BROTHER PAULASEER LAWRIE, whom we fervently believe to be the Man Child (Rev. 12) anointed and appointed by God to claim Adam's birthright and thereby become the greatest, mightiest and most highly exalted personage in the whole history of mankind, was born on February 24,1921 in Letchimi Tea Estate, Munnar of South India.
His forbears hail from Cochin (now part of the Kerala State). He is of the Jewish stock - a splinter group of the Israelites scattered all over the world, and of the tribe of Judah in the lineage of Nathan. His predecessors settled in the Kanyakumari District (Cape Comorin) at the ancient port Puvar, which was the Ophir of Biblical days. Gold was exported to King Solomon's courts through this port.
During the suzerainty of the Travancore Kings, a persecution arose in these parts. To suppress these people, a Government edict was promulgated that the women of this sect will not wear any covering dress above their waist. This ignominy drove them from those parts, and they settled at the area now called Adayal Mudalur. They worshipped the local gods and goddesses and intermarried with those who had earlier migrated to this area.
Bro.Lawrie's great grandfather, Sudalaimadan Natan, was the seventh child of the family. He had such a craving in his heart to know God that in his quest he made a coffin and lay in it, refusing to eat or drink till such time God revealed Himself to him. He was blessed with the vision of the crucified Christ, which gave him great peace of mind and remission of sin. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Saviour and became a Christian and took on the new name, Swamiadian. Infuriated by this, his people drove him out of their fold and declared him as the "Lost Son".
All his life this great-grandparent of Bro.Lawrie stood firm in his belief and was a mighty witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. His grave at Mudalur is venerated by people of every caste and creed even today after nearly 175 years. They carry away handful of soil from his grave site as it is claimed to have healing power.
The grandfather of Bro.Lawrie, Mr.Suvishesha Muthu Ponnuswamy, was a Tamil Pundit (Master of the language, Tamil) and taught the language to the foreign missionaries. He had a bakery in Nagercoil. One day a Mr.Lawrie Muthukrishna came to the bakery with his tale of woe that some one had picked his pocket and that he had lost all the money. He was a famous fingerprint expert and Chief of the Polytechnic & Government Auditors of Ceylon. He had lost all hope of returning to Ceylon. Mr.Ponnuswamy Nadar helped him out of this predicament by lending him the needed cash. It was in repayment to this act of kindness that this Government official of Ceylon took Bro.Lawrie's father Mr.Rasiah over to Ceylon and took on the responsibility of educating him.
Bro.Lawrie's grandfather, by his mother's side, is the famous "Siddhar", a legend even in his life time. His descendants are even now called the "Siddhar family". Story goes that this Mr.Siddhar met an unknown Rishi (Sage) and received from him the secrets of setting broken bones and of valuable medicinal herbs, all written on foils of palm leaves. (Like scrolls of Jews, the ancient Tamilians have recorded their valuable documents on prepared fronds of palmyrah leaves called Yedus). This art of bone setting and medicines has been handed down from father to son and is a family secret.
His father, Rasiah, under the aegis of the Mr.Lawrie Muthukrishna became a teacher in the Polytechnic College, and a while after worked in the Galcha Co. as the Secretary to the General Manager. He was recruited into the Salvation Army and rose to the rank of a Sargeant Major. On an official visit to the Company's Tea Estates in Munnar, India, he happened to stay with the Head Clerk, whose daughter he married later. He took a long leave and stayed with his wife's parents till Paulaseer was born. The child was named after Lawrie Muthukrishna.
CHILDHOOD
Soon after the baptism, Mr.Rasiah took his wife and child over to Ceylon. One evening young Paulaseer climbed on his dad's lap as he came home from his office. A Sinhale (Native of Ceylon), who must have had a grievance against Mr.Rasiah, advanced towards them with drawn knife with an intent to murder them both. As he closed on them, a bolt of lightning intervened and the Sinhale rolled on the ground screaming with fright and cringed to be forgiven.
Taking this as Divine intervention to save the life of his child, Mr.Rasiah took extra pains to bring him up in the fear of God. He used to take the boy to the Galle Face Green in the evenings for prayer and meditation. On one such evening when his father was deep in meditation, Paulaseer walked right into the sea waves and would have been drowned if a passerby did not pull him out in time.
Mr.Rasiah and his wife very much wished to be inducted into the Salvation Army for full-time service and even had the necessary uniforms made for them. When his mother, who went over to India, could not return, this plan had to be dropped. Mr.Rasiah joined the Galle Face Christ Church instead, and worked for the spiritual uplift of this Church members. During this time, young Paulaseer went to the Methodist School in Colpetty, Colombo. When they had more children, the parents decided that the mother should go over to the mainland with the children and get them all to schools. They built a house at Nazareth where the mother and children lived for many years.
As a child Paulaseer had been passed under the banner of Salvation Army and later they dedicated him to God's work in the Christ Church, an act considered to be most unusual. Mr.Rasiah got bitter about the factions and cliques among the Church elders. Their bickerings during the election to Church offices and their misappropriation of the Church funds embittered him so much that he abused them openly. He reproved even God for allowing such things to happen in his Church. He got so worked up that he spent sleepless nights. He attended office regularly but had no sleep during the nights that he cracked up with nervous breakdown. During these days of sickness, Mr.Rasiah searched his heart that he came closer to God as never before, and found greater peace and tranquillity in his spirit. This had a direct bearing on young Paulaseer, as every evening after his father's recovery, he went along with him to the seashore for prayers. The elder imparted his spiritual experience to his son.
