This is the fourth recollection during this week, of my association with Mr L.T.Jeyachandran during a period of three years at Nagpur in the late nineteen sixties. It was the news of his illness which evoked within me a deep feeling of gratitude for his gift of love and regards I received when I was looking for a direction my life.
I happened to come across a book a few months ago, In the heart of the temple-My spiritual vision for Today's word, authored by Joan Chittister, published in 2025. She belongs to the Benedictine order of spiritual tradition and has authored other books, considered to be full of treasures for those who want to deepen their personal spirituality. In this book, Joan expressed her vision by discussing sixteen themes which invites a contemplative attention to spirituality.
The themes such as Work, Simplicity, Stewardship, Prayer, empowerment, wholeness, Equality and Vision which are the few of the sixteen themes in this book, were the themes Jeya explored in his talks and meditations during the season when he was at Nagpur in the late sixties. While reading this book, I felt taken back to the seeds Jeya planted in his talks, which at that time escaped our full attention as most of us were infants in faith.
What occurred to me while reading the book was a sense of wonder about the prophetic sense Jeya carried in preparing us for a long journey in our pilgrim journey, by anchoring us on deeper issues of the soul from the start.
One aspect of his instructive teaching was that the more we meditated on what we heard, the more we were surprised by the embedded truth. It became a habit for me to write notes while listening to him as much as possible, so that there was something to read and receive every day till the next Bible study. His messages appealed to our mid, moved our heart and aroused a longing for God. A speaker or writer who can do that, is the one who speaks or writes from the depth of his or her being.
His talks and Bible studies were fresh every time like the way a new day is different from the previous day. Where would such freshness and endearing message spring from except from a personal meditative habit! Among us students, who were young in faith, this habit we noticed in Jeya, became an inspiration to be faithful in developing the personal habits of meditation and prayer.
What was outstanding about the content and quality of conversation with Jeya was the Christo-centricity he brought to his thought world. His reference and exposition of the sermon on the Mount illustrated how much he prepared himself to stay rooted in what would make a person wholesome and integrated.
The book, Hunger for Reality, by George Verver was recommended for reading for beginners in their faith journey. The author introduced the theme of dichotomy in personal life- the gap between what we profess and practice. I recall the occasion when Jeya brought this to our level of understanding, by referring to the struggle and confession that St Paul made about himself, appearing in Romans 7: 14-25; "For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish'. I have a vivid memory of how Jeya freed us from the burden of our faltering steps by referring to the experience of an infant learning to walk by falling several times. The child falls into the receiving hands of his mother or father safely, to be lifted up to make the next effort to walk.
Although these experiences happened about fifty five years ago, they had left impressions which had a recurring impact in my life. I was prone to wandering in my pilgrim journey. But some of these truths that we as students saw in flesh in the way Jeya lived in the market place of his work, substantiated to us the words of Jesus, "I am with you always..' !
Jeya and a missionary heart. That is why he chose to be in a transferable job. Jeya would talk to us about mission hospitals and cross cultural health care in rural areas in north India. That was the first introduction to me about thinking beyond the conventional path of following a career path in the practice of medicine. It was from him, I got introduced to think about practice of medicine as a calling ! I feel glad as I look back, because that consciousness helped me in my formative process !
The contact with Jeya for a season of three years offered me thoughts and direction to build on.
I have had occasional contacts with Jeya after his time at Nagpur. He went on to live and work in different places initiating many into a faith journey !
Anna and I remember Jeya and Esther at this time when they adjust to a difficult situation their lives. They stay in our thoughts and hearts!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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