a recent conference to the Salesians in Chennai Fr. Joaquim said, “By the mere fact that the Salesians are invited to animate the various congregations in different parts of the country is a sign that the Salesian legacy is a rich legacy and it is paying results.” The legacy left behind by Don Bosco and early Salesians is considered to be the greatest treasure for Salesians and for the youth for whom every effort of theirs is directed.
“By the mere fact
that the salesians are invited
to animate the various congregations
in different parts of the country
is a sign that the Salesian legacy
is a rich legacy and it is paying results.”
Constituents of the Salesian Heritage
The legacy which was a design made known by the Lord to Don Bosco constituted a spiritual and apostolic experience lived initially at Valdocco; it grew and acquired further clarity through the years; it flourished in innumerable new places and flowed in the passage of time.
Quoting the Holy See’s document on relations between bishops and religious Fr. Egidio Vigano said, “…it speaks of an experience of the Spirit transmitted to disciples to be lived, safeguarded, deepened and constantly developed in harmony with the Body of Christ in constant development. This Founder’s heritage is manifested in the special style of sanctification and apostolate lived according to its particular tradition that allows its elements to be adequately visible and objectively distinguished.”
Thus this legacy constitutes the charism of the founder, Don Bosco, the Methodology he proposed after a lived experience and the many special promptings of the spirit and the Blessed Mother.
The unifying Force of Salesian Charism
The Salesian Family of Don Bosco is a charismatic reality; in other words, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, destined to grow and extend itself among the People of God. It has a determined and constant scope that transcends the changing circum-stances of time and place.
The congregation envisaged by the founder grew so big in to a great Salesian Family. Many groups formed part of the Salesian family with their specific differences but with a unifying force of Salesian charism.
The Salesians, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the Co-operators, the Don Bosco Volunteers, the Past Pupils and various other groups with their own specific characterizations form part of the Salesian Family.
The unifying force of Don Bosco’s charism has indeed given rise to a spiritual family that is unique, variegated and possessing many branches; it constitutes a kind of atmosphere of spiritual serenity from which no one is excluded; it is open to all races, nationalities and pluralistic cultures; no continent is excluded.
Family Spirit – the Hallmark
One of the greatest gifts left by Don Bosco is family spirit. The constitution tells us that the Salesians, if they are faithful to the spirit of Don Bosco, establish within their communities that unmistakable style of relationship which is known as family spirit.
It is family spirit that unites us. The model for the Salesian family spirit is in the first place the life the oratory at Valdocco, where Don Bosco lived as a father among his boys and collaborators.
In those days the oratory was truly a family. Don Bosco ran the oratory as a large family and the boys really felt as if they had never left their homes. Peaceful joy, unmarred by worry, ruled the oratory and family spirit brightened its life.
System of Education
Pope John Paul II in his letter Juvenum Patris wrote, “Don Bosco realized his personal holiness through an educative commitment.” This system is based entirely on reason, religion and above all on loving-kindness.
His pastoral praxis and pedagogical style spring from this experience. Love and pastoral charity unifies and drives the Salesian to be in the Church sign and bearer of God’s love for the young.
Having such great legacy there is a lot of expectation from the Church and the youth. Not only understanding this legacy, but also living up to it is the greatest challenge posed to the followers of Don Bosco. The Salesian Family demands a commitment to convergent action in offering an appropriate and exacting accom-paniment to each young person following the same legacy.
Showing posts with label november. Show all posts
Showing posts with label november. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Nurturing the Gift of Ancient Heritage
“I am convinced that the world is not a mere bog in which men and women trample themselves in the mire and die. Something magnificent is taking place here amid the cruelties and tragedies, and the supreme challenge to intelligence is that of making the noblest and best in our curious heritage prevail.” - Charles Austin Beard US Historian
Nultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Often though, what is considered cultural heritage by one generation may be rejected by the next generation, only to be revived by a succeeding generation.
Physical or “tangible cultural heritage” includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artifacts, etc., that are considered worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specific culture. “Natural heritage” is also an important part of a culture, encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna. These kind of heritage sites often serve as an important component in a country’s tourist industry, attracting many visitors from abroad as well as locally.
