INTEGRAL SPIRITUAL PRIEST ANTHONY DE MELLO

Introduction

Father Anthony de Mello SJ is considered one of the foremost mystical theologians

of the late Twentieth Century. His simple and direct approach to life continues to

untie all kinds of blockages preventing man’s acceptance of his spiritual nature,

even decades after his unexpected death. De Mello’s radiated authenticity, love for

all and his characteristic laughter tended to disarm any negative preconceived

notions against his ideas. As far as my research goes, I’d say that most of those

that knew him personally can attest to his sincere and friendly attitude to all as

people from every religious persuasion felt comfortable and at soulfully at home near

him.

Through his books, Anthony de Mello still speaks about happiness and freedom by

illuminating us on how to perceive conflicts and paradoxes differently, that is, by

showing us that there’s an enlivening core of wisdom which is far more fundamental

than our attachments to partial conceptual stances. Kindly and sagely de Mello often

used stories which offered unexpected solutions to paradoxical situations we might

be able to relate with. Each of these solutions recapitulated an essential intuition that

apparently sprung spring from his direct awareness of non-relative Truth. As far as I

know, this intuition was integrated into his whole being exulting joy, care and an

unassuming attentive sympathy towards those that approached him.

In his foundational years, Father de Mello originally learned with great discipline the

spiritual practices of Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuit Order) and gradually

became a master teacher in spiritual retreats which incorporating yoga, vipassana

meditation and other oriental and multicultural spiritual practices. He was a man of

much charisma and, after reaching beyond the confines of the Jesuit centers in

Bombay, gradually became well known throughout the world. Through books,

lectures and retreats and by taking at heart the humanitarian outreach

recommendations of the Vatican II Council, Father de Mello showed the way for a

possible renovation of Catholic ministry and for offering a deeper kind of

understanding to individuals of all faiths or of no particular faith at all. Anthony de

Mello, SJ used to call himself a “rolling stone” always available to move onto the

challenges where Spirit took him. He expressed as a genuine brother to all and

came to understand that the genuine Catholic Church encompasses all people:

Christians and non-Christians.

Anthony deMello’s vision and path are attempts to bring to life what Ken Wilber calls

the churches “Conveyor Belt” (read Wilber’s Integral Spirituality). However, long after

his physical departure Father Anthony prompted a censoring reaction from the

Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This, in turn, prompted a

reaction in liberal sections of the U.S. Roman Catholic Church and in the Mid Asian

synod. In his own way, Father de Mello stands as an example to follow for any

integral Church that may emerge in the future and will more likely than not serve as

a referent symbol in additional attempts to assist the Roman Catholic Church

become a more contemporarily useful, integral “Conveyor Belt.”

I believe that Father Anthony de Mello, SJ also stands next to other important

pioneers behind the emerging fertile integration connecting East and West wisdom

traditions. I think that his works also stand in line (in their own subtle and profound

ways) with an emerging Integral Catholicism contributed by Catholic creatives such

as Trappist monk Thomas Merton, Fr. Thomas Keating O.C.S.O., and Fr. Thomas

Berry C.P. It’s the way of the future: Out with prejudiced rigidity; in with embrace

through an integrally expressed love!

In my view de Mello’s sufi-like, paradoxical short stories are superb. They are

deceptively simple and yet perhaps as inspiring as Kahlil Gibran’s and as touching

as the stories about Mullah Najrudin. Perhaps a pre-established 2nd Tier sensibility

would be required to seek them out without being prompted by the advertising given

to other more popular and somewhat similar, spiritually-inspiring authors. I

recommend you to visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_de_Mello where you’ll

find a fine list of these works. However, the question I’ll attempt to inquire about in

this essay is, what may have inspired Anthony de Mello’s mold-braking, practicalspiritual

life?

A Biography

Anthony de Mello was born on September 4, 1931 in an Indian family that was

seriously steeped in the Catholic tradition. His family consisted of mother, father, an

older and a younger sister and a younger brother. He was born at the outskirts of

Bombay and his parents (Frank and Louisa) were natives of a Portuguese territory

called Goa. Anthony’s father was a railroad worker and since Anthony was the

eldest son, there were great expectations for him to work in the same business or –

better- to become a professional studying at a university so as to be able to take

care of his parents in later years. According to a biography written by Anthony’s

younger brother Bill, he showed great intelligence and social skills in school

(Stanislaus High School) and an early desire (a true vocation) to become a Jesuit

priest. Interestingly, the opposite could be said of Bill who showed no particular

interest in religiosity, spirituality or academic achievement and, rather, excelled in

physical prowess.

