Translator’s note:
In
2008, after his second assembly election win in 2007, Narendra Modi
wrote a book in Gujarati titled ‘Jyotipunj’ (Beams of Light) in which he
retold the life stories of 16 men who inspired him. All 16 were members
of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and many of them mentored the young
Modi in his time as a pracharak, or activist, in Ahmedabad in the mid-
and late 1970s.
The longest biography is of the RSS’s
second sarsanghchalak, or paramount leader, MS Golwalkar, who expanded
the organisation after he was given charge by its founder KB Hedgewar.
Golwalkar died in 1973, when Modi was 23 and already in the RSS.
He
does not refer to any personal contact with the RSS leader in this
essay. Even so, the reverence with which Modi writes of Golwalkar in the
essay, titled ‘Pujniya Shri Guruji,’ (Guru Worthy of Worship), suggests
that Golwalkar is the second most important influence – Vivekanand
is the first – on the life of the prime minister of India. The love of
nation and of unity, the insistence on uniformity and suspicion of
diversity, all of this Modi shares with Golwalkar.
***
Glancing through our history, some qualities come up when we observe great men.
– References to the Shankaracharya bring to mind his advaita.
– The Buddha reminds us of compassion.
– Mahavir is associated with ahimsa.
– Rana Pratap with his determination.
– Shivaji Maharaj with his call for a free India.
– Guru Gobind with his Panj Pyare.
– Guru Tegh Bahadur with his beheading.
– Ramkrishna Paramhans with his witnessing of god.
– Swami Vivekanand with his message from the world stage.
– Tilak with his “swaraj is my birthright” call.
– Ambedkar is the modern Manu.
– Swami Shradhanand’s sacrifice.
– Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom.
– The Sardar’s determination.
– Gandhi’s mendicant ways.
One
or the other virtue stands out in these souls, who lived to serve their
nation. One such gem was Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar
– Param Pujya Shri Guruji
– the second
sarsanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He appeared to be a
spiritual man. But unlike the usual manner of such men, he did not run
away from the world. He lived among thousands and inspired nationalism
in them.
He did not sit in some Himalayan idyll holding his nose in meditation. We think of him as many things
– a leader, a scientist
–
and we wonder if he was ever spiritual. But then we realise he was
different from these kinds of people. His one defining characteristic
was that he was a swayamsevak. We are familiar with his other aspects,
but cannot grasp them. And we realise that other than being a
swayamsevak, he had no other desire.
A Communist Party leader once said of him:
“You know what is wrong with your Guruji?”
And the same person replied: “His unambiguousness.”
This meant that he was entirely free of want, the sign of a very great man. If he had one desire it was
–
“complete swayamsevak”. “Swayamsevak” means the surrender of the self,
the devotion of one’s life to principles. Pa Pu Guruji’s life radiated
as one who was a total and complete swayamsevak. He had given up all
rest and recreation to achieve this.
He has written of this:
“Once I was in search of god. When I looked for him, I was told: ‘Go
clean the vessels; go sweep the floor; go clean the garden; go feed the
cow.’” Guruji thought: “In my search for god, I went about these tasks
without any expectation.”
After he joined the Sangh, he said: “I
have Dr Hedgewar’s life and his principles before me.” This total
devotion was the source of his life as a complete swayamsevak.
He
had many ups and downs in his life. Of eight children, he was the only
one to survive. Imagine the expectations his parents would have had of
him! A mother such as his would nurture great dreams about her only son!
But amid all of this, if the son chooses an entirely different sort of
life, it is natural for them to be disappointed.
He was master
of the sitar and flute and had the ability to move humanity. When such a
man chooses to tune his life to the inward music of
spiritualism instead, it is only expected that his parents would be
disappointed.
He left his home so that he would not continually
let his mother down. He roamed the Himalayas, and his agitated
mind found stillness only when he reached Sargachi Ashram.
He had
a master’s degree and knew the mysteries of science. His mind was a mix
of science, religion and culture. He said once that the advance of
humanity depended on the advancement of science.
His great
teacher was his guru, Swami Akhandanandji. Of Ramkrishnadev
Paramhansdev’s eleven disciples, one was Swami Vivekanand and
another was Swami Akhandanand. He lived in Sargachi Ashram. Once, when
Swami Akhandanand was stroking Guruji’s head, he said: “Madhav, this
hair of yours and this beard and moustache, they become you. They bring
out your spiritualism. Never cut them.”
