‘What is Truth?‘ asked jesting Pilate and would not pause for an answer!
Perhaps that’s why an epistle purported to have been issued by Pope Francis began surfacing today on the Internet and was forwarded to me this morning by a friend of mine .
The Papal Epistle is eloquent , moving and is indeed so cloyingly soul-stirring that it makes one at once remember all over again the kindly face of this Pope who just last week sadly departed from the world.
It turns out however that this magnificently written Pope Francis Epistle is a fake. But let me first reproduce it verbatim below :
Francis wrote this from the hospital. His words will move everyone deeply. So much wisdom to learn from and be inspired by!
“The walls of hospitals have heard more honest prayers than churches. They have witnessed far more sincere kisses than those in airports.
It is in hospitals that you see a homophobe being saved by a gay doctor.
A privileged doctor saving the life of a beggar…
In intensive care, you see a Jew taking care of a racist.
A police officer and a prisoner in the same room receiving the same care.
A wealthy patient waiting for a liver transplant, ready to receive the organ from a poor donor.
It is in these moments, when the hospital touches the wounds of people, that different worlds intersect according to a divine design. And in this communion of destinies, we realize that alone, we are nothing.
The absolute truth of people, most of the time, only reveals itself in moments of pain or in the real threat of an irreversible loss.
A hospital is a place where human beings remove their masks and show themselves as they truly are, in their purest essence.
This life will pass quickly, so do not waste it fighting with people.
Do not criticize your body too much.
Do not complain excessively.
Do not lose sleep over bills.
Make sure to hug your loved ones.
Do not worry too much about keeping the house spotless.
Material goods must be earned by each person—do not dedicate yourself to accumulating an inheritance.
You are waiting for too much: Christmas, Friday, next year, when you have money, when love arrives, when everything is perfect.
Listen, perfection does not exist.
A human being cannot attain it because we are simply not made to be fulfilled here.
Here, we are given an opportunity to learn.
So, make the most of this trial of life—and do it now.
Respect yourself, respect others. Walk your own path, and let go of the path others have chosen for you.
Respect: do not comment, do not judge, do not interfere.
Love more, forgive more, embrace more, live more intensely!
And leave the rest in the hands of the Creator.”
—Pope Francis
Well , on searching the above on AI tool, Perplexity, this is what was discovered about the above Epistle :
Pontus Pilate if he had lived today amongst us , would’ve have simply grinned at us gullible Netizens , cocked a snook at us , wagged a finger into our faces and sniggered: : “Didn’t I tell you before?! If you want to know what Truth, don’t ever wait to know what it is about!”
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Be that all as it may, until Perplexity revealed to me the untruth of the fake Pope Francis epistle , and believing it to be genuine, a few of my online friends held forth sharing our respective views on it via our respective WhatsApp messages . Below is a transcript of the same .
Drawing upon Pope Francis “oh, ever so “feel-good” epistle it records a discussion on a rather Vedantic home-grown commentary of ours on the larger human condition at large.
After reading below the transcript, please don’t think of the discussion as that of group cynical old fogies or even worse. We were only rueing the human condition , not the Pope, whom we know the whole Christian world had much respect for but hardly ever heeded.
—————-Transcript begins ————-
My friend :Healing words indeed though he could have guided the church to truly let people follow their own path (and beliefs) and stop their relentless & reckless religious conversions with financial and other inducements – all in the name of Jesus!
Me: Very pertinent observations indeed from you, my dear friend!
In Sanskrit , there’s a proverbial phrase :“…“śmaśāna vairāgya”roughly translated into “the wisdom that descends upon you suddenly at a funeral but leaves you instantly upon exit from the graveyard”!
It means temporary detachment or momentary renunciation that arises when witnessing death at a cremation ground or cemetery. It describes the fleeting sense of dispassion or detachment from worldly affairs that people often feel when confronted with the reality of mortality, such as during a funeral. However, this feeling usually fades quickly once the person returns to daily life and resumes worldly pursuits.
In summary, “śmaśāna vairāgya” refers to a short-lived, superficial renunciation inspired by the sight of death, not a deep or lasting spiritual detachment
Pope Francis probably expressed what he did from the hospital where he was confined for his health condition . And the hours he spent there triggered a sentimental bout of “śmaśāna vairāgya”….
But while seated in his Papal throne , Pope Francis had to do his more pressing duties towards his flock …. Including forcible conversions across the world through aggressive proselytising of the Christian faith .
The nub of the matter is only this : there’s renunciation and wisdom inside the graveyard . And outside the gates there’s again only self-interest and avarice .
My friend : True. The Smasana Vairaghya you mention is a fact and I have experienced it too. Pope Francis was very sympathetic to illegal immigrants flooding Europe and said that all countries must take them. But the Vatican did not and would not take a single one of them! The hypocrisy was staggering!
Another friend butting in : But that is totally wrong to say! This Pope never encouraged it. That is why he was called a ‘progressive Pope’.
Me: Well … dear friend, I think there is such a thing as the wisdom of the pulpit that Popes must exhibit … and then they must privately nurture only in their hearts until the day of Thy Kingdom Come is upon them what is called “śmaśāna vairāgya” — the wisdom of the graveyard … Maybe as you say, this “progressive Pope” never encouraged Christian missionary conversion work, but did he put a complete stop to it?… As far as I know , no …. not in India at least .”
————- End of Tramscript ————-
Sudarshan Madabushi