During a time of great economic uncertainty because World War II was raging

(along with a growing collective desire for national independence led by Mahatma

Gandhi), Anthony told his mother that he would pray to God for her to conceive (in

her 40’s) a brother that would replace him so that he would be able to join the

priesthood. When this improbable event happened he said “So now I can become a

Jesuit priest.” According to Bill, Anthony also had a sweet romantic side and had

promised a young local girl that “someday he would marry her and that he would

take all the stars in the sky to make her a wedding dress.”

During his last year in high school, Anthony attended a career counseling course

and re-announced his resolution at home. As his mother rightfully feared that he

would not be able to visit home for long periods, she asked him to join a secular

order and he would have sadly agreed if she had remained firm about it but she

understood that he would have been very unhappy. Thus, in July of 1947, Anthony

de Mello joined the Society of Jesus in the seminary of Vinalaya, at the outskirts of

Bombay. Anthony quickly blossomed in his new life, studying abroad and becoming

rector of the seminary between 1968 and 1972. Then, in 1973 he founded the (still

operating) Sadhana Institute to assist many more people of various persuasions by

conducting spiritual retreats.

According to his friend, Fr. Carlos Vallés, he had “an exact memory, a warm

spontaneity and a capacity to live in the present (nothing existed before or after). He

directed his attention to each person in a differently appropriate manner and, thus,

everyone was able to understand him. Vallés mentions that “he learned by ‘helping

others to learn’ fully giving himself to his own contributions and always perfecting his

qualities as a communicator.” According to Vallés, Anthony said that he “grew with

each of the courses given because with them he ‘developed himself,’ (the courses)

helped him to clarify his ideas, to deepen his feelings, to strengthen his mind.” Vallés

also declares that, furthermore, Anthony had immense fun, a great sense of humor

and that he was characterized by being unpredictable. Vallés remarks that Anthony

was “an individual capable of changes without caring about criticisms. He

possessed unlimited generosity and this probably led to his early demise.”

According to his biographies, not long after his inclusion in the seminary, Anthony de

Mello showed what seemed like a strong dogmatic conviction a certain day when

one of his sisters visited him at the seminary and he strongly vented his views at her

all inflamed saying “our mother church is just and you are guilty. You must not doubt

that and don’t forget that the pope is infallible.” The reason for firing away with this

strong statement is not revealed.

In any case, Anthony soon broaden his state of mind and understanding when in

1952 he was sent for three years to study philosophy in Barcelona, Spain and was

also sent to study psychology and counseling at Loyola University in Chicago. He

was soon inspired by the psychology of Carl Rogers which later helped him to “lead

(spiritual retreats) without leading.” According to Mr. Malcolm Nazareth, a former

Jesuit that trained under the guidance of de Mello, “Before and after his 1962 priestly

ordination Tony worked in diverse capacities in the land of his birth. 

He is best remembered in South Asian Catholic circles as a spiritual mentor to countless

persons of scores of nationalities and languages especially those who had

embraced religious life and the priesthood. Tony’s first language was English.

However, he mastered Spanish and was fluent also in-believe it or not-Ciceronian

Latin. Tony also knew Marathi, French, and other languages. This may in part

account for his popularity as a teacher of healing and of spiritual insight in English

and Spanish-speaking parts of the world among Christians, non-Christians, and noreligionists

as well.”

Mr. Malcolm Nazareth in his November 3, 2001 workshop presentation “Here & Now

with Anthony de Mello,” given at the Call to Action Conference tells us that we could

divide Anthony’s life in two basic stages: Sadhana One and Sadhana Two. Mr.

Nazareth (who eventually left the Jesuit Order, married and founded the Institute for

Ecumenical and Cultural Research and the Center for Interfaith Encounter) also

attests to have been a broad minded spiritual seeker when studying under Anthony’s

spiritual guidance. He tells us that during Anthony’s life in Sadhana One “Tony’s

theology of religion was primitive at that time. Having made my preliminary

explorations into Hindu religion and spirituality, I approached him with my questions

about Christology. The Tony of Sadhana One provided me with a set of answers

that were most unsatisfactory. I told him so. I walked away from him knowing that

Tony hadn’t dared to encounter any non-Christian religion with openness and

vulnerability. His Catholic Christian conditioning was blocking his spiritual progress,

if I may presume to say so.”

Later on, Mr. Nazareth goes on explaining that “It was sometime in the mid-70’s that

Tony opened his heart and mind to vipassana meditation practice. I’m inclined to

think that this was a major turning point for Tony as he slowly began to move into

Sadhana Two phase. After seriously practicing vipassana and thus exposing himself

to Buddhist spirituality, Tony dared to confront the theology which he had learnt in

theological school with, what now seemed to me to be the vital existential questions

of our time: What is our human situation? What are the various religious responses

to the human predicament? Is the response of Jesus Christ to the human

predicament substantially different than the responses of Krishna, the Buddha,

Moses? If the spiritual response of Jesus Christ was qualitatively different than theirs

or Confucius’, Lao Tzu’s, Muhammad’s, or Baha’ullah’s how or why is Christ

different? Why should I as a catholic care about such differences? And finally, from

the point of view of ultimate reality, do the similarities and differences between the

various religious paths matter at all? In a nutshell, what is spirituality?”

