September 5 was a very special day for the world: it is the Feast Day of Mother Teresa, the Foundress of the Missionaries of Charity. She died on this day in 1997. The Catholic Church throughout the world venerate her as a Saint – and rightly so. For the many millions of those who were uncared for in this world, she was truly a mother and a Saint. Interestingly, in India, the day is also celebrated as ‘Teachers Day’ in honour of a former President of the country Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975).
Dr Radhakrishnan was a scholar-statesman; he was a visionary and a great intellectual. Besides being a great educationist and philosopher, he also believed that education is the key to India’s inclusive development. Mother Teresa was a teacher par excellence and if there is just one lesson she taught the world, that is ‘compassion’!
In a fitting tribute to Mother Teresa. the United Nations in 2013, declared every September 5 (her death anniversary) as the ‘International Day of Charity’ inviting “all Member States and all international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to commemorate the Day in an appropriate manner, by encouraging charity, including through education and public awareness-raising activities.”
Mother Teresa was truly the epitome of compassion. If ever one would dare to give a core competency to her, it is this single characteristic of being a compassionate person. She radiated this quality, when on earth, in a way, few humans could ever do; her love for the marginalized and the vulnerable and particularly for the poorest of the poor and the dying destitute, for the last, the least and the lost- was boundless. She was able to give and not to count the cost. Her ability to be compassionate towards others motivated her to found the Missionaries of Charity. She was effusive in her compassion for the “least of our sisters and brothers” and did not try to hide this fact.
We witness today hate and violence, wars and conflicts, the consistent denigration, demonization and discrimination of minorities and other vulnerable groups. Lynchings, rapes and murders seem to have become an accepted thing! The world desperately stands in need of compassion today! A compassion, which reaches out to the unloved, the ostracized, the marginalized and the vulnerable. A compassion, that takes a stand for the poor, the victims of injustice, the refugees and the displaced. A compassion, that is able to negate and overcome the hate and divisiveness; the racism and communalism; the xenophobia and the exclusiveness that has gripped our world as never before. In India, we need the compassion that Mother Teresa taught us, as never before.
In 1979, awarding Mother Teresa the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wrote in their citation:
“In making the award the Norwegian Nobel Committee has expressed its recognition of Mother Teresa's work in bringing help to suffering humanity. This year the world has turned its attention to the plight of children and refugees, and these are precisely the categories for whom Mother Teresa has for many years worked so selflessly."
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.’... we think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."
On September 4, 2016, in a very special ceremony at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Pope Francis canonized Mother Teresa as a Saint of the Catholic Church. In his homily he reminded the world of the need and importance to live the values, like compassion, which St Teresa of Kolkata embodied:
“May this tireless worker of mercy help us to increasingly understand that our only criterion for action is gratuitous love, free from every ideology and all obligations, offered freely to everyone without distinction of language, culture, race or religion. Mother Teresa loved to say, 'Perhaps I don’t speak their language, but I can smile'. Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer. In this way, we will open up opportunities of joy and hope for our many brothers and sisters who are discouraged and who stand in need of understanding and tenderness”.
Mother Teresa was also a teacher, having taught in a Bengali Medium Girls School for several years before she founded the Missionaries of Charity. During her lifetime, she taught the world several important and valuable lessons. Compassion however, was her hallmark, her ‘forte’! We need to do our best to imbibe these values in whatever way we can. She would say:
“In this life we cannot do great things; we can only do small things with great love!”
As we celebrate today, God’s great gift to humankind in the person of Mother Teresa, let us also pray to her, this great ‘Saint of the gutters’ to give us a compassionate heart, the courage to reach out in love unconditionally and the commitment to give and not to count the cost!
Let us remember the words of Mother Teresa, “Spread love everywhere you go: first of all, in your own home. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor . . . Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.”
Mother Teresa is the Saint who taught us compassion! She walked the talk on this! Do we have the courage and humility to do likewise?
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*Human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/writer
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