Guest Post: Patrick McCollum in India

March 2, 2012 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 8 Comments

[The following story was sent to us by the Patrick McCollum Foundation. It brings us highlights of Patrick McCollum's current sojourn through India, part of his larger ongoing interfaith and World Peace work. Patrick McCollum has been working as a Pagan chaplain and activist for well over twenty years. He was one of the founding members of the Lady Liberty League, and has been involved in numerous legal struggles involving modern Pagans. You can read more about Patrick's accomplishment's, here.]

Rev. Patrick McCollum traveled to India this month as a part of his international interfaith and World Peace work. Patrick, who works openly as a Pagan elder in these areas, works diligently to forge international alliances in the hope of building a better world. In the last five years, he has created significant alliances between Hindus, Buddhists, and Native Americans, in addition to creating friendships with numerous influential people.

This month, At the invitation of His Highness, Jyotendrasinhji Vikramsinhji Sahib, Maharaja of Gondal, Patrick had the esteemed honor of being invited to participate in the facilitation of the ancient ritual of Maha Shivarati, inside the renouned sacred Bhavnath Temple at Junagadh in the Ghia Forrest. It is estimated by the Gujarat Police that over a Million pilgrims flocked to the site to be blessed by the ritual, creating an undulating mass of worshipers far beyond what the eye could see.

Patrick McCollum receives the first blessing in preparation to enter the temple.

Patrick McCollum receives the first blessing in preparation to enter the temple.

“Everywhere you looked there were people as far as you could see as our car and its advance security team pushed its way like an icebreaker through the pulsing crowd. We were the only two vehicles allowed to travel within the last ten mile radius of the temple and there was a surreal quality as the sheer weight of the people became overwhelming.”

Upon reaching the temple grounds, Patrick, His Highness the Maharaja, Her Highness the Maharani, and the Viscountess Windsor of the British Royal Family, exited the car, and made their way to a small patio while the temple space was prepared. Women are not allowed in the ceremony, so the Countess and Maharani were seated comfortably and Patrick and His Highness were escorted forward into the temple.

The Maharaja, Patrick McCollum, Viscountess Windsor-Clive, and the Maharani waiting at temple entrance.

The Maharaja, Patrick McCollum, Viscountess Windsor-Clive, and the Maharani waiting at temple entrance.

The inner temple which is dedicated to the god Shiva, the Lord of the Dance, was only large enough for Patrick and the King and the other seven Sacred Priests, making nine Priests total. In the center, polished by millennia of pouring Ghee and other sacred sacraments over it, stands a time-worn dark stone Lignin under the protective gaze of a multiple-headed silver cobra.

Chanting filled the air, as vessels filled with milk and herbs were emptied over the ultimate male symbol. Sadhu’s, India’s recluse jungle priests, decended from their secret mountain abodes, naked and covered in ash for the sacred event.

A view of the Sivaratri ritual.

A view of the Sivaratri ritual.

“It is not possible to the explain the intensity and sacredness of the ritual,” Patrick shared. “it is beyond description. It is so ancient and holy that all I can say is that as a Pagan Priest, I am incredibly humbled and cannot imagine that anything I could possibly do in the future will even come close. Just imagine performing a ritual with over a million people surrounding you, each focusing all of their energy and attention on the tiny cubical you’re standing in. The sheer power of their prayers creating a wave of power so concentrated that you could cut it with a knife. This is the stuff of legend.”

But Maha Shivarati was not the only legendary event in store for Rev. McCollum while in India. The following day, Patrick attended as a VIP guest at a Royal Wedding at the Palace Wankaner in the state of Gujurat, joined by Lady Windsor-Clive of the British Royal family. The wedding, joining two Royal families, was hosted by HH the Maharana and HH the Maharani of Wankaner, to celebrate the coming together of their son, Prince Yuvraj Kesri Dev Sinh & Princess Rajkumari Yogini Kumari
of Sirohi.

“We arrived at the gates of the Palace and it was like a fairy tale.” Patrick said. “The Palace was huge with towers and parapets silhouetting the night sky, and it was entirely lit up with colored lights. A canopied red carpet adorned with thousands of flowers guided us a quarter of a mile through courtyards to the reception. We were then greeted by a troop of performing turbaned sword dancers in white as the colorfully turbaned Prince & veiled Princess sat on a wonderfully decorated Dias. We sat right up front with full view of all of the festivities, and there were colorfully and exotically dressed Maharajas, political figures, and nobility everywhere. It was like a scene from the Arabian Nights!

