Rama P Coomaraswamy
Encyclopedia
Rev. Dr. Rama Poonambalam Coomaraswamy, M.D., (1929 - 2006), was a cardiac surgeon
, then a psychiatrist
and later a Traditionalist Catholic
priest
and exorcist
, besides being a prolific writer on Traditionalist Catholicism and Perennialist
topics.
, English
and Jewish ancestry, was the son of the famous Indologist
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, and of his fourth wife Luisa Runstein, an Argentine
-born woman of Jewish descent. He is the grandson of the Tamil-Ceylonese lawyer and social pioneer Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy
and his English wife Elizabeth Beeby. As such, Rama Coomaraswamy hailed from notable Tamil and English families.
in Uttarakhand
, India
, an institution founded by a member of the Arya Samaj
and that was later granted the status of a deemed university .
After graduating from the Gurukul Kangri Vidyalaya, he next studied in Oxford
, from where he obtained his Matriculation
. Graduating from Harvard university with a major in Geology
, he went on to medical school, graduating in 1959. He spent eight years in post-graduate medical and surgical training and then some 30 years as a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon, holding the position of Assistant Professor of Surgery
at the Yeshiva University
's Albert Einstein College of Medicine
, New York
, and later as the Chief of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery at Stamford Hospital
. Subsequent to some heart problems, he retired from the practice of surgery and retrained in psychiatry
in which field he also held an Assistant Professorship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
by its Archbishop Valerian Gracias
, at the Cathedral of the Holy Name
on Wodehouse Road, Colaba
. At this time, he converted
to Roman Catholicism. As a Catholic, he soon became closely involved with Mother Teresa
and her charity works.
However, as the Church began to implement institutional change formalized by Vatican II (1962-1965), Coomaraswamy grew increasingly alienated, seeing these changes as the abandonment of Catholic Tradition, saw the New Mass as gravely sinful and ceased attending these services. As a result, Coomaraswamy became involved with the Traditionalist Catholic
movement. He also forbade his children from attending these services. When his wife, displeased with this, sought the advice and intervention of Mother Teresa
, she advised his wife to defy his decision by continuing to send their children to the New Mass, thus beginning a series of polemics between himself and Mother Teresa.
Within the Traditionalist Catholic movement, Coomaraswamy initially grew close to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
, who appointed him Professor
of Church History at the St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary of his organization, the Society of St. Pius X
(SSPX), in Ridgefield
, Connecticut
, a position he held for about five years until 1983. While there, he began an ideological shift towards Sedevacantism
. He successfully influenced a significant number of faculty and students to subscribe to Sedevacantism, resulting in the secession of a group of priests and seminarians from Lefebvre — initially nine, among them Clarence Kelly
, Daniel Dolan
, Donald Sanborn, William Jenkins, and Anthony Cekada
. This group then formed the Society of St. Pius V
(SSPV). When Dolan, Sanborn, Cekada and most of the other priests of the SSPV began to dissent from the rigorist leadership of Kelly, Coomaraswamy again joined them in departing from the SSPV. They then united in a loose manner as the Instauratio Catholica. Over time, even this loose confederation frayed and ceased to exist.
, collaborating with the Traditionalist Catholic Bishop Robert McKenna
. Prior to his ordination he had taken public vows of continence and celibacy, together with his wife. Some years later, he publicly stated that he stopped participating in exorcisms citing his advanced age.
Coomaraswamy was involved with the demonologist
Dave Considine
and would determine the validity of claims by people who reported being spiritually oppressed by demons. If the person's claims were found to be credible he or another priest would perform the Latin rite of Exorcism
.
movement, but also with Perennialism
(also called "Traditionalism") whose main exponents were René Guénon
, Ananda Coomaraswamy
(Rama's father) and Frithjof Schuon
. He was a member of the Foundation for Traditional Studies and was a regular contributor to the foundation's journal Sophia.
William Stoddart
and Mateus Soares de Azevedo
discuss Coomaraswamy's double involvement in an article for the Canadian journal Sacred Web (No. 18, 2007). The topic was also covered by a blogger, Carrie Tomko, specializing in investigation of the occult infiltration of Catholicism, and picked up by, among others, J. Christopher Pryor, a Lefebvrist who operates the Perennialism LeFloch Report. Interestingly, Rama Coomaraswamy had never broken away from Perennialism and propagating it, along with Frithjof Schuon even when he was associated with Lefebvre's seminary.