The heritage that survives from the past is often unique and irreplaceable, which places the responsibility of preservation on the current generation. Smaller objects such as artworks and other cultural masterpieces are collected in museums and art galleries. Grass roots organizations and political groups have been successful in gaining the necessary support to preserve the heritage of many nations for the future.
A broader definition includes intangible aspects of a particular culture, often maintained by social customs during a specific period in history. The ways and means of behaviour in a society often, form as rules for operating in a particular cultural climate. These include social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic and spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language and other aspects of human activity. The significance of physical artifacts can be interpreted against the backdrop of socioeconomic, political, ethnic, religious and philosophical values of a particular group of people. Naturally, intangible cultural heritage is more difficult to preserve than physical objects.
There are examples of apologies by the pope for the past of the Catholic Church or of the Australian government to the aborigines.
Heritage as a term
Though it seems to represent what is ‘dead’, heritage is very much a living idea - it is about the present and the future as much as the past. An object or an activity can be considered today ‘heritage’. Heritage has become both affective and moral. But as a term representing both what should be valued and conserved publicly from the past, and as an attitude of respect to it, seems to be a late 20th century development. Many contemporary dictionaries give no prominence to this meaning or sometimes do not even record it.
The word heritage without doubt is a living term whose meaning is still developing - its definition is certainly not fixed yet. Heritage therefore as an attitude to the past is very much a product of our own historical period. As the world continues to change, both the concept itself and what it includes will continue to shift too.
Wealth of Heritage
World Heritage Department of Environment and Conservation came out with the significance of our heritage, “World Heritage sites are natural and cultural sites of universal significance to mankind. Each has been chosen for their enormous value to the people of the world and represent our greatest natural and cultural treasures.” Some of the sites include famous places known to all people, such as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and our own Great Barrier Reef. World Heritage is about recognizing these sites and their universal significance. It is also about ensuring that their enormous heritage value is passed on to future generations.
Benoy K. Behl, art historian, film-maker and photographer, has done pioneering work in documenting India’s art heritage. He has taken over 30,000 photographs of Indian monuments and art objects and made 100 documentaries on art history. His exhibitions have been held in 24 countries.
Why know Heritage at all?
“It is rightly said that the nation or the society, which does not know its heritage, cannot fully comprehend its present and hence is unable to steer its future. India’s most valued and revered gift not only to Herself but also to the entire humanity is its profound and timeless heritage,” says Naganath R. Ramdasi on the importance of understanding and nurturing the cultural heritage of one’s own society.
By knowing heritage we learn to appreciate the wealth of our land. French scholar Romain Rolland expressed, “If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.”
We learn also to appreciate other people. We begin to take in whatever is good for our culture and for the rest of the world. On scientific heritage of India, Albert Einstein once remarked, “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”
While the commentaries of Max Muller and Will Durant are well known, Mark Twain said, “India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.” Such realization helps us to treasure our own contribution to the world at large. Thus we begin to appreciate ourselves. This helps us to move forward to the next phase in history.
Forms of Heritage
“The World’s most valued and revered gift is not only to herself but also to the entire humanity known for its profound and timeless heritage. Heritage encompasses almost every aspect of human inquiry, exploration and existence covering philosophy and religion, language and literature, metaphysics and sciences, polity and social living, habitat and architecture, dance and music, and arts and crafts,” says Ramdasi.
Summed up here are some of the most common forms of heritage.
Aboriginal heritage includes Aboriginal sites, objects and remains. Maritime heritage includes underwater sites such as shipwrecks and land sites such as lighthouses, jetties and whaling stations. Movable cultural heritage includes historical objects, which are in the country. Many movable objects are housed in museums, which have a variety of methods for recording and managing their collections. The many types of natural heritage includes wilderness, coastlines and estuaries, native vegetation and threatened species.
Heritage, above all is a confident assertion of values and attitudes rather than the intrinsic nature of a historical object.
Ways to Keep Alive Heritage
Keeping heritage alive is a herculean task. Apart from talking about them to people and visiting those heritage sites, people should have a proper understanding of them.
Above all applying them in our lives particularly those good old customs and traditions which are essential to create a harmonious self and community. The Frontline states, “One of the remarkable aspects of early Indian art is that the focus was not on individuals and there were no portraits, even of the kings who were its patrons. In fact, Chitrasutra states that eternal themes and not personalities are the fitting subject of art.”
We see a vision of the world and the roots of a culture that has survived for more than 5,000 years.
