By Jose Kavi
New Delhi, May 23, 2022: Father Subhash Anand, a renowned philosophy professor who challenged Catholics in India to become Christ’s authentic disciples, died of a massive heart attack May 23 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He was 78.
Bishop Devprasad Ganawa of Udaipur has informed that the funeral begins at 10 am on May 24.
Father Anand, a priest of the diocese of Udaipur, was born Benedict Alvarez on November 15, 1943. He was ordained a priest on October 28, 1967.
He was a resident of St Paul’s School in Udaipur’s Bhupalpura area.
Father Anand was part of Pune’s Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV) seminary as a student and professor of Indian Philosophy and Religion for more than 30 years.
Father Subhash Anand “deeply loved the Church and his path took unusual twists and turns. He wouldn’t tolerate hypocrisy, be it among scholars or the Church’s officials,” says Jesuit Father Stanislaus Alla, a theology professor in Delhi’s Vidyajyoti College of Theology.
According to him, Father Anand “loved to go to the root of the Gospel that invites and challenges the faithful to be authentic disciples rather than get struck in the infantilizing traditionalism.”
Observing that such a stand often led Father Anand to court controversy, Father Stanislaus hails as admirable the renowned philosophy professor’s “rigor and passion” during theological discussions and debates.
“He brought Indic ethical values and virtues such as Satya, Dharma and Ahimsa to the fore and integrated them with the teachings of the Gospel, inviting all to be truly Indians and authentically Christians. Also, in the spirit of Incarnation, he allowed himself to be permeated by local cultures and languages and it is evident in the Wald-Bulke Bible Bhashya (Hindi Bible Commentary) he painstakingly produced,” Father Stanislaus told Matters India.
Jesuit Father George Karuvelil, a former philosophy professor of JDV, says Father Anand’s original contribution to the academic world was his Christian interpretation of Hindu festivals. “He was my teacher and later a colleague,” Father Karuvelil told Matters India and described Father Anand as “a man of principles and who offended many in the process. I fondly remember him.”
Presentation Sister Shalini Mulackal, another Vidyajyoti professor, says she received the news about Father Anand’s sudden death with deep sorrow and pain.
“He was a clear thinker, a bold theologian who dared to question some of the fundamental beliefs of our Christian faith. I would consider him as a seeker who never stopped seeking after Truth. He was a scholar in every sense of the word,” says the former president of the Indian Theological Association.
Father Anand’s latest book, “Seven Baskets Full” is on Eucharist. No one can deny his scholarly work when you turn the pages of this book. He has contributed greatly in the theological thinking in India,” Sister Mulackal adds.
She says she came to know Father Anand more closely when she was invited to participate in an inter-faith seminar at Udasin Karshni Ashram in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, where the priest was among the main organizers.
“He used to bring his Mass kit so that we could celebrate Eucharist every day in that Hindu Ashram. Most participants in these workshops used to be retired professors from various universities both Hindus and Muslims. He had a nice way of relating with all those came for the seminar,” the Catholic nun recalls.
“What I admire most about Fr. Subhash Anand is that he was deeply human and compassionate” and he did not send away empty handed those who came to him for help. “He was a detached person, happy and contented with minimum comforts and conveniences.”
Jesuit Father Kuruvilla Joseph Pandikattu, a JDV professor, too hails Father Anand’s concern for the poor. “He cherished poverty as a way of life and supported the marginalized. He had a special commitment to the secular institutes in and around Pune and served them with devotion,” Father Pandikattu recalls.
Father Anand, he says, was “a man of deep conviction and commitment” and “a person of vision and values,” who was he was “critically and creatively committed to the Indian Church.”
Father Anand radiated “a sense of fairness and calm in his undertakings. Forthright and articulate, he could put forward his views forcefully and articulate himself clearly,” Father Pandikattu adds.
Father Anand, who cherished both the ancient Indian wisdom and its contemporary relevance, tried to make the Indian insights applicable to the modern times in his classes, says Father Pandikattu.
Father Anand’s doctorate studies at Banaras Hindu University “helped him assimilate the Indian insights to the Christian experience. It was this experience of his Indian identity and profundity that made him change his name from Benedict Alvarez to Subhash Anand,” Father Pandikattu explains.