October 2004 - January 2005

Contents
From the Website Manager
New Bottle for the Old Wine
Being Transformed
The New Foundations
News in Brief
Binnaguri
Letters to the Editor
Pune Visit
The Lighter Side
Just a Thought
Photo Album  

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Once the famous Mulla Nazruddin was asked which form of transport he liked best    -   sea, air or surface. Since he was not sure what the words sea, air and surface meant in relation to transport, and did not want to appear ignorant, he quipped without batting an eye: “I like best traveling by bus. I have no time for sea or  air or surface, you see.”

 Many of the Brothers who attended the dissemination programme of the General Chapter message found themselves in somewhat the same predicament as our Mulla. Whether it was “Patrician Spirituality Shaped and Inspired by the Breasplate” or “What is the Option for the Poor if not an Option for the Victims of Injustice?”, or  “Growing in the Fullness of Life” or “Embracing Cultural Change and Responding to Signs of New Life in Our Congregation”, they were a bit confused as to the difference between these and what  they already knew and have been practicing all these years though in various degrees. “Is it not the same old wine in a new bottle?” they wondered.

  From this perspective it was heartening to have most of our Brothers with a clearer understanding of the content of  “One in Heart and Mind” than what the resource persons had expected.  When asked to describe their understanding of what Patrician Spirituality meant, for instance, most of them described it as relational. Establishing right relationship with the Creator and Creation is how the Patricians lived their spirituality, they said. Though they might not have been able to say how this spirituality developed, they knew it had its origin in the Breastplate of St. Patrick. The Breastplate was a call to recognize the presence of God in all that we feel, see, hear, touch and experience in our day to day life, they knew.

  Similarly, Option for the Poor is a call which the church repeatedly makes to the entire community of the people of God, especially to her specially favoured children, the religious. To accomplish this task as faithfully and conscientiously as we can, and to follow Christ closely in his gentleness, meekness, compassion and love, formation was integral to religious life, the Brothers were clear about. As people of good will who carried the Good News of the Kingdom of God, religious were invited to live in love and harmony transcending all differences of culture, nationality, race, colour, and social status also they were aware of.

  Under this circumstance, the task of the delegates was merely to explain the nature of the new ‘bottle’ in which the old wine was being presented. This obviously involved sharing with the Brothers as to where the bottle came from, how it was fashioned and by whom, the kind of material used to shape it, how the label was prepared, what were the events that preceded and followed the manufacturing of the bottle, etc. In other words, all that went to make the 19^th General Chapter what it was.

  May I take this occasion to wish the readers of Patrika a very Happy X’mas and a bright and grace-filled New Year.  As I hand over the editorship of Patrika to the new Leadership of the Province, I express my gratitude to all those who have been instrumental, one way or the other, in promoting the cause of Patrika all these years.

 Yes, the water needs to know that it is the icebox that can transform it into ice. After that it has to be a knowing by being.  Just accumulating knowledge about the icebox without entering it and remaining in it may be escapism from facing one’s reality masquerading as quest for truth. ‘What gives life is God’s spirit; man’s power is of no use at all’ (Jn.6:63) is what our Master says, the Master who is one with the Reality.

  The finite, eternal and indivisible Master, for our sake, can take on form any time, anywhere and in anyone. That is, the akhanda Guru becomes Guru-Murti. And for us Christians it is in Jesus Christ of Nazareth that formlessness has taken on form: ‘The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us’ (Jn. 1:14). Only the earnest and faith-full disciple can profit from the Master. The Master does not answer the questions of a mind: He is the answer.

B

TO DIE IS GAIN

- Bro. Berchmans

  Our first project was in the area of higher education. Though Patricians in India had built a good name for themselves over the years in providing quality education till the pre-university level, no attempt ever was made to try if we could also conduct institutions of higher learning with equal ease and expertise. The challenge was hard to resist especially when we could count on our own school leaving students who would continue to imbibe the Patrician ethos as well as because of the future possibility of our young Brothers who, in the event of not getting admission elsewhere, could count on one of our own.

