TSUNAMI: A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION
Contents
1. Introduction
2. The
Process of Theological Reflection
3. Theological
Reflection on Tsunami
a.
Experience
b. Analysis
c.
Theological
Reflection
d. Praxis
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
1. Introduction
It
is the basic instinct of man to look for meaning in life. Human life on the
face of the earth has its intended meaning and purpose. “As Human beings we
reflect, ask why about our lives,
because we are drawn to seek meaning. We need meaning as much as we need food
and drink”[1]. Often
we attribute this meaning and purpose to the Absolute or the Creator of
everything we perceive. So, the concept of God plays a very important and vital
role in our day to day life.
In
every culture, often we see that the concept of God is very much tied with what
we call a religion. According to the nature of the religion we are in, our
perception of God also changes. But the basic truth about God points to the
fact that God has created us and is continue to nourish us and protect us from
all dangers.
Now
coming to the religion of Christianity, we perceive God us a loving father who
always try to establish a strong bond with the human kind. As in any other
religion, our relationship with God has its base on Scripture and tradition. We
evaluate our life with the God who is present in the Scripture and in the
tradition that has been handed over to us by our ancestors.
Knowing
well the effect of our faith in God who is all loving and compassionate, we
attribute everything that happens to us to Him. It indirectly fulfills our need
for finding a meaning and purpose in our life. The achievement of this meaning
and purpose in life is revealed when we realize that our God is actively
involved in our life, wishing us all the good wishes and welfare. Often we are
so much busy with other things that we fail to see the presence of God in our
day to day life. This is where we need to get into what is called “the
theologizing process or theological reflection”. Here reflection is the act of
deliberately slowing down our habitual processes of interpreting our lives to
take a closer look at the experience and at our frameworks for interpretation.
“Theological
reflection is the discipline of exploring individual and corporate experience
in conversation with the wisdom of a religious heritage. The conversation is a
genuine dialogue that seeks to hear from our own beliefs, actions, and
perspectives, as well as those of the tradition. It respects the integrity of
both. Theological reflection therefore may confirm, challenge, clarify, and
expand how we understand our own experience and how we understand the religious
tradition. The outcome is new truth and meaning for living.”[2]
Hence, theological reflection puts our experience
into genuine conversation with our religious heritage. This conversation opens
the gates between our experience and our Christian heritage. It helps us to
access the Christian tradition as a reliable source of guidance as we search to
discover the meaning of what God is doing now in our individual and communitarian
lives. Further, it trains us to discern the presence of God’s spirit in the
social events and movements of our time.
2. The Process of
Theological Reflection
We have seen that theological reflection is a
process of seeking meaning that relies on the rich heritage of our Christian
tradition as a primary source of wisdom and guidance. It presumes the
profoundly incarnational (God present in human lives), providential (God caring
for us), and revelatory (source of deepening knowledge of God and self) quality
of human experience. Hence, the process of theological reflection is a movement
toward insight.[3]
The
process of theological process flows through four parts: experience, analysis,
insight (theological reflection) and praxis (action). In fact they follow a
vicious circle: action, by leading to new experiences in our lives, propels us
back to experience. Let us define each of these terms one by one.
Experience:
Experience is what happens to us; what occurs in which we are active or passive
participants. Experience has an inner dimension – the feelings, thoughts,
attitudes, and hopes that we carry into and out of any situation. This inner
dimension involves our response to and what we make of and do with what occurs.
Experience also has an outer dimension involving the people, places, projects,
and objects that surround us and with which we interact.[4]
Experience is a type of knowledge or consciousness
derived from an immediate contact with reality and through which our life is
revealed. It builds up my life so that my history, my existence, my personality
are formed by the accumulated experiences from the first to the present.[5]
In an experience we come to know the who, where,
how, what and why of the
particular situation. However, in the context of theological reflection usually
a negative question will generate question for the sake of “salvation”. The
questions which thematize theological reflection stem from some experience of
negativity. Without an experience of negativity there would be no question and
hence no need for theological reflection or reinterpretation. An experience of
a negative contrast consists in a reaction to something, an event, a situation,
a set of relationships that should not be.[6]
Such negative experiences we experience in life
puts us in a situation of brokenness, woundedness, conflicts, hopelessness and
cry. This situation causes us to reflect on the whole aspect of experience.
Analysis:
It is the understanding of the reality
that causes brokenness, restlessness etc. We should also check the underlying
elements and the human situation in the social, economical, political, cultural
and religious aspects. The common life of a community is shaped by the
continual analysis of the communitarian experiences.
Theological
reflection: Here we have to draw inspiration
form two traditions. The first of these is the inherited religio-cultural
tradition which, contains myths, symbols, history, stories of liberation and liberating
figures and interpret them. The second one is the Christian tradition. Fusion
of above two sources of inspiration leads us to salvation.