Mr. Nazareth then leads us to Anthony’s conceptual response to the important

question “what is spirituality?” by saying that “In his 1982 Song of the Bird we find

Tony’s terrific reply: Spirituality is that which succeeds in bringing a person to inner

transformation. Question: ‘If one applies the traditional methods handed over by the

masters, isn’t that spirituality?’ Tony’s response: ‘It isn’t spirituality if it doesn’t

function for you. A blanket is no longer a blanket if it fails to keep you warm.’

Question: So spirituality does change?’ Tony wrote: ‘People change and needs

change. So what was spirituality once is spirituality no more. What generally goes

under the name of spirituality is merely the record of past methods.’”

Regarding Anthony’s continuously expanding shifts in understanding I think that he

may have had one or more eye-opening mystical experiences somewhere along the

line. This I surmise from my conversations with Mr. Nazareth who tells me that he

had such an experience under Father Calderas and from interpreting a segment of

Bill de Mello’s biography of his brother. In Mr. Nazareth’s e mail dated May 31, 2009,

I’m told: “I don’t know where you read that de Mello was a changed man after his

return from Spain. Do you know what year that may have happened?” (Note: This

may have happened in 1952 because in the biography written for his brother Bill de

Mello lets us know that Anthony changed around that time his rigid, traditional

outlook into that of an understanding brother or “mellow de Mello.” Bill writes that “In

1952 Tony was sent to Spain to study Philosophy for three years during which time

some personal evolution took place. He gained charisma that made him a leader of

men”).

Mr. Nazareth continues his letter by writing “I remember him saying in one of his

public talks that one of the first major influences on his spiritual transformation was

in a 30 days retreat which he made under Fr. Calveras, S.J., in Spain (probably

during De Mello’s tertianship (final segment of Jesuit formation). Calveras was a

world famous authority in conducting the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Perhaps

Prabhu would be able to fill the gaps in my knowledge on this issue, so I’m

forwarding this post to him.

During that Calveras’ retreat, de Mello had a very powerful mystical experience

which gave him profound insight into the spirituality of St. Ignatius. After that, de

Mello himself was much sought after for his skill as a retreat master. He conducted

30 days retreats but he also conducted weeklong retreats.”

Mr. Malcolm Nazareth also mentioned in his workshop presentation at the Call to

action Conference on November 3, 2001 that “His 1985 book One Minute Wisdom,

in my view, makes Tony an incipient heretic (a la Ratzinger). Because here Tony

dares to come up with bold statements that only mystics can utter so brazenly. Here

he sounds now Buddhist, now Sufi, now Taoist, now Hindu, now Jewish. The

master in Tony’s book is clearly an interfaith master. The Christian is hidden, but

absolutely there. Tony has begun to point out that theological formulas, including

theological and spiritual ones are no more or less than formulas, intellectual

concepts, fabrications of the human brain that cannot but think in terms of binaries.

Tony’s final expressions of spirituality in his posthumous “One Minute Nonsense”

(Loyola, 1993) are basically supplements to his One Minute Wisdom.” Regarding

Anthony’s “interfaith master” I wonder if he is one and the same as the voice of the

“Integrated Big Mind-Big Heart” referred to by Zen master Genpo Roshi (see

http://integrallife.com/applications/big-mind-process-big-heart).

Mr. Nazareth tells us that “Tony’s charisma was compelling. He very easily charmed

and convinced his audience to radically sacrifice their earthly possessions to favor

the poor. He magnetically drew his admirers to commit themselves to the making

and conducting of 30-day Ignatian exercises. Tony strongly encouraged his

audience to become practitioners of vipassana and to go study this form of Buddhist

meditation under Burmese master Goenka. In his earlier years Tony had delved

deeply into Ignacian spirituality which he mastered in Spanish under the guidance of

Father Calveras, SJ. Later on, Tony had been gripped by the spirit of Mahatma

Gandhi. Tony had also come for a while under the spell of Bertrand Russell. Tony

had been taken by the British philosopher’s brutal honesty. In Tony’s final years,

however, he was quite captivated by J. Krishnamurti. In my estimate this was when

the Tony of Sadhana Two reached the zenith of his achievement as an East-West

healer-and-guru.”

