INSPIRATIONAL VALUES FROM MOTHER TERESA - PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND HUMAN VALUES

INSPIRATIONAL VALUES FROM MOTHER TERESA

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, meaning Rose bud or Little flower, Mother Teresa or Teresa of Calcutta was born on 26^th August, 1910 in the city of Skopje of Macedonia. She was youngest among five children born to her parents Nikolle and Bojaxhiu, of who only three survived. Her father though was a successful business constructor; he actively involved in Albanian politics and has expired when she was just 8 years. This has changed their family life, and her mother had to take total responsibility of the family. Her early life was Church centered. Agnes became member of a youth group of Catholic brotherhood, called Sodality. Slowly she started showing her interest towards missionaries. She has gone through the services rendered by missionaries towards Bengal.  At the age of 12 itself, she has committed herself to lead a religious life and by the age of 18, she started off for a pilgrimage.

            Agnes left home at the age of 18 to join  Sisters of Loreto at Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham of Ireland to learn English, to teach to school children over there. Then she chose the name Teresa after Saint Theresa of Lisieux (she was a model  for sanctity for Catholics and is  known for her Simplicity and practicality of her approach towards spiritual life). She wanted to serve Bengal, and hence arrived India in 1929. She began her apprenticeship in Darjeeling, where she learnt Bengali and taught at St.Teresa’s School. She enjoyed her teaching of history and geography for over 15 years. She became a nun on May 24^th, 1937 and opted her name to be Teresa as there was another lady by her name Agnes. Mean while she became principal of St.Mary’s school. at that time she contacted with tuberculosis and was unable to continue teaching. She left for Darjeeling for rest and at that time she received her second call which is stated as the call within the call. She decided to leave the convent and work with the poor. Though no one knew it at that time, and Sister Teresa became Mother Teresa.

During the early phase she had to face many technical and practical problems. She had to tackle with the churches who opposed formation of new religious communities. She had to get permission from Arch bishop of Calcutta to serve the poor and needy on the streets and she got it. She set aside all her habits that she had as the Sister of Loreto and now chose to wear the dress of an Indian woman, i.e., white saree and sandals. She went for training of nursing in Patna and the returned back to Calcutta. She initially started educating kids of slums. As she has learnt basic medicine she could treat them at their home. Some former pupil of her joined her in this and they rented a room. Many people who were rejected by local hospitals approached her.  In 1950, the group has established The Missionaries of Charity. She had no income and had to resort to begging for food and supplies. Teresa experienced doubt, loneliness and the temptation to return to the comfort of convent life during these early months. She wrote in her diary:

"Our Lord wants me to be a free nun covered with the poverty of the cross. Today, I learned a  good lesson. The poverty of the poor must be so hard for them. While looking for a home I walked and walked till my arms and legs ached. I thought how much they must ache in body and soul, looking for a home, food and health. Then, the comfort of Loreto [her former congregation] came to tempt me. 'You have only to say the word and all that will be yours again,' the Tempter kept on saying ... Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in my regard. I did not let a single tear come."

            The permission from Vatican city made her to establish Missionaries of charity and her aim was represented in her own words: “the hunger, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

A small group of 13 members had increased to 4000 sisters who took care  of  orphans, abandoned AIDS patients, aged, blind, poor, homeless apart from working for flood victims or victims of epidemics and famine.

            In 1952, Mother Teresa abandoned a abandoned Kali temple and converted into a shelter place for poor and dying. She renamed it as Home of the Pure heart (Nirmal Hriday). In this place the people were given medical attention and they were given the opportunity to die with dignity according the rituals of their faith. Over the years it the strength grew to thousands, serving poorest of the poor in 450 centers around the world. She founded centers in New York to Albania. By 1966, the Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded and Homes were started in Rome, Tanzania and Australia. By 1971, the first home has started in United States.

            Mother Teresa gained fame worldwide for her tireless efforts for the poor and needy. She was awarded with Peace Prize by Pope John XXIII and Noble Peace prize in 1979, the highest civilian award conferred to US citizen, the Medal freedom award was also conferred to her. She has brought out a revolution in the way the Noble Peace Prize ceremony is organized by stating that the amount spent on the ceremonial banquet ($6000) if donated for her, she would use it to feed hundreds poor for over a year. She was not much interested in earthly rewards.

           In 1991, Mother Teresa returned to her native place Albania for the first time and opened a home in Tirana and by that time she had 168 homes established in India.  