Praxis
/ Action: The theological reflection forces us
to act concretely, marching towards ultimate salvation. Until our lives change
as a result of what we have learned, insight remains incomplete. The Christian
way itself is not primarily a matter of increased knowledge or understanding,
but of incarnating the truth we receive so that we come to embody the love of
God in the world. Then, the course of our lives changes.[7]
3. Theological Reflection on Tsunami
On 26 Dec 2004, I was at
Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu doing my studies in Information Technology. That day
during the lunch time, one of the fathers announced the news that sea water has
got into the Marina
The tsunami of 26th December, 2004 is
one of the major natural disasters the humankind has witnessed. It is the worst
tsunami in the known history which killed more than 220,000 people, mostly
women and children. This tsunami was caused by a massive submarine earthquake
near Sumatra in Indonesia
and had its disastrous consequences in Indonesia ,
Sri Lanka , India , the Maladives, and East
Africa . But its impact was felt all over the world, as far as Peru in South America and the Antarctica .
Apart from the loss of lives, it has left tens of thousands of people injured,
maimed and handicapped in several ways. Large number of people shell shocked,
traumatized and broken hearted. Hundreds of thousands of people, in all the
countries affected by tsunami, have lost their houses and whatever they owned
such as fishing vessels, boats, catamarans, nets and household articles of all
sorts. In a matter of minutes everything changed![8]
a. Experience
On 28 December, two days after the killer tsunami
struck the shores of Tamil Nadu, I visited Kelai Manakudi, Mele Manakudi,
Pallam and Kulachal villages of Kanyakumari district along with Fr Soosai Nayagam
of Dumka Province. Initially I did not have any particular idea of what it was
all out. As our scooty approached the sea shore, as far as 3 kilometers away, the
road was filled with the sand. The marks on the trees and the partially
destroyed houses indicated how tall the waves were. They were nearly 7 feet high from the ground.
It was very difficult to make way through the enormous amount of sand and clay
on the road.
We first reached Kele Manakudi. Everywhere there was
the killing smell of decayed dead bodies. People were still searching for the
dead bodies in the canals, ponds and fields. Ambulances hurried away up and
down carrying dead bodies. Many were weeping and sighing with agony. The whole
area was grief stricken. The houses were completely destroyed and the house
hold items washed away. Their livelihood materials like nets, boats and catamarans
were all gone.
I visited a few relief centers. There I met many
people who were providentially saved from the tragedy. They shared the
agonizing moments and with tears explained how they were saved from the
clutches of death. They also shared how they feel about the tragedy. The sea
gave them everything and the sea has taken away everything!
As I stood at the beach looking at the sea, I
found the sea in its usual form as though nothing had happened. But looking
back at the shore, I found the broken houses, catamarans, destroyed huts,
uprooted trees… a sight of utter destruction. There were some people sitting
alone with gloomy faces, as though complaining to the sea for the trail of
destruction it had brought to their lives.
I visited Kulachal, the most hit area of the
district. Many were getting treatment from the hospitals there. Many had broken
limps, breathing difficulties and body pain. They found themselves lucky to be
alive. They, along with their physical ailments, experienced psychological
trauma too. I also witnessed a mass burial of 368 people in the Kulachal RC
church. The entire experience was heart-breaking.
The whole process of relief work was done by
different groups of people such as INGOs, NGOs, Church groups, Other religious
groups, Government authorities etc. People could overcome the social and
religious differences and join together for a common cause. The rich and the
poor shared whatever they had with the victims. There were so many cases of
genuine charity and brotherly concern.
There were also reports of looting and snatching.
Many people held on to their wealth at the time of tsunami thus either killed
themselves or injured badly. There were cases of partiality in distributing the
relief materials. Often the dalits were not provided with sufficient relief
materials they deserved.
After my three day relief work among the tsunami
victims, I returned to my community with a heavy heart and utter helplessness.
The experience began to bother me all the time.
b. Analysis
The experience of the effects of tsunami in
Nagercoil district of Tamil Nadu was something very special. It made me to
think about the ultimate meaning of life on the face of the earth. It made me
to question many things such as, ‘why do people die in such large numbers?’,
‘why do people still become victims of natural disasters?’, ‘why does a good
God allow such a thing to happen?’
My analysis of this experience will have two
dimensions. One is the natural cause of the tsunami, which we could not avoid
or which is beyond our control and the second is the how we react to pain,
agony, suffering and helplessness of such a terrible natural disaster.
The
cause of tsunami is scientifically explained very well. Movements of parts of
sea floor due to natural and/or artificial causes like high magnitude
earthquakes, huge landslides or manual dumping of voluminous rock or other
masses, forcible injection of water through great cavities, submarine
explosions, great volcanic explosive eruptions spark off seismic sea waves,
called tsunamis (Japanese term for tidal waves, though they are unrelated to
tides).