      Though efforts were made to find a suitable place for a college, preferably in Pondicherry, eventually we ended up choosing our Adyar campus which, for historical reasons, was found to be the right place. The number of schools in the area was another reason to settle for Adyar. Thus the Patrician College of Arts and Science came up in 2001. Today, with over 500 students and better facilities, it is making a mark for itself if one goes by the increasing demand for admissions every year.

  The other foundations need a little more detailed description since many are not aware of the circumstances and events that led to having them where they are. In the order of their beginning, St. Patrick’s Academy, Dindigul, comes first.

  It was around the time when Bro. Edward was appointed the Vocation Facilitator for Tamilnadu. During his search for candidates, he came into contact with several priests and lay people who wanted the Patricians to start a school in their area. He promised them that he would speak with the Provincial which he did without delay.  Though it was not possible to open schools  wherever the requests came from, having an English medium school in the near future, preferably in the diocese of Trichy itself, was under consideration. The strain of having to fully support financially the three institutions at Alundur, Trichy  -  the Scholasticate, St. Patrick’s Tamil medium school and the Technical Training Institute   -   besides the other vernacular schools and many outreach programmes, was being increasingly felt by our English medium schools. Keeping in mind the likelihood of these schools not being able to contribute any more,  an income generating school under the same registered society which runs the three aforesaid institutions was seen as a necessity and, in some ways, urgent. Hence, Bros. Edward and Stan who was the Director of the Scholasticate then, were advised to find a suitable site not too far from Alunder. Though both of them started off in right earnest, nothing definite could materialize before Bro. Stan left Trichy to take up his new assignment at St. Miachael’s, Adyar. It was left then to Bro. Vincent George, his successor,  and Bro. Edward to continue the search. The criteria for choosing the site such as the need of the people,and shortage of good schools around, were made clear to them. It did not take long for them to come up with the present site where St. Patrick’s Academy, Patrick Nagar, in Dndigul, some 75 kms away from Trichy, stands today. The land they chose belonged to a  mill-owner who was undecided whether to open another mill there or dispose it of. One of the priests who wanted the Brothers to open a school in Dindigul knew the owner well. That the land was going to be used for a school pleased the owner who agreed to sell it at a very reasonable price. For us it was ideally situated because there was no good schools within a radius of fifteen kilometers. Besides, the people in the area, though not financially well-off, were very keen to have an English medium school there for their children. Though financial consideration may have been one reason for starting St. Patrick’s Academy at Dindigul, having a well equipped school to provide quality education for the children of Vedasanthur and neighbouring villages, indeed, is a noble act of reaching out to the less privileged. The people are mostly small-time traders, farmers and mill-workers.

  The starting of a school in Pune has a checkered past which calls for a more detailed description of people and events that preceded it. It was in the  late 70’s that we came to know of the existence of a diocesan Congregation of Brothers called  “Poona Patricians”. A debate arose amongst the  “Irish Patricians” as to why such a Congregation was allowed to exist. It was something like the disciples of Jesus wanting to have Simon stopped from  working miracles in his name! The debate raged till a dialogue was initiated  between the two, leading finally to their amalgamation with us. After the process of amalgamation was over, negotiations began with the bishop of Pune to start a school on the land occupied by the Brothers. The bishop’s offer of just three acres of land was turned down. Bro. O’Brian who was sent there to negotiate with the bishop had a heart-attack and died. Bro. O’Brien’s untimely death cast a gloom on all of us that time.  Pulling out the Brothers for good from Pune was seen as the only solution to our predicament, then. Though  Pune continued to haunt us because of the emotive issue involved, no further efforts were made to have the Patrician presence there till around 1997 when Bro. Thanicken is reported to have visited Pune to meet with his old friend Maj. Gen. Sebastian who was the Officer Commanding at the Army Headquarters there. Both of them paid a visit to the bishop who advised Thanicken to take a look at a school that was for sale. Thanicken was not impressed, it seems since no mention of it was made by him.

