Saturday, August 25, 2007

Mother Teresa

This article at Time.com discusses the forthcoming release of a book which compiles numerous letters from Mother Teresa dating from the beginning of her time working in the slums of Calcutta to her final years as a world renowned humanitarian. The book's contents are actually pretty shocking, at least for me personally. My understanding of Mother Teresa did not go any further than the public face and persona. All I really knew of her revolved around her public works. She was one of the world's most dedicated altruists and seemingly a person of complete faith.

So then, what are we to make of the fact that the world's most famous mother may have been completely discontent with that faith for the latter half of her life? The idea that she could sustain her giving and sacrifice despite feeling as if she had been abandoned by her creator is incredibly powerful. Some might judge a woman who has dedicated her life to a god that she believes may have abandoned her to be a fool, but I find her continued good works all the more admirable. How many people have the strength of character to dedicate their life to selflessness? To make that commitment despite personal doubt and such malignant self-doubt is nothing short of beautiful.

I had a deep respect for Mother Teresa's work before learning about her spiritual troubles, but I now find myself in awe of her determination. This is someone who proclaimed a total love for her god, and did innumerable kindnesses as an expression of that love, yet she felt her affection to be unrequited. In fact, she seems to have felt so abandoned as to question her god's very existence, at one point. In letters to a spiritual adviser/confidante, she raises questions about her god's will and ways. That's powerful stuff, coming from a woman who claimed to be living every day of her life in that same god's name. In this way, her altruism and sense of devotion to positive work transcends religious and sociological divisions.

Her questions of faith make Mother Teresa's life work that much more massive in scope. The entire time she was giving her life to others, feelings of abandonment and alienation from the inspiration behind her odyssey of sacrifice haunted those efforts, yet she continued on until her very last days in this life. That takes a special kind of determination that few of us can understand or hope to possess. What we could accomplish in a world full of people with that sort of character and integrity! Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, Mother Teresa's given name, was an amazing woman, there is no doubt about that. In a world where so few people stand for anything, she stood for goodness and mercy and faithfulness, even when she questioned the very core of that faith. Remove any biases against or in favor of Christianity, and the legacy left behind by Mother Teresa is no less extraordinary.

Questioning spirituality is a natural part of the process of developing one's sense of spiritual solidity. Seekers must question the foundations of their search, and their understanding, to achieve a greater level of connection with their spiritual senses. Purifying that bond means examining, refining, and sometimes reshaping one's perceptions. Teresa appears to have eventually embraced the "spiritual darkness" that haunted her faith as a sort of penance to be paid as a means to achieving some greater connection to her spiritual master. While I may not agree with her reasoning, I again stand in awe of her dedication. I have to believe Christ the man(I believe Christ was 'just' a man) would have been overjoyed to associate himself with someone of such devotion to their shared cause.

In many ways, Teresa was a modern version of Christ's original disciples and in that context, her questioning seems almost tragic or sad, but there is no reason to pity a life spent doing so much good, while asking for little in return. I can only hope she derived some sort of spiritual contentment from the good in her life's work and that her final moments were tranquil and calm. Certainly, her spirit had no reason to be troubled.

Mother Teresa's Wikipedia page can be found here, if you're interested in learning a bit more about the woman and her journey. Fascinating stuff, for sure.

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Posted by Erik @ 8/25/2007 03:14:00 PM