Franciscans" - A western Christian community which resembles
Jainism in practice!!
***An engaging and revealing portrait of a
remarkable man ***
This article has an interesting title. Indeed, this is true to a
certain extent. The whole world knows that Mahveera waved a unique
religious path where the concept of "Non Possessiveness" was highly
stressed. Similar to the path of Mahaveera, where he renounced his clothes
and made his living through accepting alms in ascetic life, there is a
western religious leader belonging to 11th century AD, whode name is "St
Francis". He adopted a similar path as defined by Mahaveera
earlier.
"Francisans" is a small community in Italy which resembles
the current Digambara tradition of India. This community was found by Saint
Francis.
- Saint Francis in his renounced life wore no garments on
body (similar to Digambar monks).
- He accepted only those food which
was given to him as alms (similar to Digambar monks accepting food).
-
He cared all living creatures (similar to "live and let live" in Jainism).
- He believed that the door of heaven is open to only those who live a
highly renounced life (similar to the need of "Aparigraha" for nirvana in
Jainism). Note: - Nudity is no longer followed in
"Francisians". St Francis adopted nudity as he had to return all those things
(including garments) that he got from his father while leaving his home for
embarking a spiritual journey. His followers live today with minimal clothes.
They lead their life by begging.
- St Francis was not influenced by
Mahaveera. May be he was not even aware of Mahaveera. Just their approach to
life resembled to a great extent. Mahaveera was more than 1000 years senior to
St Francis. Both of them stressed on "Non Violence" and "Non Possessiveness"
Saint Francis of Assisi, Italy:
Saint Francis of Assisi (September 26,
1181-October 3, 1226) was a Roman Catholic friar and the founder of the Order of
Friars Minor, more commonly known as the "Franciscans".
He is known as
the patron saint of animals, birds, and the environment, and it is customary for
Catholic churches to hold ceremonies honoring animals around his feast day of
October 4
Childhood and early adulthood:
Francis was born to Pietro di Bernardone,
a prominent businessman, and his wife Pica Bourlemont, about whom little is
known except that she was originally from France. He was one of seven children.
Pietro was in France on business when Francis was born, and Pica had him
baptized as Giovanni di Bernardone in honor of Saint John the Baptist, in the
hope he would grow to be a great religious leader. When his father returned to
Assisi, he was furious about this, as he did not want his son to be a man of the
Church. Pietro decided to call him Francesco (Francis), in honor of the child's
maternal heritage Rebellious toward his father's business and pursuit of
wealth, Francis spent most of his youth lost in books (ironically, his father's
wealth did afford his son an excellent education, and he became fluent in
reading several languages including Latin). He was also known for drinking and
enjoying the company of his many friends, who were usually the sons of nobles.
His displays of disillusionment toward the world that surrounded him became
evident fairly early, one of which is shown in the story of the beggar. In this
account, he found himself out having fun with his friends one day when a beggar
came along and asked for alms. While his friends ignored the beggar's cries,
Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly
chided and mocked him for his act of charity, and when he got home, his father
scolded him in a rage.
In 1201,
he joined a military expedition against Perugia, was taken prisoner
at Collestrada, and spent a year as a captive. It is probable that
his conversion to more serious thoughts was a gradual process
relating to this experience. After his return to Assisi in 1203,
Francis recommenced his carefree life. But in 1204 a serious illness
started a spiritual crisis. In 1205 Francis left for Puglia to
enlist in the army of Gualtiero di Brienne. But on his way, in
Spoleto, a strange vision made him return to Assisi, deepening his
spiritual crisis.
It is said that when he began to avoid the
sports and the feasts of his former companions, and they asked him
laughingly if he was thinking of marrying, he answered "yes, a
fairer bride than any of you have ever seen"-meaning his "lady
poverty", as he afterward used to say. He spent much time in lonely
places, asking God for enlightenment. By degrees he took to nursing
lepers, the most repulsive victims in the lazar houses near Assisi.
After a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged at the church doors for
the poor, he claimed to have had a mystical experience in the Church
of San Damiano just outside of Assisi, in which the Icon of Christ
Crucified came alive and said to him three times, "Francis, Francis,
go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into
ruins." He thought this to mean the very ruined church in which he
was presently praying, and so sold his horse together with some
cloth from his father's store, to assist the priest there for this
purpose.
Click Video
***A clip of the movie "Brother Son, Sister
Moon" (A documentary movie on the life of St Francis)***
Saint Francis renouncing material life and starting a new order called
"Fransicians":
His father Pietro, highly indignant, attempted to bring him
to his senses, first with threats and then with corporal chastisement. After a
final interview in the presence of the bishop, Francis renounced his father
and his patrimony, laying aside even the garments he had received from him. For
the next couple of months he lived as a beggar in the region of Assisi.
Returning to the town for two years this time, he restored several ruined
churches, among them the Porziuncola, little chapel of St Mary of the Angels,
just outside the town, which later became his favorite abode.
At the end
of this period (according to Jordanus, on February 24, 1209), Francis heard a
sermon that changed his life. The sermon was about Matthew 10:9, in which Christ tells his followers that they should go forth and proclaim that the
Kingdom of Heaven was upon them, that they should take no money with them, nor
even a walking stick or shoes for the road. Francis was inspired to devote
himself wholly to a life of poverty.
Clad in a rough garment,
barefoot, and, after the Evangelical precept, without staff or scrip, he began
to preach repentance. He was soon joined by his first follower, a prominent
fellow townsman, the jurist Bernardo di Quintavalle, who contributed all that he
had to the work. Many other companions joined Francis, and reached the number of
eleven within a year. Francis chose never to be ordained a priest, and the
community lived as "fratres minores", in Latin, "lesser brothers". The
Franciscans are sometimes called Friars Minor, a term derived from "fratres", in
Latin, "brothers".
The brothers lived a simple life in the deserted lazar
house of Rivo Torto near Assisi; but they spent much of their time wandering
through the mountainous districts of Umbria, always cheerful and full of songs,
yet making a deep impression on their hearers by their earnest
exhortations.
In 1209 Francis led his first 11 followers to Rome to seek
permission from Pope Innocent III to found a new religious order. At first his
attempt to speak with the Pope was refused; but the following night, according
to accounts, Innocent saw in a dream the church was crumbling apart and a poor
man appearing to hold it up. The next morning, recalling the poor man he had
refused the day before, he recognized him as the man he saw in his dream, and
decided to change his verdict the following day.
