Living the Calling-1

 

I recall the first meeting with Mr L. T. Jeyachandran of Indian Engineering service, after he led a Bible study for students on a Sunday morning at the Christa Mahila Sadan, in the All Saints Church campus, Nagpur in 1969. His warm handshake after the Bible study with a radiant smile on his face expressed a language of thoughtfulness, kindness and friendliness. It was during those Sunday Bible study, week after week and prayer meetings on Saturday evenings at the same place, I felt awakened to consider that being a medical student has a larger purpose than just training to be a doctor for a career path. I heard from him for the first time, phrases like, call of God, following Jesus, living for a purpose,  serving as a vocation and living an integrated life. 

On one occasion a few weeks after the first meeting with Jeya, I went to a pen shop to get a fountain pen, located at Sadar, only a walking distance away from the Christa Mahal Sadan. It was before the prayer meeting on a Saturday evening. I was in a hurry to get to the meeting. The shop keeper happened to share with me an experience of his brother, who was an engineer. His brother came across a senior engineer in his department, who was polite, thoughtful, caring and not corrupt. He told me that he came to All Saints Church on Sundays. He wondered if I knew him! 

The way Jeya was known and regarded, brought yet another impression about Jeya as a person with a mission in his life. 

A few weeks later, when he came to visit some of us at the Medical college hostel, cycling 10 kilometres from Dharampeth where he lived,  confirmed that he had a mission to befriend younger people in order to encourage and lead them to discover their purpose in life.   He, through sharing his personal experiences of his student life brought a new dimension of finding a purpose to life. That was how I got introduced to read the Scripture and consider the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth! 

Jeya lived a simple life, occupying a small apartment in a middle class colony. He was a bachelor at that time. He ate from a hotel close by to his flat, where he would take anyone who visited him in the evening for a meal and conversation. 

In those early days of contact with him, what inspired me was his ability to quote verses from the Bible appropriately and use the verses to bring inspiration and encouragement. He would quote verses from the Bible during prayer which made prayer time  a communion experience in God's presence. He conveyed to the students a message of a loving God in whom we can trust to feel guided and enabled. That was how he led some of us towards coming to a personal faith and to grow in the consciousness of God's abiding presence. 

I chose the photo of a rose bush in this blogpost because, the first Bible study that I attended, which he was leading was based on the gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible, chapter 15. The verse he emphasised and expounded on was: "I am the vine and you are the branches; he who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me, you can do nothing"(v 5). His message was a loving invitation to welcome God's abiding presence in our lives. Beyond his gift of language, communication skills and ability to quote from his wide reading, what was explicit was the love and concern with which he addressed his listeners. His spoken language was bathed in love resonating gracefully in the listener's ears. 

His familiarity with the Bible left a deep impression within me. Seeing him live the message of the Bible in his personal life and in relationships, brought an inspiration for me to want to read the Scripture. I recall that as a good start in my  early twenties, when I was indulging in communist ideology by attending their cell group meetings.  

The several conversations with Jeya, some of which initiated me to consider studying medicine for a purpose of service were life changing. I felt pushed in to studying medicine by my parents and I carried a resentment towards my parents till I completed the preclinical studies. I had a dream to be a teacher like my parents. I also had an inkling to be a writer, but I did not have adequate literary skills to do that. My skills in English were most elementary. 

It was through conversations with Jeya, I felt gradually introduced to consider practice of medicine as a 'calling' to care for people at their vulnerable time of need. That 'education' I received through the conversations led me from an unsettlement to studying the medical subjects with greater attention and diligence. I felt surprised how my academic grade improved when learning became a 'calling'! 

Jeya was frequently invited to speak at meetings both at Nagpur and other places. He had a special ability to connect with younger people. He used his skills in music and singing, playing piano and well informed social and political world view, to engage young people into an apologetic conversations. It was awe inspiring to listen to Jeya when he touched upon matters related to life style. The western habits of indulgent life style following the hippie cultural impact, were creeping into student lives. He lifted our thoughts to a higher level of pursuit from merely seeking after pleasure, which he often well illustrated from the wisdom literature from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible.  

It was while he was at Nagpur he got married to Esther and some of us were able to attend the wedding at Sagar. To see Jeya move on in life was a delight to watch because he had a found a companion in life who shared his wave length in calling and life style. 

The second opportunity to have more close contact with Jeya was when he was located at Chennai in the mid nineteen eighties after retirement, to pursue the apologetic approach to engage young people in personal spirituality. His teaching sessions and conversations carried wisdom and depth that he became a sought after speaker nationally and overseas. Anna and I lived in Chennai at that time engaged in the activities of ASHIRVAD Child Development Centre.

Anna and I were disturbed to hear last week that Jeya needs medical attention for an illness. We carry Jeya and Esther in our thoughts.

I have many more memories of conversation with Jeya. I thought I would begin with the initial season of contact with him in this post. 

Looking back, I recall that Jeya became a pathfinder, introducing me to pursue a purpose of service in the practice of medicine. Jeya lived his calling as a reminder to many to 'abide in God' ! 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)