Analysis with an AQAL Approach

Anthony de Mello lived in a multicultural environment which was predominantly

Christian and Hindu. According to testimony, he demonstrated a high level of (UL)

cognitive intelligence in childhood and also a high level of (LL) interpersonal skills.

Thus, at least two of his lines of development probably scored high. Interestingly

enough, even from childhood, he manifested his desire to become a priest and,

therefore, probably was also born with a high level of latent spirituality and/or his

position as the eldest son in the family led him to conceive of a way to fulfill the

highest possible expectations. Apparently his (UR) physical constitution was normal

although not particularly athletic. His mother must have been around 27 years of age

when he was born, a likely ideal age to give birth to an intelligent, healthy child (when

his brother Bill was born she was forty, probably having something to do with a less

integrated brain structure and a lack of interest for academic learning).

We could say that Anthony was born with a great potential in his spiritual line of

development and that life would likely lead him to a natural expression of a level that

may have been present in previous lifetimes. We also could say that Anthony’s (LL)

cultural milieu was not only steeped in the centuries- old Catholic tradition but also

steeped in a strong work ethic since the inhabitants of Goa (a Portuguese colony in

those times) such as their immigrant parents were highly estimated by the British

rulers of India, not only due to their Christian faith, but by their educated background

and by their proficiency in the English language. Near Anthony’s home there was an

apparently wholesome school which (if current indications reflect what was like back

in Anthony’s time) promoted high values and discipline and may have appeared to

young Anthony as a wonderful place to excel and develop. We cannot know for

certain but, after the birth of his brother Bill, both of them may have strengthened

their opposite psychological characters (Anthony responsible and ruly and Bill less

responsible and unruly) in order to differentiate from each other.

The (LR) social situation during Anthony’s childhood would have been agitated

because there already were intimations of an incipient revolution for a free India

(Mahatma Gandhi was already in action) and because Second World War raged on

for part of that period. Maybe (as Bill de Mello lets us know) economic security was

an issue that kept everyone alert. Anthony would have also known what it is like to

be part of a minority because his family had moved from a Portuguese colony to

Bombay which was predominantly populated by Hindus. The need to speak different

languages (at least Hindu, English and Portuguese) was also apparent.

We don’t know what may have arisen interiorly for Anthony but we could make a

case for validly saying that his innate outgoing characteristics were also assisted by

the conjunctive support of reality elements in all quadrants: A healthy brain, an

ethical family proselytizing strong spiritual traditions within a well-established culture,

a social need to be flexible and multicultural and a nearby adequate –and likelyopen-

minded school (Jesuits are known for fostering intellectual freedom) that

offered rigorous academic training. Anthony himself may have come to his lifetime

with a certain level of evolution potentially ready to latch on to any opportunity to

unfold but it’s also as if a portion of the Universe as a certain objective, historical

time and space had collaborated to assist Spirit to leave a mark in humanity through

Anthony. Perhaps (remembering Chogyam Trungpa’s Cutting Through Spiritual

Materialism) sometime and somewhere outside and inside human time and space,

Anthony had become a “Tathagatha,” having completely “crossed over” in total

availability and openness. His lifetime would have been a recapitulation as well as a

new phase.

Anthony de Mello’s “Kosmic Address” (altitude + perspective) at the time he joined

the Jesuits right after High School, may have been partially Second Tier in that he

sincerely wanted to dedicate his life to a universal calling but was nonetheless wellpossessed

by an amber mental structure. He probably naturally experienced a

persistent state of heartfelt openness (an indigo sensibility) which called for being

filled in by information from a Second Tier perspective. To me, his incessant

curiosity and continuous development in perspectives shows that perspectives

themselves gradually caught up with his basic inborn altitude. 

At the moment of hisdeath most of his being lines of development may have been well into an indigo

Second Tier as his ability to find truth in the resolution of paradoxes, his having

emptied himself as a vessel for the service of God or Spirit and of others attests.

We could affirm that –as a perceiving subject- Anthony’s quadrivia had become

quite developed and functioning in harmony later in life. The aspects of reality

(quadrivium) that he perceived/disclosed in his “Sadhana Two” phase set him apart

from the majority of religious people and he knew that only speaking in apophatic

(via negativa) ways he would be able to transmit anything meaningful inspired by his

direct spiritual experiences.

Anthony’s intellectual understanding had probably reached a non-dual, post transsystemic

level and his experience or inward-participatory sense of people, God and

all of nature (as LL meaningful discourses and LR systemic, mutually needed

relations) may have also reached a high level of intuitive understanding. I think that

his non-dual altitude was accompanied by an Integral, all-around intuitive

perspective which, nonetheless, still held a Green altitude theoretical level in some

aspects like psychology. Anthony’s overall high altitude called for a structural

understanding and this structural understanding probably also inspired him to soar

in higher altitudes.

