“It is not right to say that I have lived for 100 years, rather I would say I haven’t died for 100 years. To live doesn’t mean you are alive. Life is all about fighting and turning all the negativity around us into positivity.” These are the words of Chrysostom Thirumeni in the final portion of my 48-hour-long documentary ‘100 years of Chrysostom’.
I recollect meeting Chrysostom Thirumeni when I was five. He had officiated my sister’s wedding at the Eraviperoor Mar Thoma Church. I remember him through the photographs of that wedding. During those days, kids celebrated meeting Chrysostom Thirumeni in school and at the church because he makes kids laugh with his jokes and stories. Children loved watching him because of his appearance, which resembles Santa Claus. He is unparalleled with his touching style of oratory, full of humorous statements and broadminded love of humanity.
Later, I was fortunate to know and understand him closely during 2005. He had invited me to his place to congratulate me when I won the state and national awards for my film Thanmatra. He also sent a letter to the church stating I should be felicitated in the church for my achievement. I have got to know him more by the books he gifted me. In return, I presented him with books on my films Kazhcha and Thanmatra.
I was stunned by the fact that he called me after a couple of days and told me he had finished reading the books. His habit of reading early in the morning has always surprised me. Thus I would read and understand his ideology through the books he gave me.
His thoughts would go deeper into my soul, knowing how Thirumeni was during my childhood days and how he has moulded me. I got to interpret his divine morals because of his revolutionary thoughts and beliefs which stated that God is present not only in churches or temples but also on the streets and every nook and cranny of this universe.
I would say we did not perceive the fact that he would convey his deep, meaningful, soul-searching thoughts through his jokes and stories. Therefore, the seriousness in understanding his perception was not given enough attention.
‘No one else can talk about humanity so deeply’
During his 98th birthday celebrations, people glorified him by describing him as ‘Thirumeni with a golden tongue’ and ‘Thirumeni with funny jokes’. It hurt me because I could see how in-depth, meaningful, far-sighted his understanding about life was, which people could not recognise and hence only laughed at his jokes. That made me think and work towards making a documentary about ‘100 years of Chrysostom Thirumeni’. It took me around four-and-half years to complete the documentary.
Thirumeni was born on April 27, 1918 — the year the First World War ended. That particular point struck me. A documentary that showcases 100 years of a legend, which begins from his birth — the end of the world war — to him receiving the Padma Bhushan. These 100 years have seen a lot of politico-socio-economic changes in our country and around the world. I tried my best to incorporate it into the documentary.
I was very particular about capturing his different beliefs and maximising his brilliance. Hence, we got around 100 people from different walks of life to converse with Thirumeni, from the President and the Prime Minister and political leaders to labourers. It was amazing to see Thirumeni answering different questions thrown at him. I believe only he could come up with such teachings. The thoughts coming from deep within have astonished me on several occasions.
There is no other personality who can talk about humanity so deeply and precisely. He would teach us what humans need and why they are dependent on god. He taught us that god wants every human to have humanity in themselves and should live for the betterment of other humans.
He taught us to find god in every living being, it could be your neighbour or your friend. I believe it is an Indian philosophical and secular thought. ‘Aham Brahmasmi’, which means find god within your neighbourhood, is similar to what Jesus Christ said: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
He also dared to say that one shouldn’t believe in going to heaven after death, rather should spread love on this earth and make this world a heaven. He was a devout idealist. He was endowed with an extraordinary and indescribable talent to mingle with everyone to enter into a dialogue while imbibing modern views.
I feel fortunate and proud that I could document all his thoughts and beliefs and could shed light on his ideology. Saddened that Thirumeni is not with us anymore. I remember Kanayi Kunhiraman’s words while filming the documentary. He said, “I was in search of a human being. That’s when I met Thirumeni. He is so godly.” Greetings to my spiritual leader.
(The writer is an award-winning filmmaker)