Following ceremony, we were whisked away through carved stone hallways and secluded gardens. We continued past the rear of the Palace to a huge circular tent made of colorful strips of cloth for a small private dinner. I had the opportunity to meet a number of important people including the Chief Minister.

After it was all over, our car picked us up and transported us back to our Palace in Gondal, to a long and fully appreciated sleep.”

After leaving Gondal, Patrick traveled on to Varanasi, considered the oldest surviving city in the world, and perhaps the most sacred in India. In Varanasi, Patrick entered the River Ganges in ceremony. Following that, he had the privilege of being invited by the Presiding Priest of Lord Shiva (to whom the city is dedicated) to have his work blessed during the revered Aarti ritual on the banks of Ganges.

“As the water enveloped me, I came to understand the sacredness of this place. I could feel the bones of those who were recently put to rest under my feet and between my toes, and the silt that had washed down from the mountains slid past like thick syrup carrying the memory of all it had seen. I’d heard Crocodiles patrolled the waters speeding up the decay process as I watched the cremation fires only yards away, like a conveyor belt of celebration and sadness, and I realized that this is the very vortex between life and death, an Axis Mundi if you will. Everything eventually ends up in the river, and everything emerges from it. On my third time down under, the river spoke to me, and I will never be the same.”

On February 26th, Patrick spoke at the International Conference on Spiritual Paradigm for Surmounting Global Management Crisis at the School of Management Sciences, Varanasi, sharing a Pagan perspective toward resolving the Global crisis.

Patrick speaking at the International Conference on Spiritual Paradigm for Surmounting Global Management Crisis.

Patrick speaking at the International Conference on Spiritual Paradigm for Surmounting Global Management Crisis.

Patrick also met with several world renowned Swamis at their Ashrams, and had detailed discussions with them on spirituality and on creating alliances between Pagans and Hindus.

Patrick will finish his tour of India, visiting several more Ashrams and speaking at the World Council of Elders of Ancient Traditions & Cultures in Haridwar.

Patrick makes the local papers!

Patrick makes the local papers!

“My journey has not only been one of making important alliances and gaining respect for our Pagan traditions, it has also been a deep spiritual journey for me personally. I hope I can share what I’ve learned with my community when I return, and that I have opened doorways that will make it easier for others to follow.”

[I'd like to thank Patrick McCollum, and the Patrick McCollum Foundation for sending us this update. Patrick's increasing role as an international interfaith diplomat for modern Pagans is both exciting and heartening. I hope that the bridges being built in India between Hindus and modern Pagans continue to strengthen and grow. You can read all of my coverage regarding Patrick McCollum's work, here.]

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Two Prayer Breakfasts, Two Visions of America

February 2, 2012 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 4 Comments

Today the political elite of the United States engaged in an annual tradition, the National Prayer Breakfast, attended by every president since Eisenhower, and held up by supporters as a peace-making, problem-solving moment of unity.

President Obama at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast.

President Obama at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast.

“The purpose of the National Prayer Breakfast, which will be held for the 60th time on Thursday, is to attempt to bridge political and even religious differences through what is called “the spirit of Jesus of Nazareth” in order that leaders consider a Higher Authority to Whom they are ultimately accountable and answerable. [...] One can debate whether the National Prayer Breakfast engages in a type of “civil religion,” but there is much good that emerges from it. For at least a short time, politicians — from the President of the United States on down — acknowledge they are not as powerful as the Almighty.”

However, as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) point out,  the organizers of this event, the Fellowship Foundation (aka “The Family”) use its influence to further a noxious agenda.

“Outside of Washington, “The Family” has used its government clout to facilitate backdoor meetings between U.S. and foreign officials, and has persuaded members of Congress, including Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), to engage in Fellowship-sanctioned evangelizing while traveling at taxpayer expense.  Salon.com uncovered, revolting detail, the lengths to which members of “The Family” went to help Laurent Gbagbo, the now former president and dictator of the Ivory Coast, hold on to power.  Mr. Gbagbo is now in The Hague awaiting trial by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.  “The Family” has also supported abhorrent anti-gay legislation in Uganda.”

Journalist and author Jeff Sharlet, who as written two important books about this organization, “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power” and “C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy,” says that the Fellowship Foundation has been waging a war on the United States’ Establishment Clause since its formation.

“Domestically, The Family have long been at the heart of the Christianist assault on the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause – “Congress shall make no laws respecting the establishment of religion” – which is the guarantee of the Free Exercise Clause that makes America free (in theory, at least) for Pagan. In 1953, The Family established the National Prayer Breakfast; in 1954, Family politicians led the fight for “Under God” in the pledge and “In God We Trust” on our currency. More recently, Representative Tony Hall, a conservative Democrat from Ohio, made the National Day of Prayer a fixed, permanent affair, with White House observance orchestrated by Shirley Dobson – wife of Christian Right leader Jim Dobson.”

