There was a time when I was convinced that one of the major difficulties of students, Brothers in formation to be particular, was the language, English. Given the fact that most of them were from a Telugu background with no grounding in English whatsoever, made it really difficult to understand the language and thereby Philosophy was a big BIG challenge - or rather, English was a big challenge (Philosophy was the victim!).
Now the situation is quite different. This is no more a hunch, not even a belief, but a firm conviction. Brothers in formation, quite a few of them at least, have no grasp of reality. Language or no language, their world-view and vision is so narrow that they just do not 'see'. Even if a wider picture is presented to them, with all its grandeur, they see only one speck and are thrilled to have 'understood'. What, in fact, they have grasped is some imagination, with little or no effort at grasping the basics. Leave alone the basics, they do not even get the fringes!!
I spoke to a student of mine this evening and narrated to him an analogy: There is a vacancy for a driver in the institute in which I am placed as the administrator. One guy turns up for the job. He is an honest guy, decent looking, with no bad habits whatsoever and very obliging and helpful. However the best thing is that he does not know driving at all... not one bit of it. So what do I do? Perhaps I can teach him ... may be. But for how long? Three months? Six? A year? Three years??? How can I entrust the vehicle to him knowing well that he knows not a thing about driving? The fear is not so much of the vehicle (first of all, it is not mine... it belongs to the institute!). In case of a mishap, I can send it to the garage, get it repaired. Worse comes to worse, get a new one. But the issue is of human life, of the one driving it, those travelling with him, and others on the road. Any casualty is doom! In this circumstance, how justified am I in handing him the keys? The Church, priesthood, animation, leadership, pastoral service is all in the same line!
Now the situation is quite different. This is no more a hunch, not even a belief, but a firm conviction. Brothers in formation, quite a few of them at least, have no grasp of reality. Language or no language, their world-view and vision is so narrow that they just do not 'see'. Even if a wider picture is presented to them, with all its grandeur, they see only one speck and are thrilled to have 'understood'. What, in fact, they have grasped is some imagination, with little or no effort at grasping the basics. Leave alone the basics, they do not even get the fringes!!
I spoke to a student of mine this evening and narrated to him an analogy: There is a vacancy for a driver in the institute in which I am placed as the administrator. One guy turns up for the job. He is an honest guy, decent looking, with no bad habits whatsoever and very obliging and helpful. However the best thing is that he does not know driving at all... not one bit of it. So what do I do? Perhaps I can teach him ... may be. But for how long? Three months? Six? A year? Three years??? How can I entrust the vehicle to him knowing well that he knows not a thing about driving? The fear is not so much of the vehicle (first of all, it is not mine... it belongs to the institute!). In case of a mishap, I can send it to the garage, get it repaired. Worse comes to worse, get a new one. But the issue is of human life, of the one driving it, those travelling with him, and others on the road. Any casualty is doom! In this circumstance, how justified am I in handing him the keys? The Church, priesthood, animation, leadership, pastoral service is all in the same line!
Probably one of the reasons the Pope resigned :D
ReplyDeleteNightmare of an organisation.