A Man Acknowledged As “Scholar” Even During His Lifetime!
Pandit M. M. John was well-known as a teacher, preacher and scholar in the erstwhile Central Travancore (now part of Kerala state, south India). He used to command a lot of respect from his students as well as from the public by his gentle and polite manners, sound knowledge of various subjects, and his earnest desire for the welfare of his fellow human beings irrespective of their caste or religion. He was an ardent Christian with a keen missionary spirit and his ultimate aim was the salvation of souls.
Early days: Pandit John was born on 5th May, 1895 in Kozhencherry village in the present Pathanmthitta district of Kerala state. His parents were Thommy Mathai of Mundottickal and Aleyamma of Choorakkattumannil. He had three brothers and two sisters. They were faithful members of the St.Thomas Mar Thoma church of Kozhencherry. John’s career as a teacher started in 1913, at the age of 18. His first posting was at the Government school in Konni. There he demonstrated his excellence to one and all. Even from his early childhood, he used to show a great deal of interest in spiritual matters. While at Konni, he organised a prayer meeting for the pupils during the lunch hour which was conducted in the house of one of the pupils. This pupil was none other than Bro. K. J. Varghese, who is well known as one of the founder-elders of Kunnukuzhy Brethren Assembly, Trivandrum. At the age of 19, John realized that he had a definite call for greater evangelical activities. He started devoting entire week-ends for taking part in special meetings, conventions and activities among the young people. This practice continued even after he got married in 1915 to Mariamma from Vennikkulam, eldest daughter of Kunnumpurathu Chummar Kurien and Ayvelil Aleyamma.
At North Canara Mission Field: However, he was not satisfied with those limited opportunities available to him during the course of his government job as a teacher. There were some very important people in the Mar Thoma church like Safragan Bishop Abraham Mar Thoma, Very Rev. K. E. Oommen, Moothampackal Sadhu Kochukunju Upadeshi etc. who had taken notice of this energetic and enthusiastic young man and encouraged him wholeheartedly to join the mission field. As a result, he decided to resign from government service to join the North Canara Mission Field in Karnataka. During the period from 1920 to 1925 he worked as a member of the mission team and also taught Kannada language at the Honovar Mission School. This was only a temporary assignment. Bishop Abraham Mar Thoma had some great plans for this dynamic young man. However, God had plans for him even greater than that. During his stay in North Canara, John became sick and as a result of his prolonged illness, he had to leave the mission field and return home. Due to the severity of his illness, he had to discontinue most of his public activities and convalesce at home, but that did not prevent him from getting in touch with Sadhu Kochukunju Upadeshi to plan for the future.
With Sadhu Kochukunju Upadeshi: Sadhu Kochukunju accepted him as a co-worker and put him in charge of “Kraisthavalokam” (The Christian World), a periodical published by him. Its main objective was to give proper guidance to the Christian community about to how to lead an exemplary Christian life. It contained many thought-provoking articles which exhorted people to re-examine their outlook and to give priority to Jesus Christ in their lives. It also spoke strongly against certain unhealthy practices prevailing among the Christians such as the dowry system (money given by the bride’s father to groom’s family). An ‘anti-dowry campaign’ was launched which gained support from many quarters. It was in 1928 that Cholera Epidemic broke out in southern Travancore. Sadhu Kochukunju and his team rushed to the affected area and carried out relief operations for many days, camping at a place called Marthandam; John was in that team. They distributed food and medicines to the people in those areas, educated the people in how to take precautions against the disease and helped them in burying their dead. It should be noted that this operation was carried out at a time when cholera was considered as a much dreaded disease that its victims were being abandoned even by their close relatives who were fleeing for their lives. In the same year, John passed the “Vidwan” examination conducted by the University of Madras and thereafter known as “Vidwan John” or “Pandit John” (The equivalent being, “Scholar” or “Man of Letters”).
With Mahakavi K. V. Simon: As a young man, K. V. Simon used to be acquainted with Choorakkattumannil Oommachen who was John’s maternal grandfather. Even though John had seen Simon on several occasions, his first contact occurred at the time when he approached the Mahakavi to ask him about some doubts from a Sanskrit book which John was supposed to learn for his Vidwan examination. In this manner, a teacher-pupil relationship was established between the Mahavaki and John. (Mahakavi = the highest title offered to a poet in India). However, he was more attracted by K. V. Simon’s “Viyojitha Prasthanam”, one forerunner of the Brethren movement in Central Travancore. Pandit John started participating in the meetings of the Viyojitha Prasthanam on a regular basis. Even though still a MarThomite, he got involved more and more in the meetings and conventions organised by K. V. Simon and his associates, sometimes acting as an interpreter and also preaching whenever he got an opportunity to do so. Like Sadhu Kochukunju and Mahakavi K. V. Simon, the two great men who influenced him very much, Pandit John never hesitated in saying and doing what he believed to be the right thing.