Part of an interview with Joaquin Albaicin in 2003:
Pryor also reproduces what he claims is a letter in reply from Coomaraswamy, responding to these claims:
Cardiac surgeon
A cardiac surgeon is a surgeon who performs cardiac surgery—operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.-Training:A cardiac surgery residency typically comprises anywhere from six to nine years of training to become a fully qualified surgeon...
, then a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
and later a Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and exorcist
Exorcist
In some religions an exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or other demons. A priest, a nun, a monk, a healer, a shaman or other specially prepared or instructed person can be an exorcist...
, besides being a prolific writer on Traditionalist Catholicism and Perennialist
Perennialism
Perennialism may refer to:*Perennial philosophy*Perennial plant*Educational perennialism*Integral Traditionalism...
topics.
Ancestry
Rama Coomaraswamy, of mixed TamilTamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and Jewish ancestry, was the son of the famous Indologist
Indology
Indology is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent , and as such is a subset of Asian studies....
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, and of his fourth wife Luisa Runstein, an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
-born woman of Jewish descent. He is the grandson of the Tamil-Ceylonese lawyer and social pioneer Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy
Muthu Coomaraswamy
Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy, FRGS was a prominent colonial era legislator from Sri Lanka. He was the first native Asian and Sri Lankan to be knighted by Queen Victoria....
and his English wife Elizabeth Beeby. As such, Rama Coomaraswamy hailed from notable Tamil and English families.
Early life and education
Raised a Hindu, Coomaraswamy obtained his early education according to the Hindu system at the Gurukul Kangri Vidyalaya at Bharadabad-HaridwarHaridwar
Haridwar is an important pilgrimage city and municipality in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India...
in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, an institution founded by a member of the Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
and that was later granted the status of a deemed university .
After graduating from the Gurukul Kangri Vidyalaya, he next studied in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, from where he obtained his Matriculation
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
. Graduating from Harvard university with a major in Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, he went on to medical school, graduating in 1959. He spent eight years in post-graduate medical and surgical training and then some 30 years as a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon, holding the position of Assistant Professor of Surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
at the Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
's Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a graduate school of Yeshiva University. It is a not-for-profit, private, nonsectarian medical school located on the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the borough of the Bronx of New York City...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and later as the Chief of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery at Stamford Hospital
Stamford Hospital
Stamford Hospital is a private, nonprofit, community and teaching hospital in Stamford, Connecticut, with 440 affiliated doctors.The hospital has 305 inpatient beds in medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, and medical and surgical critical care units.As of 2005, Stamford Hospital...
. Subsequent to some heart problems, he retired from the practice of surgery and retrained in psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
in which field he also held an Assistant Professorship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Conversion
Sometime after his father's death, he met an American Catholic woman, and was married to her in BombayMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
by its Archbishop Valerian Gracias
Valerian Gracias
Valerian Gracias was an Indian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Bombay from 1950 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.-Biography:Valerian Gracias was born in Karachi to José and Carlota Gracias...
, at the Cathedral of the Holy Name
Cathedral of the Holy Name, Mumbai
The Cathedral of the Holy Name is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Indian city of Mumbai and the seat of the Archbishop of Bombay and headquarters of the Archdiocese of Bombay . The cathedral is located in the Colaba area in South Mumbai...
on Wodehouse Road, Colaba
Colaba
Colaba is a part of the city of Mumbai, India, and also a Lok Sabha constituency. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Candil...
. At this time, he converted
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
to Roman Catholicism. As a Catholic, he soon became closely involved with Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
and her charity works.
However, as the Church began to implement institutional change formalized by Vatican II (1962-1965), Coomaraswamy grew increasingly alienated, seeing these changes as the abandonment of Catholic Tradition, saw the New Mass as gravely sinful and ceased attending these services. As a result, Coomaraswamy became involved with the Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
movement. He also forbade his children from attending these services. When his wife, displeased with this, sought the advice and intervention of Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
, she advised his wife to defy his decision by continuing to send their children to the New Mass, thus beginning a series of polemics between himself and Mother Teresa.
Within the Traditionalist Catholic movement, Coomaraswamy initially grew close to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970,...
, who appointed him Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Church History at the St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary of his organization, the Society of St. Pius X
Society of St. Pius X
The Society of Saint Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre...