What would Anthony’s shadow(s) have been like? As far as we can tell he didn’t

abuse anyone and he always seemed to be a paragon of virtue and excellence.

However, he probably shouted to his sister at an early age. In the biography written

by his brother Bill, there’s mention that Anthony “never complained.” This may be

indicative of a level of unhealthy self-denial or of a lack of need to complain. I don’t

know but it would have been extraordinary. Since Anthony’s relation with his family

seems to have been a healthy one we I cannot speculate about an “evolutionary

shadow” in this respect. Maybe during his early “Sadhana One” phase and earlier

Anthony might have had a “bright” or “emergent” shadow” since he may have been

unable to tolerate non- amber theorizing or what may have first appeared to him as

openly non-dogmatic points of view. 

In this I see a possible trend manifesting in that,

maybe highly evolved human beings not showing “submergent” shadows will be

found to have them in emergent or more refined, less spiritual differentiated,

involutionary levels of being. Actually, perhaps the fact that Anthony’s

understandings only prospered among a rather small percentage of priests; the fact

that his views were censored by the Church and, the fact that he died unexpectedly

at a premature age was due to a spiritual manifestation blockage in his most refined

inner levels of being. In this levels of being perhaps all human beings on Planet

Earth are connected and the “We” relationship that allows or doesn’t allow the

influence of a particular person on the whole is directly connected as one with that

person’s innermost being.

Anthony de Mello’s specific spiritual practices were practices to become aware of a

grander spiritual life through an acceptance of the “still and small voice” of the heart.

This can be appreciated in his book Sadhana (which became a classic of

contemplative prayer) and in all of his published works. Anything that works to stop

the egoic self-mind from blocking the perception of the simple wonder of God’s

presence in every aspect of life would have been welcomed by Anthony. Reflections

with surprising resolutions, or specific breathing and yoga practices practiced at

one’s own pace and aiming at openness and sincerity rather than at methodological

perfection would have worked. For instance, in exercise 13 of Sadhana, Anthony

asks the practitioner to simply listen to any body sensation without naming it, then to

do the same with any sound and then he tells the practitioner that he or she will

notice a “great calm,” a “profound silence.” Then, Anthony advices us to focus on

this quietude and to experience how good it is simply to be in the here and now

without having to do anything; just simply being…being. Later on, he advices the

practitioner to feel God in the air, the sounds, the world of the senses, the

sensations of touch, to surrender to God.

As previously stated, Anthony’s definition of spirituality came to be “that which

succeeds in bringing a person to inner transformation.” This definition allowed for an

open-ended large array of methods and, I’m suspicious that Anthony had a kind of

Integral Post Metaphysical intuition on this issue. Here he seems to be giving priority

to method over definition as he had probably come to see that specific definitions of

spirituality evolve over time or are not universally applicable to people from every

cultural background. In this way, without apparently having developed an explicit

complex theory or Meta theory, Anthony de Mello seems to have demonstrated an

intuitive (or perhaps, incipient conceptual) post postmodern understanding about

spirituality due to his own profound familiarity with it. I would also say that this

intimate familiarity could have stemmed from his lifelong search for radical

openness and authenticity, a required feature for spiritual advancement according to

Chogyam Trungpa.

I don’t have much information regarding Anthony’s ILP physical (UR) practice.

Perhaps they include yoga asanas. Nonetheless, I’m quite certain that he did pray or

contemplated in a regular manner. I’m also quite sure that he was an avid learner

and that he read regularly. Thus, his (UL) practices were probably quite skillfully

developed. We are told that Anthony was a good listener and that he listened to

each different person differently, so I suspect that he also intuitively had a regular

(LL) hermeneutical practice that included effective means or translation. In terms of

practical worldly relations his activities as communicator, as spiritual director and

founder of Sadhana Institute and, previously, of the Jesuit seminary in Bombay

would have kept him busy with practical business and inter institutional duties.

 It isalso well known that he was heavily influenced by Vipassana and I believe that he

didn’t just recommend it but practiced it regularly. In other words, I think that Anthony

de Mello had most of his ILP quadrants covered, perhaps with the exception of his

(UR) physical quadrant. I just don’t have any information regarding his physical

exercises (except perhaps for the possible practice of some yoga exercises) or his

diet. As most of us in search of a balanced Integral Life Practice leave out a

significant quadratic aspect (due to lack of time or other influential reasons) Anthony

may have simply left out an important aspect, which also perhaps led him to an

‘untimely’ death.

