I am sure God will be pleased if little children are happy
In the past, there haven been people of Great Spirit and intelligence. They have served all their lives, in thought, word and action. They lived to serve the poor and the needy and spread the world of love and brotherhood. The world and their countries remember them and honor them.
In August 1854, a child was born in a pretty little village near Thiruvanthapuram in Kerala. This child would one day become Sri Narayana Guru, the greatest social reformer of Kerala.
Like every little boy, `Nanu’ was mischievous. He used to go into the puja room and eat up the sweets and plantains before they had been offered to the family god. When his mother scolded him he said, `I am sure God will be pleased if little children are happy.’
Even as a boy, Narayana lived a very simple life. At the age of twenty-three, he left family. He lived by collecting alms from all sorts of people. After this, he spent a long time in the caves of southern Kerala thinking about God. After many months, he came out began to speak about the problems in the society.
In those days, people of the lower castes were treated very badly. They were not allowed to enter temples or to go to schools and universities. Sri Narayana decided to do something about this.
He set up temples all over Kerala. The Sri Narayana temples were different from the others. Here, everybody could go and pray to God. It did not matter whether you were rich or poor or high or low. Even a person who was not a Hindu was welcome to pray at these temples.
Sri Narayana went around the country spreading his message of love. He believed that there was only `one caste, on religion, one god for Mankind’. He believed that all people are equal.
The great Sri Narayana Guru left this world on 20 September 1928. But e lives forever in the minds and hearts of people.
• Social reformers: a person who works to bring about changes n the society in which he lives.
• Alms: money, cloths and food given to poor people.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa was born as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Yugoslavia. She came to India and worked as a teacher in Kolkata. She felt very sad by the condition of the poor people and soon started her own order, known as the missionaries of charity. It took care of `the hungry, the sick and homeless, unwanted, unloved, uncared for people’.
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