  It was not until 2001, when Gen. Sebastian called in to see the Brothers on his official visit to Delhi, that the subject came up again. He asked me if we had any plans at all of starting a school in Pune since he did not hear from us after Thanicken’s visit. The General promised to find a suitable site in case we were still interested in the idea of a school there. He was requested to do the spade work.

  In two weeks’ time there was a call from him informing me that there were five sites to choose from and that there should not be much delay in visiting Pune. I visited the sites and was happy with two of them. Both the sites were away from the city and had no English medium schools there to boast about. The people of the locality were seen to be mostly either small-time farmers or employees in nearby factories and mills. The report of my visit was presented to the Council which advised me to go for the cheaper of the two. The proposal was also to have a Marathi medium school to be built at a later stage. Since there was land for sale about just a kilometer away from the site for the English medium school, two plots, one measuring just over 12 acres and the other 6, were bought. The English Medium School, now christened Mount St. Patrick Academy, is being built on the bigger plot. 

   Being aware of the increasing restrictions on the movement of funds from one Society to another, it was decided that the new school at Pune would be under the Parent Society, The Society of the Brothers of St. Patrick, India, so that the future Provincials would find it easier to maintain the Provincialate without having to transfer funds from another Society. 

  Questions were asked as to why no Brothers were posted to look after the Pune project. Though the Province Leadership explored the possibility of posting one or two Brothers there, the idea had to be dropped for reasons such as the safety of the Brothers since the site was located in a lonely place,  the residence not being allowed to be built before the completion of the school building and the difficulties the Brothers would face by not knowing Marathi, the local language.  Besides, unless people with certain amount of influence were not available to “push the files at various stages”, we were told nothing moved in Maharashtra. We did not want to get into the kind of trouble that a Congregation of Sisters got into by entrusting their school project with another Congregation. The good religious people who handled matters relating to finance, purchase of land, approval of project etc. were those who did not have much experience or adequate knowledge of the laws of the State regarding these. For us the only way out, then, was to request Gen. Sebastian if he could get things going until we installed a Community there, and he agreed since he was not moving out of Pune after retirement.  So the Province Leadership decided that the Pune school project would be directly under its supervision while Gen. Sebastian would be the man on the spot. I was expected to keep visiting the site as often as possible while others of my Council also promised to do the same.

 The Brothers’ residence is expected to be ready for occupation by the end of January, if not earlier. However, considering that the place is lonely except for the Splash Mountain Water Park which closes by 11 p.m., and the area is known to be unsafe in the night, the Community installed there must have at least three able-bodied Brothers to begin with. The house is provided with sufficient rooms in view of the future possibility of some of our Brothers staying there to do their M. Th. or Doctorate in theology/philosophy from the famous Papal Athenaum there.

  The Angamaly project for a school has even a more thrilling start. What prompted the leadership to even think of another school in Kerala was the appeal of bishops at one of the joint meetings of  CBCI and CRI  standing committee of bishops and major superiors. With the increasing number of attacks on Christians by Hindu fundamentalists and having no strong voice at the centre to speak for them, the bishops appealed to the major superiors to give priority to Christians during school and college admissions and to open more good schools in Christian dominated areas so that a time would come when the Christian community would have men and women at the decision making level of the country as politicians, judges, IAS and IPS personnel instead of mere clerical or middle-management personnel. It is this appeal, apart from requests coming from past pupils and well-wishers of the Brothers living in Kerala, which initiated the process of having another school there.

