Sadhu Sundar singh (1889-1929) was a great
missionary of India who spread the Word of God among the people of Tibet in the
Himalayan mountain ranges.
One afternoon, as he was
travelling on foot with a companion along a hilly path in Tibet, they were
caught in a severe snow storm. During a brief lull, looking down from the edge
of a steep slope, they saw the body of a traveller lying in the snow at the
foot of the cliff, over thirty feet below the path. The stranger had obviously
fallen from the path and needed urgent attention and assistance.
As the Sadhu tried
to climb down to rescue the man, his companion tried his best to dissuade him.
He warned the Sadhu that if they lost time in the effort to save the stranger,
all three of them would be frozen to
death in the snow storm before reaching their shelter. The Sadhu was determined
to save the helpless man and sought the cooperation of his companion. But he
refused to help and walked away to save his own life.
The Sadhu climbed down the
slope and reached the injured man. He was badly hurt and had broken his leg in
the fall. The Sadhu carried the stranger on his shoulders, carefully covering
him with his blanket and climbed up the steep and slippery path with the heavy
load. After hours of tedious travel with the heavy load in the severe snow
storm, they approached the nearest village when darkness was near. The Sadhu
was drenched in sweat. Suddenly he stumbled over a human body half-buried in
the ice-covered road. It was the frozen dead body of the companion who deserted
the Sadhu and proceeded alone to save his own life. He was overcome by the cold
and frozen to a tragic death.
The Sadhu carried the stranger to the safety
and warmth of a shelter in the village and provided him with all necessary
assistance. He remembered that by saving the stranger by sacrificing his
comforts, he had actually saved himself. The exertion of carrying the heavy
load, the perspiration and the intimate contact of their living bodies had
heated them up and saved their lives.
A disciple once asked sadhu Sundar Singh,
"What is life's most difficult task?" He answered, "To have no
burden to carry!" The greatest gift of selfless service is that it also
helps the one who serves. There is no valley so deep to be beyond the reach of
God's mercy.
Jesus Christ taught, “Happy are those who are merciful to others; God
will be merciful to them!” Suppose there are people who need clothes and don’t
have enough to eat. What good is there in telling them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!”- if
we don’t give them the necessities of life? Faith without generous actions, is dead and useless.
We may give without
loving; but we cannot love without giving. Love is giving all we can. Love is
like a smile - both have no value unless given away. Karl Menninger said,
"Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive
it." Mother Teresa said, "It is not how much you do, but how much
love you put into what you do that counts."
St. John taught, "God is love and whoever lives in love lives in union with God and
God lives in union with him."
Love is a language
that can be heard by the deaf, seen by the blind and felt even by the paralytic
and the mentally retarded.
..................................................................................................................................................
© By Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University
of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public School,
Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath,
Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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