On February 3, 1994 at a National Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, in Washington, DC, Mother Teresa challenged the audience on such topics as family life and abortion. She said, "Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Give the child to me."  Mother Teresa traveled to help the hungry in Ethiopia, radiation victims at Chernobyl, and earthquake victims in Armenia. Her zeal and works of mercy knew no boundaries. In November of 1996, Mother Teresa received the honorary U.S. citizenship. By this time she opened 517 missions in more than 100 countries in which 1000’s served the poorest of the poor.

A clean heart is a free heart. She says there is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them. 

Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.

Her last days: Mother Teresa suffered heart attack while she was visiting Pope john Paul II in 1983. She had one more attack in 1989, and at that time she was placed with a pace maker. In 1991 she suffered pneumonia as well as heart problems and at that time she resigned her position as head of the Missionaries of charity. But her entire congregation voted that she has to stay. Her suffering continued. She broke her collar bone, suffered with malaria, and even her left ventricle failed. At this point of time she had surgery but all these did not lead to any improvement instead declined her health. She left her last breath on 5^th September, 1997.

            By this time the missionaries of Charity had 610 mission in over 123 countries; and had 4000 sisters and a brotherhood of 300 members. Aid coworkers count goes to more than 1 million. She was granted a state funeral by the Indian government in gratitude for her services to the poor of all religions in India.  Her death was mourned in both secular and religious communities. In tribute, Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, said that she was "a rare and unique individual who lived long for higher purposes. Her lifelong devotion to the care of the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged was one of the highest examples of service to our humanity." The former U.N. Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar said: "She is the United Nations. She is peace in the world.".

Human Values of Mother Teresa:

Selflessness: She is a selfless lady and right from a very early age dedicated her life to serve God and then serve & poor and needy. She realized the need of taking care of people. Though many can spend money very few can share their love for others. She states:

“There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation in this world than for bread. 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

She left her family at a very early age and has continuously strived to attain what is required to serve the Bengal people. She learnt regional languages, trained herself to suit the needs of the task that she wanted to take up. Her selfless service and commitment to serve the poorest of the poor received immense support from every Indian too.

Simplicity and tradition: She was a nun and before taking up the task of working for the poor and needy of our country, she changed the way she used to dress before. She changed herself into a traditional Indian wearing a white sari with a blue line which is considered to be the cheapest and simple sari of all, and wore sandals. Her day starts with a prayer and ends with a prayer despite giving her maximum time to the service of mankind. She says “we shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” She never had the worry of serving many people at a time and gain attention. Though people rushed to her missionary, with all the sources available she kept serving tirelessly. She says “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest to you.”

Women filled with love: She says the necessity of the day is to care for people as many are deprived of love. She states “Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do.. but how much love we put in that action.” She states that Even the rich are hungry for Love.”

“Go out into the world today and LOVE THE PEOPLE you meet. Let your presence light new light in the hearts of people.” She warns the parents too stating “Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other and in the home begins, the disruption of peace of world.

Compassion and empathy: Mother Teresa help people who are in their last days of life. A story narrated by her which helped a lady forgives her son before her last breath.  One day she picked up woman out of a garbage bin. She was burning with fever, nearly dying at that moment. She kept saying, "My son did this to me, my son did this to me!" She did not think of her sickness or her pain or her burning fever. Mother took her to home and her team took many hours to help ease her pain. They cared for her. Before she died the woman was able to say, "I forgive . . . my son." Mother Teresa thanked God that before she died she found the peace to say that. She empathized the need of the woman, the only she thing she needed at that time is caring.

Spirituality: Mother Teresa believed that silence as a basic need for the Christian spiritual life. As each one of us experiences a deep longing for God in our heart, we will feel the need to create that atmosphere of silence in our life, that will enable us to be one with Him and communicate intimately with Him in prayer.  In prayer not only do we receive the light to see everything with a new vision of faith but we also receive the strength to respond in faith to the different situations of life, even the most challenging.  The thirsting Love of God burning in her heart was manifested into a living action of service with a great zeal for souls, which made her to bring God’s Love to those most in need. Mother Teresa would remind us that “love begins at home,” and this love is shown by little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness towards those who are closer to us, - our family, our neighbors, the people with whom we work. Whatever we do to them, we do it to Jesus.

A representative of universalism: She also believed in universal brotherhood and says that she loves all religions and every one must become better human beings from their own religious back grounds by doing acts with LOVE. She served people not based on their country, religion or color or gender but simply based on need.

Do it Anyway written by Mother Teresa reveals all her values:

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

Give the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God;

it was never between you and them anyway.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people”

The other values that can be incorporated include:

Self Directive, Sympathy, empathy, compassionate, Religious, trust worthy, hard working, well learnt, persuasive and committed individual.