Biography of Raimon Panikkar
Joseph McGinn
Period F
Mr. Sirois
November 29, 2018
Raimon Panikkar was born in 1918 in Barcelona, Spain. Panikkar’s father was an Indian who was Hindu, while his mother was a Christian. Panikkar was unique in that he learned, understood and followed each of the two religions. In 1946, he was ordained into the priesthood. He had been studying theology and philosophy at Universities in Madrid and then in Rome. In 1954, Panikkar made his first trip to India. There he studied the Hindu scriptures. One website noted him as studying and comparing St. Thomas Aquinas’ works with the Hindu sacred scriptures. Through Panikkar, the faithful of both of these religions can see and discover other parts of the opposite religion and actually see that they are not as different as they would think. One of Panikkar’s most famous quote, “I started as a Christian, I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without ever having to ceased to be a Christian” (Britannica), explains his religious journey. Panikkar then would work at prestigious schools such as Harvard University and the University of California in Santa Barbara. Panikkar also worked with the United Nations and UNESCO, while founding his own foundation, the Vivarium Foundation. In 2010 at the age of 91, Panikkar died in Tavertet, Spain (Britannica).
Panikkar wrote many books throughout his life, with the official count being over 50 books. Panikkar is also a major contributor in many of the the translations of the Vedas, which were the Hindu scriptures he studied when he visited India. A few of his books include works such as, The Experience of God: Icons of the Mystery, The Cosmotheandric Experience: Emerging Religious Consciousness and The Intra-Religious Dialogue. In the first book, The Experience of God: Icons of the Mystery, Panikkar discussed God and our experiences of meeting God. Panikkar uses sources such as the Bible, the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita. With Panikkar’s parents being of different backgrounds, he could use each religions respected sacred books to discuss God and our relationship with him. In the other book, The Cosmotheandric Experience: Emerging Religious Consciousness, Panikkar discusses what various religions can provide for one another. In other words, Panikkar noted that before today, many different religions like Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, would not work with one another. Christians would think it blasphemous to discuss the other religions. Panikkar discusses what the religions provide to one another and how we are all intertwined. The last book, The Intra-Religious Dialogue, incorporated all of Panikkar’s life works. Panikkar's works, throughout his life, were always trying to connect different religions and show how much they can teach one another. In this book, Panikkar discusses his own experiences of having a Hindu father and Christian mother. He then goes on to discuss that in order to grow as a spiritual being we must be able to understand and learn for others, no matter their religion (Intrareligious Dialogue).
Panikkar has also won many awards and has been recognized as a leader in his field many times. In 1999, Panikkar won the Creu de Sant Jordi award in Spain. This award is given to people with high standing morals and values. This award is considered one of the highest civil distinctions given to citizens in Spain. Panikkar was also given a honorary doctorate from the University of Girona, in Catalonia, Spain. Perhaps the greatest recognition Panikkar has received was being invited to talk and give a speech at the Gifford lectures. The Gifford lectures are prestigious lectures, where the greatest religious minds from around the globe talk and give lectures about religion and theology. Panikkar’s talk was created into a book, Trinity and Theism. There is also an award that was created in his name. This award, aptly named the Raimon Panikkar Prize, is an, “international award instituted by the Vivarium Raimon Panikkar Foundation in the centenary of his birth, with the aim of spreading his thought and promoting its study” (Raimon Panikkar). This award is given with a roughly $3,000 prize and a variety of gifts. This award is asking young theologians to write a PhD. type thesis on the writings and works of Panikkar.
Overall Raimon Panikkar has done many things in order to further the cause of the collaboration of many different world religions. He has helped with over 30 thesis for aspiring theologians and his works have been the main evidence for about 20 others. His works and writings have inspired many and shown how many seemingly different religions are very much similar.
Biography
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Raimon Panikkar.” Encyclopædia Britannica,
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 Oct. 2018,
www.britannica.com/biography/Raimon-Panikkar.
“Eruption of Truth: An Interview with Raimon Panikkar.” Religion Online,
www.religion-online.org/article/eruption-of-truth-an-interview-with-raimon-panikkar/.
Intrareligious Dialogue,
www.raimon-panikkar.org/english/XXVI-2-Dialogo-intrareligioso-inglese.html.
“Raimon Panikkar.” The Gifford Lectures, 4 Nov. 2014,
www.giffordlectures.org/lecturers/raimon-panikkar.
Raimon Panikkar, raimon-panikkar.org/english/home.html.