Can Heritage be Only Positive?
Does heritage have to be positive? The word has inherited some appalling events in the 20th century like genocides and natural calamities among many others. There are the lost heritages e.g. the descendants of slaves, a present people whose past heritage is somehow cut off; or the holocaust, a past heritage without a present people.
Are we responsible for the past - do we have a corporate or even individual responsibility for it? There are examples of apologies by the Popes for the past of the Catholic church or of the Australian government to the aborigines; the British government is notoriously slow in this e.g. with regard to Ireland or its role in the slave trade. All very difficult and sensitive areas and nobody comes away with ‘clean hands’.
In an article to the Frontline, Benoy K. Behl wrote, “The art of ancient India brings before us a vision of great compassion. It is a view of the world that sees a harmony in the whole of creation. It sees the same that is in each of us, in the animals, the flowers, the trees, the leaves and even in the breeze that moves the leaves. All that there is, is seen to be a reflection of the One.”
From the early river valley civilization onwards, we see the foundations of the art of one of the oldest civilizations of the world. We see a vision of the world and the roots of a culture that has survived for more than 5,000 years.
What makes it so fascinating is that this is a culture that continues to this day.
All the learning about cultural heritage is not for making one an intellectual; but, to understand oneself against the complexities of the universe and against the passing of bygone years.
Nultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Often though, what is considered cultural heritage by one generation may be rejected by the next generation, only to be revived by a succeeding generation.
Physical or “tangible cultural heritage” includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artifacts, etc., that are considered worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specific culture. “Natural heritage” is also an important part of a culture, encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna. These kind of heritage sites often serve as an important component in a country’s tourist industry, attracting many visitors from abroad as well as locally.
The heritage that survives from the past is often unique and irreplaceable, which places the responsibility of preservation on the current generation. Smaller objects such as artworks and other cultural masterpieces are collected in museums and art galleries. Grass roots organizations and political groups have been successful in gaining the necessary support to preserve the heritage of many nations for the future.
A broader definition includes intangible aspects of a particular culture, often maintained by social customs during a specific period in history. The ways and means of behaviour in a society often, form as rules for operating in a particular cultural climate. These include social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic and spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language and other aspects of human activity. The significance of physical artifacts can be interpreted against the backdrop of socioeconomic, political, ethnic, religious and philosophical values of a particular group of people. Naturally, intangible cultural heritage is more difficult to preserve than physical objects.
There are examples of apologies by the pope for the past of the Catholic Church or of the Australian government to the aborigines.
Heritage as a term
Though it seems to represent what is ‘dead’, heritage is very much a living idea - it is about the present and the future as much as the past. An object or an activity can be considered today ‘heritage’. Heritage has become both affective and moral. But as a term representing both what should be valued and conserved publicly from the past, and as an attitude of respect to it, seems to be a late 20th century development. Many contemporary dictionaries give no prominence to this meaning or sometimes do not even record it.
The word heritage without doubt is a living term whose meaning is still developing - its definition is certainly not fixed yet. Heritage therefore as an attitude to the past is very much a product of our own historical period. As the world continues to change, both the concept itself and what it includes will continue to shift too.
Wealth of Heritage
World Heritage Department of Environment and Conservation came out with the significance of our heritage, “World Heritage sites are natural and cultural sites of universal significance to mankind. Each has been chosen for their enormous value to the people of the world and represent our greatest natural and cultural treasures.” Some of the sites include famous places known to all people, such as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and our own Great Barrier Reef. World Heritage is about recognizing these sites and their universal significance. It is also about ensuring that their enormous heritage value is passed on to future generations.
Benoy K. Behl, art historian, film-maker and photographer, has done pioneering work in documenting India’s art heritage. He has taken over 30,000 photographs of Indian monuments and art objects and made 100 documentaries on art history. His exhibitions have been held in 24 countries.
Why know Heritage at all?
“It is rightly said that the nation or the society, which does not know its heritage, cannot fully comprehend its present and hence is unable to steer its future. India’s most valued and revered gift not only to Herself but also to the entire humanity is its profound and timeless heritage,” says Naganath R. Ramdasi on the importance of understanding and nurturing the cultural heritage of one’s own society.
By knowing heritage we learn to appreciate the wealth of our land. French scholar Romain Rolland expressed, “If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.”