Taking Believers’ Baptism: By this time Mariamma (Pandit John’s wife) had become a full-fledged teacher and was working at a government primary school in Anikkadu, near Mallappally in central Travancore. Pandit John and family stayed in Anikkadu where he had ample opportunities to get involved in full time gospel work. He mobilized a number of educated young men from his parish and organized a number of evangelistic activities in Anikkadu and neighbouring places like Mallappally, Punnaveli, Karukachal, Kanam, Kangazha and Thidanadu. Initially, their work met with some opposition especially from the Roman Catholics in Thidanadu, but later they themselves organized several meetings and invited Pandit John and his team to take part. Things were going on very smoothly when something unexpected happened: The year was 1934. A week-long convention was organized by some local Brethren in Anikkadu. They brought Bro. E. P. Varghese from Angamali and Bro. P. V. George from Thiruvalla as the speakers. The meetings were well attended by people of different denominations and Pandit John did not miss even a single meeting. One evening, towards the close of the convention, Bro. P. V. George spoke about the necessity of believers’ baptism and the futility of child-baptism. Soon after the meeting, Pandit John confronted Bro. P. V. George about the validity of his statements which resulted in a lengthy discussion that went on until 1.30 A.M. By now Pandit John was totally convinced of the necessity of the believers’ baptism and indicated his willingness to receive baptism then and there. On his insistence that it should be done without further delay, Bro. P. V. George, along with a few local brethren accompanied him to “Kavanalkadavu”, a crossing point in the river where Pandit John was baptised by immersion in the cold waters of river Manimala by Bro. P. V. George at 2’O clock in the morning. The news spread like wildfire among the Christians of Anikkadu and nearby places. This was a matter of great concern for the marthomites of Anikkadu who felt betrayed by their beloved “Johnsar”. People like Bishop Abraham Mar Thoma, Very Rev. K. E. Oommen etc. were shocked, but they understood the sincerity of John. Even though it pained them deeply, they never branded him as a ‘traitor’. Even though Pandit John left the Mar Thoma church subsequently and joined the Brethren movement, he was always grateful to the Mar Thoma church for what it had done for him. It was with great respect that he spoke about his “mother church” and after the initial shock, they also started treating him with the same respect as before, or even more.
Back to teaching: In the same way Bro. P. V. George convinced Pandit John of the necessity of believers’ baptism, he also convinced him that with his talents he could do Lord’s work more effectively through teaching than by mere preaching. An excellent opportunity had come, with the opening of a Malayalam high school at Kariamplavu near Ranni run by the Brethren management. Thus after and interlude of 9 years, he resumed his teaching career at the Noel Memorial School, Kariamplavu. With the opening of a much bigger school at Kumbanad in 1935, he was transferred to Kumbanad N. M. School in the same year. His wife Mariamma also managed to get a transfer to the government boys school there and the family settled down in Kumbanad.
At Kumbanad: It was at Kumbanad that Johnsar and Mariamma teacher (as they were known among the loving people of Kumbanad) spent the longest part of their career, from 1935 until retirement. During this period, Johnsar, was able to leave a lasting impression on the society and in the minds of the people of Kumbanad and neigbouring places by his teaching and preaching. He was a very powerful orator. He was respected and admired by people from all walks of life for his knowledge and wisdom. In spite of his frail body, he used to proclaim to his audience with an authoritative voice the moral values which he upheld and the gospel truths he believed, without fear or compromise. Every week he spoke in two or three public meetings such as conventions, youth meetings, Sunday school meetings, school anniversary meetings, devotional meetings or any other meeting which afforded him an opportunity to speak about his Saviour. As a teacher, he was a great success. The Noel Memorial school at Kumbanad was a Malayalam high school in those days, with classes from 5 to 9. Johnsar was the senior Malayalam pundit. Most of his students were grownups, some of them already married and with children. Some of the students came from far-away places, walking several kilometers from home to school. M. M. Johnsar was the most respected teacher in the whole school not only by the pupils but also by his colleagues and even by the many headmasters who came and went during his time. No one could ever understand what ‘magic’ he exercised on the people around him. Probably it was his yearning for the salvation of the ‘lost souls’ as well as his sincerity and humility that earned so much respect for such an unassuming person as he. Even at St. John’s English High School, Eraviperoor under the Mar Thoma management, where his services were made available by mutual consent between the two managements for a couple of years from 1947 to 49 and then back at N. M. English High School, Kumbanad, from where he retired in 1955, he used to command the same degree of love and respect. Within a few years of his stay in Kumbanad, he