Popularly known as the Saint of the Gutters, Mother Teresa has won the hearts of Indians by her sheer love and care for the poor. We could say that the West gave Teresa, the Nun to India, but that India gave Teresa, the Saint to the world. It cannot be denied that India contributed a great deal to young Teresa’s transformation into a living saint. She was born in Eastern Europe of Albanian parents shortly before the First World War broke out in Europe. When still a teenager, she came to India, to join the Loreto Sisters as a novice. For nearly two decades, she lived a rather comfortable life, teaching geography to middle and upper class Indian girls, until she had a Buddha-like experience, which caused her to come out of the comfort of her gated convent in Calcutta and face life in many of its cruel forms. Buddha found the path of liberation and taught it to others; she too found the way, the way of Jesus Christ and shared it with all. Her Sneha Karma marga, the path of love in action, brought a healing touch to several of us Indians, particularly those among us who have to suffer untold human indignities.
It is said that, while travelling to make a visit to the Loreto Convent in Darjeeling, in 1946, Teresa had a life-turning experience, which challenged her to live and work among the destitute men, women and children who inhabited the then teeming slums of Calcutta. Just like the Buddha underwent a profound, life-changing experience, she too experienced a deep personal call to spend the rest of her life serving the poor in Calcutta. This deep experience led her to abandon the security of the convent and begin her works of mercy on the streets of India’s most populated city. It took two years for the church authorities to grant her permission to venture into such a courageous and highly challenging endeavour. By that time, she had already gathered a band of young women, mostly her former students, ready to immerse themselves in their life-giving mission. In 1950, Teresa finally got her required permission from the Pope and a new Religious Congregation called the Missionaries of Charity was born. Our saint and her sari-clad Sisters spent the next 47 years serving destitutes in scores of schools, orphanages, medical dispensaries and homes for the dying, not just in our country, but across the globe.
Her work gains special importance not only because of its sheer magnitude, but also because it reflects the motherly care of God that several of our Indian brothers and sisters seek in the worship of the many goddesses in our country. Besides, like the women who proved themselves capable of realizing the truth in the Buddhist Hikkhuni Sanghas (communities of female monks), she too comes across as a courageous woman standing tall in the largely patriarchal society of our country, her personal holiness reflecting both the divinity and the humanity elements that are embedded in our country, much like the attributes of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both God and man and whom she so ardently followed. Thus in becoming a true disciple of Christ, she also became a true daughter of India, embodying and sharing the deepest and most sublime traditions of our country. Within this train of thought, we might also discern how she integrated the threefold path to holiness in our country with her personal spirituality. Indeed, she gave great importance to personal and communitarian prayer and, hence, followed the Bhakti marga with great devotion and love for God, without losing sight of the Jnana marga, which became the light that illumined her steps. But what really becomes clearly visible is the Karma marga, the way of action in her life. She beautifully blended the way of action, Karma marga, with the way of love, Sneha marga and the way of the cross, the Sahana marga of Christianity.
Her works of love and service profoundly touch us and many among us are inspired by her passion to follow her Sneha marga, ever willing to walk the way of the Cross, the Sahana marga, for the sake of our less fortunate brothers and sisters. The manner in which she lived her dhama/dharma awakens us to our dhama/dharma in our own contexts. This does not mean that she did not have her critics, but she was never deterred by them. Being argumentative by our very nature, several Indian Christians, as well as others, questioned her work and the motivation behind it. Some said that the poor did not need our charity, that what they needed most was justice; they thus ridiculed her noble work, while others questioned her intentions. For example, the question of Justice or Nitya marga was thought to be missing in her works. But when we contemplate her giving a dignified death to a dying destitute, we soon realize that her act of love is also an act of justice, that her Sneha marga also becomes a Nitya marga. Besides, in holding fast to the dying human person, she lived a kind of a Satyagraha, leading the human person to experience Moksha, the highest truth, the Satya of our life. Thus, we can clearly view how her Karma marga is at once, a Sneha marga, a Sahana marga and a Satya marga, thus placing her as a model to the Indian Christian who is engaged in following Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Her noble work never ceased to inspire us. That inspiration rose to a greater height still when she was canonized or recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church in a record time of 19 years. As we bring to mind her canonization, on 4th September 2016, we are even more encouraged to follow her path of holiness, serving the poor and the destitute in our society. We Goans can draw a great many lesson from her. The Year of Mercy that we have just celebrated in the Church brings us to the Compassion/Karuna incarnated in her life and works. The Karuna that she inspires brings together everyone – Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, etc. Such a karuna is deeply embedded in Goa. We have it inscribed in the goddess Roynn that was worshipped in Goa in ancient times. Though goddess Roynn got sanskritized first as Santer and then as ShantaDurga, it continues to communicate divine tranquillity and peace to her Goan devotees. The angry and invincible Durga became a peaceful deity, the ShantaDurga in this ambience of Goa. Thus we Goans can resonate with the Karuna marga of St Teresa. We can already trace such a view in the book, Kaalighatte Karuna Ghat, brilliantly written by Datta D Nayak, where the author presents Mother Teresa as a symbol of compassion vis-à-vis the violent goddess Kali in Calcutta.
In a world marked by violence and heartless terror, the relevance of an icon of compassion and hope like St Teresa is indeed vital and relevant. In recent days, our country has witnessed how some innocent Dalits, women, students and members of a certain religious tradition have become victims of violence, of cow vigilantism, of rape and pernicious nationalism. The canonization of St Teresa of Calcutta is therefore very timely and could indeed help bring healing, compassion and love to the victims of violence and hope for a change of heart to those who inflict it.
