Pannikar’s Cosmic Monasticism: A spiritual resource for our time?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Raimon Panikkar was a Spanish theologian with Indian roots whose reflections on monasticism were at once creative and inspiring. He aimed to renew the monastic tradition not in the sense of restoration but rather aggiornamento, namely, bringing it up to date. His scholarly considerations were matched with a personal tendency toward solitude, although seen as a complement to rather than a priority in an integrated life. This article is primarily a study of Panikkar’s engagement with monasticism as a positive resource for spirituality but also as an avoidance of accountability. While reviewing both Panikkar’s intellectual constructions and personal aspirations, reframed within the concept of ‘cosmic monasticism,’ I identify their main characters and limits. Among the former, I consider the assumption that the human spirit is naturally oriented toward grace; regarding the latter, I mention the omissions of the role of grace and of rules in spiritual development associated with ‘new monasticism’.