(SSPX), in Ridgefield
Ridgefield
-Places:United States*Ridgefield, Connecticut**Ridgefield Playhouse, a theater located in Ridgefield*Ridgefield, New Jersey*Ridgefield Park, New Jersey*Ridgefield Township, New Jersey*Ridgefield, Washington*Ridgefield Township, Huron County, Ohio...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, a position he held for about five years until 1983. While there, he began an ideological shift towards Sedevacantism
Sedevacantism
Sedevacantism is the position held by a minority of Traditionalist Catholics who hold that the present occupant of the papal see is not truly Pope and that, for lack of a valid Pope, the see has been vacant since the death of either Pope Pius XII in 1958 or Pope John XXIII in 1963.Sedevacantists...
. He successfully influenced a significant number of faculty and students to subscribe to Sedevacantism, resulting in the secession of a group of priests and seminarians from Lefebvre — initially nine, among them Clarence Kelly
Clarence Kelly
Bishop Clarence Kelly is a Traditionalist Catholic bishop. He was ordained a priest on April 13, 1973 at Ecône, Switzerland by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for the Roman Catholic Society of St. Pius X....
, Daniel Dolan
Daniel Dolan
Daniel Lytle Dolan is a sedevacantist traditionalist Catholic bishop.A Detroit, Michigan native, Dolan began his preparation for the priesthood in 1965 at the archdiocesan minor seminary in Detroit...
, Donald Sanborn, William Jenkins, and Anthony Cekada
Anthony Cekada
Anthony Cekada is a Traditionalist Catholic priest and author.Born in 1951, Cekada studied at St. Francis Roman Catholic Seminary College in Milwaukee, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Theology in 1973; he studied organ and musical composition at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. In 1975,...
. This group then formed the Society of St. Pius V
Society of St. Pius V
The Society of St. Pius V , abreviated SSPV, is a Traditionalist Catholic society of ordained priests formed in 1983 and based in Oyster Bay Cove, New York. The priests of SSPV broke away from the Society of St...
(SSPV). When Dolan, Sanborn, Cekada and most of the other priests of the SSPV began to dissent from the rigorist leadership of Kelly, Coomaraswamy again joined them in departing from the SSPV. They then united in a loose manner as the Instauratio Catholica. Over time, even this loose confederation frayed and ceased to exist.
As a Priest
Although a married man, he was ordained a priest by José Ramon Lopez-Gaston, a Sedevacantist bishop from the lineage of the Vietnamese Archbishop Ngô Ðình Thuc Pierre Martin, in 1999 and began work as an exorcistExorcist
In some religions an exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or other demons. A priest, a nun, a monk, a healer, a shaman or other specially prepared or instructed person can be an exorcist...
, collaborating with the Traditionalist Catholic Bishop Robert McKenna
Robert McKenna
Robert Fidelis McKenna, O.P. is a Dominican bishop residing at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Monroe, Connecticut since 1973. He is known for his traditionalist Catholic positions and is an advocate of sedeprivationism...
. Prior to his ordination he had taken public vows of continence and celibacy, together with his wife. Some years later, he publicly stated that he stopped participating in exorcisms citing his advanced age.
Coomaraswamy was involved with the demonologist
Demonology
Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods. It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent...
Dave Considine
Dave Considine
Dave Considine is one of a small number of lay religious demonologists and is also a paranormal researcher based in Connecticut.-Early life:At the age of twelve, Considine believes he had a terrifying supernatural experience by seeing a ghost which altered the course of his life...
and would determine the validity of claims by people who reported being spiritually oppressed by demons. If the person's claims were found to be credible he or another priest would perform the Latin rite of Exorcism
Roman Ritual
The Roman Ritual is one of the official ritual works of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. It contains all of the services which may be performed by a priest or deacon which are not contained within either the Missale Romanum or the Brevarium Romanum...
.
Catholic Traditionalism and Perennialism
Coomaraswamy was involved with not only the Traditionalist CatholicTraditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
movement, but also with Perennialism
Traditionalist School
The term Traditionalist School is used by Mark Sedgwick and other authors to denote a school of thought, also known as Integral Traditionalism or Perennialism to denote an esoteric movement developed by authors such as French metaphysician René Guénon, German-Swiss...