A
Tsunami wave can be described with the help of its height, length, period, and
velocity. Wave amplitude is the height of a tsunami wave. It generally ranges
from less than a metre to a few hundreds of meters per hour, say for example 300 m . Wave crest to crest is
the wave length which is variable from 100 km to 1000 km . Wave period is
also variable from 15 minutes to 1 hour. Velocity of tsunamis varies from 60 km per hour to 800 km per hour. The figures
stated above for various parameters vary and a function of ocean basin
properties. For example, tsunamis travel at great speeds with low wave height
and larger wave length in deep oceans.
Waveforms
of tsunamis extend from sea surface to sea-bottom. If so, wave heights should
be expected of great dimensions. On the contrary, in reality, wave heights are
shallow. This needs to consider the sea water column vibrating like a stack of
waves (imagine a pack of stacked corrugated asbestos sheets). And that is why
features on deep ocean floor, such as ridges, sea mounts, and channels, modify
wave direction and velocity even though wave height is imperceptibly low. “Wall
of water” is in fact the stacked wave crests (or troughs) traveling with
enormous energy, which hits on the shores leaving damage and destruction.
Let
us see the social, political, economic and religious dimensions of the people
who have been affected by the tsunami. The fisher folk society in Tamil Nadu is
deeply rooted in caste sentiments. They want to preserve the purity of blood
and also maintain their own way of governing the villages with own unwritten
laws and rules which the people will have to abide with. Their pre-tsunami
relation with the sea was that of a mother and child. Their relationship with
the sea that had lasted for centuries has resulted in the emergence of a deep
respect for the sea and for all that she provides. Such a wonderful
relationship was shattered within a few minutes by the Tsunami.
The
economy of these villages largely depends upon their woman folk. Even though it
is men who struggle hard with the sea and bring fish, it is the women who
market it and manage the household economic affairs. They usually don’t have
any perspective for future and spent whatever they earn immediately.
Though
the fishermen belong to various religions their faith in God is very strong.
They trust their God the way the trust the sea. There are many pilgrim centers
along the sea costs of Tamil Nadu; Velankanni, Tuticorin, Kanyakumari,
Ramanathapuram etc to name a few.
Hence,
my experience of the struggle of the people and their reaction to the tragedy
was very much rooted on their social, economic, cultural and religious life and
beliefs. It was highly commended that there were cases of real charity and
genuine love among them even in the midst of all the tragedies. Many people
gladly accepted the relief material offered to them by the government and other
organizations. Even the demarcation they showed between the dalits and
non-dalits had its roots in their caste sensitivity.
c.
Theological
Reflection
A disaster like tsunami immediately gives rise
to questions in the mind of the believers / victims / witnesses. Such questions
what we call the problem of evil. If God is good, why such a disaster why so
much of material destruction and loss of innocent lives? This question has to
be properly answered to accept them with more understanding and equanimity, in
case of such disasters in future.
The
questions raised as above are usually based on presuppositions which may be
conscious or unconscious. So, it is better to look at these presuppositions
critically and then see the question than looking at the questions themselves.
One common presupposition is that the humans are born to have a happy life with
all their needs and desires fulfilled. They would live long, would not get to
ill and have a peaceful death. Anything that goes against such expectation is
considered unjust or unfortunate. In India
Let
us now theologize the natural occurrence of a disaster like tsunami. We have
natural tendency to take many things we see in the nature for granted. We even
assume that God has created a perfect universe where everything is in order.
But the fact is that God has not created a perfect universe. The universe is an
evolving reality. The universe is in a continual creation where change is
necessary. Many things come and go and many things happen in this process. So,
natural disasters are part and parcel of such a process of evolution. There
many new and desirable things also come and go. This is how God has designed
the universe and everything happens with His knowledge by virtue of Him being
the creator. “An evolving universe makes possible creativity and change.
Accidents and catastrophes, earth quakes, floods, and drought are the life of
the universe. So are mountains and lakes, the multicolored flowers and fruits,
the flowing streams and the billowing clouds and the humans to the stage where
they are today.” [10]
So even in the cultural life of the people, there are good tidings and bad
ones. If the sea could feed them and nourish them for centuries, should they
get angry with the sea for such a terrible disaster, considering their
mother-child relationship with the sea?
The second aspect is the experience of loss, pain
and helplessness of the victims as witnessed by me. In this universe of ours
pain is part of creation. In the cycle of life, death gives rise to new life.
