Fr. Raimundo Panikkar's Farewell Letter

Father Raimundo Panikkar is preparing to leave the visible world.  Born on November 3, 1918 in Barcelona, Spain to a Catholic mother and Hindu father, Fr. Raimundo Panikkar has long specialized in the dialogue between Christianity and Asian religions. Of his first trip from Europe to India, Panikkar once wrote: "I left as a Christian, I found myself a Hindu, and I return as a Buddhist, without ever having ceased to be a Christian." His best known books include The Cosmotheandric Experience (Orbis, 1993) and The Infra-religious Dialogue (Paulist, 1978).

In recent weeks, Father Panikkar mainly sleeps and remains in complete silence. On 28th January 2010 he sent his personally signed last letter:

"Dearest Friends,

"I would like to communicate to you that I believe the moment has come to withdraw from all public activity, both the direct and the intellectual participation, to which I have dedicated all my life as a way of sharing reflections. I will continue to be close to you in a deeper way, through silence and prayer, and in the same way I would ask you to be close to me in this last period of my existence.

"You have often heard me say that a person is a knot in a network of relationships.

"In taking my leave from you I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for having enriched me with the relationship I have had with each of you.

"I am also grateful to all of those who, either in person or through association, continue working to spread my message and the sharing of my ideals, even without me.

"Thankful for the gift of life which is only such if lived in communion with others: it is with this spirit that I have lived my ministry."