Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa are a few of the great humanitarians in history who inspired independence without war and freedom across the world.
Their core principles of non-violence, peace, and compassion; are some of their traits we try to emulate in our own lives.
They saw strength in weakness. Resilience in perseverance. Generosity in greediness.
The following are 3 Things Mother Teresa and Gandhi Can Teach Us about Privacy, Action & Doing.
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3 Things Mother Teresa and Gandhi Can Teach Us about Privacy and Action/ Doing
There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point. What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone’s house. That says enough.” MOTHER TERESA (1910-1997)
Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu, famously known as Mother Teresa was a nun, teacher, school principal, and headmistress in Kolkata, (formerly Calcutta) the capital of India’s West Bengal state. On a train ride, she was called to leave the convent (a local community or house of a religious order)to help the poorest of the poor and live among them.
In 1950, she founded an organization called the Missionaries of Charity, which is a sisterhood dedicated to helping the poor, the sick, and the impoverished.
Her striking service soon caught the world’s attention, leading to rewards, and most famously, the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Despite her superstardom, she maintained her humility and holiness- an intention she believes every person of faith could strive for.
Who Influenced Mother Teresa Along Her Journey?
It is believed that from the age of 12, she wanted to commit herself to the service of others as well as her religion. Legend says she would get excited after hearing stories about the missionaries who had served in Bengal, India. Then visualizes herself in their shoes. Later, at the age of 18, she left home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland. There, she was given the name Sister Mary Teresa after St Thérèse of Lisieux.
She’d then visualize and imagine herself being part of the missionary team. Later at the age of 18 – in September 1928 – she left her home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland.
It is here that she received the name Sister Mary Teresa after St Thérèse of Lisieux.
In 1946, she had a heartfelt contact with God while on a train ride for a retreat, from Calcutta to Darjeeling. There she experienced what she’d later refer to as a “call within a call,” where she received visions and insight from God, in concern for the sick and poor, and the rest, as they say,- is history.
To implement the advice of Mother Teresa, try the following:
- Remember that you get treated the way you teach people to treat you. When you feel like your words are no longer impacting, resolve to be creative in shifting from a preaching point to a meeting point. The trick is to make the best of now. In other words, Alive time or dead time? don’t wait for better times ahead. Smile, right now, because you can. ))
Photo credits: Portrait of Mother Teresa. Source: Library of Congress. Link: https://www.loc.gov/
3 Things Mother Teresa and Gandhi Can Teach Us about Privacy and Action/ Doing
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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s Thoughts On PRIVACY
The strength of numbers is the delight of the timid—the Valiant in spirit glory in fighting alone. MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI (1869-1948)
Known as Mahatma, which means “great soul.” Amongst other attributes, Gandhi believed strongly in developing an intimate relationship with God, and in the dignity of women and their unique contribution to society.
His nonviolent approach in the fight for civil rights and independence for the people of India, gave the people hope to press on, and not be discouraged.
Gandhi Kasturba 1942. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Link:http://commons.wikimedia.org/
Mahatma Gandhi believed sexual self-control was necessary for developing an intimate relationship with God. He understood early on that, sexual activities are appropriate only within the context of marriage, which should be loving, holy, and grounded in mutual unselfishness.
The mornings were his private-uninterrupted blocks of time to meditate, and to allow his mind to wander about the things he’d missed in the rush of time.
Then he’d document these brilliant ideas that have the potential to empower the people.
Gandhi wrote a document at Birla House, Bombay, in August 1942. Source: Wikimedia Commons Link: http://commons.wikimedia.org
As one author puts it, “When you practice solitude in meditation or prayer, you are burning up the karma that binds you to ignorance.”
It is in the desert, or the place of wandering alone, where God does his best work. Where he meets us most intimately.
“It is in privacy” explains Spiritual thinker, Henry Nouwen, “that we discover that being is more important than having and that we are worth more than the results of our efforts.” He adds, “In solitude, we discover that our life is not a possession to be defended but a gift to be shared.”
Conclusion
Both Mother Teresa and Gandhi became famous for their work in India, as well as being widely celebrated and recognized all over the world.
According to historical records, Mother Teresa visited Gandhi in his residence in New Delhi, India in 1947. At the time, Gandhi was leading the independence movement in India, while Mother Teresa was doing the Missionaries of Charity, serving the poor and sick in Calcutta (now Kolkata). She believed that poor people are great people because she saw their strength, resilience, and generosity in the face of extreme poverty and suffering. “Christ gave me the message,” says Martin Luther King Jr. “Gandhi gave me the method.”
To implement the advice of Mother Teresa, and Mahatma Gandhi, try the following:
- When you are about to seek the endorsement of anyone for your dreams, stop and remember that once the ego becomes involved, you lose both your spiritual and scientific means for creating what you want.
- To satisfy your need to announce your plans, describe what you are going to manifest in your life in a journal. At the very least, your journal will not give you reasons to doubt your dreams.
- Trust deeply in your ability to make conscious contact with that invisible world. Conscious contact is the difference between knowing about God and knowing God.
- Remember that you get treated the way you teach people to treat you. When you feel like your words are no longer impacting, resolve to be creative in shifting from a preaching point to a meeting point. The trick is to make the best of now. In other words, Alive time or dead time? don’t wait for better times ahead. Smile, right now, because you can. (Read The Power of Now.)
Bijeenkomst Contact Rooms Katholieken in Utrecht; Moeder Teresa met kind Datum : june/ 11/ 1988. Source: Nationaal Archief. Link: http://commons.wikimedia.org/
3 Things Mother Teresa and Gandhi Can Teach Us about Privacy and Action/ Doing
Thank you for reading.
