There was this conversation once, with a friend of mine. She couldn't believe me when i said that I'd like to be called myself a rationalist, an atheist at that... She asked : 'Have you never worshiped/ prayed ? not even once in life?'.. the answer was a 'no'. The inquiry went on. She kept on questioning my ideas. At a point, she went on to ask this: 'Have you not admired anyone to be of that stature - god, as in totally adorably person ?'
At that instant, the first name that came to my mind was Mother Teresa.
One of my biggest inspirations - one of the few personalities whom i will always respect, hold in high esteem.. A totally selfless angel, i got to know about her only around the time she left this Mother Earth physically.. Ever since, I've been wondering if one such personality/ such a life is even possible!
Let me share a few things i got to know about this ever gracious humanitarian....
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Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (~ a pure rosebud, literally!) on 26.08.1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, she was the youngest of three children.
Site of Mother Teresa's Birthplace, Skopje
In her teens, Agnes became a member of a youth group in her local parish called Sodality. She left home at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary (a community known for their missionary work in India). She never again saw her mother or sister (her father died when she was 8).
When she took her vows as a Sister of Loretto, she chose the name Teresa (~ a harvester).
young Mother Teresa..
She arrived in India in 1929.
From 1931 to 1948 Mother Teresa taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta, but the suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the convent walls made such a deep impression on her that in 1948 she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta.
Mother Teresa started with a school in the slums to teach the children of the poor. She also learned basic medicine and went into the homes of the sick to treat them.
"It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving."
On October 7,1950 'The Missionaries of Charity' was set up in Calcutta. Their primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after.
Ever since, for more than a half a century now, the Missionaries have been serving and providing effective help to the poorest of the poor in a number of countries world over.
She later formed the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and suffering co-workers.
Her official biography was authored by Mr.Navin Chawla (current CEC of India), and published in 1992.
Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997.. (a day after my thirteenth birthday).
''Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.''
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Mother Teresa - a true altruist.. a synonym of service.
A whole life of devotion.. Nearly seven decades of steadfast commitment to live and work for others - for the deprived people, the banished and the diseased.. Her longing to stay with the poor lot and serve them - well, every time i hear her name: I tend to get pensive, emoted and filled with a sense of utmost respect and inspiration..
''Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.''
I've always dreamt of living my life like that.. A life where there's no issues with 'self', no vested interests, and one where we always go about living and working with others.. A life where we do not show any difference, and truly treat every human being as one and as one of ours.. attaining a 'perfection' in that sense.. A life where we dedicate our energy to our fellow human beings, feeling a level of fulfillment/ satisfaction every singe day we live on this Earth. I tend to think that there is almost nothing in this world that gives us that sense of 'joy' - that of giving, sharing, living with the underprivileged, try to bring some light in their life (of course, time with babies is 'joy' too
).. trying to give some 'hope' to our people..
But... its not possible anymore. I can only dream of such a life.. admire such a personality.. Maybe, I should try living parts of it when i do get the opportunity.
''Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.''
Sometimes when i see the 'extravagance' and the pompousness of certain individuals - i tend to get angry, an unexplainable sense of pain.. the concept of 'haves enjoy what they've got- whats your problem', just doesn't work with me.. i find it so unconvincing and even irritating, at times.. but, thats our world.. thats it..!
As she insists, it is the duty of others to ignore such people and go about helping and serving our brothers and sisters.
"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."
So, the light will forever glow, inspiring millions worldwide and giving hope to countless humans..
May her legacy live long. May her life inspire and guide people for generations to come..!
''If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.''
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Some of her experiences, in her own words:
''ONE night, a man came to our house to tell me that a Hindu family, a family of eight children, had not eaten anything for days.They had nothing to eat. I took enough rice for a meal and went to their house. I could see the hungry faces, the children with their bulging eyes. The sight could not have been more dramatic!
The mother took the rice from my hands, divided it in half and went out. When she came back a little later, I asked her: "Where did you go? What did you do?"
She answered, "They also are hungry."