We learn also to appreciate other people. We begin to take in whatever is good for our culture and for the rest of the world. On scientific heritage of India, Albert Einstein once remarked, “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”
While the commentaries of Max Muller and Will Durant are well known, Mark Twain said, “India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.” Such realization helps us to treasure our own contribution to the world at large. Thus we begin to appreciate ourselves. This helps us to move forward to the next phase in history.
Forms of Heritage
“The World’s most valued and revered gift is not only to herself but also to the entire humanity known for its profound and timeless heritage. Heritage encompasses almost every aspect of human inquiry, exploration and existence covering philosophy and religion, language and literature, metaphysics and sciences, polity and social living, habitat and architecture, dance and music, and arts and crafts,” says Ramdasi.
Summed up here are some of the most common forms of heritage.
Aboriginal heritage includes Aboriginal sites, objects and remains. Maritime heritage includes underwater sites such as shipwrecks and land sites such as lighthouses, jetties and whaling stations. Movable cultural heritage includes historical objects, which are in the country. Many movable objects are housed in museums, which have a variety of methods for recording and managing their collections. The many types of natural heritage includes wilderness, coastlines and estuaries, native vegetation and threatened species.
Heritage, above all is a confident assertion of values and attitudes rather than the intrinsic nature of a historical object.
Ways to Keep Alive Heritage
Keeping heritage alive is a herculean task. Apart from talking about them to people and visiting those heritage sites, people should have a proper understanding of them.
Above all applying them in our lives particularly those good old customs and traditions which are essential to create a harmonious self and community. The Frontline states, “One of the remarkable aspects of early Indian art is that the focus was not on individuals and there were no portraits, even of the kings who were its patrons. In fact, Chitrasutra states that eternal themes and not personalities are the fitting subject of art.”
We see a vision of the world and the roots of a culture that has survived for more than 5,000 years.
Can Heritage be Only Positive?
Does heritage have to be positive? The word has inherited some appalling events in the 20th century like genocides and natural calamities among many others. There are the lost heritages e.g. the descendants of slaves, a present people whose past heritage is somehow cut off; or the holocaust, a past heritage without a present people.
Are we responsible for the past - do we have a corporate or even individual responsibility for it? There are examples of apologies by the Popes for the past of the Catholic church or of the Australian government to the aborigines; the British government is notoriously slow in this e.g. with regard to Ireland or its role in the slave trade. All very difficult and sensitive areas and nobody comes away with ‘clean hands’.
In an article to the Frontline, Benoy K. Behl wrote, “The art of ancient India brings before us a vision of great compassion. It is a view of the world that sees a harmony in the whole of creation. It sees the same that is in each of us, in the animals, the flowers, the trees, the leaves and even in the breeze that moves the leaves. All that there is, is seen to be a reflection of the One.”
From the early river valley civilization onwards, we see the foundations of the art of one of the oldest civilizations of the world. We see a vision of the world and the roots of a culture that has survived for more than 5,000 years.
What makes it so fascinating is that this is a culture that continues to this day.
All the learning about cultural heritage is not for making one an intellectual; but, to understand oneself against the complexities of the universe and against the passing of bygone years.
The wisdom of the ages
Every being and every thing in this universe seem to beconnected. There is connectedness between the people who lived and are going to occupy the planet earth.
There is also interrelatedness between animate and inanimate beings. It appeard to the enlightened that they were living amidst one great big reality.
People from various places and times differed in food habit, dress code, climatic context and other external features; but there is harmony in their search for meaning, struggle for life and the way they solved their problems.
They walked the same earth as we do. They shared the same dream, aspired for the same truth, hoped for the same future as we do now. We share many things in common. In that way we are connected with our ancestors.
People learnt secrets about living not only from other cultures but also from animals, plants and other beings.
This collective wisdom of the ages is what we call heritage or cultural heritage. Albert Camus wrote, “Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future.” It is for this purpose everyone needs to nourish the gift of heritage.
Heritage is such a strong term that it seems to have become popularly interchangeable with history itself. It suggests however some obligation on the part of the present to the past and also on behalf of the future, and that the past should give us in some way a lesson for the present and future.
Heritage suggests continuity, perhaps of ideals felt to be in decline, and usually suggests some fixity of form or practice.
