MOTHER TERESA

IN THE NAME OF GODS POOR

A Movie Review Submitted To: Dra. Anita Sanchez PPRM August 17, 2011

Submitted By: Rupesh Raut MD-2

I am thirsty, give me money I am thirsty, give me money A line that changed a simple nun who was confined within the walls of the church to the mother who changed poor peoples lives. As shown in the movie, Mother Teresa, the then nun who used to teach geography to her girls also became affected by the ongoing protest by the Indians demanding independence from the English. The convent in Calcutta where she used to stay was big, clean and beautiful, but was surrounded by the crowded, disorganized and haphazard settlements. The environment was dirty and area was full of slums and squatters. During the ongoing war of 1940s, they ran out of food and when she and one of the other sisters went out to look for food for their girls but got caught up in a riot. She was shocked to see the real faces of people of that region, starving in the streets. He was so much touched and felt sad by the condition of those hungry, poor and unhygienic inhabitants. One time when she was about to go into the train, she saw a poor, lean beggar asking for money because he was thirsty. She felt so sorry for him and offers her some coins. Because the beggar was disabled, he could not move to it and the other kid gets his money. The lines spoken by the same beggar, I am thirsty, give me money I am thirsty, give me money continuously struck

her mind. She thought it was not just a beggar but it was the Jesus himself talking to her. Haunted by the images of the hungry people, Mother Teresa decided to leave the convent to devote her life to caring for the poorest of the poor. She also mentions to the father of the church that she saw Jesus in him. As mentioned in the movie it was the call of the Jesus for her to be a nun when she was a child and she followed the call. Now she thinks that this is another call by him. The son of the god himself disguised in the poor and hungry face of the beggar. So she decided to go and help the poor people now. For this she struggles continuously to ask for a chance to go and help them but by keeping herself under the Christian beliefs and ideals because she did not wanted to leave the church because being nun had become her life already. Finally she was allowed by the church to do so. She started her work by going to a slum called Moti Jhil and started teaching the kids there how to read and write. The people of that slum were pissed off at her because they thought that a Christian woman was about to change their Hindu beliefs into Christians but they were proven wrong when she stood right in front of the commissioner and stopped the evacuation of that slum from that area. She started to clean the children of that area and helped the victims of disease to get cured. Finally there were many supporters including the local people of that area and the

girls she used to teach in the convent. When she applied to found the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, she was allowed by the Roman Catholic Church. She also helped the tuberculosis infected Brahmin (Hindu) priest who was continuously accusing her missionary. Her work started expanding and the branches were established all over the India and then almost in every countries in the whole world. She got Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her restless service to the humankind. She took her last breath in 1997 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II and was given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Moral Virtues
Sincerity is the virtue of one who speaks and acts truly about his or her own feelings, thoughts, and desires. The life of Mother Teresa is itself an example of sincerity. She was determined to go the slums and help the massive number of the needy. She was permitted by the church to do so. It is said that when there is will, there is a way. Whatever were the obstacles in her mission, she got rid of it easily and she was able to get the support from all the levels easily. It was like the god himself wanted to help the poor through her. She never hesitated to clean, the dirty people, feed them, cleaned their clothes.

This was how sincere she and her girls were. No matter how sick the patient was and how contagious the disease the patient was affected with, she did not say no the help they needed. I was wondering how she was immune to the diseases the people had. Unlike the medical personnels, she did not use any masks or gloves while taking cure of them. May be its gods hand who is helping those poor people. This proves that if we are really sincere in our work, god will take care of the hindrances. Humility is the virtue of being modest or humble. According to Mahatma Gandhi, if you want to help the poor, you should be one of them. She had this feeling in her mind since very beginning. So she went to the slum of Moti Jhil where she became one of them by being one of them. Organizing her mission in that very place, she started helping the sick people. She started teaching the kids there how to read and write and taught them to take bath. She did not want to get publicized in any magazine about her work because what she was by her heart not for any publicity. Her humbleness is reflected the most when she refused to attend a party in her name and asked the organizers to cancel it and use the money to feed the poor in other parts of the world. Tranquillity is the virtue of being tranquil, calmness or serenity. She was a living example of calmness. It was like she never got anxious or angry at

anybody. I remember a scene from the movie where the priests from a nearby sacred hindu temple will start rising against her and somebody even threw stone and broke the wall of her window. She was still not furious but asked her girls to work without paying any attention to those agitated people. She told her girls that they should not be distracted with those types of violence and continue serving people. This is indeed a good lesson for the doctors or soon tobe doctors like us.

Vices
Respect from society is a thing to earn not a thing to seek or demand. Mother Teresa did not start her mission to get famous all around the world but to serve the poor and diseased people. Its can be proven from her denial to get published in one of the journals magazine. She was able to get respect from society, the whole world. She taught us that we should do good and be good to get appreciation from society. It is also seen that the politicians do help the society and orphans. Its good that the orphans and hungry persons are being fed but they do it during election time only which people are aware of. They are not liked by the people and are incomparable to Mother Teresa as they do it to get popular and engrave their name is every grain they give away.

Greed is inordinate acquisitiveness for wealth, power and position. Mother Teresa never helped the needy with expecting some money from them. Besides, she offered free care to the people. Even though the missionaries are being funded these days to keep them operating, the initial movement of Mother Teresa was an example of selflessness. What I dont like about medical doctors these days are they are unofficial ambassadors of medical products. They will advertise the companies and their products in return of money or some other material goods. What I learned from the lecture virtue is that medicine is not merely an occupation but a call to cure and care, a mission to serve others through vitreous practice. Lastly, I would like to conclude with the following quotation which I think we medical students should always keep in mind. "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" John C. Maxwell