I wonder if context can give some insight?
Maybe if she was doing this in a western society, maybe this take would be more accurate. But we are talking about dirty, corrupt, third world India. I don’t know about her keeping them in squalor…compared to what? America? England? Australia? In India where they wash their clothes, bathe & fish, etc. all right in the main river? In a country where a cow has more rights than a woman?
I don’t know exactly how much more she could have done with her life that would have been deserving of being liked, respected, appreciated & praised for her efforts? Because so many other people have been able to go in & set up & fund hospitals for the poor there - Gotta love these people who have all the answers who do nothing to make them happen…but will take all the time in the world to talk down someone else who is at least doing something, no matter how small. But I don’t know…if I was dying, maybe a military cot over a blanket laid out over a dirt floor would be greatly better. Somewhere where someone put a cold cloth on my head & prayed with me according to my beliefs would be a huge comfort. No longer being a burden on my already struggling family would also comfort me greatly. A cool (dark) place would also be nice with the Indian heat.
I don’t recall Mother Teresa making any claims that she knew it all or that her way was the best or only way to do things. She was a simple woman. She was a catholic nun from a convent with a simple education & who was taught very simple beliefs & a very simple way of life. All of which are still taught today. I don’t think it is any shock that she then went out into the world & behaved accordingly.
And in spite of these awful archaic self-defeating beliefs, still chose to dedicate her life to loving on people. And not just any people, but the ones hardest to continue to love & where there is no hope.
Actually her Catholic belief in suffering is more in alignment with India’s tendency to believe in reincarnation & that the suffering in this life will lead to a better life when they return in the next one. Maybe they won’t come back as a bug?
I also find it interesting that she is being held accountable for associating, during her fly in & out ceremonies to receive an award, with people that other better educated people with far greater access did not even know about (with certainty) what they were up to.
The truth is, I would never in million years be able to or would want to have a go at what she did. Not even for a year let alone a lifetime. In fact, as much as I would love to see the Taj Mahal, one of the things that make it lower on my list of vacation destinations is that it is in India & frightens me a little bit. So, if Mother Teresa is a horrible, evil person then I am afraid of what that makes me?
I wonder…what would’ve happened to these people if she had of got out of their way? I don’t think they would’ve ended up in a hospital.
Maybe if she was doing this in a western society, maybe this take would be more accurate. But we are talking about dirty, corrupt, third world India. I don’t know about her keeping them in squalor…compared to what? America? England? Australia? In India where they wash their clothes, bathe & fish, etc. all right in the main river? In a country where a cow has more rights than a woman?
I don’t know exactly how much more she could have done with her life that would have been deserving of being liked, respected, appreciated & praised for her efforts? Because so many other people have been able to go in & set up & fund hospitals for the poor there - Gotta love these people who have all the answers who do nothing to make them happen…but will take all the time in the world to talk down someone else who is at least doing something, no matter how small. But I don’t know…if I was dying, maybe a military cot over a blanket laid out over a dirt floor would be greatly better. Somewhere where someone put a cold cloth on my head & prayed with me according to my beliefs would be a huge comfort. No longer being a burden on my already struggling family would also comfort me greatly. A cool (dark) place would also be nice with the Indian heat.
I don’t recall Mother Teresa making any claims that she knew it all or that her way was the best or only way to do things. She was a simple woman. She was a catholic nun from a convent with a simple education & who was taught very simple beliefs & a very simple way of life. All of which are still taught today. I don’t think it is any shock that she then went out into the world & behaved accordingly.
And in spite of these awful archaic self-defeating beliefs, still chose to dedicate her life to loving on people. And not just any people, but the ones hardest to continue to love & where there is no hope.
Actually her Catholic belief in suffering is more in alignment with India’s tendency to believe in reincarnation & that the suffering in this life will lead to a better life when they return in the next one. Maybe they won’t come back as a bug?
I also find it interesting that she is being held accountable for associating, during her fly in & out ceremonies to receive an award, with people that other better educated people with far greater access did not even know about (with certainty) what they were up to.
The truth is, I would never in million years be able to or would want to have a go at what she did. Not even for a year let alone a lifetime. In fact, as much as I would love to see the Taj Mahal, one of the things that make it lower on my list of vacation destinations is that it is in India & frightens me a little bit. So, if Mother Teresa is a horrible, evil person then I am afraid of what that makes me?
I wonder…what would’ve happened to these people if she had of got out of their way? I don’t think they would’ve ended up in a hospital.