  While visiting several sites in and around Angamaly – Ernakulam section of central Kerala, I was also taken to see a full-fledged CBSE school which was on sale. The school was being run by a registered Society belonging to the Jacobite denomination of the Christian community. Their reason for disposing the school of was because they lacked expertise to run it properly, we were told.  The Council favoured the idea of bidding for it chiefly to avoid going through the tedious and long process of obtaining NOC from the Government. The negotiations went through smoothly and the price was finalized and a certain amount as advance also was paid to the Society. However, one of the members of the Society failed to co-operate with the rest and the deal fell through at the last minute. The advance we paid was retuned with penalty fee. The two Brothers, Lisan and Joseph, who were sent to take charge of the school were immediately asked to inspect some of the sites already visited earlier or look for a new one. Within a matter of weeks they invited some of the Brothers in the south to take a look at the places they had visited. The present site where St. Patrick’s Academy is coming up was judged to be the ideal spot. It is some 6.5 km away from Angamaly town, along the Angamaly – Manjapra road which takes you to the famous pilgrim centre, Malayatoor, a mountainous region, where St. Thomas, the Apostle, is said to have taken refuge and spent time in prayer. 

  Unlike Mananthavady which is a backward area of north Kerala, Angamaly is one of the prosperous parts of central Kerala. The people, having heard about the Patrician Brothers’ contribution in the field of education in the last two hundred years, are very excited about our presence in their midst, and do expect a good deal from us as professionals. Let us hope and pray that we don’t disappoint them.

 Our “Janakpur project”, as it is often called, is in the diocese of Ambikapur in the newly formed State of Chattisgarh. The bishop of Ambikapur, Patras Minj, wanted us to start a school in his diocese. In response to his repeated requests, Bro. Joachim was asked to survey the place during his vocation facilitation tours to that part of the country, and choose a suitable site. He, in turn, sought the assistance of the local priests who were only too willing to help. Having seen a suitable place, he invited Bro. Christopher who was then in Rewa, to come and take a look. Christopher saw the place and gave his report which was presented to the Council. Joachim was asked to go ahead with the purchase of the land.

  At this juncture, Bro. Antony C. was appointed as the project supervisor  of the Province and was specially invested with the responsibility of teaming up with Joachim and taking the Janakpur project to its next phase. Antony was also to visit the other projects in progress. During his maiden visit to Janakpur, he discovered that there were plots of land ideally suited for schools available at a very nominal price. He and Joachim decided to purchase a plot of land in the town for an English medium school and another for Hindi medium some 8 kms interior. Antony has been visiting Janakpur often and for sometime staying with the parish priest to supervise the levelling and construction of boundary walls.   

  Lisan and Joseph are seldom without company: the stream of visiting Brothers is never ending, so to say. With the northern schools closed for winter, Brothers on holidays make it a point to spend time with the two. Bro. Joe Carroll has been specially invited to give a ‘foreign touch’ to the interview for teachers in the first week of January.

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 The foundation stone for an auditorium for St. Patrick’s school, Mananthavady, was laid by the Provincial on 14 December at a short but meaningful ceremony. Bro. Damien hopes that his efforts at motivating parents to help in building the auditorium will bear fruit. All three Brothers   -   Dennis, Damien and Bernard are 100% involved in full-time teaching and in the day to days affairs of the school and it is this that is making all the difference in the destiny of St. Patrick’s.

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The first annual sports meet of St. Patrick’s Academy, Dindigul, was held on Saturday, 4 December. The highlight of the day was the Karate and Yoga display by the junior school children. A five-year old breaking tiles with one blow and the Yoga display of Lotus pose (Padmasana) on a tray of eggs by a class five student  dismayed the spectators who gave the performers a resounding applause. Congratulations to Bros. Francis and Edward who spared no pain and left no stone unturned to make the day a real D-Day for the new school.

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  The message of the General Chapter ‘One in Heart and Mind’ was disseminated to the Brothers of the Province in five cluster groups. The first one was held in Bangalore, the second in Trichy, the third in Binnaguri, the fourth in Chennai, and finally, the fifth in Delhi. The Chapter delegates were divided into teams of two’s or four’s according to the place and  their availability.