And so he never did. Till the end, he wore his hair long. This is why he retained his character as a spiritual man.
It
sounds easy. If you and I were told, “Brother, you look quite good.
Wear your hair long,” we would think of not cutting it. But with Guruji,
it didn’t stop there. The ease with which Akhandanandji told him to
wear his hair long, with that same ease Guruji followed this advice for
the rest of his life.
Once, Dr Keshvrao Baliram Hedgewarji said
to him: “Madhavrao, handle the Sangh’s work.” Dr Hedgewar was on his
deathbed; his passing was certain. He had formed the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh in 1925. By 1940, it had spread across India. He
decided to now hand over this organisation to a man aged only 34. But he
said only very simply to Pa Pu Guruji: “Madhav, handle the Sangh’s
work.” This was the only sentence he spoke in 1940.
Dr Hedgewar’s trust
Dr
Hedgewar did not stay up all night to tell Guruji what the nation’s
condition was, how many bad things had entered Hindu culture after 1000
years of slavery. He did not speak of this. He taught him no songs of
patriotism. He said simply: “Madhavrao, you handle this work.”
Let us
try and imagine what that moment must have been like. In giving Guruji
this responsibility, what would Dr Hedgewarji have thought? How much
information had he sought?
Sometimes I wonder if Doctorji had sat
Guruji down and instructed him in Hindutva overnight. Had he told him
the minor details of the ruin of Hindu society? To get him to serve
society instead of devoting himself to moksha and seeking god, what
words would have been used?
In 1940, the Sangh’s shapeform, its
influence, was still formative. What would be its future after the
founder was gone? Thousands of such questions would arise in
ordinary minds. What bridge had joined Doctorji and Guruji?
Doctorji would havehad total faith and trust in this young man. It shows
what ability Doctorji had to recognise character and to see that a man
who was searching for spiritualism would instead devote the rest of his
life to society.
And so Guruji gave up his every moment to
the responsibility Doctorji had given him. What an amazing event! What
an astonishing recognition of character, what faith! Yes, this was what
was special about Guruji. The ease with which Swami Akhandanandji had
said “Don’t cut this hair,” with that same ease, till the end of his
life, from 1940 to 1973, travelling all over India constantly, Guruji
threw himself into his work of expanding the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh.
Guruji was inclined towards spiritualism.
How did such a man take up the work of the Sangh? Why did he give up his
entire life for the saffron flag? He has shed some light on this. The
daily Tarun Bharat’s editor Madkhoelkar Bhausaheb had spoken
to respected Guruji at length. Doctorsaheb was also present.
When
they finished discussing the book at hand, Bhausaheb asked Guruji for
permission to ask some personal questions. After Guruji’s
passing, Tarun Bharat, in its edition of 16 June 1973, carried a
piece headlined “Trikonisangam”. This had the contents of the exchange
Bhausaheb had with Guruji. One question was: “I’ve heard that you left
the Sangh midway to go to Bengal’s Ramkrishna Ashram. There you
took deeksha under Swami Vivekanand’s gurubandhu [fellow disciple]. Then
how did you return again to the Sangh?”
Guruji was stunned by
the question. He thought it over with half-open eyes. After a while he
began to speak, slowly. He said: "You’ve asked an unexpected question.
Whether or not there is a difference between the role of the ashram and
the Sangh; that Doctorji will be able to answer more authoritatively. I
was always inclined to spiritualism along with the task of nation
building. That I would be better able to do this in the Sangh I
learned from my visits to Banaras, Nagpur and Calcutta. And so I have
devoted myself to the Sangh. I think this is in line with Swami
Vivekanand’s message. I’m more influenced by him than anyone else. I
think I can only take forward his goals by remaining in the Sangh."
The twinkle of self-confidence in Guruji’s eyes was something to be seen, wrote Bhausaheb, and even Doctorji had turned sombre.
This, then, was the thinking behind Guruji’s decision to devote his life to the Sangh. For 33 years, he did so. it.
His
faith never wavered. He used to say: "Doctorji’s speeches didn’t really
enter my mind. Over time, they seeped into my being. He seized all of
me. Whenever I’m in difficulty, his life inspires me and a road opens
up."
He would always instruct swayamsevaks to study Doctorji’s life.
Tireless travels
To
do what he did for 33 years is not easy. Do you think he was never
unwell? That his car never broke down? That his flight wasn't ever
delayed? Did cold and heat and rain never upset his plans? Of course
they did!
