Fr. Joe's Corner
Fr. Joseph H. Pereira — founder of Kripa Foundation
Known to everyone simply as Fr. Joe, and to many as "the Singing Priest", he has spent more than four decades building India's largest network of addiction recovery centres — bridging spirituality, rehabilitation and compassionate care for those the world had written off.
Early years
Before Kripa
Joseph Hilary Pereira was born on 6 September 1942 to Martha and Hilary Pereira, in a Luso-Indian Roman Catholic family in the suburbs of Mumbai, one of four children. He studied locally, where he had the chance to learn Sanskrit — and took his first yoga lessons at the age of eleven.
Begins learning yoga at age eleven — the practice that would later shape Kripa's entire model of care.
Meets B. K. S. Iyengar while at seminary and becomes his student.
Begins working alongside Mother Teresa and her communities in Mumbai.
Founds Kripa Foundation with a handful of residents on the premises of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Bandra, where he served as parish priest.
The journey of Fr. Joe
The visionary behind Kripa Foundation
Rev. Fr. Joseph H. Pereira is the founder of Kripa Foundation, devoted to the care, support and rehabilitation of those affected by chemical dependency and HIV/AIDS.
What began in 1981 with a few residents in a church compound has grown into a vital source of social stability across eleven Indian states, with associations in Europe, Canada and the USA.
He prefers not to highlight his academic record — a Master's in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Mumbai, a Licentiate in Divinity from Bombay and Poona, and certification in Counselling Theory & Practice (Carkhuff Model) with training from the Hazelden Institute, Minnesota.
About Kripa Foundation
First a patient, then a teacher
Seventy years with yoga
The achievement he holds most dear is not academic at all — it is a lifetime of yoga, begun as a patient at eleven, continued as a pupil, and carried forward as a mentor.
He came to yoga first as a patient, then as a pupil and practitioner, later as a certified trainer, and in recent decades as a friend, associate and international mentor of the Guruji B. K. S. Iyengar School of Yoga, Pune.
That involvement runs so deep that the holistic core of Kripa's care is built on the self-knowledge these practices offer. He teaches yoga philosophy at institutions including the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad — and among his students was Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first Prime Minister.
Kripa Foundation Iyengar Yoga™Appointments & service
Roles he holds
Beyond Kripa, Fr. Joe serves across recovery, education and public policy.
National Co-ordinator, WCCM
Leads the World Community for Christian Meditation in India.
Class A Trustee, AA India
Non-alcoholic trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous in India, and of AA World Services India.
Adjunct Professor
Teaches Yoga Philosophy and Psychology at IIM Ahmedabad, corporates, schools, Indian universities, Catholic institutions and seminaries.
Consultant, Archdiocese of Bombay
Advises on rehabilitation of the chemically dependent.
High-Level Committee member
Serves on committees constituted by the Government of India — Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
Member, New York Academy of Sciences
Recognised for contribution to research in healing and recovery.
In his own voice
Books, recordings & teaching
His instruction and observations reach people through recordings and handbooks as much as through the centres.
- AudioThe Silence of the Spirit
- VideoLiving with AIDS
- Audio CDWholeness and Holiness
- Book / DVDYoga for the Practice of Christian Meditation
- Book / CDLearning to Sit in Meditation
- Audio CDThe Whole Person in Prayer
A global mission
Taking the Kripa model beyond borders
Between 1987 and 2015 Fr. Joe led workshops on yoga and recovery in Portland, Oregon; Hot Springs, California; and Calgary and Toronto in Canada.
His research — "Innovative Methods of Healing the Addict" and "Effectiveness of Yoga in Substance Abusers", both within the Kripa Model and drawing on Kripa Foundation Iyengar Yoga™ — was presented at the Dharam Hinduja Institute of Indic Research, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge.
He continues to run annual seminars at the Black Forest Institute in Germany, and in Brazil, Zurich, and at the Coolmine Therapeutic Community in Ireland.
A schedule this demanding rests on disciplined personal practice and a deep empathy for the marginalised. He credits it to the blessings of Blessed Mother Teresa, Yogacharya B. K. S. Iyengar, and his spiritual guide Rev. Anthony D'Mello.
Recognition
Four decades of awards
National honours, international recognition, and a Padma Shri from the President of India.
The Priyadarshini National Award
Award for Anti-Drug Abuse, Reach In
Perestroika Sanjeevani Award for Anti-Drug Abuse, Bombay
Anti-Narcotic Council of India AwardBest Establishment in the Field
Sahayog Foundation AwardOutstanding work in the field of drug and alcohol abuse
Ati Param Visisht Sewa Medal for Social SciencesAssociation of College of Chest Physicians, New Delhi
Karma Yogi of the YearInternational Yoga Journal
Expert Faculty, National Institute of Social DefenceGovernment of India
Class A Trustee, World Services of AA India, and the Christian Chamber of Commerce Award for Excellence in Social Work
Mother Teresa Memorial National Award
Padma ShriConferred by the President of India
National Excellence Award
Lifetime Award by the President of IndiaAlso: National Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement by a Professional
Rotary Lifetime Achievement AwardPresented by Kapil Dev for Project Disconnect, a pan-India drug de-addiction seminar under Rotary International
Lifetime Achievement AwardFor over 50 years of uninterrupted yoga practice, service and teaching in Canada since 1986
Still listening
An organisation of wounded healers
For all the honours, Fr. Joe remains available to anyone who approaches him — the general community, patients, clients of the Foundation in India and abroad, and above all his own staff.
Not less than 85% of Kripa's staff are "wounded healers" — people walking their own paths of recovery and spiritual growth.
It is the principle the whole organisation rests on: the person who has come through addiction is often the one best placed to walk beside someone still in it.
Through the years
Fr. Joe in pictures
Teaching, diplomacy, training and community — four decades of service across India and abroad.
Teaching & practice
Recognition & diplomacy
Training & prevention
Community life
Carry the work forward
The mission continues
Every donation funds rehabilitation, outreach and recovery services across Kripa's centres in India.