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 The students of St. Michael’s Academy, Adyar,  celebrated X’mas in the first week of December by entertaining the inmates of the Home for the Aged with a beautiful Christmas pageant. Amidst music and carol singing, the old people were presented with gifts. The school also made a substantial contribution to the MC Sisters of Mother Teresa.

The latest heard from St. Michael’s is that the staff have decided to contribute their one day’s salary for the victims of the recent Tsunami which hit the coast of Tamilnadu wreaking death and destruction.

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Bro Augustine Paul referees the tug-of-war at the sports mmet held for the ancillary staff of MSM, Delhi, as part of the Christmas celebrations organised for them by the Brothers	Some of the students of MSAM, Delhi, who performed to entgertain the prisoners at the annual Christmas celebrations organised by the 'Prison Ministry' cell of the diocese

Between 19 and 23 December the Brothers at MSM, Delhi, celebrated Christmas by organizing sports and entertainment for the Christian students and their parents, for the ancillary staff of the school and for the evening school children.  A grand lunch for the helping staff with the Brothers on 23rd , now an annual feature, marked the end of the programme organized for the workers.  On 24th Bros. Paul, Antony C, Antony Joseph and Binnoi went around distributing gifts and money to Ashalaya for street children and Children’s Home of the MC Sisters. Brothers also accompanied a team of students who were to entertain the prisoners of  Rohini Jail. Our students are said to have put up a show which was almost professional and cheered the hearts all present.

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The New Leadership Team of the Province (L-R) Brothers Stan, Bosco, Christopher (Provincial), Prakash (Vicar), and Domini

The new leadership of the Province led by Bro. Christopher took charge on the evening of the 31 December at a simple prayerful ceremony. Patrika wishes him and his team - Prakashm Stan, Dominic, and Bosco - God's blessing in leading the Province in the next three years.

Brother Christopher Dawes, the new Provincial, receives the Chapter documents together with the minutes book from Brother Berchmans  Athakkad the out-going Provincial

  The programme was characterized by dances from different cultures and States of the country, cracking of jokes, speeches and a song sung by Bro. Ernest. Indeed, he mesmerized the gathering with his melodious voice.

  At the end of the show, a grand tea was sponsored by the staff for the entire student body and the Brothers.

  Let me also take this opportunity to thank our Communities at Delhi, Meerut, Dehra Dun and Mussoorie for their warm and kind hospitality extended to us during our stay in these places.

                                                               A 

Apropos of  the article “The Perils of Democracy in Religious Life” by Bro. Berchmans (Patrika July – September, 2004), whether it be social democracy, political democracy or no democracy, or monarchy, oligarchy or anarchy, or capitalism, socialism or globalism, any system is as good as the people operating in the system.

                                                               B

 Once two young lads were engaged in a bout of bragging.

Said one: “Last week my dad bought a black hen and this morning it laid a white egg.”

The other: “That’s nothing. My dad’s the mayor of Instanbull, and yesterday he laid a foundation stone.”

  Going by all the foundation stones he has been laying, Bro. Berchmans, our out-going Provincial, must be a great layer, and perhaps even greater than the ozone layer!

                                                            C

  Besides handling the busy and tough task of being Provincial (tougher, sometimes, than what a provincial constabulary has to deal with! Good luck Chris!), Berchmans, as the editor of Patrika, did a commendable job   -   indeed very commendable    -   especially considering that his requests for articles and other material mostly fell on deaf ears. The very continuance   -   and very regular at that    -   of Patrika is a tribute to his personal resourcefulness and editorial acumen. I congratulate him and pray that his faith may not fail and that when he has relinquished office as Provincial will strengthen his brethren through the pages of Patrika.

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BLOW BY BLOW ACCOUNT OF PUNE VISIT

- Swami Variath

(The following is an e-mail message received by Bro. Berchmans from Swami Variath via Bro. Leo’s internet connection during the General Chapter in Kenya. Swamiji was the acting Provincial while Berchmans was at the Chapter, and in his capacity as the acting Provincial he was expected to make at least one visit to Pune which he did dutifully):

Dropped at New Delhi Railway station by Binnoi and Antony Joseph in pouring rain. By Rajdhani to Mumbai Central. Rain all the way. My train was delayed. Reached Mumbai at about 11 instead of 8.30 a.m.  Most trains delayed or cancelled on account of rain.