But he went on and on without expectation. For 33
years, every drop of blood, every moment of life, was given to
the motherland. That her millions would find pride of place on the world
stage, this was the goal that motivated his work with the Sangh as its
sarsanghachalak.
Once someone asked Guruji, “Where do you live?”
He replied: “In the train compartment.” He travelled continuously for
33 years. Even when he was struck with cancer, the travelling remained.
This
is a story from 1943. Some karyakartas had gathered for a meeting in
Pune. Guruji was present, and he had been going across the country on
his mission after becoming sarsanghachalak. Karyakartas would
affectionately ask him to rest. In his speech, he addressed these
requests, saying: “Rest? What rest for us now? Rest is only possible now
when the task at hand is done or we are on the pyre.”
The swayamsevak
Once,
the sanghshikshavarg [third year training] for central India was in
progress in Gwalior. Guruji was in the dining tent. An announcement was
made that guests would leave after their meal but swayamsevaks would
have to remain. Along with Guruji, there were Rajmata Scindia, Atal
Bihari Vajpayee and others. When the announcement was made, the others
left. Guruji remained. When he was requested by the organisers to
leave, he said: “You announced that swayamsevaks had to remain, only the
guests had to go. How could I leave?” He remained till all the
swayamsevaks had dined. He was always alert to such things.
The affectionate man
Once
Guruji was on a train from Ajmer to Indore. The train was meant to halt
for a couple of hours in Ratlam. In that city, a swayamsevak named
Gopalrao had invited Guruji to lunch. Unfortunately the train arrived
late and a programme for two hours had been scheduled, including a
chat with local swayamsevaks and then lunch.
When the train
arrived, Guruji was urged to eat. He said “No. First I’ll meet the
swayamsevaks. If there is time, I shall eat.” Once he began such talks,
he would immerse himself in them. Soon it was time to go. Gopalrao came
to him with tears in his eyes: “Guruji, you’re leaving my home hungry?”
Guruji
said: “Brother, I’m a swayamsevak. I know your heart. When I return to
Ajmer from Indore, I’ll pass by again and will have dinner with you.”
Guruji usually only had one meal: lunch. In Indore, he instructed that
he wanted his lunch cancelled because he had to dine with Gopalrao. This
is how affectionate he was with swayamsevaks, however small they may
have been.
Once a swayamsevak named Pravinchandra Doshi came from
Rangoon for the 1956 sanghshikshavarg in Nagpur. That city is a holy
place for all swayamsevaks because the RSS was founded there. When
Pravinchandra arrived, Guruji was sitting with 15–20 swayamsevaks. One
of them, a doctor, asked, “Who are your relatives and loved ones here?
Where in Nagpur are you staying?”
Pravinchandra was in a fix
about what to say. Guruji then spoke: “He’s a relative and loved one of
mine. And he’s staying with me.” Pravinchandra was in tears on
hearing this. Such love! When a swayamsevak meets another, it is
as if two brothers are meeting.
Many would have found Guruji
intimidating and unapproachable at first, but on experiencing him, their
concerns would immediately vanish. And when you were close to him, all
differences would vanish.
Once, Guruji was at a cow-protection
meeting in Nagpur. After the prayer, he headed towards his car. As he
reached it, a child swayamsevak asked him: “Oye, is this your car?” [the
text cites the child addressing Golwalkar in the familiar ‘tu’ form.]
This began a humorous exchange.
“Yes, it is mine.”
“You drive it?”
“Yes, I drive it.”
“You still remember how to drive?”
“Yes, I still remember.”
“Wow, you're amazing,” the child said with surprise to Guruji, and indeed he was amazing.
Every Hindu is my brother
In
Nagpur’s Hedgewar Bhavan there was a cook named Mangalprasad. Once he
was away in his village to attend his brother’s funeral. Pa Pu Guruji
wrote him a condolence letter which began with, “My dear friend
Mangalprasad.” The man who hadn’t wept for his brother broke down on
reading these words.
Mangalprasad took great care of Guruji.
When Guruji was afflicted with cancer, he administered the doses of
medicine. Once Guruji refused, saying “What use are medicines now?”
The next day, Mangalprasad brought a spoonful. Guruji said: “Looks like Dr Abaji has sent this. Tell him I’m not taking it.”