"They" were the people next door, a Muslim family with the same number of children to feed and who did not have any food either. That mother was aware of the situation. She had the courage and the love to share her meager portion of rice with others. In spite of her circumstances, I think she felt very happy to share with her neighbors the little I had taken her.
In order not to take away her happiness, I did not take her anymore rice that night. I took her some more the following day.''
''Some years ago Calcutta experienced a great shortage of sugar. One day, a boy about four years old came to see me with his parents. They brought me a small container of sugar. When they handed it to me, the little one told me: "I have spent three days without eating any sugar. Take it. This is for your children."
The little one loved with an intense love. He had expressed it by a personal sacrifice.
I repeat: he was no more than three or four years old. He could hardly say my name. I did not know him; I had never seen him before. Nor had I met his parents. The boy made that decision after he found out, from the grownups, about my situation.''
"It was late in the day (around ten at night) when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and found a man shivering from the cold. "Mother Teresa, I heard that you just received an important prize. When I heard this I decided to offer you something too. Here you have it: this is what I collected today." It was little, but in his case it was everything. I was moved more than by the Nobel Prize.
"One day a young couple came to our house and asked for me. They gave me a large amount of money. I asked them, "Where did you get so much money?" They answered, "We got married two days ago. Before we got married we had decided not to celebrate the wedding, not to buy wedding clothes, not to have a reception or a honeymoon. We wanted to give you the money we saved."
I know what such a decision meant, especially for a Hindu family. That is why I asked them, "But how did you think of such a thing?" "We love each other so much," they answered, "that we wanted to share the joy of our love with those you serve." To share: what a beautiful thing!"
"We should learn how to give. But we should not regard giving as an obligation, but as a desire.I usually say to our Co-Workers: "I do not need your surplus. I do not want you to give me your leftovers. Our poor do not need your condescending attitude nor your pity. The poor need your love and your kindness."
"Not long ago I received a beautiful letter and a sizable donation from an Italian child who had just made his first communion. In his letter he explained that before he made his first Communion, he had asked his parents not to buy him a special suit, nor to have a party to celebrate the occasion. And he also said he had told his relatives and friends not to give him any gifts. He would give everything up in exchange for the money they would have spent in order to send it to Mother Teresa. It was a beautiful demonstration of generosity by that child. I saw in it the ability to sacrifice, to deprive himself of something."
"Some months ago (as you know, we also work at night) we went around Calcutta and picked up five or six people who were abandoned in the streets. They were in serious condition. That is why we took them to the Home for the Dying and for the Abandoned. Among the people we picked up, there was a little old lady who, due to her extreme condition, was near the point of death. I told the Sisters, "Take care of the rest. I will take care of her myself." I was getting ready to put her in a bed when she took my hand and a beautiful smile appeared on her face. She only said, "Thank you," and died. I assure you, she gave me much more than I had given her. She offered me her grateful love. I looked at her face for a few moments, asking myself, In her situation, what would I have done? And I answered with honesty, Surely I would have done all I could to draw attention to myself. I would have shouted, "I'm hungry! I'm dying of thirst! I'm dying!" She, on the other hand, was so grateful, so unselfish. She was so generous! The poor, I do not tire of repeating this, are wonderful."
"I remember once when, from among the rubbish, I picked up an old lady who was dying. I held her in my arms and took her to our home. She was aware of the fact that she was dying. She only kept repeating, bitterly, "My own son did this to me!" She was not saying, "I am dying of hunger! I cannot bear it any longer!" Her obsession was something else: "My own son has done this to me!" It took a long time to hear her say, "I forgive my son." She said it almost at the moment of her death."
I once picked up a small girl who was wandering the streets, lost. Hunger was written all over her face. Who knows how long it had been since she had eaten anything! I offered her a piece of bread. The little one started eating it, crumb by crumb.
I told her, "Eat, eat the bread! Aren't you hungry?" She looked at me and said, "I am just afraid that when I run out of bread, I'll still be hungry."
"Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing."