The fact that a group tied to abhorrent and lethal anti-gay legislation in Uganda, and committed to an agenda that mocks our constitution, is still awarded such position in our society says much about the venality of our political climate and the clout this group has been allowed to cultivate. Instead of an interfaith event, or secular gathering, our nation’s moment of unity is interpreted through the lens of Christianity, and a limited, conservative, empire-minded, Christianity at that. This audacious enforcement of a Christian America technically side-steps constitutional issues by being a “private” event, a fact that allows smaller, local, prayer breakfasts to invite notoriously controversial figures while avoiding litigation.

This year, thanks to Occupy Faith D.C., there’s an interfaith People’s Prayer Breakfast that calls on Americans “to pray and to stand in unity with those suffering economic hardship and inequality in our nation.”

“…where people of all faiths can both listen to and offer up the prayers of the poor. It’s an event where all are welcome, but we especially invite those who are impoverished or work with impoverished people groups to come and bring their prayers. We will offer up the prayers of children in the form of artwork on the theme of “enough for everyone”, first to God, and then to the attendees at the National Prayer Breakfast.”

So here we have two competing Prayer Breakfasts, and two competing views of our nation. One favors gathering power and establishing Christianity as the focal point of national unity, while the other opens its doors to all faiths, and concerns itself with those who aren’t being served or supported by our current system. One is about back room deals, while the other is about “breakout sessions.” Only one of these visions is one in which modern Paganism has a place at the table, and its that vision that our interfaith efforts work on building. As our community, our movement, continues to grow, we need to work on growing institutions and events that are inclusive, open, and support our core values. Eventually, with enough work, perhaps we can build a large enough interfaith coalition to challenge The Family’s Prayer Breakfast, to provide a robust counter-narrative that is truly in the grand spirit of our secular nation.

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Modern Paganism’s Role in Interfaith

January 24, 2012 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 58 Comments

While the concept of interfaith, constructive interaction between representatives of different religions, is truly ancient, its modern conception was largely birthed by the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions (re-dubbed the Parliament of the World’s Religions in more recent times) where representatives of “Eastern” religions (Hinduism, Taoism, Jainism, Buddhism) created lasting contacts with representatives from the “Western” traditions of Christianity and Judaism. The star of that parliament was Swami Vivekananda, credited by many for bringing Yoga to America, who spoke to a rapturous audience of over 7000 about the end of religious fanaticism and intolerance.

Swami Vivekananda at the 1893 Parliament

Swami Vivekananda at the 1893 Parliament

“Sectarianism, bigotry, and it’s horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful Earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.”

Today, the modern interfaith movement continues its work to end religious persecutions, whether by sword or by pen, and modern Pagans have played integral roles in its shaping. Pagans currently serve on the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, play important roles within the United Religions Initiative (URI), and participate in several smaller regional interfaith councils. In some cases, Pagans can engage in kinds of interfaith dialog that more mainstream faiths can’t, as illustrated by Don Frew from Covenant of the Goddess.

Don Frew at the Parliament of the World's Religions

“Being a non-Abrahamic practitioner in dialogue with conservatives, Christians and others, has been helpful not only in talking to “exclusivists” but to non-exclusivist conservatives. Non-exclusivist Muslims and Jews who interpret their traditions and associated rules very strictly can feel excluded by what happens sometimes in interfaith settings. Because my own tradition has so often been excluded, they confide in me.”

That said, the interfaith movement has faced entrenched skepticism from some corners, including from many modern Pagans, who echo the question asked by Chas Clifton: “what do Pagans get from interfaith activities?”

“Were it not for the American constitutional tradition of religious freedom (and similar traditions in some other Western nations), I do not think that the Pagans would get a seat at the interfaith luncheon table.”

That skepticism is only enhanced when we see Catholics use interfaith as a way to criticize their guests, or when presidential contenders like Rick Santorum (who also happens to be Catholic) claim that the concept of equality comes only from his God, and is not found in other religions.

“I get a kick out of folks who call for equality now, the people on the left, ‘Well, equality, we want equality.’ Where do you think this concept of equality comes from?” Santorum asked the enthusiastic crowd packed into a restaurant here. “It doesn’t come from Islam. It doesn’t come from the East and Eastern religions, where does it come from? It comes from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that’s where it comes from.”

American Muslim and Hindu groups were appropriately offended, and it caused many religious minorities to reiterate the question, do we get anything from trying to sit at the same table with faiths who seem to continually slander us? Rachael Watcher, a National Interfaith Representative with Covenant of the Goddess, says yes.

“A more pertinent question is “What DO Pagans get from Interfaith Activities?” (emphasis mine) The very most succinct answer that I can offer is legitimacy, respect, a place at the table. [...] If you think that this does not make a difference consider a comment from one United Church of Christ minister when told that individuals from a local Interfaith organization in Las Vegas had threatened to leave if Witches (In this case a full professor at ULV) were allowed to join. He wrote to the organization and then followed up with a call that boiled down to: “if they want to quit let them. You will loose nothing and gain a group of sincere people who are always the first to arrive (to be available for set up), the last to leave (to assure that everything is clean). They are not interested in trying to convince you of how important they are. They are simply involved to serve and share.

When Lady Liberty League and others were fighting for the right of Pagan Vets to have the pentacle on their grave stones, we were shoulder to shoulder with Ministers, Priests, and other Professional clergy who wrote letters and in some cases occupied the offices of the of the Veteran’s Administration. These religious leaders know who we are and respect us because of our long tradition of service. When Pagans are faced with violations of our civil rights, we are now supported, often by very well known and prestigious religious leaders. It pays to have friends.”

To emphasize their belief in, and commitment to, interfaith, Covenant of the Goddess is once again offering a scholarship contest for one young Wiccan/Witch to attend the upcoming 2014 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Belgium.

“The Covenant would like to see Wiccan youth involved in these historic occasions and has committed itself to providing the necessary financial support to be able to do so. We are beginning this call for applications early in order that young people can start the process of planning and becoming active in local organizations which in turn will help them with the experience that they will need to apply and participate in this call.”

As for my own opinion, I think Pagan involvement in interfaith, so long as we understand both the strengths and limitations of this movement, is a desirable and healthy thing. If the modern Pagan movement wants to have a voice as religious demographics shift and change, then we need to continually establish ourselves here and now. We need to make sure the thoughts, beliefs, and desires of our communities, and those of our allies, are not silenced by non-participation or the petty bigotries of  ideologues like Santorum. Interfaith can not only humanize us to the ignorant, but also create powerful bonds with those we can learn much from. In addition, I believe that those of us who are engaging in interfaith need to take those skills and bring them back to practice them within our own movement, to bring better communication between faiths and traditions that have, at times, chaffed under the crowded “Pagan” umbrella.

What we “get” from interfaith is a chance to change the very fabric of mainstream religion through dialog instead of violence. It drops a pebble in the waters of faith, and ripples forward through time. Just as 1893 saw Hindu and Buddhist voices establish themselves in the consciousness of America, so too does Pagan participation in modern parliaments, and similar gatherings, establish our thoughts and values to those who would find our ways alien and even dangerous. There is no instant radical change in interfaith, but the ripples are already starting to be felt, and it would be folly to draw back just as we are starting to emerge as a worldwide religious movement.

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Assisi III: Too Much and Not Enough

October 28, 2011 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 49 Comments

Large interfaith gatherings can often be fraught with long-simmering tensions, just ask the folks who put on the Parliament for the World’s Religions, but it is generally thought that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. That getting leaders and clergy of the major religions in the same room to find common ground and common understanding will bring dividends of lasting peace (or at least bring about greater tolerance). Yesterday, in Assisi, Italy the Catholic Church sponsored a massive interfaith gathering, the third such gathering to directly involve a sitting Pope (hence, “Assisi III” in Catholic circles), and the 25th anniversary of the first such meeting. In his address to the gathering, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged that Christianity has used violence to achieve its ends, and that this is against the spirit of his faith.

“As a Christian I want to say at this point: yes, it is true, in the course of history, force has also been used in the name of the Christian faith. We acknowledge it with great shame. But it is utterly clear that this was an abuse of the Christian faith, one that evidently contradicts its true nature. The God in whom we Christians believe is the Creator and Father of all, and from him all people are brothers and sisters and form one single family. For us the Cross of Christ is the sign of the God who put “suffering-with” (compassion) and “loving-with” in place of force. His name is “God of love and peace” (2 Cor 13:11). It is the task of all who bear responsibility for the Christian faith to purify the religion of Christians again and again from its very heart, so that it truly serves as an instrument of God’s peace in the world, despite the fallibility of humans.”

Benedict has long been categorized as skeptical of interfaith efforts such as these, and famously criticized the first Assisi gathering, saying that it could lead to the impression that all faiths are valid. As a consequence, great pains were taken to avoid the impression of unified prayer at this event, and to assert that profound theological differences exist between the world’s faiths.

