Introduction : Sri. D.M Devasahayam , B.A.B.D was a remarkable and multifaceted personality. .He was a Theologian, Educationist, Author, Evangelist , Scholar, Philanthropist , Humanitarian and a great Man of God; yet even the well educated Christians and Indian Christian theologians of today hardly know about him So it is the appropriate time to revisit his forgotten profile, unclaimed merit and colorful personality and introduce him to the present generation . He was the first B.D graduate of the Serampore College [University], Calcutta, He was generally known to his friends and public as DMD. His service to the cause of poor children's education and christian theology, and specially to the Indian Christian Theology, deserves to be recognized and remembered for posterity. DMD's profile is definitely a glowing and glorious milestone in the educational, social, cultural and religious history of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu and South India .
Sri.. D.M. Devasahayam , B.A, B.D ,.
DMD's Paternal Grandfather Catechist Moses : D.M. Devasagayam's paternal grandpa catechist Mr. Moses was an industrious and colorful personality .He married a christian woman and this couple gave birth to seven children and out of them only 4 survived and his wife also died .So he married for a second time and she also died subsequently for the third time he married his maternal uncle's daughter Ms.Jeevaratnam and she brought forth ten children of whom only 6 survived.. Moses's Children:-[1] Paripuranam, [4]Devadasan, [6] Gnanamal ,[7] Austin Dip, [8] Gnanadeepam, and [10] Enyammal. . The whereabouts of catechist Moses' children other than Mr Devadasan need to be traced by historians or family members..
D.M. Devasahayam's Parents and Birth and Siblings : Sri. D.M. Devasahayam's paternal grandfather Moses catechist and his wife Ms Jeevaratnam Moses couple's 4th child Mr Devadasan was born on September 1859 at Nagercoil [and he died on 13th June 1920] .Mr. M Devadasan married Ms Annammal and this couple gave birth to the following children namely :[1]Mr. D.M. Devasahayam[ he was born on November 1883,at Nagercoil ], [2] Mr. George Dason ,[3] Ms Victoria, [4] Mr. Charles Samuel Dason,[5] Ms. Lilly, [6]Ms. Grace,[7] Ms Chandramathi ,[8] Ms Patience, [9] Ms Bernice, and [10] Ms Dorothy .
DMD and his education : DMD was a brilliant student since his primary school days. For his under graduate education he joined the prestigious Maharaja's College in Trivandrum and passed his B.A degree It is worthy to remember the fact that Mr.D.M Devasahayam belonged to the first batch of the three B.A degree students from Travancore After his B.A degree he joined the Serampore College[ Serampore University, founded by the great Christian missionary Rev William Carey in Calcutta and passed his Bachelor of Divinity degree examination and he was the first B D graduate from the Serampore University in the whole of India
DMD remained as a bachelor : Sri. D.M. Devasahayam was blessed with the natural flair for God's ministry therefore he did not bother much about his marriage His father Mr .M Devadason died in1920 ,and on account of his fathers death, as the eldest son he took charge of the management of the Woodlands Estate [ 275 acres ], bought from Bishop Dr.R. Caldwell. In addition he had to take care of his brothers and sisters along with his mother.Ms.Annammal .At the time of his father's death out of his 7 sisters only 2 were married so he gave all the support to his mother to find suitable life partners to his sisters In 1927 his mother Ms.Annammal Devadasan died, Unfortunately and unexpectedly following DMD's mothers death his younger brother Mr George Dason also died in the same year 1927 After 5 years Mr George Dason's wife Ms.Agnus died leaving their 5 children under the moral care of DMD,. In line with his Christian nature,DMD accepted the moral responsibility and he acted as a local guardian for George's children . He had no time to think about his marriage and he remained as a Bachelor throughout his life .
DMD was a Scholar, Reader and Lover of Books :: Mr. D. M. Devasagayam was a scholar and he was a voracious reader and fan of books. He had a commendable hold and mastery over Tamil and English. He was well versed in Christian literature and theology.. He had receptive ears and so he used to attend all the important theological conferences held at Madras , Bangalore and in other pl,aces..He also had interest and inclination to comprehend the Hindu Vedas, Upanishadads, teachings of Ramakrishna and Vevekananda and Tamil lyrics and poems authored by the Alwars and Nayanars. He had a special thirst to read Christian topics penned by famous authors ..Wonderful collection of books covering various subjects filled his Book Shelves to name a few [1] A Spiritual Pilgrimage by R.J. Campbell, M.A, London ,1917, pages 336+,[2] Albert Schweitzer ,"My Life and Thought " An Autobiography [London,1933,, p 283 +], [3] A Hermit In The HIMALAYAS, by PAUL BURTON , Madras, Pages.322+, [4] THE APOCRYPHA, LONDON,, Etc,.
