Having a mission in life is the greatest spur to
achievement
Within a few days of landing in Bombay, in
November 1922, a young Spanish priest by the
name of Fr. Henry Heras found himself in the
presence of the St. Xavier’s College, Bombay. He
met the principle of the college. The young priest
was a historian, and had a degree in Spanish
history. “Which branch would you like to teach?”
the principal asked him. “Indian History,” Fr. Heras
replied. “What do you know about Indian history?
The principal asked him. Fr. Heras said he knew
nothing “How, then, are you going to teach it?” “I
shall study it.” Fr. Heras answered.
To those who knew that he had a degree in history
from Spain, it might have seemed strange that he
did not just choose a branch of the subject with
which he was thoroughly familiar, then settle into a
comfortable teaching routine which would bring
him his salary with the minimum of effort. Strange
indeed, until one discovered that his purpose in
doing so was to bring him into contact with the
widest possible range of young people in order that
he might the more effectively pursue his mission. It
was essential that he should have a permanent base
from which to work, and this kind of teaching
assignment was ideal in that it gave him the
opportunity to function both intra—and extra—
murally.
So intent was be upon carrying out his mission that
he did not once baulk at the enormity of the task
that lay ahead. It meant learning the history of a
whole subcontinent—and one, too, which dated
back to the most ancient of times, and into which
were interwoven the histories of many peoples. The
complexity of the task was intensified by the lack of
documentary evidence for certain important
periods of Indian history and the fact that much had
to be pieced together on the basis of archeological
discoveries. But he set about his task with such
thoroughness and determination that he became not
only an accomplished teacher of history, but a
historian of repute of the same class as Sir Jadunath
Sarkar and Dr. Surendra Nath Sen. He died in 1956,
but his work is still commemorated by an institute
in Bombay which is named after him: the Heras
Institute.
It is when one has a great and over-riding mission
in life that no task seems too difficult, no hardship
too great. That is when temporary gain loses its
attractiveness and loss seems of little importance.
There are many Muslims in the world today who let
it be known that they are ‘interested’ in doing
missionary work.
But are they ready to make the enormous sacrifices
and engage in the unremitting toil which true
missionary work demands?
Ref - The Moral Vision
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
