Mother Theresa

Mother Theresa

a. A biography of the personality

Mother Teresa’s given birth name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, she was born on the 26th of August in 1910 in Macedonia. When she was 18 years old she joined the Sisters of Loreto whom she traveled to India with to do missionary work - it was India in 1931 that she became a Nun (The Nobel Foundation, 2013).
Mother Teresa devoted her life to those living in poverty and in 1950 began her own order called ‘the Missionaries of Charity’ whose sole purpose was to give aid and support to people affected by poverty, famine, disaster and disease (The Nobel Foundation, 2013). Mother Theresa continued her work until her death in 1997.

b. The influences of the personality’s life on their society

She began her order ‘The missionaries of Charity’ in 1950 volunteers and people donating funds to aid their work began to pour in from India and the rest of the world (Biography.com, 2013).
Between the 1950s and 1960s The Missionaries of Charity were able to build an orphanage, a nursing home, a leper colony, a medical clinic for families and many mobile health clinics which enabled them to provide care for those most in need (Biography.com, 2013). Mother Teresa’s organisation serves people all over the world and provides aid and services to those suffering in poverty, in disaster areas and the members of society that may otherwise be overlooked (The Nobel Foundation, 2013).

c. The way in which their philosophy is related to Yoga Philosophy

Mother Teresa’s Philosophy was one of kindness and compassion which extended out to those most in need. Her work can be related to Karma Yoga - She devoted her life to selflessly serve others, giving of her time, devotion and love to provide for those people who were desperately in need without the want of anything in return.
Her work has inspired many people to devote their lives to helping people living in poverty - Mother Teresa 's organsiation the Missionaries of Charity carry on her lifes work with the help of volunteers and donated funds (Biography.com, 2013).

d. An examination of how these personalities adapted their philosophy to modern lifestyle

Mother Teresa was a devout Catholic Nun, she believed that God had given her the role to dedicate her lifes work to help people who were living in poverty and overlooked by the rest of society (The Nobel Foundation, 2013).
In 1948 she began her work by establishing a school in Calcutta for children living in the slums - the school was open air and had meager resources but was a huge asset to the children of the area (The Nobel Foundation, 2013). Soon after she had established her school she was joined by volunteers and given funding by people who believed in her cause (The Nobel Foundation, 2013).
Two years later with the blessing of the church she set up her own organisation called the Missionaries of Charity which was funded by donations and volunteers; this enabled her to extend her work to other areas such supporting and aiding refugees and people living in severe states of poverty. Her charity has opened medical clinics, provided aid to victims of natural disasters and epidemics, opened halfway houses to rehabilitate alcoholics and drug addicts and provides care for the homeless in countries such as Africa, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Europe and North America (The Nobel Foundation, 2013).

References

Nobel Foundation, The. (2013). Mother Teresa. Retrieved from: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-bio.html

Beckerlegge, G. (2001). The World Religions Reader: Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge.

References: Nobel Foundation, The. (2013). Mother Teresa. Retrieved from: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-bio.html Beckerlegge, G. (2001). The World Religions Reader: Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge.