Raimon Panikkar Dies

I just learned from Carl McColman’s Anamchara blog that Raimon Panikkar has died.

Joseph Prabhu writes at the National Catholic Reporter, “Professor Raimon Panikkar, one of the greatest scholars of the 20th century in the areas of comparative religion, theology, and inter-religious dialogue, died at his home in Tavertet, near Barcelona, Spain, Aug. 26. He was 91.

“Panikkar taught and lived in the United States from 1966-1987 and was known to generations of students here and around the world through both his lectures and his many books. What they heard and read were the arresting reflections of a multi-dimensional person, who was simultaneously a philosopher, theologian, mystic, priest and poet.”

(the article continues here.)

Carl’s reflection begins with a quote from Panikkar. “I left Europe [for India] as a Christian, I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without ever having ceased to be a Christian.”

A Universalist mystic, and a very, very interesting man.

And, I feel, his death is a loss for us all…