Hubert Olympus Mascarenhas, born in

Porvorim Porvorim (pronounced ''Parvari '' ), is the '' De facto'' legislative and executive capital of the state of Goa, India, as both the Goa Legislative Assembly and Secretariat are functioning from the same complex in the region of Alto Porvorim ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to th ...

, in 1905, died at

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, on 9 February 1973, was a Catholic priest belonging to the

Archdiocese of Bombay The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay is a particular church celebrating the Latin Rite of worship, centred in the Bombay (Mumbai) city of the northern Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The archdiocese has been a Metropolitan see since ...

, indologist of repute, and nationalist.

Early life and education

Mascarenhas did his early ecclesiastical studies at the Pontifical Seminary in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. In

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, at the University of the Propaganda Fide, he took a licentiate in Canon Law as well as PhD. He was ordained in Rome in 1934, at the age of 29. Returning to Mumbai, he obtained an M.A. in English, an M.A. in Sanskrit, and a PhD in History at the

University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

Career

Teaching

Mascarenhas was appointed post-graduate teacher of Ancient Indian History and Culture at the University of Bombay, and Professor of Indian Philosophy for M.A. students at the St Xavier's College, Mumbai. His "''The Quintessence of Hinduism: The Key to Indian Culture and Philosophy"'' was widely acclaimed.Vaz 125. He is one of

Richard De Smet Richard De Smet (16 April 1916 – 2 March 1997) was a Belgian Jesuit priest, and missionary in India. As Indologist he became a renowned Sankara specialist. Life Born at Montignies-sur-Sambre, near Charleroi in Belgium, he came to India a ...

's predecessors in a 'realist' interpretation of Sankara. For almost 12 years (late 1940s and early 1950s) he also served as Principal of St Sebastian Goan High School, Dabul.

Scholarly work

He proposed a theory of

pre-Portuguese Christianity in Goa Christianity in Goa has pre-Portuguese roots, according to a few scholars such as H.O. Mascarenhas and Jose Cosme Costa. These roots are probably the same as those of the Saint Thomas Christians or Nasranis of Kerala. The work of H.O. Mascarenhas ...

. Jose Cosme Costa reports that Mascarenhas even proposed that there were Christian temples dedicated to the persons of the Trinity: Abanath / Bhutnath (Father Lord), Ravalnath (from Rabboni - Rabulna - Rabulnath) / Bhai rav (Brother Lord), and Atman / Bhavka Devta, Santeri, Ajadevi (Spirit). A recent archaeological discovery of a Thomas Cross hidden in a smallish monument, surmounted by a Latin Cross, near the old Goa harbour lends support to this thesis. The Cross bears an inscription in Pahlavi, which, Costa reports, was the liturgical language of the church associated with the Metropolitan of Fars (Persia). He also participated in the Konkani movement in Mumbai, and did work for the Konkani Bhasha Mandal.

Nationalism

As an indologist and a linguist, Mascarenhas attracted the attention of nationalist leaders such as

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, Kaka Kalelkar and S.S. Mulgaonkar. His patriotism and espousal of Indian nationalism brought him into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities.

Bibliography

Primary

*''The Quintessence of Hinduism: The Key to Indian Culture and Philosophy.'' Bombay: St Sebastian Goan High School, 1951. *''Konkannachem Apostolik Kristanvponn''. Rendered into Kannada script by A.A. Saldanha. Dabul, Bombay: Betal Prakashan, 1960. *Interview with the Editor of ''New Leader,'' reprinted in the ''Silver Jubilee Souvenir of the Archdiocese of Tellicherry'', 1970http://thenazrani.org/feasts9.htm

Secondary

* De Smet, Richard. "Sankara Vedanta and Christian Theology," ''Review of Darshana'' 1/1 (1980) 33-48 = ''Understanding Sankara: Essays by Richard De Smet'' (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, forthcoming) ch. 27. *Costa, Cosme Jose. ''Apostolic Christianity in Goa and in the West Coast.'' Pilar, Goa: Xavierian Publication Society, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mascarenhas, Hubert Olympus 1905 births 1973 deaths Indian Indologists Scholars from Goa People from Porvorim 20th-century Indian scholars