Mangalprasad said “No Guruji, I’ve made this myself.”
Guruji immediately
swallowed it. He was just a cook, but Mangalprasad was a part of Hindu
society. A son of Bharat Mata. “Every Hindu is my brother. His pain
his mine. His hardship is mine.” This sentiment was forever in Guruji's
heart. Whether it was a swayamsevak in difficulty or an ordinary man, a
coolie or a mill worker, Guruji did not differentiate and felt from his
heart for all of them.
Once, Guruji was depressed on hearing
a piece of news. On returning from a trip, he learnt that an old beggar
who lived near his house had died. At a meeting of pracharaks later, he
spoke of this with pain. At this age, who would have cared for him? Who
put some water on his parched lips? In this huge Hindu society, there
would be so many of our brothers in a similar position. Who would wipe
their tears?
Not you, us
Guruji was always focused on the formative aspects of swayamsevaks.
Once
a poet had composed a song. It began: “Tum karo rashtra-aradhana [You
must do nation worship].” On listening to this opening line, Guruji
stopped him. “Brother, wait. Not ‘Tum karo rashtra-aradhana,’ but ‘Hum
karein rashtra-aradhana [We must do nation worship].’”
The poet
had written fine words but hadn’t cast a thought to what message
these sent out. What was being communicated was “You need to do this,”
and “the government needs to do this.” What was required was “I need to
do this.”
Sense of duty
How alert he was to
duty! In Satara, the government ban on meetings in maidans meant the
swayamsevaks did their gurudakshina utsav [the annual rite of donating
money to the RSS] in a karyakarta’s house during a Satyanarayana Puja.
The pandit presiding was informed that the money donated would be given
to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh gurudakshina. The pandit was
overjoyed and made a contribution himself.
Soon after, Guruji
visited the area. He was informed of the manner in which the
Gurudakshina utsav was done. He said, “Whatever money was collected by
swayamsevaks under the saffron flag, only that should be donated. The
money collected during the puja should immediately be sent to the
pandit. Have this done and inform me.”
Such attention to detail went into the making of the Sangh.
Once in
Kanpur’s sanghshikshavarg, there was a parade in which swayamsevaks
were meant to be in full dress. At dinner, there was an informal
gathering. Guruji asked, “One of you was not wearing his cap. Who was
it?”
A man stood up. “Where was your cap?” Guruji asked “The gathering was meant to be in full dress.”
The man replied “I gave it to a man from our region.”
“What happened to his,” Guruji asked. “He didn’t have it,” the man replied.
“I see,” said Guruji. “So you bribed him with yours to bring him along.” He added, “Swayamsevaks are not made in this way.”
Once
in Madurai, there was a two-day gathering of swayamsevaks. Guruji was
meant to end the event with a speech that was to conclude at 5 pm. While
he was speaking, a swayamsevak who had to catch the 5.30 pm bus got up
and left. After the event, Guruji inquired about him and was told about
the bus. He was astonished. “I had a word with him before I began and
told him I would end at 5.00. He would not be late in catching his bus.”
Saying this, Guruji showed the swayamsevaks his watch, which read 5.00
pm. Such attention to the needs of individual swayamsevaks!
At
another gathering, Guruji asked how things were going. One man replied
“We’re not able to expand our work.” Why not, he was asked. “My
karyakartas don’t work,” the man said. “This approach is wrong,” Guruji
said. “Not my karyakartas, you should say instead my comrades, my
fellow workers.”
He was opposed to the very idea of a leader and
followers in the Sangh. In his mind, the work of the Sangh was
as lighting one lamp with another. This was the same principle as in the
Shankaracharya’s advaita. Aham brahmasmi—tatvamasi. What I am, you are.
Insistence on discipline
In
Barabanki, Guruji was once speaking at a session. A swayamsevak was
sketching Guruji while this was happening. After the session, the man
went to Rajju Bhaiiya [Rajendra Singh, the fourth sarsanghachalak] to
get it autographed by Guruji. Rajju Bhaiyya took him to Guruji, who
glanced at it and asked: “Are you an artist or also a swayamsevak?” The
man said he was a swayamsevak who regularly attended the shakha. Guruji
said, “While I was focussing all of my energy on telling you something,
you were busy doing this. What sort of swayamsevak are you? I’m not
autographing this.”
Once, Guruji was on a tour to Andhra
Pradesh. His train was to arrive at about 4.30 am. There was a halt
there of about 45 minutes and swayamsevaks planned for Guruji to use the
train latrine in that period. They would carry some tea in a thermos to
prepare him for the 100-mile trip onward, and thus reach the scheduled
meeting on time.
At night, Guruji asked a senior
swayamsevak, Bapurao Moghe, for the following day’s programme. He
noticed the arrangements and said, “In train toilets have you ever
seen a small notice?” Bapurao said he had. Guruji said: “It reads,
‘Don’t use the latrine when the train has halted at a station.’ I always
follow this rule.”
Just imagine how many millions travel and read this notice. How many actually follow it?
Faith in shakhas
Before
independence, after Hedgewarji’s passing, Pa Pu Guruji took charge
of the Sangh, even though he was not its senior-most member.
Once
a karyakarta came to Guruji and said: “This shakha-shakha business
doesn’t help India. We should try some new things. Else we will lose
both Sangh and nation.”
He said that everything would go to
pieces and struck a note of despondency. Guruji heard him patiently and
calmly. He was only 35 or 36 at the time. He said in English: “If it
will collapse, I will begin it from the beginning.”
That it to say,
if everything failed, he would go back to Nagpur’s Mohite Wada and
gather people again, just as Dr Hedgewarji had done.
This story
is from the time that the Shankaracharya of Sharda Peeth passed away.
The Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya, Shri Abhinav Sachidanandji, sent word
to Pa Pu Guruji: “Guruji, the Shankaracharya’s seat is vacant and nobody
is more suitable for it than you.” For any other person, this would
have been something to jump at. Guruji instead sent word with
politeness: “Jagadguru! Your wish is my command. But I’ve already
accepted a great task. The shakha is my faith. I can serve society
better through the shakha than as Shankaracharya. So please keep me out
of your plans.”
Such was his confidence in the shakha, even in the infant stages of the Sangh. Service to India was his only goal.
Spiritual excellence
Once
Guruji was in Madras. He wished to see Kanchi Kamkoti
Peeth’s Shankaracharya Shri Chandrashekharendra Saraswatiji, who was
sent a message. He replied: “Guruji can come whenever he is free.”
Guruji arrived. At that time, the Shankaracharyaji had finished his
ablutions, worn the sacred cloth and gone into the sanctum sanctorum
to pray. There is a rule there that once this happens, nobody else must
enter. But when he was informed that Guruji had arrived, he told his
assistants to send him in. Guruji washed his hands and feet and went in,
and the two prayed together. Later the Shankaracharya’s students asked
him: “Swamiji, you never let anyone enter when you’re praying inside, so
how did you let Guruji come?”
Shankaracharyaji said: “That rule is for ordinary people.”
When
Pu Guruji went to Mysore’s Ramkrishna Mission, he sought to see
its Vidyamandir. Swami Amitabh Maharaj was present to welcome him and he
said: “Shri Guruji showed extreme effort and patience in his time at
the Sargachi. On the evidence of those days alone I can say that the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has a ‘Narendra’ [Lord of men] as its
leader.”
When he was to come to Gujarat, at the same time that Pu
Shri Rang Avdhoot Maharaj was in Vadodara. He sought to meet Guruji.
The swayamsevaks said that it wasis not proper that he come to see
Guruji. And so Guruji said he would go, but the Guru Maharaj insisted.
In the end, Guruji relented before Guru Maharaj’s desire and they met.
What a sight that was! In the house of Himmatbhai Thakkar in Bajwa,
the leader of one of the world’s largest organisations ran down like a
child and opened the car’s door.
Guru Maharaj got down and Guruji
prostrated before him. They hugged and exchanged a line. Only those who
are truly spiritual will understand it. Guruji said: “We have often met,
but our bodies are meeting for the first time.” They were silent and
yet in constant communication.
It was said that Guru Maharaj
never got himself photographed with another person. But on that day he
said to the photographer: “Come and takeshoot one of me with Guruji.”
They embraced and that
photo is still around.
Shakha as life mantra
In
February 1946, Guruji was in Calcutta. Some eminent citizens invited
him to tea. At the event, one of them, a doctor, said to Guruji: “I
agree with what the Sangh aims to achieve. I have a problem with the
means. What’s the point of all this physical stuff—playing kabaddi and
the like? How can they ever assist in achieving those lofty goals?”
Guruji laughingly asked him: “Doctor saheb! What's your master drug in allopathy?”
