‘Mother Teresa’s works of mercy were liberal actions’
In
March 1996, Mother Teresa was on a very special visit to Ahmedabad. The
then municipal commissioner of the city, Keshav Varma, made sure to
make her visit a memorable one. He also wrote a letter requesting the
then BJP mayor, Bhavna Dave, to accord a civic reception to Mother. Dave
flatly refused this. Varma then hosted a tea party in his official
bungalow for Mother inviting several eminent citizens of the city to
interact with her. Mayor Dave also dropped in. One of the Sanghis who
accompanied her directly asked Mother, “Why do you convert other people
to Christianity?” Very humbly and gently, Mother replied, “I have no
power to convert anybody; but if you wish to be converted, I will
certainly pray to Jesus and he will touch your life.” Of course, the man
was just dumbstruck!
More
than nineteen years after her death, Mother Teresa once again hogs the
headlines. Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief has gone on record to say that
Mother’s sole aim was “conversion”; the BJP spokeswoman Meenakshi Lekhi
adds her two bit saying that Mother was baptising even when she was on
her death bed! Such petty statements warrant no comment! Mother Teresa
is being very conveniently ‘used’ to draw attention away from several
serious problems that confront India today: be it the Land Acquisition
Ordinance, which has brought thousands of farmers onto the streets of
Delhi, or the swine flu which has reached epidemic proportions in
several parts of the country!
The ordinary citizen, however, needs to be reminded of the rich legacy, which Mother has left all; these include:
Courage to challenge the rich and the powerful
It
is common knowledge that Mother, at most times, ‘got what she wanted
and more’. She had that ability of creating discomfiture for certain
sections of society. She was not content with the ‘crumbs’ that fell off
their tables. She wanted the best (especially dignity) for the poorest
of the poor
Ability to be a bridge for a more humane society
Mother
was perfectly at ease with all sections of society. The rich and
powerful were unable to ‘co-opt’ her to their way of living; many of
them joined in her mission. Her unparalleled work proved to be a great
leveller. She had no qualms hobnobbing with dictators, as long as she
was able to touch their hearts and loosen their tight fists to give to
the poor
Commitment to compassion
Mother’s
works of mercy were liberal actions. A person who lies in a gutter: in
filth and in squalor - with a body that is maggot-ridden, hungry and
emaciated, needs just one thing: to be accepted with love as a human
being first; then a bath and hot wholesome food. Her compassion was
shown in deeds.
Humility in accepting her limitations
She
was often criticised of ‘spoiling the poor’; in her typical way she
used to quip, “I really can’t help it. That’s all I can do...perhaps you
are better, since you spoil the rich.” Or on another occasion when she
was accused of not addressing the root causes of injustice, she replied
“Well, I think you should be doing that...I am good at doing only this!”
It
was not without reason that Mother Teresa was given the Bharat Ratna,
the Nobel Peace prize and innumerable other awards from across the
globe. The likes of a Bhagwat or a Lekhi and their utterances will never
be able to dislodge the fact that she truly “converted” millions the
world over, not to Christianity, but to be able to do good to the poor
and the marginalised of our world. It is high time many of us accept
this CONVERSION!
In response
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