Heritage, like tradition, is a way of managing the past, managing history and (re)presenting it in the present.
Heritage is in a sense, not only a ‘reading’ of the past but a ‘writing’ of it - a way of establishing ‘history’ itself. This places considerable responsibility on the presentation and also offers great opportunities for manipulation of it for commercial ends.
There are many contradictions. Ironically something becomes ‘heritage’ only when it is in danger of being lost.
Heritage suggests agreement about what is to be valued and what an object or activity means - whereas at the time of its creation and use there would certainly have been conflicts of opinion.
Certain elements of heritage considered to be noble for some groups of people have been diametrically opposed to other groups of people.
Caste system for example is a bad influence that corrupted the Indian heritage. This stratification, though deplorable and hated by everyone due to its penetration in the daily life of the people, is an evil affecting the finest thread of our heritage.
Similarly, India’s social structure is a unique blend of diverse religious, cultural, linguistic and racial groups. But this fine unification is often threatened by elements of hate.
The heritage handed on by Don Bosco and the early Salesians is not a mere collection of rules and regulations. Instead, it is the collaborative effort of Don Bosco with God and our Blessed Mother together with the collective wisdom of so many of the dedicated Salesians.
From 14th to 20th of this month we celebrate the world heritage week. It is a week to reflect about our roots and the meaning of our life.
We need to understand that the wisdom of the ages is collectively presented to us in the form of heritage. Making sense of it is our duty. It is primarily the duty of those who call themselves educators.
Just as Branch Rickey says, “What matters is not the honour that you take with you, but the heritage you leave behind.” After all what we need to do is to leave our best contributions to the society. When it is done, we should sit and rejoice in our own works, for that is our heritage.
There is also interrelatedness between animate and inanimate beings. It appeard to the enlightened that they were living amidst one great big reality.
People from various places and times differed in food habit, dress code, climatic context and other external features; but there is harmony in their search for meaning, struggle for life and the way they solved their problems.
They walked the same earth as we do. They shared the same dream, aspired for the same truth, hoped for the same future as we do now. We share many things in common. In that way we are connected with our ancestors.
People learnt secrets about living not only from other cultures but also from animals, plants and other beings.
This collective wisdom of the ages is what we call heritage or cultural heritage. Albert Camus wrote, “Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future.” It is for this purpose everyone needs to nourish the gift of heritage.
Heritage is such a strong term that it seems to have become popularly interchangeable with history itself. It suggests however some obligation on the part of the present to the past and also on behalf of the future, and that the past should give us in some way a lesson for the present and future.
Heritage suggests continuity, perhaps of ideals felt to be in decline, and usually suggests some fixity of form or practice.
Heritage, like tradition, is a way of managing the past, managing history and (re)presenting it in the present.
Heritage is in a sense, not only a ‘reading’ of the past but a ‘writing’ of it - a way of establishing ‘history’ itself. This places considerable responsibility on the presentation and also offers great opportunities for manipulation of it for commercial ends.
There are many contradictions. Ironically something becomes ‘heritage’ only when it is in danger of being lost.
Heritage suggests agreement about what is to be valued and what an object or activity means - whereas at the time of its creation and use there would certainly have been conflicts of opinion.
Certain elements of heritage considered to be noble for some groups of people have been diametrically opposed to other groups of people.
Caste system for example is a bad influence that corrupted the Indian heritage. This stratification, though deplorable and hated by everyone due to its penetration in the daily life of the people, is an evil affecting the finest thread of our heritage.
Similarly, India’s social structure is a unique blend of diverse religious, cultural, linguistic and racial groups. But this fine unification is often threatened by elements of hate.
The heritage handed on by Don Bosco and the early Salesians is not a mere collection of rules and regulations. Instead, it is the collaborative effort of Don Bosco with God and our Blessed Mother together with the collective wisdom of so many of the dedicated Salesians.
From 14th to 20th of this month we celebrate the world heritage week. It is a week to reflect about our roots and the meaning of our life.
We need to understand that the wisdom of the ages is collectively presented to us in the form of heritage. Making sense of it is our duty. It is primarily the duty of those who call themselves educators.
Just as Branch Rickey says, “What matters is not the honour that you take with you, but the heritage you leave behind.” After all what we need to do is to leave our best contributions to the society. When it is done, we should sit and rejoice in our own works, for that is our heritage.
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