became an elder of the Kumbanad Brethren Assembly and also the headmaster of the Sunday school. Under his able leadership, the Brethren Sunday school at Kumbanad became one of the largest Sunday schools in Central Travancore with more than 300 pupils and over 20 teachers. He convened a syllabus committee that worked out a draft syllabus for Sunday Schools, which was the forerunner of the present day Unified Syllabus. Johnsar was one of the teachers of the Brethren Bible School at Kumbanad in its early days. In this manner, his vision for full-time missionary work was fulfilled to a great extent in spite of the recurring illness that troubled him frequently. He was never reluctant to associate with believers of other denominations in spiritual matters. He was one of the founder-members of the movement called the “Aikya Suvisesha Purogamana Prasthanam” formed at Kumbanad during the 40’s. Pastor K. E. Abraham, President of the Indian Pentecostal Church (I. P. C), Pastor T. M. Varghese, General Secretary of Church of God and Mr. K. E. Kochukoshy, brother of Very Rev. K. E. Oommen of the Mar Thoma Church were some of his associates. He was also a founder-member and first President of the “Pourasthya Bhasha Birudadhari Sanghadana”, an organization which was formed for the betterment of the Oriental Language teachers. It is by the relentless efforts of this organization, that parity was brought about between the Oriental language teachers and other graduate teachers employed under the Kerala Education Department.
At Valakuzhy: Johnsar and Mariamma teacher shifted from Kumbanad to Valakuzhy in 1963. By this time, the children had grown up, got married and gone to different parts of the world for employment or for other matters. One daughter (Mrs. Mary Anchan, Rural India Mission Hospital, Tumkur, Karnataka) and one son (Dr. Charles John, Good News Correspondence School, Trivandrum) had taken up full-time missionary work. The others, Alice Philipose and George John took up teaching and John Mathews entered Business. The Valakuzhy house was aptly named as “Shanthi Sadan” where Johnsar and Mariamma teacher spent their twilight days in fellowship with the local Brethren assembly. After moving to Valakuzhy, Johnsar spent most of his time in reading and writing. His home library contained several thousand of books which he used to call his “wealth”. As a matter of fact, he never thought it necessary to invest his meager earnings in anything other than books. There were Bibles in different languages, Commentaries, Concordances, Christian literature books, Hindu religious books like Ramayana, Maha Bharatha, Bhagavad Geeta, non-religious books of eminent authors such as Nehru’s Autobiography and Glimpses of World History, Gandhiji’s My Experiments with Truth, Tagore’s Gitanjali etc. In spite of him being an ardent follower of Jesus Christ, he respected other religions for what they were worth, and a good knowledge of them enabled him to proclaim with assurance the great truth of “Salvation through Jesus Christ only”. He had a habit of writing notes on all what he read seriously. In addition, he used to write down his thoughts, findings, opinions and ideas on various matters. However, he was not interested in publishing his writings in the form of books. If his writings on reams of scrap paper which were found among his collection of books after his demise were printed and published, there would have been many volumes of valuable books. However, from the way in which they were written in his small, indecipherable handwriting, it was quite obvious that they were not meant for publication. Moreover, the papers were old and tattered, the ink spread in several places, it was almost impossible to reproduce the contents properly by none other than the writer himself. On 18th December 1979, after 64 years of married life, Mariamma teacher was promoted to glory. Even though it was the greatest blow in his life, he accepted the inevitable and re-scheduled his life-style. After the initial shock and the depression that followed, he allowed the pieces of his broken life to be put together by the Master Craftsman by surrendering fully to His will. The period from 1979 to 1985 was full of activities. Even though he was feeling physically weak, he did not forego any opportunity to teach, preach, give suggestions or advice to those who came for them and also provide financial help to many people irrespective of their caste or religion, but always giving priority to those who were involved in evangelistic work. It was at the beginning of this period that his valuable advice and suggestions enabled his son Dr. Charles John to establish the Good News Correspondence School (GNCS) in Trivandrum. He continued as the patron of GNCS until his demise in 1985. On 1st March 1985, at the age of 90, Pandit M. M. John was called to eternal glory after a short illness. His mortal remains were buried beside the tomb of his beloved wife, in the family cemetery at Valakuzhy (Kerala), in the presence of hundreds of friends, neighbours, fellow believers, well-wishers, family members, acquaintances and people from many walks of life. All those who spoke at the funeral expressed their great hope of meeting him again at the Golden shore on that glorious morning of resurrection. Undoubtedly, Pandit M. M. John is fondly remembered by all those who used to know him and even by those who have come into contact with him at least once in their life-time.