'My Journey On A Thorny Way-The Lord Upholding' is an autobiography by Reverend Godwin Shiri, an octogenarian widely respected within his community, in particular and society in general. These days, there is no scarcity of autobiographies in all possible fields, but most of them end up in self-glorification with an endless list of Herculean feats to boast of. Thanks to the ghostwriters who have replaced machines when it comes to churning out stories to meet customer requirements, there is no dearth of them making their way into publications.
A testament to life: Perhaps 'My Journey On A Thorny Way-The Lord Upholding' proves quite different from the run-of-the-mill type due to the honest depiction and sincere introspection of the pastor-turned-author. The language is just simple, straight and to the point. Despite the uphill task of working in an unfriendly atmosphere and challenging conditions, the writer remains patient, cool and unperturbed, forget naming the villains in his life journey.
No tall claims to boast of: As the title itself is suggestive, it goes without saying that the humiliation and mental torture Reverend Godwin Shiri undergoes in his religious journey, and that too as a priest, make a painful reading. However, unlike ordinary mortals, he remains an exception in not beating his own drum to make tall claims.
Faiths differ, but manners remain the same: Thanks to overactive social media, wrongdoings by people in social life are in the public domain by and large now. The behaviour of those at the helm of affairs also more or less remains the same, and there is no differentiation of faiths in this aspect; perhaps there is unanimity over the subject! Reverend Godwin Shiri's subtle revelations in this connection are disturbing and shocking as well.
Clergy movement: Reverend Godwin Shiri recalls an incident involving the clergy movement for democratic administration and financial accountability in churches. This one single sentence is enough to imagine the state of affairs in the administration of holy places. He mentions 'a senior pastor without naming, who was a strong contender for the post of Bishop. However, a section of the clergy dissented from his candidature as his records either in financial or in other matters were thought questionable. Hence, to protest his candidature, a clergy movement was soon formed, demanding a cleaner administration and financial accountability in the churches. But the senior pastor succeeded by influencing the higher-up Synod authorities. And the first thing he did after being appointed as the Bishop was to unleash a backlash on all the dissenting clergy! This backlash on Reverend Godwin Shiri and Reverend O.V.Jathanna continued for several years, through various methods, including vicious and baseless propaganda!
A truly saintly behaviour: Interestingly, and irrespective of the adverse situation for most of the journey, Reverend Godwin Shiri also takes pleasure in recalling some of his noteworthy instances worth inculcating in the reading public. Late Comrade Simpson Soans had spent his whole life for the welfare of the working classes, waging a relentless battle all along. However, he had to tread an embarrassing path in the latter part of his life. The landlord of his small rented house in Bikarnakatte had been pestering and demanding that he vacate the house. It was at such a critical juncture that Reverend Godwin Shiri went out of his way to help the comrade in distress by requesting him to move to his cottage-like old house with a small patch of land in Pashikere, about 18 miles north of Mangaluru. Not only that, Reverend Godwin Shiri offered Comrade Soans to live there with his family as long as they wanted, rent-free! They lived there with contentment and carefree for six years and moved to Mangaluru only after their second son finished his engineering studies in Poland and started working as a marine engineer.
A destitute girl becomes a member of the family: Reverend Godwin Shiri's family takes the services of Agnes, a 15-year-old destitute girl, to take care of his ailing mother in Madikeri. She worked with remarkable honesty and soon became a member of the family. She also came along when the family shifted to Mangaluru. The family sent Agnes to an evening school, and she became able to read and write. They also sent her to tailoring classes in her free time, and she learnt the skill and helped her to secure a job at the hosiery unit, making her economically independent. Later, she was married to a relative and became a mother to two boys.
God in his name: Despite odds all along and for most of his missionary path, Reverend Godwin Shiri has preferred to remain cool, unassumingly humble and grounded. Looking back and imagining anyone else in his shoes, maybe things wouldn't have remained the same, perhaps. Preaching noble thoughts, on the face of it may look easy, but the same cannot be considered so when it comes to practising. God with him in his name as well in life, as he himself admits, has evolved himself not merely a God fearing person, but a truly Godly gentleman, difficult to think of these days.
Changed house 20 times in 30 years! He also makes a startling revelation in the book about the frequent changing of residences now and then due to changes in positions and places of work. The family changed the house 20 times in 30 years! In his typical jovial fashion, he also admits to having developed the expertise of packers and movers!
As the main evidence to the apex court: Perhaps his major study cum survey of Dalit converts to Christianity in about 40 villages of Siruguppa Taluk of Ballari district during the early 1990s, for a period of three years, unravelling the shocking reality of the living conditions, is a significant contribution. The final report in the form of a book titled 'Plight of Christian-Dalits-A South India Case Study'(1997) was submitted to the Supreme Court by the Christian Dalit groups as the main evidence to highlight the plight of neo-converts.
Urban poverty, a result of lopsided policy: He also mentions undertaking the study of Bengaluru slums in 1990. The largest slum in Viveknagar, adjacent to the posh Koramangala, was chosen for the sample study, which exposed the inhuman conditions of thousands of families. A final report in book form and titled 'Our Slums Mirror a Systemic Malady'(1999) exposed that urban poverty was a result of, among other reasons, a lopsided growth policy.
Inter Faith Seminar on 'Social Visions of Basava and Jesus': What makes the biggest striking difference between Reverend Godwin Shiri and other Christian preachers is his large-heartedness in admiring all good things irrespective of the faith one practices. In that perspective, his initiative in 1992 to organise an Interfaith seminar on 'Social Visions of Basava and Jesus' in cooperation with United Theological College (UTC) and Basava Samiti, Bengaluru, can be construed as a milestone in bringing various faiths together. It's also commendable that 40 Christian and Lingayat scholars attended the seminar, while the papers presented were published in the CIRS journal 'Religion and Society'.
An interesting reading: To conclude, Reverend Godwin Shiri's 'My Journey On A Thorny Way-The Lord Upholding' autobiography, apart from bringing to light his pro-people approach in his religious path, is also a reflection of the challenging situation all along. It makes an interesting reading and a lasting impact on the reader, and at the same time paves the way for a variety of perplexing questions on the ground reality of the society at large.
Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti
