Chapter Five, Section I.
Back in Bhavnagar with Janice, Ruth and I received a letter from Anthony Robeson to say that he had enrolled us with the Landour Language School. We were to leave for the Himalayas on the 16th. April, 1951, our rail reservations having been confirmed from Calcutta. Landour, a "suburb" of Mussoorie, is situated on the peak of one of the foothills at an altitude of 7,500 feet above sea level. To get there, a journey of about eight hundred and fifty miles, we had to go back to Dharmapuri Junction and, from there, catch the 5 UP "Doon Express", via Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow, terminating at Dehra Dun. A further twenty-three miles of hair-raising travel by taxi to Kin Craig and, in those days, a final climb on foot for the last 1,500 feet, brought us to our "hill station".
Before embarking on this adventure, we had a few days in which to help Janice who was weighed down heavily with the famine. Newspapers, two weeks out of date, gave a graphic description of the horrific conditions in North Bihar. We in the south were only just beginning to realize the enormity of the sufferings and the mind-boggling problems facing the Bihar Government, which had to provide at least thirty percent of the State's forty million people with cheap food. To do this, nearly four thousand fair price shops already had been set up in the very critical areas where the most needy people were being supplied with ration cards, landless labourers having the first priority.
We read in the "Statesman" that, since the 1st. January 1951, a total of 919,000 tons of various food grains and flour had been imported and a further 90,000 tons were expected this month. But it was all just next to nothing, and it would take a long time to move it from the ports and still longer to organize its distribution through a rationing system. It was a very great privilege for us as a Mission, to be invited to take up the ration program in the Bhavnagar area. James, as the Mission secretary, agreed to be Custodian of an initial consignment of two hundred tons of rice.
This was a clear indication of the fact that, whatever the Government of Madhya Pradesh thought of James' activities in Surgapam, the authorities in Bihar considered his moral integrity beyond question. There were Indians in the Bhavnagar area, who had as much business expertise as James, perhaps more, but they were not entrusted with this important role. It was given to a foreigner, and a Christian in particular!
As well as being appointed custodian of the food grains, James was asked to take up a relief-work project covering the construction of an unsealed road for a distance of twelve miles from Gochadaga, on the Bihar side of the Kanahari River, opposite to Ramanupuri (Surgapam, M.P.), through to Bhavnagar. This entailed much survey work to determine the best route to avoid erosion. It also meant much negotiating with farmers for the acquisition of their lands and compensation to be paid, where necessary. All this would have to be done from Surgapam, twenty-two miles away, commuting on a bicycle! During the course of construction, several thousand people were beneficiaries of a project, which has left its mark as the straightest road in the area. About ten years later, this now very-busy road was sealed to become the pride of the local P.W.D. in Palamghat District.
In certain areas, because of the famine and consequent malnutrition, already, cholera had broken out. Janice felt constrained to inoculate the people in our area. It was at this time that I had my first experience behind a hypodermic syringe. Janice said, "Be sure to give it intramuscularly," but some of the walking skeletons had little muscle to jab. They told of the failure of the Mahua crop because of a severe hailstorm and of having to live on roots, wild berries, leaves, rats, snails - anything that was "edible". The local adivasi (aboriginal) people, down through the centuries, have survived many a major food shortage crisis because of the Mahua tree that drops a fleshy flower at the most appropriate time, in the hot months when all else had dried up. This year, however, their luck ran out and malnutrition was reaping its toll.
In Bhavnagar, the church was progressively growing and the persecution over the border was stimulating a greater zeal for the Christian way of life. People were becoming more caring, more concerned for those less fortunate than themselves. Such attitudes are the seeds of revival and we were not surprised when thirty new converts appeared before the church for instruction and baptism. This encouragement was counter-balanced by a report from James that the Surgapam authorities had forbidden us to use any local timber for building purposes. They also ordered the demolition of all the work done on the small house James had been building on Laxshman's agricultural land.
To overcome this difficulty, we constructed a pre-fabricated bamboo house on the Bihar side of the border and had it carried by porters, fourteen miles to Karanja, just beyond Champapur. This was the last job I did before setting off with Ruth and the children for Daulatapur in preparation for our long rail journey to the Himalayas.
With two full days in Daulatapur, staying with the Robesons, we had time to look around the town and to meet a few friends of the Russells and School Principal Shantibe Dube. It was a delightful experience also to meet some very nice Hindu people who helped me develop different, and what I believe to be more healthy, Christian concepts of Hinduism. Time and time again, I had to re- examine my own faith, especially in the company of two very lovely Hindu people, Dr. Mrs. Dipti Kishore and her husband who is also a medical doctor - an ophthalmologist.
It was somewhat of a cultural, if not a spiritual shock, to find these two devout Hindu friends living a life that, ethically speaking, was on a much higher plane than that of many Christians, including myself. "What right do I have,” I thought, "to claim to have a superior religion?" And yet I knew, deep down that Jesus Christ has a uniqueness, which could still further enrich the devotion of my two doctor friends. The question for me as a Christian was, "How can that uniqueness be manifest and accepted?" "Certainly not through mere verbal communication, " I thought, as I reflected on my experiences at the Fardapur Mela.
