The Critique

Zealot , Reza Aslan, Harper Collins Publishers, 2013, ISBN 978-93-5136-076-6, Rs. 499, Pp. xxxiv+296 Reza Aslan is an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions. He was born in Iran but now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons. His first book, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam , has been translated into thirteen languages and named by Blackwell’s as one of the hundred most important books of the last decade. This book is a fruit of over twenty years of research and is an attempt to reconstruct a biography of Jesus that is in keeping with the historical data available. A perusal through the history of the world will reveal many significant milestones, events and people who changed or shaped the course of history. Men and women down the ages through their lives and legacy have affected history either positively or negatively. Some are remembered while others are lost is copious texts under heaps of detail. This biography is a...

‘We, the Salesians of Don Bosco,’ article 2 of our constitutions begins, ‘form a community of the baptized.’ The nature of our congregation therefore, is communitarian. We are not called to independent living and isolated working but to inter-dependent living and collaborative working. Community life is a core aspect of the Salesian identity. “How good it is for brothers to dwell as one” (Ps 133:1). Don Bosco wanted Salesian houses to become families where all feel welcome and responsible for the common good. He saw in community living an opportunity for witness. We are familiar with the hymn which goes, “they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” Along similar lines, Don Bosco wanted the Salesians to be known for their family spirit, pickled with optimism, joy, temperance, work and creativity in mission. The Salesian call is at its source, a call to follow Christ, the Good Shepherd. The Salesian spirit finds its model in the very heart of Christ, apostle of the Father (article...

Director: Rajkumar Hirani Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma Duration: 153 mins One might marvel at the fuss surrounding PK . Frankly, there is nothing heretical or sacrilegious in its content. Why then did so many ‘religious’ people find their sentiments hurt? Perhaps because PK took a side swipe at them. It sought to expose the true nature of religion obscured by blind sentimental devotion being paraded as religion and preached by many religious leaders today. PK (Aamir Khan) is an alien, who comes to earth to scout the region. He lands in Bhojpur and on his very first encounter with a human being, he is robbed of his only possession: a remote control with which he can contact his space ship. Thus begins the adventure of PK, in search of his remote control. Simultaneously, we are recounted the story of Jaggu (Anushka Sharma), who is studying in Belgium . There, she meets and falls in love with a Pakistani boy, Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput). Her family is taken aback...

                              Don Bosco was declared the Patron of Youth by Pope John Paul II in 1989. He received his mission: to be Father to the young, in a dream at the tender age of nine. He nurtured this call throughout his life and never wasted an opportunity to gather boys and direct them to God. He did not do this as a spiritual director, (at least no at first!) but rather as a friend, a companion and a seminarian. As a young boy, he would attract youngsters with his magic tricks, tightrope skills, games etc and then get them to recite the rosary with him or recount to them the Sunday sermon (which he remembered thanks to his prodigious memory). Already then, he had ingeniously found a way to combine religion and entertainment. His entertainment was necer for entertainment sake but rather a façade or an advertisment for religious instruction. Even as a young pries...

Have you ever thought about what life must be like behind bars? What ‘confinement’ really implies? In a world where ideals like freedom, equality and justice are juggled about in a society that closes upon itself; where every whistleblower is snubbed humiliatingly in public or dastardly eliminated in their ostensible privacy; where people belonging to a certain region, religion, caste are stereotyped and discriminated;  women by virtue of their gender are looked down upon by a largely patriarchal society; or where innocent people ignominiously languish in the darkness of prison cells made to hold criminals. I cannot help but express my consternation. Excuse my candor but I honestly fail to see freedom, equality and justice being realized. The Preamble of our Constitution clearly states that the Indian society is free, equal and just. These words are written in the upper case and are in bold, just to assert their effect and implications. If we have to make any progress in this...

Director: José Padilha Cast: Joel Kinnaman , Gary Oldman ,  Michael Keaton , and  Samuel L. Jackson Duration: 1hr 21mins Security is a human need. All of us look to be secure and safe. In order to uphold and ensure this need we have the police department. In our technological age, we have all sorts of gadgets for promoting personal and public security. With the phenomenal developments in robotics, we are moving towards new frontiers. Robocop, is a science fiction film portraying a half robot half man vigilante. Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) was a regular cop who was trying to bust up a drug ring. Things went awry, thanks to some moles in the police department and an attempt was made on his life leaving him for dead. His life was saved by giving him a robotic body. Thus, emerges Robocop. This part man-more machine, created a huge sensation by helping lower the crime rate and solving cases faster and more efficiently. The story is set in the thick of a discussion wh...

Below are some of the key issues the Special General Chapter of the Salesian Congregation 1971, dealt with: POVERTY: We ought to be genuine in the living of poverty. It must be evangelical more than juridical. It should take on the honest imitation of Christ. It should help us to concretely witness to personal detachment and solidarity with the poor. It must be characterized by courageous confidence in God and by tireless work. Poverty must be WITNESS and SERVICE. OBEDIENCE: Obedience and authority are to be recognized for the common good. It helps us share in the offering of Christ. It is a search for the will of God through openness and frank dialogue. The SGC warns against paternalism and infantilism. It demands purity of heart and overcoming of self. CHASTITY: The community must be a family. Family spirit is fostered in a friendly atmosphere. Chastity is portrayed as purity, dedication and gift of oneself. FORMATION: The aim of formation is to help the sem...