V. Chakkarai (1880-1958)

V. Chakkarai (1880-1958)

Early Life

Vengal Chakkaria Chetty was born in 1880 in a well known Madrass family of the Chetty caste, the highest non- brahmanical caste in Tamil Nadu. His father, who died while chakkarai was very young, was a follower of the Vedanta while his mother was a devotee of the vaisnava bhakti tradition who had influences him greatly.  Chakkarai received his early education from a Scottish mission school and then went to the Madras Christian College, where he was deeply influence but William Miller. Chakkarai qualified as a lawyer but later worked for a time with Danish missionary society, helping with evangelist work among educated Hindus. In 1917 he joined the home rule movement and Gandhi’s non- co I operation campaign in 1920. In the later years he took an active part in the labour movement and became one of the best known Christian public figure of his time. Being elected as mayor of Madras in 1941 and in 1951 serving a chairman of all India trade union congress, he died in 1958. 

Chakkarai’s Theology

Chakkarai was concern about the need for the Indian Christianity to develop its own theology or theologies to express its understanding of Christ and Christian experience. For Chakkarai the starting point of Indian Christian theology is Jesus Christ. The two focal point of his understanding of Christ are the incarnation (avatara) and the cross. V. Chakkarai is Christ centric in his approach and follows a theology of Bhakti- Marga. He stresses the importance of Christian experience and has interesting insight like the relation between mysticism and the cross.  Indwelling spirit, immanent in us, capable of being experience by every devotee. The Holy Spirit is none other than the indwelling Spirit of Jesus which is at work. Christ deal sin as disease and it is through the cross the healing descends, so no knowledge nor world can give you moksha because there is no space in karma samsara for moksha, it is only through the cross you can attain the moksha. So one must first empty oneself so that the divine will fill the void.