Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - RSS : A peerless organization in the World

325 Pages·2017·4.681 MB·English

by  Rameshbhai Mehta

A peerless organization in the world
Foreword
I am neither a swayamsevak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh nor its
partisan. What then gives me the right, to write a foreword to this work, one
may well ask.
As a matter of fact, I have been steadfast to the opinion of not associating
with any political party, political organization, political forum, political
movement or even with an organization, that might have anything at all to do
with a political party; and by the grace of the Mother Jagadamba, my practice
has at all times aligned perfectly with this opinion.
However, even as a child I watched closely, the Shakha sessions of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in progress; and their discipline, their tidy
clarity of thought were, no doubt, points of attraction for me.
Then as a young boy and later, even as a grown-up, by virtue of both my
profession and my wide-spread friend circle, opportunities of witnessing
many a marvellous work of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, came my
way.
I never had personal contact with any worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh or with any of their pracharaks, who dedicate their life, their all to the
Sangh. None whatsoever! But one day, as a matter of sheer coincidence, a
book shedding light on Pujya Shri Golwalkar Guruji's thoughts, fell into my
hands and that too, while on a train journey. I got reading and the Mumbai-
Pune journey was over even before I knew it.
The thoughts expressed in the book were clear and precise. I happened to
have read several books by political and social leaders but Pujya Guruji's
thoughts had not an iota of hollow pretence or of spuriousness; and ended up
appealing strongly to both my intellect and my heart.
So then, I did a quiet reading of whatever literature illustrating Pujya
Golwalkar Guruji's thoughts I could lay my hands on. I also read his
biography. The respect I felt for him, inspired me to study in turn, the life and
thoughts of Dr. Hedgewar.
However, the articles published in some newspapers and the speeches and
writings of a few political leaders, social workers and those of certain self-
proclaimed intellectuals tended to give rise to a peculiar kind of image of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the minds of many and that admittedly set
me thinking.
That no human is perfect; and so no human organization can be perfect and
100% flawless either, is a fact I totally accept. But why not give appreciation
where it is justifiably due? That is a valid expectation and would certainly not
count as unreasonable, would it?
I do not hate any religion or any religious work either. The Mother
Jagadamba has not given to me, the right to criticize any religious work. It is
only the Brahmarshi, who holds this right and I am not one. Leave alone a
Maharshi or a Rishi, I am not even a sadhak of a high order. I am but a
simple bhakta of the Mother Jagadamba and of Dattaguru (They are both
one).
I have nothing against followers of any religion. But the fact remains, that I
take ardent and refulgent pride in being a follower of the Sanatan Vaidic
Dharma (call it Hindu if you will).
I am more than certain that my dharma, my motherland and my Bharatiya
culture are the best in the world; and even if the whole of mankind ever voted
against this, I for one would stand firm by my view. Absolutely unshakeable!
The Bharatiya culture and the Bharatiya mindset much more so, is on the one
hand, so lucid, so simple, so plain and on the other, so very complex, intricate
and perplexing.
Conducting a ten-year study of some temple, making documentaries on the
Kumbha Mela, reading books on the Bharatiya culture or studying the
Bharatiya festivals, is not the way to know and understand the Bharatiya
culture. What can really acquaint us with the Bharatiya culture and what it is
all about, is not the erudition of a scholarly thinker with a PhD degree to his
credit; but it is the Bharatiya common man in the village, found commonly
across the country, who can do it. It is he, who can really reveal the essence
of the Bharatiya culture.
Standing before the Ganpati idol and singing aartis addressed to all the gods
and goddesses; be it Mahakali, Mahasaraswati, be it Annapurna or be it
Santoshi Mata, who suddenly shot to fame a mere 50 years ago, offering
worship to all of these, individually during their respective festivals or
collectively during the Navratri, solely by means of the Chandipath;
accepting all - right from the 'Matsya' to Shreekrishna - equally as
Mahavishnu; finding the irascible Shivashankar as acceptable as 'Bholenath'
as He is in the form of the Mahadev, who, free of all ties is seated in the
Himalayas and yet falls in love with the Aparna Parvati, also has two sons
with Her, is what the uneducated Bharatiya too accepts without any
reservations and in fact, as values, making them an integral part of his life.
In Bharat, we have a multitude of languages, a multitude of deities, of castes,
of temples and 'Maths', of sects and schools of thought and yet the Bharatiya
mindset is, in essence one; - homogenized so to say.
But the homogenized Bharatiya mindset has, somehow, not been able to
come together in an organized manner, not really; and that is one regret, that
has always tugged at my heart. But Pujya Golwalkar Guruji's thinking