DMD and his great Friends : A man is known by his friends.. DMD rubbed his shoulders with great theologians and intellectuals of his time Dr S.Jesudasan, FRCS [ Co Founder of the famous Kristukula Ashramam, Tirupatur ] , Sri. Vengal Chakkarai Chettiar[ Ex Mayor of Madras, 1941-1942 ] , Dr. Paul Devanandan,[ Principal of United Theological College , Bangalore and Director of the prestigious Christian Institute for the Study of Religions and Society [CISRS ] in Bangalore] and Mr Sundaram , [Editor of the famous magazine Guardian published in Madras ] were his friends and intellectual companions.
DMD and Bible Faith Mission in India : Bible Faith Mission , was started in Travancore, to bring economic,social and spiritual transformation of the downtrodden people of India. D.M. Devasahayam, B.A, B.D, served as President of the Bible Faith Mission in India and also as the Correspondent of various Schools run by the Bible Faith Mission in Kerala and other parts of the country till his death..
DMD was a Thinker and Author :Sri. D.M Devasahayam was a creative thinker and was a prolific writer and he had authored and coauthored some thought provoking iconic books , the main books authored by DMD are as follows ; [1] Presentation of Christianity to Non Christians --being the Report of the Bangalore Conference Continuation Commission on the presentation of Christianity to non Christians , by DMD , printed at the Albinon Press, in Madras, in 1918, [2] The South India Church Union Movement with appendix containing report of discussions. by DMD, publisher Payne & Co, Madras in 1938. [3]Discussions on Church Union in South India by DMD, publisher Madras Payne, in 1938, [4] The South India Church Union Movement, by D.M. Devasahayam, published at Nagercoil in 1938, [5] Church Union in South India -Nagercoil by DMD, Madras Hogarth press, in 1941, [6] The Purpose Scheme of Union: its broken pledges, by DMD, Nagercoil printed at the Alexandria press in 1935, [7] Rethinking Christianity in India, Authors . G.V Job, .D.M Devasahayam, A.N. Sudarisanam;et al , publisher A.N Sudarisanam , 2nd ed,Madras, 1938 It may be the best known collective work of 20th century Indian Theologians edited by D.M Devasahayam,and AN. Sudarisanam and seven prominent Indian authors including DMD had contributed Articles to this Volume .. This rethinking Christianity in India was prepared in anticipation of the Tambaram International Missionary Conference held just outside Madras in1939..
Conclusion : Mr. D.M. Devasahayam was a born Philanthropist,he helped many poor gospel workers who had no adequate or regular income. At his home he gave food and shelter to many of his old relatives and looked after them till their death and buried them with full honor He loved his relatives and his relatives who were in Singapore,Madurai and Ceylon used to come and stay with DMD when they visited Nagercoil, He gave first priority for the propagation of the gospel of Christ.and he brought hundreds people into Christian fold and built new churches for them and appointed catechists for them Most of the weekends DMD used to visit the small village congregations established by him and did the needful help to them . At Kanyakumari DMD built a separate house for prayer and meditation and named it ,"Bakta Nilayam " and it was opened to all the people irrespective religious faith,to pray and meditate.with the condition no rituals distinctive of any religion be practiced or preached inside.DMD attended world level and all India level conferences . For the Union of Churches in South India many conferences were held and he participated in one such conference as a layman representative of SIUC and emphatically said that the Church in India should be Indian and his view was well appreciated and accommodated to the extent possible later during the formation of CSI. D.M. Devasahayam's writings, and speeches played an important role for the evolution of Contextual theology in India. DMD loved the Bible Faith Mission so much,and worked for it till his death D.M. Devasahayam , B.A, B.D, died due to massive heart attack on 24-11-1947. DMD's funeral was a witness for his greatness, people and leaders from all Christian denominations and all walks of life participated in his funeral service and paid their tributes to DMD and his mortal remains were interred in the Home Church Cemetery, Nagercoil .DMD was an extraordinary man,blessed with many talents and above all with a good heart His fertile and creative and visionary thoughts will live for ever in his books, Definitely he was one of the tallest Indian Theologians India has produced and he was a towering tall personality and taller than my words and estimate. .
