I finished reading The Song of the Bird by Anthony de Mello, SJ. My friend Neethi suggested that I read it. She told me about it a long time ago, but I couldn't find the right time. But watching her for years, I am surprised to see how joyful and understanding she is with people. I learned a lot from her and yet to learn more.
She doesn’t complain about people, she doesn’t judge people easily, and if I am to describe someone’s attitude, she doesn’t say her opinion about the person. She always listens. In our friendship, I am the one who talks a lot. I always felt that something was there in the way she lives her life. While reading The Song of the Bird, I discovered this. The book has influenced her so much and Yes, she told me that she likes the author.
Reading the book, it mirrored Neethi and Tony in front of me! Neethi’s behaviour is the reflection of The Song of the Bird. Her way of living Here and Now moment reflects Tony’s book, as seen in Neethi’s life. I would appreciate these two because of their suggestions and authorship. It’s not a particular faith that saves humanity but love.
I thought the author Tony de Mello was an American and was surprised how he knew so much about different religions. One day while I was googling, I came to know he is from Maharashtra, India. What a man! This book changes my perspective on how I view myself in relation to others. Others are always better. If my faith and beliefs are true, others have the same freedom to choose. Here comes freedom of religion, or belief.
Fr. Tony writes in the book's dedication, "We have written this book for people of every persuasion, religious and non-religious." I cannot, however, hide from my readers that I am a priest of the Catholic Church. I have freely explored mystical traditions that are not Christian or religious, and they have profoundly influenced me. It is my Church; however, I keep returning, for she is my spiritual home, and while I am acutely, sometimes embarrassingly, conscious of her limitations and narrowness, I also know that it is she who has formed me and made me what I am today. So, it is to her that I gratefully dedicate this book.
We can be influenced by the good thoughts and ideology of others, but we have to have our uniqueness, as Tony’s understanding of the Catholic Church. The author speaks of different religious beliefs and concludes with the unconditional love of God, which never blames, judges, and does not keep a record of wrong.
The ultimate theme of Tony’s book is love. Love can be a revelation and reflection from any religion or even an atheistic ideology. India is a multi-religious country that holds secularism as its nature. The readers may not understand when they read the book for the first time. Acceptance of people, rather than focusing on their different identities, is crucial for a secular India. Despite identifying as a Christian and a Catholic, Father Tony's storytelling capacity demonstrates respect for everyone. Avoiding hatred toward others because of their religious identity kills humanity and the holiness of religion. Too much of anything is bad.
It took me weeks to finish the book. I didn't mean to rush reading, so I was slow in understanding the mind of the author. Fr. Tony never ends his stories with solutions but gives the readers an understanding of the reality of the world we live in.
In the story "Eat Your Own Fruit," he explains why he doesn't provide solutions to other people's problems. When people go for counselling, they expect the counsellor to get them out of their problems, but here the needy person gets help to reflect on his or her life. Song of the Bird is a life-changing book that encourages people to live in the present moment, leading an amicable life.
- Dr. Robancy A. Helen,
A Catholic sister, Dalit activist and feminist
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