Because few missionaries have a close relationship with those of other faiths, such as we were privileged to enjoy with the Kishores, they are not able to fully appreciate the real meaning of "Mission" in the context of the New Testament. I have even met missionaries who are afraid of too close an association with non-Christians, believing that they have nothing positive to contribute to our well being.
But, in spite of the resurgence of non-Christian religions in more ethical forms, we can still confidently present Christ as the "Only Name" by which we may be saved. (Acts 4:12). I believe that Christ is still the unique revelation of God who "fills all in all" (Ephes. 1: 23 RSV). The vital question for the missionary is - How is Christ presented? Do we, in fact, present Christ at all? Other gods utter pious platitudes in the sinner's ear; none but Christ has stooped to lift him up. Another question for the missionary is - How does Christ stoop to lift him up? The problem for many of us is one of communication. How are we to present this unique Christ, this "Only Name", with such authority that people of all faiths may feel compelled to surrender? .
It has to be remembered that the word "Name", in Jewish thought and in the context of Christ, is not a nomenclature. As in relation to prayer, so also when we come to witness, it is the CONTENT of the Name that counts - all the attributes of one NAMED "Jesus", manifest on the Cross - self-sacrificing, suffering love, humility and a gracious, totally non-judgmental nature, to name only a few. Christians are often accused of claiming exclusive rights to Ultimate Truth, with "No Other Way", but Jesus. Fair enough, but the "CONTENT" of the Name means that ALL religions have equal opportunity, if they have such dynamic deities, to come up with their “avatars”, (incarnations) prophets and saints who also may have a chance to manifest that powerful attraction seen when Christ is "High and Lifted Up" (John 12:32).
Unfortunately, we tend to limit that passage to Christ's Calvary experience when, in fact, it also should relate to the Cross seen incarnately in our own lives. Because people, including non- Christians, are made in the "Image of God", they have an innate capacity to appreciate and accept suffering love when challenged by it, particularly if that Love is seen incarnately in the character of women and men of real humility, faith and commitment.
What Christ has done, is to portray in his life, the criteria ("NAME") whereby humankind, in our search for Life's Meaning and Purpose, may find the Secret.
Present international relationships in a modern world demand a fresh approach to non-Christian religions, not that which issues in a syncretistic hodgepodge, but that which recognizes the intrinsic worth of all religions as expressions of the human soul through the ages to find some Ultimate beyond itself. Too often, we have treated with disrespect, even contempt, the idol of the Hindu and others, failing to realize that it is only natural for man to express in some tangible form, his concept of deity.
Perhaps we have been influenced too much by the King James Version's rendering of Acts 17:22 as, "I perceive that... you are very superstitious." In the 17th. Century, the word "superstitious" did not have a derogatory connotation - it meant "religious". While Paul may not have been praising the Athenians for their devotion, he certainly was not referring to their faith in any disparaging way. It does seem rather that he was commending them for an objective faith, even in an "unknown god" of stone.
That which they worshipped unknowingly (not "ignorantly" as in the KJV.), Paul presented to them in terms of Christ. So far as was possible for Paul, he identified with their measure of faith; he met them at their point of need. Such an approach calls for a sympathetic understanding of these religions and cultures and a vital concern that these same heart-yearnings might come to fruition, in Christ, who came "not to destroy but to fulfil" (Matt. 5:17).
That latter promise may be taken to apply not only to Judaic Law, but also to religion in whatever form it may be found. Many are not inclined to attribute to non-Christian religions even any indirect divine origin, because so much of them is thought to be - "of the devil". However, the close relationship I was to have with non-fundamentalist Hindus and Muslims in the years ahead, convinced me that all the world's major religions manifest a reaching out of the human spirit - a yearning for reality beyond one's self. Christ, as the "Only Begotten", is uniquely qualified to meet that need.
Let us re-assure ourselves that the Gospel is still the "Power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes" (Rom. 1 : 16) and that the most dynamic force in the world today is not nuclear energy but the power of Christ-centred suffering love - the spontaneous expression of divine life in women and men under the control of the Holy Spirit. This is the Secret of Life (Col. 1:27) and I really wanted to know it and share it in a more effective way.
The evening was getting late and we had to return to the Mission compound for dinner. In April, the daily temperatures invariably touch 105 deg. F. and sometimes climb as high as 124 deg. F., for which reason, the visiting of friends such as the Kishores, had to be made in the "cool", after 5 p.m.. How very relieved we were to get back to the bungalow and the luxury of a bath. No longer did I feel embarrassed to be associated with the huge "Number Two" bungalow because some of our new Hindu friends had even more palatial residences. Besides, as our colleagues really knew how to rough it in the jungle, they deserved all they could get to help them recuperate, whenever they visited town. So I tried to justify the delight I found in "living it up".
But there was one thing about "No.2" that troubled me. The evening meal was beautifully prepared and served by Keshoram, dressed in characteristic "Khansama's" (cook's) livery. This consisted of a brass-buttoned white coat and a very wide, woven belt with large brass buckle, white trousers and turban. The latter displayed a distinctive coloured band, fastened by a shining brass badge, which enhanced the cook's impressiveness.