- clean, clear-cut and precise as it was, together with the network of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Shakhas, systematized by discipline and
regulations, a network that was a result of his continual lifelong touring of
Bharat, was engaged in precisely this mission, viz. that of organizing the
people; and that is the reason why, I feel affinity for this work and respect for
both Dr. Hedgewar and Guruji.
Shri Rameshbhai Mehta has been in contact with me since a very long time.
A very loving person and pure at heart indeed! Most importantly, not the kind
to indulge in hollow big talk or to make any extreme statements either! So,
when I felt that the common man ought to know the true character of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the one name that occurred to me for this
series to appear in the Dainik Pratyaksha, was Rameshbhai's. He accepted
this assignment very lovingly indeed and saw it through, with sincere
commitment and with the discipline of a swayamsevak. I appreciate and
congratulate both Rameshbhai and his wife Sou. Kirtida Mehta.
I do not at all wish to suggest, that on reading this book, people ought to join
the Shakha of the Sangh; and I make no claim that they will either. In a
democracy, that is to say in a free human society, differences in opinion are
bound to be and in fact they ought to be. There cannot be progress without
opposition.
As for the thrashing that the Sangh constantly takes by way of false
allegations, Rameshbhai's pen, I am sure has the capacity to ward off their
possible influence on the Bharatiya common man's psyche. Also, the nation-
wide work of the Sangh, speaks for itself in any case.
Balasaheb Deoras, who became Sarsanghachalak after Pujya Dr. Hedgewar
and Pujya Shri Golwalkar Guruji, put a complete stop to the deification of all
the subsequent Sarsanghachalaks and that precisely proved to be a big
strength of the Sangh.
But all because we cherish the good and wish to protect it, we do apply that
tiny little black spot to ward off the evil eye, do we not? Hence an opinion on
my part: Some few swayamsevaks go around making extreme statements and
attract public attention, which is what oftentimes leads to misconstructions.
Considering the stupendous and sublime work it has behind it, the Sangh
ought to put together a filter system, that would sift out clean, all those, who
make mindless statements, be they out of good will for the Sangh's motives.
So long as the Brahmarshis and the Maharshis were not under an obligation
to the ruler, they could put the reins to his ruling powers when the need arose
(the Ramayan era). However, no sooner did the Maharshis get a seat in the
royal court and fell limp before Dhrutarashtra, than the Mahabharat
happened. That was when it happened.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is a 'Brahmarshi'. That it always walk in
the footsteps of Agastya and of Vasishtha, is my prayer at the Feet of
Sadguru Dattatreya and of the Mother Mahishasurmardini.
Dr. Aniruddha Dhairyadhar Joshi MD Medicine, Mumbai - Nair
* List of Contents *
01 Introduction – Chalta Bolta Itihas (A living history) 13
02 Our essence, our distinction 19
03 The history of invasions 24
04 History – A lesson to learn 30
05 The history of retaliations 36
06 The first war of independence! 42
07 The awakening after the first war of independence 48
08 Keshav – a heroic saga 53
09 The resolve 60
10 The appeal 67
11 The submission to the sacred saffron flag 73
12 The organization 82
13 O Guruwarya! 88
14 Pranam! A million times over! 94
15 ShreeGuruji 100
16 The divine indication 105
17 The throne of Vikramaditya – the seat of righteous act 110
18 ShreeGuruji’s appeal 117
19 BharatMata ki Jay! 122
20 For the sake of Kashmir... 128
21 Hyderabad and Junagadh 134
22 After independence... 141
23 Nepal's indignation 148
24 The liberation of Goa 154
25 In the war of 1965.... 159
26 An opportunity wasted 165
27 Guruji's love 171
28 Guruji's dwelling place 177
29 The Rashtra Sevika Samiti 183
30 The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad 193
31 The Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram 199
32 The Vivekananda Kendra 205
33 The Hindustan Samachar 211
34 The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh 219
35 The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh – cherished moments 223
36 The Sangh journeys overseas 227
37 The Sangh spreads its wings overseas 232
38 The Vishwa Hindu Parishad 237
39 Goodwill to one and all 243
40 Ashokji Singhal 250
41 The Organizational skill – a science 255
42 Magnanimous and liberal 260
43 Guruji departs for his heavenly abode 266
44 Rashtraya swaha, Rashtraya idam na mama 273
45 The 'Bal' era 279
46 The cause of the Sangh – the nation's cause 285
47 Balasaheb's style of work 291
48 The third Sarsanghachalak 297
49 Guided solely by the purpose 302
50 The test of the mettle – the second time 307
51 The emergency brews discontent 312
52 The Sangh's network 318
53 A 'shibir' in the jail 324
54 The emergency now over... 330
55 The Sangh's influence 335
56 'The Virat Hindu Sammelan' 341
57 Within the country and outside it 346
58 Unity in Diversity 354
59 Balasaheb's foresight 359
60 The Seva-projects grow 365
61 A hundred thousand Seva-projects – the solemn vow 371
62 Banned for the third time 377
63 Fervour until the last breath 383
64 As we take leave... 390
Introduction – Chalta Bolta Itihas (A living history)
The Rashtriya