Charity: A Tribute to Parumala Thirumeni

Charity: A Tribute to Parumala Thirumeni

 

Today, if we do a quick scan of the names of charitable institutions such as orphanages, old age homes, churches, schools and colleges, one name clearly stands out: the name of the greatest saint of Malankara: St. Gregorios of Parumala

 

Undoubtedly, the ideal life style, prayer, fasting, humility, compassion and care that Thirumeni showed to the poor and the needy were only few of the characteristics that made the name St. Gregorios more or less a synonym for charity.

 

Parumala Thirumeni was one of the earliest adopters of Christian compassion and charity. If we go back in history to the time period of Thirumeni's ministry, we can clearly see that it was plagued by the greatest evils of the then society: casteism and untouchability. Thirumeni could see the Jesus in every person regardless of his caste or worldly status. He reached out to the people of lower castes. He endorsed and taught the teachings of Christ's love for one another. His mission among the untouchables and the poor touched many lives.

 

Thirumeni had an unquestionable service mentality throughout his mission. He surrendered himself to the will of the heavenly Father and served the need of the sick and the poor. When the small pox epidemic hit its climax, thirumeni stayed with the sick and served them. His prayers and encouragement was the source of hope for many. Thirumeni's unconditional service to the needy and the suffering could only reinforce Thirumeni's Christian compassion and love.

 

Thirumeni was a great visionary with a compassionate heart. Even a century ago, Thirumeni emphasized strongly on education and promoted the idea of starting English medium schools. In every step of Thirumeni's mission, the charity aspect was very visible. The schools that Thirumeni started gave free education to the poor. His vision of a modern forward looking tomorrow did not leave the poor behind: they walked hand in hand with Thirumeni.

 

Charity was shaped by the hands of this holy saint. On this day, Charity pays its tribute to one of its greatest visionaries.

 

While Thirumeni led an ideal mission more than a century ago, where are we? How much of his values do the current day's charities endorse and enforce. Today, we continue to start English medium schools as Thirumeni did, but do we at least attempt to do what Thirumeni did for the poor. For a second, let's forget the free education, do we even subsidize the cost and encourage the education of the poor? While we name these organizations in the memory of Parumala Thirumeni, do our actions match even closely with his values?

 

On the 104th anniversary of the greatest saint of Malankara, we want to do a soul search to understand how far we have departed from Thirumeni's ideal mission.

 

In such a pursuit, we start a series called the "People driven charity". It will focus on the power of the common man to influence charity and attempt to maintain the same standards that Thirumeni envisioned a century ago.

 

To be continued...

 

The next two topics: 

PDC-2: The People Driven Charity Series

PDC-3: Evolution of the fish curry for the common man

 

Thanks,

Rajesh

St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Austin, TX