I don’t have any specific information regarding Anthony’s aptitude with specifically

trained states but suspect that, since he was a ‘master teacher’ in spiritual

exercises, he must have been able to sustain some kinds of higher states of

consciousness. Actually, I don’t think that he would have been able to live the kind of

life he did without being able to rest in some kind of contemplative abstraction. What

we know is that he had become proficient in Ignatian practices early in his career, so

much so that he seems to have had one or more transformative mystical

experiences. I think that, maybe, Anthony had a deep awareness of God along with

greater or lesser levels of abstraction from the outer world, but he probably didn’t

flaunt about it. Anyhow, he might have been able to sustain levels of self-absorption

or “ß as he was familiar with Yoga, Vipassana and self-emptying Contemplation.

The location of Anthony’s faith community on the “conveyor belt” would probably be

in a special situation within the Roman Catholic Church since Jesuits in general

(especially after the Vatican II Council) had become like the intellectual, “free

thinkers.” His more local community was also positioned in the middle of India’s

great religiosity and transcendental ethos thus being stimulated by LL and LR forces

to create a more attractive, understandable and ecumenical approach which

naturally re-emphasized some kind of direct, experiential mysticism. The superiors

of the Society of Jesus defended themselves and their spiritual-religious, Mid-Asian

ways.

I think that Anthony de Mello’s faith community was so well settled in modern,

rational outlooks and methods that it was ripe for post-rational explorations,

especially in the multicultural setting of India. I believe that –generally speaking- this

community is still vying to move forward amber structures and awarenesses in

today’s world and that, perhaps one day along with the contributions of other

pioneering elements in their church (elements quite at home with free thought and

with contemplative prayer), the church will be eventually lead by a splitting and less

exclusivist, unimaginative and rigid faction.

Conclusion

Anthony de Mello is an example of an enlightened man who offered his life to serve

Spirit and mankind in the milieu available to him. We don’t know why a person

becomes likes this. He might have been born with the propensity. He may have

been chosen. However, a spiritual experienced did hold a transformative sway in his

life. His life will serve as an example for many of us today trying to ignite an integral

civilization. It will serve future efforts aimed at recreating the relationship between

man, religion and spirituality in an integral way. Anthony displayed –perhaps in an

intuitive and/or conscious way- not only many of the characteristics of a universal,

wise man but of a radically genuine Integral or Second Tier person. His

understanding surpassed his era’s and his openness probably taught us that those

possessed of a loving heart and a particularly developed spiritual line can overcome

many cultural and structural deficiencies in their societies and rise to be pioneering

representatives of a truly Integral stage.

Annotated Bibliography

Bárcena, Elcira Díaz (date unknown). Biografía de Tony de Mello SJ. Retrieved

from: http://www.geocities.com/tony_de_mello/index.html

DeMello, Bill (circa 1989). Tony deMello, SJ –a short biography. Retrieved from:

http://users.tpg.com.au/adsligol/tony/index.html

This biography is an extremely helpful personal account on details of

the life and character of Anthony de Mello. It was written by his unruly

and agnostic brother Bill who considered Anthony an example to

emulate, first from a sense of guilt and, later, from a sense of love. It

sheds light on Anthony’s family, early vocation and sense of duty. It tells

us how ideal it was for Bill to be born (after Anthony’s prayed for this to

be so) so that Anthony could keep a promise made to his mother and

then join the Jesuits. This biography tells us something about Anthony’s

earlier sense of religious discipline which developed into an

overwhelming sense of compassionate embrace.

De Mello SJ, Anthony (1979). Sadhana: Un Camino de Oración. Santander: Editorial

Sal Terrae.

This is Anthony de Mello’s first important book in which he guides us

toward contemplative prayer through simple exercises. Anthony

dedicated this book to the Virgin Mary recognizing her as the being

through whom the grace of the Holy Spirit descended to the Church.

The word “Sadhana” refers to spiritual practice and Anthony provides 47

simple practices developed after years of offering spiritual guidance.

They aim to allow prayer and contemplation to be a natural experience

as simple as breathing and being. There’s a synthesis between

anecdotes, teachings from various traditions, ways to deal with some

psychological blockages and there are metaphors that point toward

direct, sweet, and ineffable experiences. While de Mello is open to

many spiritual traditions he also references closer to Catholic traditions

in this book.

De Mello SJ, Anthony (1982). El Canto del Pájaro. Santander: Editorial Sal Terrae.

This is a beautiful collection of short stories with commentaries. They

are meant to be enjoyed with no particular order as the expressions of

many bird songs. These stories are written for religious and nonreligious

people of any persuasion. They stem from many traditions

(such as Sufi) and express deep spiritual understanding using simplicity

under an inspiration that could be called “crazy wisdom.” Paradoxes

become solvable and their humor-filled, unexpected wisdom can be

conceptually reflected upon, discovered in silence and softly interiorized

becoming transformational. These stories may be the clearest and

easiest to understand messages formulated for an awakening of

consciousness.