END
By P. Babu Manoharan, M.A,[ All rights are reserved. This Article will be modified, enlaraged or corrected later if needed ].
Sri.. D.M. Devasahayam , B.A, B.D ,.
DMD's Paternal Grandfather Catechist Moses : D.M. Devasagayam's paternal grandpa catechist Mr. Moses was an industrious and colorful personality .He married a christian woman and this couple gave birth to seven children and out of them only 4 survived and his wife also died .So he married for a second time and she also died subsequently for the third time he married his maternal uncle's daughter Ms.Jeevaratnam and she brought forth ten children of whom only 6 survived.. Moses's Children:-[1] Paripuranam, [4]Devadasan, [6] Gnanamal ,[7] Austin Dip, [8] Gnanadeepam, and [10] Enyammal. . The whereabouts of catechist Moses' children other than Mr Devadasan need to be traced by historians or family members..
D.M. Devasahayam's Parents and Birth and Siblings : Sri. D.M. Devasahayam's paternal grandfather Moses catechist and his wife Ms Jeevaratnam Moses couple's 4th child Mr Devadasan was born on September 1859 at Nagercoil [and he died on 13th June 1920] .Mr. M Devadasan married Ms Annammal and this couple gave birth to the following children namely :[1]Mr. D.M. Devasahayam[ he was born on November 1883,at Nagercoil ], [2] Mr. George Dason ,[3] Ms Victoria, [4] Mr. Charles Samuel Dason,[5] Ms. Lilly, [6]Ms. Grace,[7] Ms Chandramathi ,[8] Ms Patience, [9] Ms Bernice, and [10] Ms Dorothy .
DMD and his education : DMD was a brilliant student since his primary school days. For his under graduate education he joined the prestigious Maharaja's College in Trivandrum and passed his B.A degree It is worthy to remember the fact that Mr.D.M Devasahayam belonged to the first batch of the three B.A degree students from Travancore After his B.A degree he joined the Serampore College[ Serampore University, founded by the great Christian missionary Rev William Carey in Calcutta and passed his Bachelor of Divinity degree examination and he was the first B D graduate from the Serampore University in the whole of India
DMD remained as a bachelor : Sri. D.M. Devasahayam was blessed with the natural flair for God's ministry therefore he did not bother much about his marriage His father Mr .M Devadason died in1920 ,and on account of his fathers death, as the eldest son he took charge of the management of the Woodlands Estate [ 275 acres ], bought from Bishop Dr.R. Caldwell. In addition he had to take care of his brothers and sisters along with his mother.Ms.Annammal .At the time of his father's death out of his 7 sisters only 2 were married so he gave all the support to his mother to find suitable life partners to his sisters In 1927 his mother Ms.Annammal Devadasan died, Unfortunately and unexpectedly following DMD's mothers death his younger brother Mr George Dason also died in the same year 1927 After 5 years Mr George Dason's wife Ms.Agnus died leaving their 5 children under the moral care of DMD,. In line with his Christian nature,DMD accepted the moral responsibility and he acted as a local guardian for George's children . He had no time to think about his marriage and he remained as a Bachelor throughout his life .
DMD was a Scholar, Reader and Lover of Books :: Mr. D. M. Devasagayam was a scholar and he was a voracious reader and fan of books. He had a commendable hold and mastery over Tamil and English. He was well versed in Christian literature and theology.. He had receptive ears and so he used to attend all the important theological conferences held at Madras , Bangalore and in other pl,aces..He also had interest and inclination to comprehend the Hindu Vedas, Upanishadads, teachings of Ramakrishna and Vevekananda and Tamil lyrics and poems authored by the Alwars and Nayanars. He had a special thirst to read Christian topics penned by famous authors ..Wonderful collection of books covering various subjects filled his Book Shelves to name a few [1] A Spiritual Pilgrimage by R.J. Campbell, M.A, London ,1917, pages 336+,[2] Albert Schweitzer ,"My Life and Thought " An Autobiography [London,1933,, p 283 +], [3] A Hermit In The HIMALAYAS, by PAUL BURTON , Madras, Pages.322+, [4] THE APOCRYPHA, LONDON,, Etc,.
DMD and his great Friends : A man is known by his friends.. DMD rubbed his shoulders with great theologians and intellectuals of his time Dr S.Jesudasan, FRCS [ Co Founder of the famous Kristukula Ashramam, Tirupatur ] , Sri. Vengal Chakkarai Chettiar[ Ex Mayor of Madras, 1941-1942 ] , Dr. Paul Devanandan,[ Principal of United Theological College , Bangalore and Director of the prestigious Christian Institute for the Study of Religions and Society [CISRS ] in Bangalore] and Mr Sundaram , [Editor of the famous magazine Guardian published in Madras ] were his friends and intellectual companions.
DMD and Bible Faith Mission in India : Bible Faith Mission , was started in Travancore, to bring economic,social and spiritual transformation of the downtrodden people of India. D.M. Devasahayam, B.A, B.D, served as President of the Bible Faith Mission in India and also as the Correspondent of various Schools run by the Bible Faith Mission in Kerala and other parts of the country till his death..
DMD was a Thinker and Author :Sri. D.M Devasahayam was a creative thinker and was a prolific writer and he had authored and coauthored some thought provoking iconic books , the main books authored by DMD are as follows ; [1] Presentation of Christianity to Non Christians --being the Report of the Bangalore Conference Continuation Commission on the presentation of Christianity to non Christians , by DMD , printed at the Albinon Press, in Madras, in 1918, [2] The South India Church Union Movement with appendix containing report of discussions. by DMD, publisher Payne & Co, Madras in 1938. [3]Discussions on Church Union in South India by DMD, publisher Madras Payne, in 1938, [4] The South India Church Union Movement, by D.M. Devasahayam, published at Nagercoil in 1938, [5] Church Union in South India -Nagercoil by DMD, Madras Hogarth press, in 1941, [6] The Purpose Scheme of Union: its broken pledges, by DMD, Nagercoil printed at the Alexandria press in 1935, [7] Rethinking Christianity in India, Authors . G.V Job, .D.M Devasahayam, A.N. Sudarisanam;et al , publisher A.N Sudarisanam , 2nd ed,Madras, 1938 It may be the best known collective work of 20th century Indian Theologians edited by D.M Devasahayam,and AN. Sudarisanam and seven prominent Indian authors including DMD had contributed Articles to this Volume .. This rethinking Christianity in India was prepared in anticipation of the Tambaram International Missionary Conference held just outside Madras in1939..
Conclusion : Mr. D.M. Devasahayam was a born Philanthropist,he helped many poor gospel workers who had no adequate or regular income. At his home he gave food and shelter to many of his old relatives and looked after them till their death and buried them with full honor He loved his relatives and his relatives who were in Singapore,Madurai and Ceylon used to come and stay with DMD when they visited Nagercoil, He gave first priority for the propagation of the gospel of Christ.and he brought hundreds people into Christian fold and built new churches for them and appointed catechists for them Most of the weekends DMD used to visit the small village congregations established by him and did the needful help to them . At Kanyakumari DMD built a separate house for prayer and meditation and named it ,"Bakta Nilayam " and it was opened to all the people irrespective religious faith,to pray and meditate.with the condition no rituals distinctive of any religion be practiced or preached inside.DMD attended world level and all India level conferences . For the Union of Churches in South India many conferences were held and he participated in one such conference as a layman representative of SIUC and emphatically said that the Church in India should be Indian and his view was well appreciated and accommodated to the extent possible later during the formation of CSI. D.M. Devasahayam's writings, and speeches played an important role for the evolution of Contextual theology in India. DMD loved the Bible Faith Mission so much,and worked for it till his death D.M. Devasahayam , B.A, B.D, died due to massive heart attack on 24-11-1947. DMD's funeral was a witness for his greatness, people and leaders from all Christian denominations and all walks of life participated in his funeral service and paid their tributes to DMD and his mortal remains were interred in the Home Church Cemetery, Nagercoil .DMD was an extraordinary man,blessed with many talents and above all with a good heart His fertile and creative and visionary thoughts will live for ever in his books, Definitely he was one of the tallest Indian Theologians India has produced and he was a towering tall personality and taller than my words and estimate. .
END
By P. Babu Manoharan, M.A,[ All rights are reserved. This Article will be modified, enlaraged or corrected later if needed ].
No comments:
Post a Comment