Fields of Activity

Kurisumala Ashram is not a clerical community. The principal activity of the community is living the monastic charism, as described under Spiritual Objectives. Its temporal needs are met by the dairy farm, which makes it self-supporting.

The dairy farm and the neighbours

Many families have settled near the Ashram, some of them on land donated by the community. Almost a hundred local families are supported by the Ashram, which accepts their milk at a good price, supplies medicines to the underprivileged and offers guidance. The farm is a source of jobs and financial help for many others. A medium-sized vegetable garden and a small bakery, managed by the brothers, provide vegetables and bread for the community’s own table.

Hospitality

The Benedictine-Cistercian tradition lays great emphasis on hospitality: “receiving each visitor as Christ Himself.” In the Indian tradition, too, the reception of guests has a prominent place. No wonder that Kurisumala Ashram, where both traditions merge, is well known for the warm welcome it extends to people from every cross-section of society. There are buildings for male and female guests, and hermitages for those who prefer more solitude.

Those who come for a stay are given the opportunity to share in the prayer services and life of the community, to the extent allowed by the rules of enclosure. They are expected to give a helping hand, Ashram seva, by taking part in household chores, vegetable-cutting and the like. Every aid to deeper prayer is made available, including priestly ministry and spiritual guidance.

Guests can use the library, opening the eyes of the mind to the Written Word, or go for a quiet stroll through the lush surroundings, inclining the ear of the heart to the Word revealed in nature. The church, open round the clock, is a place for silent prayer and reflection, where they can “re-charge their batteries” and contemplate their Creator in the cave of the heart. The guest-book at the Ashram bears words of gratitude and praise for this “Kurisumala experience”, whereby many have experienced El Shaddai, the God of the mountain.

Publications

Another important ministry is the publication and distribution of religious classics, Bibles and other books. Pride of place goes to the four-volume set Prayer with the Harp of the Spirit, translated from Syriac by Francis Acharya. The publication of a Malayalam translation of the Philokalia, a gem of Eastern Christian spirituality, was a major event. It was an inter-religious and inter-denominational effort, and it is now in its third edition. Another book of note is a translation of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, again a classic of the Eastern tradition. These and other books are available for sale at the Ashram book-stall.

At the still centre

A visitor to the Ashram may be surprised by the apparent busyness of the monks. Yet like the tranquil eye in the middle of a cyclone, there lies at the core of these activities something that transcends the mundane realities of life. They give expression to the heartfelt desire and prayer of the ashramites that the Ashram become a spiritual leaven in the Church, a beacon of hope for the heartbroken and a haven for the children of God: in short, a prefiguration of His Kingdom on earth.