The Jesuit Priest who learned the language of the Buddha

Aug 18, 2017

PANAJI: India’s classical language, Pali, also known as Prakrit, took its dying gasp around the 14th century. Centuries later, the language of Buddha remains alive for a Catholic Priest.

Fr Rosario Rocha, the provincial of the Goa Province of the Society of Jesus and a professor of Christian Theology, can also authoritatively speak on Pali and Buddhism.

“It was my desire to go deep into the oriental and Indian philosophical thought. Along with Buddhist texts in Pali, I studied Vedic philosophy,” Rocha said.

Thus began his tryst with the language and a journey as a scholar addressing the relationship between Christianity and other Asian religions.

“The specialisation that I bring to a branch of theology is pertinent today.

“The theology of religion, the philosophy of religion, comparative philosophy of religion is a vast field and I have a particular interest, especially as a Catholic priest. Deeper understanding of religions is going to create, in my view, not only the Christian Church of the future but is also going to create the nation,” says the 65-year-old priest.

He, however, rues the way religion and its understanding is bandied about and says that, in the quest for minimalism, the world has lost the essence.

“If you want to get deep into philosophical systems, then you need to know languages and you need to have access to the philosophical texts,” he says.

His studies and grasp over different religious systems have brought him to a strong realisation to explain contemporary society and religious discourse. “In the history of the world, religions have become institutionalised. But, when it becomes an institution, there is the tendency that certain aspects are emphasised and certain aspects are allowed to lapse. There are many keen insights but, some have been kept and embellished, while others not so well,” he said.

At no point does Rocha assert that religions share the same underlying belief system. However, he does add that “what is predominant in all the religions is the search for not just ordinary meaning, but the search for a deeper meaning of life and also of the divine.”

Rocha has put his studies to use in his academic journey, but he may also have a word of advice for the world.

“How are we looking at the world today and how are we looking at our own identity and how we need to learn to inter relate. One can go solo in many different things, but to build society today, to build communities today, one has to have a very dialogical approach. A dialogical approach does not look at the negatives of others, but looks at the positives,” said the priest. --ucanews.com