Francis Acharya, well known in Indian monastic circles of the forerunners of the christian Ashram movement crossed over to the promised land on January 31,2002.His life a saga which began on the 17th of January,1912 in Belgium, the land of missionaries, came to end in India, the abode of Maharshis. He was ninety' A true Indian sannuasi with multi-faced personality., he was"still bearing fruit when old,still full of sap,still green" (Ps 92:14)
John Mahieu (who, in time became Francis Acharya ) was the fifth son of a prosperous farmer. After schooling and business studies at Brusels, divine providence brought him to London. While there, his latent spiritual senses were awakened and captivated by Gandhiji, the so-called' half naked fakir" who had arrived there for the round-table conference. The Mahatma's apparent holiness and commitment to personal values struck a chord in John's heart, a chord which was but a foreshadowing of the spiritual symphony which would soon follow"
John served in the Belgian army from 1932 to 33,He left the army and after a period of profound pondering, entered the Trappist (Cistercian) monastery.He had chosen that particular monastery because its Abbot, Dom Anselm le Bail, a reformer and visionary in his own right, was planning to establish a foundation in India.
On March 21, 1958, he established Kurisumala Ashram ( the syrian shantivanam) near vagamon,Kerala,in the company Fr Bede Griffiths, the well-known Benedictine monk and couple of aspirants. Fr Francis Acharya was a man whose personality had many sides to it. A man of short stature but a giant in his faith and resolve, he rubbed shoulders with patriarchs to peasants, and became"all things to all people" in a real sense. He was a loving son to his parents, a genuine monk to his fellow cenobites,a man of verve and vision to his contemporaries, a spiritual father par excellence to his sons at Kurisumala and many others, a gracious host to all who visited his Ashram, an unsung up lifter of the poor in Vagamon, a true Gandhian to all Indian's
Alan richard Griffiths was born at Walton on Thamaes in 1906 in British middle class family. At the age of 12 Alan was enrolled in a public school for poor boys,known as Christ's Hospital. this tall, lean, poor boy ranked first in his exams. Receiving a scholarship to oxford.
In 1955, he left for India in the company of Benedict Alappatt to start a foundation of the Ashram at Kenkeri,Bangalore, failed to take off and eventually he joined Fr Francis Acharya and co-founded Kurisumala Ashram in Vagamon,Kerala in 1958. Kurisumala Ashram was located on 88 acres of donated land in the ghats of kerala
Prof.John Kurakar
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