Biographies of Raimon Panikkar

The Vivarium Foundation, founded by Panikkar as testamentary heir for the publication of his writings and his image, is aware of the wish of some scholars from different countries to write a biography of Panikkar. Having already responded to various enquiries, the Foundation would like to make the following statement to all Panikkar’s friends, acquaintances and colleagues for whom we have contact details:

1. It was the explicit wish of Raimon Panikkar, repeatedly expressed, that a biography of himself, based on information from his friends and acquaintances, not be published.

2. In particular:
a) Panikkar always said that what he wanted to leave to posterity were his intellectual intuitions, which he himself prepared for publication and, up to the last, organically organised in his Opera Omnia (in course of publication in various languages).
b) He always desired that his private life should not be the object of curiosity out of respect for his “privacy” but also for the persons he was close to, especially as a priest.
c) He was always reticent about some of the experiences of his life (membership of a religious order, family, personal relations), although he did allude to them in some writings and in interviews he gave.

3. For these reasons, many years ago Panikkar entrusted his diaries to one person, Milena Carrara, and also named her as depositary executor of his archives, manuscripts, letters and all personal documents, with the explicit direction to make any use of them in concord with Vivarium.

Therefore any biography would be not only “unauthorised” but, more importantly, contrary to the wishes of Panikkar himself. Naturally, this would not apply to any kind of work concerning the intellectual examination of his thought.

It is our hope that that these wishes will be respected by all, and that any enquiries on strictly personal matters through interviews or other means will not elicit responses contrary to those wishes.
As Panikkar said, “true communication (happened) happens (and will happen) always from heart to heart”, leading us to listen to his words directly. And that is the one true legacy he wanted to leave us.

Confident of your understanding, we thank-you.

Josep Torras - Vice President
Fundació Vivarium Raimon Panikkar
www.raimon-panikkar.org