“In the 1960’s a theologian wrote (and I paraphrase as I can’t seem to find my copy of the work this morning), “Polytheism was half-right. It understood that God was immanent in the world. But, it missed the fact that God also transcends the world.” The theologian? Joseph Ratzinger of course. If one of the reasons to gather religious leaders of different faiths together was to focus on the first half, the part polytheists got right, that is well and good. But, for Benedict, we cannot neglect the other half, nor the fact that we Catholic Christians do not pray to the same God as our polytheist brothers.”

However, these measures weren’t enough for some Catholic traditionalists, who felt the very gathering together  of religious leaders with the Pope was a blasphemy too far.

“…the very nature of a pan-religious event with representatives of the world, most of them pagan, is to foster religious indifferentism and religious relativism.  Yet in the months leading up to the third major Assisi affair, we have been told repeatedly by Vatican officials that this latest manifestation of religious relativism will actually be an attack on religious relativism. That this manifestation of religious indifferentism will actually avoid religious indifferentism. Such a promise does not correspond to realty. The only way to avoid religious indifferentism in a pan-religious event is to not hold the event.”

Also unhappy with the event were agnostics and atheists, who, while invited to the event, were also singled out for criticism in the Pope’s address to the gathering.

The Vatican made a big publicity push out of Pope Benedict XVI’s personal initiative to invite atheists to this week’s interfaith dialogue at Assisi, Italy. It was supposed to be a day of reflection and dialogue, but Benedict XVI, with four atheists in attendance at his invitation, turned the meeting into yet another attack against atheists. ”God’s absence”, the Pope argued, would lead to violence and even concentration camps, because denial of the Divine “corrupts men, deprives them of restraint, making them lose their humanity”. By contrast, said the Pope, use of violence in the name of religion would only be “an abuse of the Christian faith.” ”Again and again the Pope reveals himself as an ‘atheophobe’” says Raffaele Carcano, head of the Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (UAAR), an International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) member organization. “His attacks against atheists, and his pretension to acquire agnostics, are a clear attempt to demonize the unbelief that’s increasingly spreading throughout the world, as acknowledged by the clearly worried Pope himself.”

It seems pretty clear from his statement that Benedict invited the four agnostics “so that God, the true God, becomes accessible” to them. Perhaps I am wrong about this, but it seems like one step forward, two steps back, in regards to outreach with agnostics and atheists.

From a personal perspective, I applaud the spirit of Assisi, interfaith gatherings that have been taking place every year since 1986 and made this anniversary celebration possible. I also think that the current Pope will always be caught between too much and not enough. Any move towards reconciliation and understanding with non-Christians will be seen as a betrayal by traditionalists and hardliners, while his outreach toward bringing extremist groups like the Society of St Pius X back into full communion, and his track record of hostility towards indigenous and non-monotheistic faiths will ensure outreach half-measures bring as much criticism as praise. He is fundamentally limited by his very role and purpose, unable as an individual to bring healing while existing as the living embodiment of his faith. Any step too far in one direction would rupture the Catholic world, destroying a balance that has allowed it to become one of the world’s largest faiths.

So, what, if one believes in the power of interfaith work, can be done? I honestly believe that interfaith can’t be a top-down affair, at least not in today’s world. The heads of the dominant monotheisms are all immobilized by the same problems that haunt Benedict, while the non-monotheistic world faiths, being largely decentralized, have no single leader that guides them all. I think the best leaders and clergy can do is to simply allow interfaith work to happen, through projects like the Parliament for the World’s Religions, or the United Religions Initiative,  so that the ground can shift under them. The absence of persecution for interfaith involvement may not seem like much, but is a core building block for future change. In 25 years a Cardinal hostile to interfaith became a Pope willing to meet and talk with the world’s faiths (albeit with restrictions), what will the next 25 years bring? If we allow the interfaith movement to grow, I’m hopeful we can see massive advances in my lifetime.

I also think that Pagan intrafaith (and intramovement) work needs to become a far more serious consideration. As a diverse movement of unique and individual faiths we have allowed too much to be taken for granted, and made far too many assumptions, threatening to create permanent divisions between natural allies. We need to stop building councils and start building Pagan gatherings that engage in the hard work of actually listening to one another. The days when any small handful of individuals could speak for our now-global movement are over. I think we are ready to emerge as a much-needed perspective in world events, but it can only happen if we respect our own nature and reality.

Filed Under: Paganism, Religion Tagged With: , , , , , , , 49 Comments
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