(also called "Traditionalism") whose main exponents were René Guénon
René Guénon
René Guénon , also known as Shaykh `Abd al-Wahid Yahya was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from metaphysics, sacred science and traditional studies to symbolism and initiation.In his writings, he...
, Ananda Coomaraswamy
Ananda Coomaraswamy
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy was a Ceylonese philosopher and metaphysician, as well as a pioneering historian and philosopher of Indian art, particularly art history and symbolism, and an early interpreter of Indian culture to the West...
(Rama's father) and Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon, was a native of Switzerland born to German parents in Basel, Switzerland. He is known as a philosopher, metaphysician and author of numerous books on religion and spirituality....
. He was a member of the Foundation for Traditional Studies and was a regular contributor to the foundation's journal Sophia.
William Stoddart
William Stoddart
William Stoddart is a Scottish physician, author and "spiritual traveller", who has written several books on the philosophy of religions. He has been called a “master of synthesis” and is one of the important writers on the Perennial Philosophy in the present day. For many years he was assistant...
and Mateus Soares de Azevedo
Mateus Soares de Azevedo
Mateus Soares de Azevedo is a Brazilian historian of religions, Islamologist, and journalist.- Biography :Mateus Soares de Azevedo has a graduate degree in international relations from George Washington University and holds a Masters degree in History of religions from the University of São Paulo,...
discuss Coomaraswamy's double involvement in an article for the Canadian journal Sacred Web (No. 18, 2007). The topic was also covered by a blogger, Carrie Tomko, specializing in investigation of the occult infiltration of Catholicism, and picked up by, among others, J. Christopher Pryor, a Lefebvrist who operates the Perennialism LeFloch Report. Interestingly, Rama Coomaraswamy had never broken away from Perennialism and propagating it, along with Frithjof Schuon even when he was associated with Lefebvre's seminary.
Motives for conversion
J. Christopher Pryor reports on the cause and motives of Coomaraswamy's conversion to Catholicism in the following words:Coomaraswamy... recounted that he converted to Catholicism because there was not enough of a Hindu presence in the United States for him to practice his traditions, and that he found living outside a Traditional Religion repugnant and so became a Catholic, since, according to Rama, Catholicism fit perfectly with his beliefs as a Hindu.
Part of an interview with Joaquin Albaicin in 2003:
Joaquin Albaicin: In his letters, your father gave to you indications regarding how to become a full member of the Hindu tradition. How was that belonging to a Brahman family did you finally embraced the Christian path instead of the Hindu one?
Rama Coomaraswamy: I grew up in Haridwar, one of the Holy Cities of India, and lived for years during my youth as an orthodox Hindu. Having been invested with the yajñopavita or sacred thread, I can state that since the Hindu view point I am a dvija or a "twice born". But after my father's death I returned to America, where my mother was essentially alone. As it was impossible for me to live as a Hindu in America at that time, and as living without any traditional affiliation was in my mind to live on an animal level, I entered Catholicism which I found completely compatible with my Hindu outlook.
Pryor also reproduces what he claims is a letter in reply from Coomaraswamy, responding to these claims:
...Let me speak to the matter of my conversion in which discussion I sense an ad hominum intent. Conversion is both a complex and a simple matter dependent on the grace of God. If I was taught as a Hindu to love and serve God, why would I not continue to believe that when I became a Catholic? And what is surprising about feeling uncomfortable in a purely secular society? I studied the Faith for some two years before seeking baptism.
I have a somewhat unusual background, Deo gratias. My family has included both Jesuit priests and Hindu monks. I was as young man first introduced to the reality of God by a Tibetan monk. I have lived with Hindus and Sufi Muslims as well as with many wonderful Catholics. Many of these individuals feel about their religion much as I do about mine, I proffer no judgment about their beliefs, I know they are men of prayer and love God and feel they may well fall into those that St Pius X said belong to the soul of the Church. But as Muslims are fond of saying, “God knows best.” This does not mean that I am against conversion, and I am happy to preach when opportunity arises, “Christ, and Christ Crucified.” It should be absolutely clear that no one can be saved by error. Those outside the Church who are saved, are saved by the divine Word (logos) which is Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Since my conversion I have never departed from the traditional Catholic faith, though I have often fallen from grace. I think my writings bear witness to my orthodoxy. I think any aspersions cast upon my Catholicism are completely unjustified.