 From Mumbai Central to Dadar by local train. By trial and error got bus to Pune  -  Volvo Bus!     Three and a half hours running time. Rain, rain! Water falls on the sides of roads. Had contacted Gen. Sebastian after getting into bus. We were to meet at the entrance to the Pune Railway Station. Got there but could not find him. When I took out the mobile to activate it, his call came asking, “Where are you?”

“At the entrance,” I said.

“I am at the entrance,” he said. “At the ATM.”

“I don’t see the ATM, I see ICICI Bank,” I said.

“I am just there,” he said.

Ten steps or less, and there he was!

It is past 4 o’ clock now. He takes me to his house. Prepared lunch. Not eaten. Waiting for me!

Plenty of fish and chicken! ( You had told him I was not fussy about food but didn’t say VEG.)

Then to school. Rain rain. Slush slush. Earth remover and lorries made sure of that. Stayed in the room next to the new three classrooms besides the posh school toilet. Comfortable. All things new and well in place. Attendants at beck and call. Patil and the boy Sampath were always available and helpful.

Next day, that is, 4th, Sebastian drove me to SVD’s. I had the option to stay at the SVD’s, a nearby hotel or a classroom. The classroom seemed all right.  So there I camped.  Of course, there was wet mud on the verandah and some noise of work, etc.  But given the construction work and the wet weather it wasn’r bad. Most children came for class. Had the assembly. Teachers said, “Say ‘Good Morning, Brother’.”

And they all said, “Goo-ood Morn-ing, Bro-ther.”

The teachers seemed quite capable, and the children availed of the excellent facilities of the PRESTIGIOUS INSTITUTION OF THE SOCIETY OF THE BROTHERS OF ST.PATRICK, AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF REPUTED EDUCATIONISTS. ( Wow! That is a great sign board on the roadside )

The upcoming school is posh and unique in design and facilities. Most time of the year Pune is cool and rainless, but in the unlikely event, as they say in aeroplanes, of heat and darkness, each classroom is provided with five tube lights and four ceiling fans.  The three glass windows are large, giving plenty of light and air. The hexagonal classrooms are spacious. The large window grills look good, but are they required to prevent stealing of desks and chairs?  Office and residence rooms need grills, I know.

By the way, because of the continuous, though not heavy, rains, there is water seepage in several places, and the site engineer and contractor are aware. It will be rectified, they said. They said! The rainy season will end soon. The open well is full. The open well, well, that was a ‘stroke’ of luck! The large playing field  -   the excavator has done its work  -   is grand.  The overall appearance is very good. The computerized front view as displayed on a classroom notice board is excellent. The pillars and horizontal arches in front add grandeur to the building. Though not functional.

STOP PRESS

[Just now, Saturday 7th Auggust, about 1 o’ clock in the afternoon, my helper Joy rang from Mananthavady school. You know the bit of land we have where the well is?  Bought from George the sick man who is dead since? Land slid above it and washed away about 20 percent of our land. The trees are gone and the well is also gone. He came to get some documents to give application to the Panchayat. Bro. Paul is not there now. That is how Joy landed up in the school. No loss of life, but some houses damaged and people have moved away from their houses. The road is blocked in many places caused by landslides. Tow buses are trapped in between. Heavy rains and strong winds. All banana and a number of cashew trees uprooted. The bunches were about to be cut and sold. Prices were high, too. People’s hopes and dreams have been shattered! God’s ‘lila’ is too much for human mind to grasp! In his 35 years in Kottiyur this is the greatest nature’s fury he has seen, Joy says. Paul is gone to Trichur. He will come back tomorrow, Joy said.]