Above the large polished rose-wood dining table, and suspended from ropes attached to high ceiling hooks, was the then ubiquitous "pankha" (fan) seen all over India, prior to electrification. It was made of woven grass-matting material with cloth overlay, which hung from a ten feet long heavy wooden beam, all this elaborate gear being activated by a rope which disappeared into a hole in the thick wall.
Occasionally the fan, which oscillated back and forth at about the same rate as the pendulum of a grandfather clock, would gradually slow down as the prime mover began to suffer power-failure and the activating rope didn't enter all the way into its hole. Reaching up, Anthony would give the rope a sharp tug. In one respect, the response was most pleasing but I could not help feeling for the poor "Pankhawala" who sat on the front verandah and constantly pulled on the rope to cool our fevered brows while he sweated it out.
I found it very difficult to accept this form of luxury, even though Anthony said it provided work and income for the blind man who otherwise would have starved; and he was quite right. This menial employment had given the man dignity, a sense of security and self-respect, which he never had gained through begging. But how thankful I was when, years later, electricity came to the town and obviated the need for such seemingly humiliating and degrading labour.
Several years later, when we were based in Surgapam and before we set up our own electrified system, I invented a unique, pedal-operated "pankha". In this case, the fan, suspended over my office table and controlled through levers and pulleys, was connected to bamboo pedals, which I worked under the table. However, the contraption was not really practical for, in operating the gear, I generated as much body heat as was dissipated in sweat evaporation.
It was the morning of 18th. April, 1951 when Ruth, the boys and I reached" Ashburn Guest House" which was to be our home during the months spent in language study. The train journey through the hot plains around Faizabad was most uncomfortable but we were more than compensated by the delightfully cool, pine-scented Himalayan air of Landour. We were grateful that our Mission was prepared to send us to this fine language school, to learn not only Hindi, but also to be orientated by expert pundits from all the major Indian communities - Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian and Animist. The Mission even provided us with a servant, Khushiram, to help with baby-sitting and to escort Robert to School each day.
We owe much to this international school which laid the academic foundations for our sons, giving them a broad outlook on life and enabling all three to eventually graduate from university. At times there were up to thirty-four different nationalities represented in the school staff and student body and, of course, also on the Landour hillside. There was one aspect of orientation that was given not by the Indian pundits but by the foreign missionary staff of the language school. We were cautioned to protect our health. "Don't drink unboiled water unless it is a matter of life and death... Avoid sweetmeats and cut-fruit in the bazaars... Keep down insects and don't leave food exposed to flies... See that your servants wash their hands before touching prepared food and utensils... Always wear shoes to protect yourself from tinea, hookworm, spiders and scorpions etc. etc." It would take reams of paper to cover all the rules to be observed.
We shared this information with Robert who was horrified when he found that the "Ashburn" cook, who didn't wear shoes, stacked the toast on the kitchen floor! Imagine our embarrassment one morning when our four-year-old mounted a chair during breakfast. Calling for the attention of the Proprietor, Mrs. Wallace, and her thirty odd guests, he shouted, "Listen all you people. Don't eat the toast this morning because the cook puts it on the floor!" We don't know if this low hygienic standard was the cause or not, but a large group of us at "Ashburn Guest House", including all our family, came down heavily with dysentery.
We were shocked to learn that approximately twenty-five per cent of all missionaries to India withdraw from service during their first term. Some fail to adjust for health reasons, as their immune systems cannot cope with the massive invasions of germs of an infinite variety. Some find the climate unbearable, while for others the food is not to their liking. But the main reason for a missionary having to quit is that he or she cannot get along with other people. Even within some missionary societies, it is possible to find staff with very dissimilar temperaments and personalities. For some, the shock is too much to bear and they return home suffering from what may be reported as a "nervous breakdown" or something similar.
Some missionaries are very aggressive, forceful characters who want to do their own thing! The behaviour of a few is the very antithesis of what the Gospel is all about, so much so that sex-books illustrate male coital domination in terms of ---- "the missionary position"! To have to subscribe to the decisions of a local committee or Home Board, is more than their independent spirits can tolerate and they crack up. And if they are strongly nationalistic or racist, the need to subordinate themselves to the leadership of an indigenous church, has a most devastating effect upon their political egos. A number have very divergent theological convictions which are given pre-eminence over and above love, patience, humility, graciousness, caring and concern, without which it is impossible to live in intimate relationships for very long periods.
When I first went to
India, I thought that the divisions within the
Terminology within Christendom can be very bitter, but I was determined to relate to all four groups, as I believe Jesus would. After all, if he could accept the unacceptable, which is the essence of Grace, he most surely would accept people within these four groups, even if he could not go along with all their beliefs. I found that one of the most difficult things to do on the mission field is to remain strictly impartial.
Within each group were those who sincerely expressed that love in a genuine concern for people. Unfortunately, also within each group were those keen to pressurize others into total allegiance to their particular theological concepts. The mission field can be a very cruel and depressing place in which to serve - even within the missionary community. It is nothing less than a miracle that Ruth and I survived that ecclesiastical onslaught and came through with any faith at all.