Dr.Commander Selvam Siddhar
Ramakrishna's realization of nirvikalpa Samadhi also led him
to an understanding of the two sides of maya (illusion), to which he referred
as avidyamaya and vidyamaya: He explained that avidyamaya represents the dark
forces of creation (eg sensual desire, evil passions, greed, lust and cruelty),
which keep the world system on lower planes of consciousness. These forces are
responsible for human entrapment in the round of birth and death, and they must
be fought and vanquished. Vidyamaya, on the other hand, represents the higher
forces of creation (e.g. spiritual virtues, enlightening qualities, kindness,
purity, love, and devotion), which elevate human beings to the higher planes of
consciousness. With the help of vidyamaya, devotees can rid themselves of
avidyamaya and achieve the ultimate goal of becoming free from maya.
Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910. On August 27, 1910, she was christened Agnes-Gonxha
Bojaxhiu. She was the last of three children. She had an elder sister, Aga and
an elder brother, Lazar. Her sister and she were actively involved in church
activities. They were both a part of the choir and were affectionately known as
the 'nightingales' of the church. Her brother received a scholarship to study
in Austria
and he therefore left home at an early age to study in Austria.
Mother Teresa's parents, Nikhola and Dranafile were Albanian and were
originally from city of Prizren,
which was then a part of Yugoslavia.
Her father, Nikhola, moved the family to the town of Skopje, Serbia where he became a merchant
and an entrepreneur. Her mother, Dranafile, was a housewife. Both the parents
made religion and prayer an important part of their family life. They also
encouraged a non-materialistic and generous life style. Her mother occupied
herself with taking care of elderly people, alcoholic mothers and orphans. As a
child, Mother Teresa often accompanied her mother on these trips.
At about the age of twelve, Mother Teresa realized that she wanted to live
her life with the poor and God. She discussed this with a Father she assisted
in church and asked him how she could be sure about it. He replied that if the
thought of it makes her happy, then it is it. And he added: "the deep
inner joy that you feel is the compass that indicates your direction in
life". At 18, she decided to be a nun. When she discussed this with her
mother, her mother spent a whole day alone in a room and when she came out, she
held her daughter's hand in hers and told her: "Put your hand in His and
walk all the way with Him."
She left Skopje
on September 26, 1928
to become a nun. Many of her friends, relatives and neighbors accompanied her
to the station and that was the last time she saw her mother. Other girls who
were on the same mission joined her along her journey. Agnes and her colleague
landed at Rathfarnham, Dublin
and they went to the house of the Loreto Sisters. She stayed at the convent for
a few months and then started her journey to India on December 1, 1928. Before sailing for India, Agnes had
changed her name from Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu to Sister Mary Teresa of the Child
Jesus - after Teresa of Lisieux, the 'Little Flower'.
Mary Teresa, as she was then called, reached Kolkata in January 1929 but
went on to Darjeeling
to become a Loreto beginner. In May, she received the 'holy habit' (the
religious dress of Loreto) and began to learn Bengali and Hindi. She worked as
a teacher in a convent in Darjeeling
for some time and then moved to Kolkata. She taught in schools in Kolkata too
and her affectionate disposition, people called her "Ma".
On May 24, 1937,
Mary Teresa finally took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience for life.
From that very day, she was renamed as 'Mother Teresa'.
On 10th September 1946,
on a train journey, she got what she terms as a "call within a call".
She felt she heard the call of God to leave the Convent and help the poor while
living amongst them. She discussed this call with a father, Van Exem. And she
had to wait to get permission from the Archbishop, her Mother Superior and the
Pope to leave the Loretto sisters but still be a part of the Roman Catholic
Church. She finally received the permission in August 1948, to leave Loreto
Order. She was given the 'induct of exclaustration' (meaning - allowing her to
leave the Convent and remain as a religious, committed to her vows and under
the obedience of Archbishop).
On the evening of August 16, Mother Teresa removed her old religious habit
(dress) and wore a new habit of her future 'Missionary of Charity' Order. Her
new dress consisted of a simple, cotton, white sari with blue stripes (blue was
the color of Virgin Mary) along with white habits to be worn under the sari.
At midnight of August 16,
Mother Teresa left Loreto Order with only a ticket to Patna and just Rs.5 for other expenditure. In
Patna, she
worked in the Holy
Family Hospital
and gained some medical knowledge. She returned from Patna and formed new rules of her
'Missionaries of Charity' in Kolkata. As per the rules of Missionaries of
Charity the nuns who would join the Order, would live, dress and eat like the
poorest of the poor. They would have to take utmost care of the poor people.
Sister Teresa went to the slums and the streets of Kolkata, to talk with the
poor, to help them. She helped them wash the babies, to clean the wounds. The
poor people were astonished at the European Lady who was helping them. She
began to teach the poor children how to read and write how to wash and to have
some hygiene.
Her first residence cum-office of Missionaries of Charity was a small room
on the first floor of Little Sisters of the Poor's Institution in Kolkata. She
slept with the Sisters of the Poor. God was her great refuge for strength and
material support. She always had faith in him that he would always find the
right medicine, clothes, food and a place to receive the poor to be able to
help them, make them feel wanted.
On 19th March 1949,
a Bengali girl, from a well-off family and former student of Mother Teresa,
came to stay with Sister Teresa and help her. She was the first to join her in
her work. Soon, other girls followed: in May they were three, in November five,
next year seven. Mother Teresa thinks of starting a congregation. On October 7th, 1950, the
Papal in Rome
approves of the "Constitutions of the Society of the Missionaries of
Charity". Thus the Missionaries of Charity began with just twelve members.
However, every year, the number of sisters in it was increasing and so are
the volunteers and the people that they need to care for. The society grew in
work and number. Mother kept praying for vocations and the work kept growing.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI granted Mother Teresa's request to globally expand her
order. Now her work spread across the world. Whether it was in Ethiopia
feeding the hungry, the ghettos of South Africa or it was her native
country Albania
when the communist regime collapsed, Kolkata's Mother Teresa "the living
saint" was there. In 1982, at the height of the siege in Beirut she convinced the parties to stop the
war so she could rescue 37 sick children trapped inside. Mother Teresa went all
over the world to help people, rescue children, advise her sisters; to organize
and to talk. Her sisters are present in every continent serving the poor and
lost. Mother Teresa became a symbol of untiring commitment to the poor and
suffering. Today Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity has 570 missions all
over the world, comprising of 4000 nuns, a brotherhood of 300 members and
over100,000 lay volunteers operating homes for AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis patients;
soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages, and
schools.
http://www.siddharpeedam.org/aboutus.php
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