BOYHOOD
When his mother came over to Nazareth with the children, they lacked the controlling factor of their father who was at Ceylon and visited the family for short spells only. Unbridled Paulaseer accumulated all the bad habits of the local boys. He became virtually a leader of young thugs who were a menace to many houses. Being the eldest son, his mother doted on Paulaseer and gave him all the money he demanded of her, which he spent unscrupulously. Yet deep down in his heart he had the fear of God.
In studies, Paulaseer was well ahead in his class except Mathematics. His flat plumpy body earned him such nicknames as "Roller", "Barrel", "Dwarf", His younger brothers too became unruly and even ganged up against their teachers. At times Paulaseer and his friends went into the Church and set traps for squirrels, in which Paulaseer was an expert. Getting into the altar of the Church by anyone other than the ordained priest was considered a sacrilege in these places during those days. And the Church weilded such power over the people, that the priests ruled Supreme. No one could have Independence of thinking, leave aside talking or acting against the Church and its representative, the priest. So, one day caught setting the traps in the Church, the boys were bound to the trees and were beaten by the villagers by the orders of the pastor. This incident, early in his childhood, had its adverse effect in his attitude towards Church authority, and he tempered his will never to bend to the religious tyranny.
Though he had a rough outer crust, Paulaseer had the inner urge to know God. When he was a choir boy in the Nazareth Church, he used to nudge the boy next to him whenever they sang the response: "Don't take away the Holy Spirit from us". He would ask everybody, with mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "When did you have the Holy Spirit that you sing "Don't take it away?" Most of the people dodged him from answering that. Bold in the knowledge that no one could give him a proper answer, he approached the local pastor and asked his pet question to him. He in his officious tone told him, "Lawrie, you are asking me a dangerous question. I can't answer you". When he questioned his headmaster on this subject, he wisely replied, "It is difficult to answer. Since you don't have it, you ask this question". He asked his father too. Everyone had evasive answers. Later in life he realized what the Psalmist meant when he sang that prayer.
During his school days Paulaseer had a narrow escape from being rundown by a speeding car. He was crossing a road in a bicycle when he felt being pushed out by a strong hand and fell with his cycle off the road, when a car careered past him and crashed to a stop. The hand that pushed him off the road saved him at the nick of time, but there was no one there on the scene. It can only be the protective hand of God.
As a boy Paulaseer had another accident in which the antlers of a deer hanging at the entrance of their house dropped while he was playing under it, and the nail-sharp horn drove so deeply into the skull, that people thought it would impair the mental balance of the boy. But there was no ill effect even after the wound healed.
Typhoid, in those days, was a dreaded disease, as there was no drug to fight this infection. Strict dieting was the only prescription of doctors for this sickness, and many succumbed to it. When Paulaseer contracted typhoid, his father was in Ceylon. He had to be summoned over by his wife, as their eldest son was critically ill. Ironically Paulaseer's uncle was daily expecting the boy's death, in which case, according to an astronomical prediction, he expected his epileptic fits to disappear. His father, however, talked to him of the importance of surrendering his life to the will of Jesus Christ. Reluctantly Paulaseer gave his word of consent to serve God if he was healed. That night he saw a vision of a glorious man in bright colour came down and light the lamp near him and saying, "You will live".
According to this promise he was healed. But eversince, his philosophy of life took a different turn. He loved everyone. He confesses that his affections were not always pure but sometimes was full of desire, and scattered in all directions. He would give anything away to who ever asked, that his mother would not dare to give him anything of value. This love for his neighbour drove him even to gamble to help persons in financial need, when his mother refused to give him money for such philanthropic purposes.
When his mother, brothers and sisters all went to Ceylon. Paulaseer stayed back to study at St.John's College, Palayamkottai. Here he captained the college football team. He used to play many practical jokes on the lecturers; sticking thumb tacks on their seats was one. His friends joined with him in making funny noises or in throwing paper balls and peanuts at the lecturers. At the football field he would rather kick the man than the ball. Even today he comes across his college mates who could remember their old days, showing the scars of wounds sustained at the football field.
After finishing the intermediate class of University studies, he went over to Ceylon and took up Commercial subjects for one year. During this trip to Ceylon, he learnt the art of self-defence and unarmed combat. Boxing, wrestling, ju-jitsu became as important to him as was football. He remembers with affection the family next door, especially Mrs.Oppilamonie, who would talk to him of the love of God. Her children too loved him as one of their brothers. After a year of study of Commercial subjects, Paulaseer went to the Wesley College to gain the London Matric certificate.
He went back to Madras and joined the Christian College, Tambaram for Bachelor of Arts Degree. He played a practical joke one day on his Physics Professor by ducking him in dirty water, and was fined. While throwing gooseberry seeds on one of the Professors, the Principal Rev.Boyd stealthily crept on him from behind and caught him, and fined him heavily. He also used to play ghosts on the inmates of the college hostel. One student got so frightened that he became deliriously sick. His football games improved match after match. The special feature was that just before the team got to the ground, they all huddled together when Paulaseer would pray for their victory, and they invariably won all the matches and became champions. He was so mad after football and neglected his studies that the Physics Professor once remarked in the class room, "Lawrie is centre-forward in football but right-back in the studies".
As the World War II began, a vigorous recruiting for officers was afoot. Paulaseer wanted to join the Army and took some training. On knowing this, his father came over and forced Paulaseer to accompany him back to Ceylon. Here he used to attend the Sunday School and scored the highest marks and got the first prize. His father was very proud of the achievement of his son. Little did his father realize that Paulaseer had stolen the question papers before the start of the examination and had all the answers prepared even before he sat for the tests! Paulaseer came back to India to continue his studies. He got a seat in St.Xavier's College, Palayamkottai.