Because of the rains Friday was declared a holiday. I cancelled the train ticket and came by air, arriving here shortly after 1. I had lunch and had not yet gone to the room when your call came.

About the Bishops’ School principal’s complaint, you can take it up when you come. In any case that man has no business to contact us directly. I told Mr. Patil that if that principal calls again to tell him that the ICSE Board can only feel honoured that we are adopting ICSE.

Floods in some parts of the country, and drought in others. Thank God we don’t have drought and floods in the same place at the same time!

Best regards to the Indian monks at the Chapter, and best wishes and prayers for the rest of the Chapter. I hope this Chapter will not make the Holy Spirit sad.

 She called in a neighbour and said weakly, “Ruthie, bury me in my black silk dress. But before you do, cut the back out and make a new dress out of it. It’s good material and I hate to waste it.”

“Can’t do that,” said Ruthie. “When you and Luke walk up the golden stairs, what would the angels say if your dress didn’t have a back?”

“They won’t be looking at me,” she said. “I buried Luke without his pants.”

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As the crowded lift descended, the woman became increasingly furious with her husband standing beside her. His face was flushed with delight because the blonde girl was crowded rather close to him.

As the lift stopped on the ground floor, the blonde suddenly whirled, slapped the man and said, “That’ll teach you to pinch!”

Bewildered, the man turned to his wife and protested, “I didn’t pinch that girl!”

“Of course, you didn’t,” said his wife consolingly, “I did!”

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A Protestant minister, a Catholic priest, and a rabbi are talking about what they do with the money in the collection plate. The minister says: ‘I draw a circle on the ground, close my eyes and throw the contents of the tray in the air; whatever falls in the circle, I give to God, the rest I keep.”

  The priest says: “I too draw a circle on the ground and throw the contents in the air. Any coin that stands on end, I give to God.”

  The rabbi says: “You sure make things complicated. I just put the collection on the table and tell God to take whatever he wants. The rest I keep.”

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An English couple in a French café ordered chicken and were given a leg each. The Englishwoman didn’t want the leg piece and said she much preferred breast-meat.

  The Englishman handed back the leg of chicken to the waitress, who didn’t understand what he wanted until he pointed at her bosom.

Man falls from the pursuit of the ideal of plain living and high thinking the moment he wants to multiply his daily wants. Man’s happiness really lies in contentment.

                                                                           Mahatma Gandhi

The attraction of simplicity is mysterious because it draws us in a completely opposite direction from where most of the world seems to be going away from conspicuous display, accumulation, egoism and public visibility   -  toward a life more silent, humble, transparent, than anything known to the extroverted culture of consumption.

                                                                            Mark A Birch

The industrialist was horrified to find the fisherman lying beside his boat, smoking his pipe.

“Why aren’t you fishing?”, asked the industrialist.

“Because I have caught enough fish for the day.”

“Why don’t you catch some more?”

“What would I do with them?”

“Earn more money. Then you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. That would bring you money to by nylon nets, so more fish, more money. Soon you would have enough to buy tw boats, even a fleet of boats. The you could be rich like me.”

“What would I do then?”

“The you could sit back and enjoy life.”

“What do you think I’m doing now?”

                                                                               John Lane

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the centre of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this centre is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

                                                                           Black Elk

Unless the mind be trained to selflessness and infinite compassion, one is apt to fall into the error of seeking liberation for self alone.

The Staff of Nirmala School, Mussoorie, and St Patrick's School, Binnaguri, during the latters's visit to Mussoorie in October

Bros Francis, Edward and Mathew with some of the candidates who reside at Dindigul

Bros Albert, Vincent and Francis in front of St Patrick's Academy, Dindigul, which is nearing completion of its first phase

A side-view of St Patrick's Academy

Brothers from both the Adyar Communities with Berchmans visit the St Rogue cemetery at Royapuram where six of our early Brothers and a chaplain are buried. In the picture behind the graves are (L-R): Bros Solomon, Jacob, Britto, Bosco, Mathew and Christopher