VARANASI, India (RNS) – Dressed in a lilac robe and a rough cotton towel around his neck, the Reverend Anand Mathew recently directed actors from his theatrical company in a village on the outskirts of this sacred polyglot city on the banks of the Ganges. The Catholic priest and 61-year-old activist playwright depicted an Indian mythological drama about COVID-19 for the deficient in Varanasi, many of whom were Muslims and other devout minorities disproportionately affected by the virus.
“Even the god of death and justice is baffled by the coronavirus,” Mathew told his actors. Although rooted in Christianity and a supporter of Mahatma Gandhi’s concepts of cosmic consciousness, Mathew relies on a wide variety of non-secular traditions to succeed in his peers. adding Hindu mythology and Gandhi’s principles of non-violence and civil resistance.
Religious minorities are increasingly being shunned, labeled, and kicked out of their jobs amid this fitness crisis. Mateo teaches the poor citizens of the old overcrowded villages the most productive practices to prevent the spread of the virus. India has become one of the hot spots in the global pandemic. And here, at the center of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political base, the virus has intensified caste divisions and political and devout polarization. Father Anand, as he is universally known, teaches those who cannot follow government rules to distance themselves. socially.
Matthew presses a message of concord in the net and masking: “The gods need us to love others, not stigmatized the infected,” he told an organization of more than a hundred villagers in a clearing near a Temple of Shiva covered with thatched huts.
“I in spirituality instead of blind religiosity,” he says. “Since my priestly ordination, I have spoken out for the poor, women, and sexual minorities, while condemning the bad practices of the Church and patriarchy. “
Mathew is the organizer of Sanjha Sanskriti Manch, an alliance of social activists founded in Varanasi. Since the Bharatiya Janata party government announced a national shutdown in late March, thousands of daily employees have traveled many miles to their villages before starving to death. In Varanasi, Mathew distributed food packages and must-have items to more than 96,000 deficient migrant workers, Muslim clergy, day laborers and nomadic groups. He also provided mental and non-secular support.
“Our rescue paintings began as soon as the closure was announced,” he said. “We raised funds, mobilized civil society, warned that they opposed polarization, and raised awareness of pandemic protocols among the masses. “
Mathew, originally from Kerala, on India’s south-west coast of Malabar, arrived in Varanasi in the 1970s as a member of the Indian Missionary Society to serve the rural poor. He embraced Varanasi’s multiculturalism and eclectic spirituality. It draws closer to Christian spirituality through prayers, meditations, and readings. He ordained a priest in 1987, and then co-founded his theatrical company to spread social awareness through street plays, plays and puppet shows.
The same themes are at the origin of the company’s paintings in the existing crisis. “Father Anand’s leadership is helping us link COVID to social problems, faith and minority empowerment,” said Govinda, an actor who has been educated with Mathew for longer. one-year-old.
Varanasi’s pluralistic culture was questioned in the early 2000s with the consolidation of Hindu nationalism. Feeling the need for harmony on the net, Mathew and other social activists created their interfaith Sanjha Sanskriti Manch.
“For more than 20 years, we have worked tirelessly to maintain the interreligious dialogues of Varanasi’s composite culture, poetry readings, cultural systems and Iftar congregations,” Mathew said.
Since the COVID epidemic, Mathew has sought to strengthen ties between Varanasi Hindus and increasingly alienated devout minorities. “The pandemic has exacerbated prejudices based on faith and caste,” he said. “As a devoted leader, I remind others that they must fight hatred with love and remain united as Varanasi has. “
During Ramadan, Mathew prepared more than 4,500 special food kits for deficient Muslim ingesters whose ancient silk tissue culture has been disproportionately affected by the virus. It also distributed 8,500 kits containing materials for domestic staff and lower caste communities. sewing machines and fabrics to Varanasi’s ingers and servants to provide them with the monetary means.
In distributing these aid materials, the Catholic priest cited verses from other texts among teams that historically regard epidemics as divine anger. “Father Mathew’s words acted as a mental balm for us,” says Sandeep Maurya, a 30-year-old Hindu employee of a nearby town. “Our religion in God and nature has now been restored. “
He also advocated for the support of the online network. Since July, Mathew has given more than 35 motivational speeches on YouTube and Zoom so that others can cope with the mental effects of the crisis and fight xenophobia.
Mathew won the no of the government, relying entirely on local networks and civil society teams to succeed in Varanasi’s minorities amid the pandemic. Instead, the government arrested him last December for participating in protests against the disputed citizenship amendment law. , which denies asylum to Muslims in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, while providing safe haven to others of other faiths.
But among Varanasi’s Muslim minority, Mathew gave hope that his network would be the onslaught of Hindu nationalism. Modi recently fulfilled his decades-long promise to build a temple to the Hindu god Ram on the site of a historic mosque in the city of Ayodhya. A hundred kilometers from Varanasi. The Muslims of Varanasi are concerned that their historic mosque in Gyanvapi may be the next target of Hindu extremists.
“It is that devoted minority leaders like Father Anand continue their work,” said a Hindu merchant in the labyrinth of narrow alleyways near the ancient Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.
Mathew believes that his paintings as a devoted minority leader in the holy city only shaped his devoted views, but they also made him more open and generous.
“These are the qualities I bring to my paintings about the pandemic,” he said. “A faith without compassion limits you only as a person, but also to the communities you serve. “
This article was produced as a component of the Spiritual Examples Project Scholarship with the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California.