De Mello SJ, Anthony (1988). La Oración de la Rana. Santander: Editorial Sal

Terrae.)

This is a masterful compilation of short wisdom stories that transcend

the limits of dogmatic spiritual methods; Anthony’s last book offered

before his early departure from the world. In this stage of his life’s

production Anthony seemed to have become perfectly absorbed in

sharing the essence of spiritual teachings and had lost interest in

worldly affairs. Instead, there’s great interest in complete structuretranscending

authenticity and Anthony’s work reflects a flowing

integration between his inner and outer life. The being of Anthony is one

with these stories which are similar to Zen koans but with unexpected

solutions. Each story feels like an open and inviting door to all of life and

Spirit.

De Mello SJ, Anthony (1991). Una Llamada al Amor. Santander: Sal Terrae.

This is a posthumous collection of Anthony’s reflections on passages

from the New Testament. Each passage offers him an opportunity to

present associated core spiritual truths devoid of exclusivism and

rigidity. These reflections also present us with a way of being in the

world as an available, interiorly free force for service to all life in spite of

the aloneness that this level of being might elicit. These reflections also

echo Anthony’s progress to a prevailing state of fearless opening to life,

a state of embrace and compassion so vast that fear and need may be

transcended and included.

D’Souza SJ, Lisbert (1998). “Los Provinciales de los Jesuitas Indios Apoyan a Sus

Teólogos.” Retrieved from: http://www.fespinal.com/espinal/realitat/pap/pap28.htm

This is a statement emitted as a reaction to the notification about

Anthony de Mello produced by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the

Faith. The statement has the approval of the superiors of the Society of

Jesus (Jesuits) representing the Mid Asiatic region. It mentions that

Anthony de Mello never rejected the basis of his faith while he

simultaneously was a “pioneer in spiritual integration and in Asian and

Christian prayer methods” while he effectively helped thousands of

individuals to “free themselves and to deepen their life of prayer.” 

The statement mentions that, following a necessary trend of Jesuit theology

in Asia (a trend that recognizes the local cultural milieu and the need for

interreligious dialogue), Jesuit theologians are trying to present a more

understandable form of religion requiring a certain degree of autonomy

from local churches. The statement laments that there’s a state of

suspicion from some church authorities; laments that there’s a trend

against more autonomous and creatively necessary forms of religiosity

(also evidenced by a notification against theologian Jacques Dupuis);

laments that decisions were made without dialoguing with Asian

churches and warns that such interventions could be “harmful to the life

of the church, to the cause of the Gospel and to the task of interpreting

the Word to those that do not belong to the Western cultural tradition.”

Nazareth, Malcolm (personal communication, May 31, 2009).

Malcolm is an open-minded, former Jesuit priest of Indian origin who

studied under the guidance of Anthony de Mello before founding the

Center for Interfaith Encounter. The URL address of this center

representing an evolutionary movement within Christianity is:

http://www.creativeartisticnuance.com/uniite/cie/malcolm_cv.html .

In my quest to understand the stage shift between a more doctrinaire and

a less doctrinaire attitude in Anthony de Mello, I found Malcolm online

and started a friendly exchange. Here’s an extract:

I don’t know where you read that de Mello was a changed man after his

return from Spain. Do you know what year that may have happened? I

remember him saying in one of his public talks that one of the first

major influences on his spiritual transformation was in a 30 days retreat

which he made under Fr. Calveras, S.J., in Spain (probably during De

Mello’s tertianship (final segment of Jesuit formation). Calveras was a

world famous authority in conducting the Spiritual Exercises of St.

Ignatius. Perhaps prabhu would be able to fill the gaps in my knowledge

on this issue, so I’m forwarding this post to him. During that Calveras

retreat, de Mello had a very powerful mystical experience which gave

him profound insight into the spirituality of St. Ignatius. After that, de

Mello himself was much sought after for his skill as a retreat master.

Nazareth, Malcolm (1991). “Here & Now with Anthony de Mello”: Workshop

Presentation by Malcolm Nazareth at Call to Action Conference, 3 November 2001.

Retrieved from: http://www.cta-usa.org/

This is a presentation with first hand biographical data from a former

Jesuit who joined the Bombay Jesuits in 1965 and was trained under

the guidance of Anthony de Mello. Malcolm tells us that there were two

clearly recognizable stages in Anthony’s development. In “Sadhana

One” (before the early 1970’s) his “theology of religions was primitive”

and he “hadn’t yet dared to encounter any non-Christian religion with

openness and vulnerability.” In “Sadhana Two” (around the mid 1970’s)

Anthony had “opened his heart and mind to vipassana meditation

practice” and “dared to confront the theology he had learnt in theological

school.” Malcolm also tells us that Anthony had discovered that Ignatian

spirituality needed “to be updated to meet current human needs.”

