As an ordinary layman of the Marthoma Church, my acquaintance with Chrysostom Thirumeni was primarily hearsay. But, sadly, that did not stop me from judging and relegating him as a liberal and flippant old man. Then, about 8 years ago, I had the rare privilege of meeting Thirumeni personally. In his typical friendly manner, he called me to his side and enquired about me. Since I had worked in the North Eastern states of India for some time (3 years in Mizoram and 4 years in Arunachal Pradesh), I asked Thirumeni whether he had visited those places. He said yes and told me some details about those visits. Then I asked him whether he remembered Billy Graham’s visit to Kottayam and he said yes!. I quickly ran next door and got Billy Graham’s biography (written by John Pollock, which I was reading at that time) and showed him the photograph of Billy Graham standing with some Bishops of South India.
He was delighted to see the picture and with a childlike joy pointed to a figure (The one at the extreme left, I think) in the picture and told me “That is me!” Then he went on and named all the people in the picture and also told me about some minor event that happened at that meeting! Thirumeni must have been 95 or 96 years old when I had this meeting with him and this event happened in 1956… about 60 years in the past! Since, alas, I do not keep a journal, I do not remember all the things that he told me that day but I still remember him telling me that we should not keep out anyone from the Kingdom of God and that everyone is welcome there. He asked me for a copy of the photo with Billy Graham and I sent that to him in about a couple of weeks time. That meeting changed my earlier perspective of Thirumeni… I faintly recognised that he was a man with an uncommonly keen mind.
A fortnight ago when his obituary appeared in the morning paper, Dharman, who has been ironing clothes in our neighbourhood for the last 30 years, asked my wife whether this wasn’t the man who used to visit my brother-in-law’s house next door (This is where I got to meet Thirumeni earlier). Then Dharman mentioned that Thirumeni gave him 200 Rupees once. This was truly surprising information to me as it was very unlikely that Dharman ever came to the front when Thirumeni was around. He must have been, like the vast majority of us, just someone in the background but
Thirumeni saw him. My perspective underwent further change and it slowly dawned on me as to why men across different social strata respected Thirumeni that much.
After his burial, I was speaking to an Achan and I asked him about his acquaintance with Thirumeni. He said that it started 20 years ago when he was a young priest in Kannur. At that time there was a spew of political killings in that area – 7 people were killed in a span of 2 or 3 weeks. In one instance, a young man was slaughtered, in broad daylight, in a school class room, in front of his young students, aged 6 or 7 years old, while he was teaching them. Even after 20 years, this brutality still haunts all Keralites. The reprisals were equally brutal. Thirumeni called up my friend Achan and expressed his desire to come and visit the families of the 7 men who were killed. The authorities made the necessary arrangements and Thirumeni visited each of these houses to convey his deep sorrow at their loss. He told the grieving mothers that he had come all the way from Thiruvalla to meet them because it was as if he had lost a sibling and mourned and prayed with them.
Now I understand that Thirumeni was imitating his Lord and Master..
Who was ready to visit a Roman Centurion’s house – something no Jew will do… to heal his slave..
Who spoke to Samaritan woman (with a chequered marital history) – something that no Rabbi will do … and offer healing to her soul..
Who allowed a street harlot to come and touch Him .. which no self respecting religious teacher will allow….and wash His feet with her tears and wipe it with her hair…and offered her forgiveness…
Who touched a leper… which no man in those days (and these days) will do… and healed him…
Who called out a shrewd, but curious Tax-Collector and told him that He wished to stay in his house… which no righteous Jew will do …. and enabled him to repent….
And finally when He gave up His life on the cross… A Roman Centurion, who watched the way He endured and died, was among the first to recognise that this young carpenter from Galilee was God Incarnate.
There are things that I don’t understand and accept about Thirumeni’s theological doctrines. But just like in the case of Abraham Lincoln, Gandhiji and Mother Theresa, the sheer goodness that shone through Thirumeni’s life affirms, for me, the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of men.
“Perhaps there is no more certain mark of a mature spirituality then in the way in which those who possess it are able to enter a troubled situation and say, ”Peace” or turn from the exercise of heroic love to meet the humblest needs of men.” Evelyn Underhill, Anglican mystic and philosopher.
My two bits 