Rev Cyril Desbruslais SJ: A Legacy of Liberation, Humanism, and Youthful Engagement

Our globalised and interconnected world needs moral structures that are sustainable. Institutions and organizations, like individuals, require moral awareness and imperatives that enable them to distinguish between right and wrong and to be good. Among those who shaped such a vision in India, Fr. Cyril Desbruslais SJ (1940–2025) stands out as a remarkable philosopher, mentor, playwright, and chaplain to the youth. His death in Pune on 8 September 2025 closes a luminous chapter, but his influence endures through the countless young men and women he guided and the liberative vision he championed.

Humanistic Approach to Philosophy and Life

For Cyril, philosophy was never a mere intellectual exercise; it was a way of humanising existence. He often quoted St. Irenaeus of Lyons—“The glory of God is humans fully alive”—to capture the heart of his vision. This conviction animated his lectures, writings, and plays, where he consistently sought to affirm the dignity of human beings and the fullness of life. He drew inspiration from thinkers such as Teilhard de Chardin and Pedro Arrupe, while remaining grounded in the struggles of ordinary people.

His philosophical method avoided abstractions detached from lived realities. Instead, he traced both the liberative and dehumanising potentials in every system of thought. For him, philosophy had to empower, inspire, and liberate. It was a search for truth that refused to ignore injustice, suffering, or the aspirations of the poor. His courses on existentialism, ethics, and postmodernity carried this distinctive flavour: philosophy not as scholasticism, but as a call to be more humane and more alive.

Commitment to Liberation

Cyril’s enduring contribution lies in his philosophy of liberation. Drawing from Latin American liberation theology, he insisted that India needed not theology but a philosophy of liberation—one that would enable people across faiths and ideologies to humanise their lives and transform society. Liberation for him was both material and spiritual, empowering both body and soul.

He consistently urged his students and readers to recognise unfreedoms—poverty, ignorance, injustice—and work toward emancipation. This was not abstract moralising but a structural engagement with society. He believed that unjust systems must be challenged and transformed if human beings are to flourish.

His well-known course Philosophy of Liberation at Jnana Deepa (Pune) became a touchstone for generations of students. It was not simply a set of lectures but an invitation to live differently. His book Philosophy of Liberation articulated this passion: the insistence that philosophy must serve human freedom, especially for the marginalised and voiceless.

Social Justice and Conscientisation

Deeply influenced by Paulo Freire, Cyril believed in education as a means of conscientisation. He insisted that young people must become aware of structures of oppression and be empowered to resist and reform them. His plays often dramatized this tension, bringing issues of injustice, gender, and marginalisation to the stage in a way that was both intellectually rigorous and emotionally stirring.

He was never afraid to be a rebel, confronting structural sins and oppressive ideologies with clarity and courage. Yet his rebellion was always humanising, never destructive. He sought not to tear down for the sake of it, but to build societies where all could live with dignity. His insistence on social commitment made him a prophet in the Jesuit tradition, willing to risk discomfort and conflict in order to stand for truth.

Engagement with the Youth

Cyril’s most enduring legacy may be his extraordinary engagement with young people. For decades, he served as youth chaplain in Pune, creating a community of dialogue, exploration, and faith. His mission “two by two” took him into schools, colleges, and cultural spaces, where he touched lives not only through sermons but through plays, debates, and informal conversations.

Young people found in him a mentor who respected their questions, challenged their assumptions, and inspired their dreams. He was forthright and articulate, often unsettling the complacent while empowering the restless. In his plays, he encouraged young actors to embody liberative visions; in his lectures, he urged students to think critically about violence, technology, and hunger; in his pastoral work, he listened with empathy to their struggles and aspirations.

Even into his later years, he continued to innovate. At Jnana Deepa, he developed courses such as Hunger and Violence and Philosophy of Technology, exploring pressing issues of poverty and the ethical challenges of modern science. These courses, alongside Philosophy of Liberation, were not esoteric electives but life-shaping invitations to grapple with reality.

Playwright and Creative Visionary

As a playwright, Cyril used drama not just as art but as social critique. His plays often addressed questions of oppression, injustice, and freedom, staged with the involvement of students and youth groups. The theatre for him was an extension of philosophy—a space where ideas became embodied, where abstract theories confronted living realities.

The creative energy of his theatre work shaped the imaginations of countless young people, who found themselves drawn into struggles larger than their own lives. He urged them to embrace life fully, to love the world deeply, and to discover in human relationships the traces of the Divine.

A Humane and Integrated Vision

Cyril was consistently critical of dualisms that divided body and soul, matter and spirit, secular and sacred. Like Teilhard, he saw continuity rather than opposition between the material and the spiritual. His integrated vision of the human person refused world-denying philosophies. Instead, he sought liberation that encompassed the fullness of human life—physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual.

He urged his students and audiences to embrace brokenness and vulnerability without losing sight of human potential. Life, for him, was an invitation to be “fully human and fully divine.” To glorify God meant to become genuinely ourselves, reaching out to others in love, respect, and solidarity.

Remembered by Many

His legacy has been remembered by both ordinary students and public intellectuals. Shashi Tharoor, for instance, recalls how Cyril, in his twenties, presented a rational philosophical argument for God’s existence that left a lasting impression. Tharoor notes that while rationality has limits, Cyril’s structured reasoning provided a powerful encounter for a young mind flirting with atheism. Such testimonies reflect the breadth of his impact: from inspiring teenagers to shaping public debates on faith, freedom, and justice.

Conclusion: A Life Fully Alive

Fr. Cyril Desbruslais SJ lived out the conviction that God’s glory is humanity fully alive. He spent his life helping others discover this fullness—through philosophy, theatre, teaching, and pastoral engagement. His legacy is one of liberation, humanisation, and courage.

At a time when societies are threatened by intolerance, inequality, and violence, his vision remains urgently relevant. He invites us to affirm difference, respect dissent, and foster diversity. He calls us to recognise structural injustice and commit ourselves to the poor. Above all, he challenges us to live fully—human and divine, integrated and liberative.

His passing marks the end of an era, but his spirit continues in the countless young people he inspired and in the liberative philosophy he articulated. He showed us that ideas can indeed change the world, when they are embodied in courage, creativity, and compassion.

• One of the last interviews of Desbruslais

• Tribute of Shri Shashi Tharoor

• Some old photos of Desbruslais

• Pay your special homage here (you will have to sign in; then it is easy)