Ratzinger, Joseph Card (1998). “Notification Concerning the Writings of Fr. Anthony

de Mello SJ.” 

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Retrieved

from:http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19980624_demello_en.html

This is not so much an outright condemnation of heresy but a severe

warning issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a

warning in which some of Anthony de Mello’s writings are considered

incompatible with the Roman Catholic Faith and seen as containing the

possibility to produce serious damage to the faithful. 

The lack of specific Catholic dogmatic and doctrinal references in de Mello’s works (which

were, nonetheless, published with the “Imprimatur” and “Imprimi Potest”

of the local bishop) is observed in this note that was emitted more than

a decade after Anthony’s demise. Here, the apophatic -and therefore

universally embracing- nature of Anthony’s declarations regarding the

life-related mystery of God are misunderstood and seen as rejecting the

existence of a personal God. 

Anthony’s insistence on transcending

attachments to human-created ideologies in favor of a more inclusive

openness to God’s mystery is seriously misunderstood and disagreed

upon. Unfortunately, the author of this notification reads in Anthony’s

non dual, transcendental stance an ethical relativism which, in fact, is

completely incompatible with his all-embracing insistence on Christian

(and universal) authenticity, care-giving detachment and compassion.

Roshi, Genpo, Merzel (2008). Video lecture/practice “The Big Mind Process: Big

Heart.” Retrieved from: http://integrallife.com/applications/big-mind-process-bigheart

This is a wonderful lecture/practice in which Genpo Roshi and audience

experientially explore the concept of an actual inner voice which

represents the integration of all inclusive yet undifferentiating Big Mind

with all inclusive yet evolutionary concerned and compassionate Big

Heart.

Sadhana Institute (May 31, 2009). http://www.sadhanainstitute.org/index.htm

This institute was founded by Anthony de Mello and continues existing

today. It combines well with many of the characteristics and

foundational ideas at the root of Integral Theory. The institute offers

spiritual retreats (including a Vipassana retreat) and, being “a center

that aims at the experiential and conceptual integration of psychology

and spirituality,” it also offers a “Master of Philosophy (M.Ph.) In Integral

Counseling Psychology (ICP).” This Master’s degree seems to be

centered on a theoretical level approaching a “Wilber-one” phase. It

includes a hermeneutical approach and “A study of the philosophical

and historical antecedents of counseling and psychotherapy, this will be

an in depth exploration of the contributions of significant schools of

psychotherapy representing the four major forces in psychology,

namely, the Psychoanalytic, Behavioral, Existential-Humanistic, and

Transpersonal. The course will provide the background for the

articulation of one’s own evolving philosophy of counseling.”

Stanislaus High School (May 31, 2009). http://stanislausbandra.in/stanschool/

This is the high school that Anthony de Mello attended. It was founded

by German Jesuits and by Anthony’s time it was under the control of

Spanish Jesuits. The school motto is “Born for Greater Things” and

throughout the web page there are many allusions to instill a practical,

courageous spirituality of service. I suspect that the values promoted

nowadays were very much alive in Anthony’s time. The Jesuit education

aims at preparing “men for others” and in the school’s mission

statement we read: “St. Stanislaus High School aims at the integral,

personal formation of its students. To accomplish this, special efforts

are made to train students.

• To become mature, spiritually oriented men of character

• To strive for excellence in every field

• To value and judiciously use their freedom

• To be clear and firm on principles and courageous in action

• To be unselfish in service to their fellowmen and to become agents of

social change in their country. St. Stanislaus High School strives to

educate its students for LIFE

Trungpa, Chögyam (2008). Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Boston:

Shambhala.

This exquisite book summarizes the intricacies of many Tibetan

Buddhist spiritual teachings in an easy to read style. These teachings

reveal that there are universal human spiritual problems and solutions

and the book can serve as a practical bedside companion for these

matters or for anyone willing to transcend self-deceptions blocking the

view of spiritual openings.

Wilber, Ken (2006). Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the

Modern and Postmodern World. Boston: Integral Books.

This book sheds new light on many important topics related with

personal and collective evolution, social change, psychology, spirituality

and methodology. The idea of conceptually differentiating and

recombining psychological states and psychological structures is

fruitfully explored bringing clarity on issues that had confounded

mystics, psychologists and philosophers. 

The idea that religions may assist in promoting an increased level of consciousness in their

adherents is also explored along with the recognition of the need to

incorporate the main insights of postmodern philosophy into the

emerging methodological-philosophical system called “Integral Post

Metaphysics.”