Unless the seed falls into the earth and dies, it remains barren. If it dies it
produces fruit. The child is born out of the mother’s pain. Pain, death and
life constitute the process of creation. Even in the life of fishermen,
everyday is not the same. Some day they have a good catch, some other day they
catch nothing and return home empty handed. But still they don’t complain as it
is their regular experience. They have the ability to balance at both the
situations.
It was a common notion among the people that the
disaster was a punishment from God. The Hindus believed that tsunami destroyed
Tamil Nadu coast because the government arrested and jailed Kanchi
Sankaracharya. The Christians thought that it was a punishment for the
implementation of the anti-conversion law and their lack of interest in the
church affairs! But we all know that God never imposes suffering on people as
punishment for sin. The God that Jesus manifested to us in his deeds and words
is a loving Father-Mother, who is ready to forgive and love (the story of the
prodigal son, lost sheep).
The best example for accepting afflictions in life
without blaming God is that of Job. Job lost everything he had. He lost his
properties and children in various tragedies. But still he had his deep faith
in the love and providence of God. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21b). Many fishermen also made such an
incredible remark; “the sea gave us everything. Now the sea has taken away everything.
And we are sure the sea will again give us to continue our life”. Such an
attitude is possible because their faith in the sea is too strong for anything
to break.
Tsunami also had many bright sides. There were
such extra-ordinary and magnificent outpouring of compassion, generosity and
kindness. The ‘humanity’ in men and women came out powerfully breaking forth
all the fetters and barriers, such as caste, creed or color. In some villages
it is the Muslim youth who came out first to the rescue of Christian fishermen with
whom they hardly had ever socially interacted. One could witness volunteers of
Hindu Munnani and Vishwa Hindu Parishad rushing to rescue the living and pull
out the dead from the debris. Such helps and concern at normal times are unimaginable.
The sight of people rushing to save forgetting the past rivalries, transcending
the manmade barriers of caste and creed and sacrificing all they had.
Generosity and brotherhood of the people and their unity made a manifestation
of the Kingdom of
God
Hence we see that even natural disasters like
tsunami are not independent of God. It is all in the plan of God. They can be
in one way called as the “pruning love of God”. God prunes as a gardener prunes
the flower plants. The aim is to produce more and be more fruitful. We gain by
loosing ourselves. The best of things in life are achieved by maximum pain and
hardships. This is a biblical truth and even every fisherman knows the hidden
message of this.
d. Praxis
The following are the concrete action plans we
have to take in the wake of a natural disaster like tsunami.
i.
Provide immediate
rescue operation and adequate relief measures for all without any partiality.
ii.
Compassion,
generosity and empathetic feeling to the victims are necessary.
iii.
Provide proper care
and protection for children and women.
iv.
Psychological
rehabilitation and providing immediate livelihood to the affected people.
v.
Create awareness for
the protection and preservation of ecology and its balance.
vi.
Create a genuine love
and respect for nature all that it provides and are part of.
vii.
Resist all sorts of atrocities
committed on the mother earth in the form of nuclear tests, deforestation,
mining and war.
4. Conclusion
In this essay I have tried to explain the process
of theologizing a natural disaster with special reference to tsunami. In the
beginning the process of theologizing is given with its various steps. Then the
issue of tsunami is taken and is theologized.
We see that everything is dependent on God and is
in the plan of God. God is the center of our life and He unites us all in
various ways. God’s ways are unique and only with the eyes of faith, can we see
His hand in everything. As every coin has two sides, every aspect of our life
has two sides, the brighter and the darker sides. They are complementary and
one is meaningless in the absence of the other.
In our religious life, the process of theologizing
is very important, so as to see them with the eyes of faith and in the context
of our day to day life. Our faith as well as social political religious and
economic life plays a very important role in our process of theologizing.
Hence, the process of theologizing mines the ultimate truth about life and
helps us to reach the ultimate goal of our life that is God Himself!
---------------------------
5. Bibliography
1. Killen Patricia O’Connell,
The art of Theological Reflection. New York Cross Road
2. Roger Haight, Dynamics of Theology. Bangalore
3. Dr Cruz M Hieronymus (Ed),
Vaiharai, Trichy, Thedal Publication, 2005.
[1] Killen Patricia O’Connell, The
art of Theological Reflection (New York: Cross Road, 1994) p. x.
[2] Ibid p.vii.
[3] ibid p. xi.
[4] Ibid p. 21
[5] Fr Eric SJ, Class Notes,
(Tarunoday, 16/8/2006)
[6] Roger Haight, Dynamics of
Theology, (Bangalore
[7] Killen Patricia O’Connell, The
art of Theological Reflection (New York: Cross Road, 1994) p.43.
[8] Dr Cruz M Hieronymus (Ed), Vaiharai, (Trichy, Thedal Publication,
2005), p. 1
[9] Ibid 75-76
[10] Ibid 78
