MY ASHA TEACHER
MY ASHA TEACHER
"That beggar woman near the Geetha hotel stirs up certain tender feelings within me," Rajesh told his wife, Sheila.
She looked seventy-five and sick.
The children had learned from him, hard work and respect for all, cause peace and happiness.
Mary, his daughter, felt compassion for the old woman.
"Papa, give me ten rupees. I want to help her." Mary asked him.
Rajesh gave her 100 rupees, and she ran with it to the old woman.
"Wait, sister, I’m also coming." Her younger brother John requested.
They offered her the money and a bottle of mango fruit juice, saying, "Jesus loves you."
The woman stared at and blessed them; that made them happy, but Mary observed tears rolling down from the woman’s eyes.
"Mom, but I saw tears trickling down from her eyes, there’s sadness on her face. Why was so mom?" Mary asked her mother.
"Perhaps they’re tears of joy. Don't worry. Help the helpless and poor people always. Be generous and gentle with them. Jesus loved the poor and abandoned." Sheila said to her children.
Rajesh approved of it and said, "It was Jesus who gave me a new life when I was hopeless and lost. I’ll share with you that story. Come and sit close to me. You three are God's invaluable gifts to me."
His wife and children moved closer and sat on either side of him.
"When my parents died one after another, I didn’t know what to do. We were three, my two younger sisters, and I. No-one was there to take care of us. Tension and anxiety mounted on me. I had to stop studying eighth grade to work and look after my sisters. Then, Asha teacher saw me absent in her class and found out from others why I was missing. Her compassion made her search and find me out of the street. She made all arrangements for our continued study. I saw God working through her as our father, mother, and everything. I still remember how my tears rolled down on my cheeks in gratitude and happiness,” Rajesh continued revealing his past life story, “Till I got a job after my college studies, she helped us. Then I heard that sad news that she resigned from her teaching job and planned to go back home about 800 kilometers far away from us. With my job in a firm, I could take care of my sisters and continue their education.”
'Months and years rolled by. Once, we three made a journey to meet her in her hometown and it was a joyful experience. Later, I got an appointment in Dubai to help the firm over there, for two years, sent by the company where I was working. I admitted my sisters to a girls' hostel run by Religious Sisters. When I came back, I got the shocking news that Asha-teacher was suffering from poor memory and left home unnoticed. Family members searched for her everywhere in vain. I searched for her all over but, fruitless. I was so much pained and disappointed, even angry with her family people. She could not even take part in both sisters' marriages. Even now, not finding her out is my greatest sorrow.'
Mary hugged him as if to console him.
On the following Sunday, the family went to the same Nehru Park as usual and saw the same old woman begging in front of the hotel. The children gifted her many things and enjoyed her company. They filled her heart with joy through their friendly children’s talk and affection shown to her. She blessed the cute children and gave them a foldable souvenir she had kept with her for long years. It was a frame with a mirror on one side and a photo of a boy on the other side. They took it to their parents. When Rajesh saw it, he recognized both the frame and the old woman. He called them and rushed to the woman in great excitement.
"Are you Asha teacher?" He asked her.
She just stared at him, confused.
"Teacher, I am Rajesh, this is my photo". Rajesh said, pointing at the photo of the frame.
"Cancer caused my mother's death five years after my father's death. It shattered my life. I stopped my study in 8th grade to take care of my two younger sisters who had no one else. Hearing this, you came home in search of me. You took care of us, and so we three could continue our study and life." Rajesh reminded the teacher.
The teacher appeared blank. She failed to remember anything; so he spoke so many things of the past intending to make her remember the past and recognize him. Rajesh saw silver drops trickling down on her cheeks. Sensing that the teacher had remembered the past, he continued, 'Your love in action showed to us, taught me the commandment of Jesus and its meaning, 'love one another.' Your prudent, timely help saved us and helped me to grow in the love of Jesus, and I still practice it. ‘Love is in action, not in words.’ Rajesh continues to practice the teachings of Jesus in the Bible.
The teacher started showing signs of recognizing Rajesh. She started sobbing as if she recovered from her memory loss. Her tears were flowing down immensely, and she said, 'my son Rajesh, and hugged him with dominant emotion and both wept, embracing each other. After a strong emotional experience, total healing had taken place in her. A great joy overpowered all four of them, a true resurrection experience.
The children with uncontrollable joy hugged her, saying, 'grandma.'
Sheila hugged her firmly perceiving of new life, and called her, 'mother.'
"My children need a grandmother; my wife and I need a mother. I am taking you, home, mother," Rajesh said to her and took her home and she lived with them from that time onwards as own children, but she all struggles remained with her, looking at them from a different angle.
Have you ever come across in your life old people begging in public places? Have you missed a golden chance to see the light of intimacy and caring transforming you? Don’t worry, ample opportunities you will discover today itself if you choose to open your eyes.
The End
Comments