Orla
O’Reilly Hazra
St.
Xavier’s College, Mumbai
Paper
Title: “Cosmogenesis: The Prophetic Speech of the Shanachie”
Abstract
The prophet appeals
to something the community already knows and wants to value but has managed to
hide from itself or keep separate from the domain of its present
behavior….Prophetic speech is the creation of a fresh interpretation of that
part of the tradition that has slipped from view and thus is failing to make an
effective claim for action in the community or in the larger society. Prophetic speech also is full of amazement and
wonder (Ruffing, 2001, 10)
The religious point
of view/understanding, of being bound (religare) with each other, Earth and Cosmos-
a ‘faith in the integrity of creation’ is not being culturally fostered around
the globe in our institutions of family, work school and recreation- in spite
of some being described as ‘religious’. This dualistic cosmology where the
sense of the sacred is in another realm, beyond a mechanistic universe, is also
known as Cartesian cosmology-it is secular. However, the sense of being bound, held in Mystery
with awe and wonder and life practices
fueled by reverence is being fostered around the world in some institutions –
in spite of some being described as ‘secular’.
It would seem that our language betrays a disparity of cult. What is the
meaning behind the word ‘cosmogenesis’
and what does it have to do with prophetic speech or healing?
For this we turn to
the ‘shanachie’ the wandering storyteller of ancient Ireland, whose importance,
in the colonial Penal times, was crucial when basic freedoms and rights were
being denied. Today’s shanachie is
emerging in countries all around the world to address these same issues
described as our social injustices, ecological unsustainability and spiritual
alienation. Knowing these three interlocking issues are a result of a
dysfunctional cosmology and the need for this view of life to be healed, the
shanachie tells our emerging sacred story, Cosmogenesis, our 13.8 billion year
journey together. Prophetic witness places it in conversation with the wisdoms
of religion, tribals and women for healing and awakening cosmic
compassion.
Paradoxically, it
is by returning to our common ground, our global commons, told by the shanachie
in the ‘secular’ language of deep systems science, that fresh interpretations
of religious traditions can now make effective claims for action in our
families, school, work and recreation.Dr Orla O’Reilly Hazra is affiliated with St. Xavier’s College (Xavier Institute for Social Research) in Mumbai, Tarumitra (Friends of Trees), a UNEP bioreserve and ecoliteracy center in Patna and The Times of India Foundation. Orla’s research has focused on women’s issues regarding co-occuring body/spiritual alienation and body/planet alienation.