THE CALL TO LOVE

Mother Teresa's spirit of love must now be invoked the world over in our bid to combat the evil of Islamic terrorism. Not that her love was truly universal in the sense a Vivekananda's was, but her love was large enough to include the whole of humanity despite its limitations owing to affiliation to Catholic dogma which is exclusive, though, not always violently so. The Indian ideal of spiritual love embracing the whole of sentience which is founded on the depth-vision of Truth is hard to come by within the fold of proselytising religions such as Islam and Christianity. However, Catholic mystics like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Catherine of Siena did transcend to a great extent the limitations imposed by Church doctrine to realise mystic union with God in the Christian sense and have passed on their legacy to future generations for possible emulation and even surpassing. Mother Teresa belonged to this rarefied species of Christian saints and her humanitarian works were very much in line with traditional Catholic missionary work where the object of service was humanity in general but the driving force was faith in the Gospel and the zeal to bring the so-called Good News to humanity at large with the subtle, almost imperceptible motivation to proselytise. However, all said and done, her work was yet sublime for it was done out of sincere love of man and in an exalted spirit of service backed up by physical renunciation of a high order, for Mother Teresa lived a life of extreme self-denial in her bid to identify with the poorest of the poor who were the objects of her adoration.

Today, in the climate of fanatical hatred when Islam seems to be at war with the civilised world, when millions are losing their lives to the brutality of war and international terrorism, it is worthwhile to reminisce the glorious life lived just the other day by the Saint of Calcutta who cared not to divide mankind but ever preached the gospel of love and acceptance of all as members of a single human family, a realisation which surely had dawned on her not merely by dint of her Christian piety but also by her absorbing the holy vibrations of spiritual India which must have impregnated her whole being during her long pilgrimage to this holiest of lands on earth. Let us read, reminisce and reflect on her life and works as we prepare to effectively counter the menace of Jihad that is tearing the world apart for the doom of mankind is its agenda and a perfidious programme of political harakiri is its mission with Paradise and its luscious fruits its ultimate prize.