The
doctor replied: “Penicillin.” Guruji asked: “What is penicillin made
from?” The doctor said: “Everyone knows that it’s made from foodstuff so
rotten that nobody can stand its smell.” Pa Pu Guruji said [text in
English in the original]: “Does it mean that even the worst thing can
yield the best results in the hands of experts?”
Doctor saheb said: “Yes.”
Guruji said: “And here we are the experts in the science of organisation.”
Once,
all the pracharaks had gathered in Sindi near Wardha. It was so
arranged that all the senior pracharaks had to serve at mealtimes and
the turn came of Pu Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. He was given charge of
the basket of chapatis. As he approached Guruji, the basket fell out of
his hand and he was flustered. Guruji laughed and said: “Have you
stopped attending the shakha?” He always believed that the shakha
provided the energy and spirit for life’s challenges.
The sangh is a family
No
distinction such as ordinary swayamsevak and officer-bearer,
differences of language or of region or caste or small and big was
acceptable to Guruji. Once at a sanghshikshavarg in Nagpur, a man
introduced himself as coming from Belgaum.
Guruji asked him: “The same place that people are fighting over?” The man said yes.
Which
side are you on, Guruji asked. He replied: “I favour it going
to Maharashtra.” Pa Pu Guruji said: “Brother, swayamsevaks are always on
one side alone, and that is the nationalist side. We don’t permit any
other side here. Please pack your stuff and return. I'll make the
arrangements.”
The kind, great man
People
thought of Guruji as excellent and gentle. But even while he lived,
a few intellectuals were not able to recognise him for what he was. This
was the result of the Sangh’s traditions of working outside the
spotlight for the motherland.
Such myths were spread about him
that he was like Hitler, Lenin and Mussolini. Without knowing him,
without ever having met him, they found nothing wrong in writing about
him. They were prejudiced about him and saw nothing in his
great qualities.
Towards the end of his life, he wrote three
letters which are inspirational for all swayamsevaks and those who want
to see India become great. In one, Guruji wrote: “In the last 33 years,
working with me, encountering my peculiarities and my faults of
character, it is possible that I may have insulted you or hurt you in
some way or humiliated you. If so, my beloved brother
swayamsevaks, please forgive me from the kindness of your heart. I fold
my hands to you and ask for pardon.”
Imagine that the man
who controlled lakhs of swayamsevaks, on whose word they would sacrifice
their lives, such a man was asking of them, and of India's
citizens, forgiveness!
He was famously modest and did not allow
his photograph to be taken. At one occasion to take up cow protection in
Prayaag, many great men had gathered, including saints and sadhus. When
Pa Pu Guruji reached, the cry went up: “Pa Pu Guruji zindabad” and “Pa
Pu Guruji amar raho” and “Pa Pu Guruji ki jai.” On hearing these, it was
as if a current had passed through him. He turned around, went to
his car and told the driver to return.
Prabhudutt Brahmachari saw
this and ran down from the stage. He urged Guruji to return. He was
told: “Where instead of cries of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ and where instead
of a discussion on India’s progress, one man is being glorified, I have
no intention of staying.”
They asked for forgiveness and said
they had been wrong. Everyone cried out “Bharat mata ki jai” and Guruji
stayed back. Guruji was so particular about this that if he noticed a
photograph of himself in a house he was visiting, he would have it taken
down.
Not me, only you
Once the editor
of Dharmayug wrote to India’s famous people asking them for their motto
in life. Many wrote back, some two pages and others five. Pa Pu Guruji
was requested many times but he did not send it. In the end, the editor
met Pu Guruji himself and pleaded with him. Guruji relented and offered
these four words: “Not me, only you.”
This captures his life’s
message and philosophy. What or who is “you” in this? It is Sangh,
society and god. He saw all three as the same thing. As he approached
death, he wrote in those other two letters: “My instruction
to swayamsevaks is that there should be no memorial to me.”
All
sons of the motherland were obliged to serve her. It was irrelevant
which of them actually did. His thinking was clear on this. Once,
swayamsevaks presented him with a book on India’s security. It contained
instances from the India–Pakistan war and detailed the services of
swayamsevaks. Their sacrifices and bravery in Punjab were also touched
upon. The swayamsevaks thought Guruji would be happy to see the book.
Instead,
they were stunned by his reaction. He said: “I cannot accept such
a book.” His reason was that he didn’t want publicity of swayamsevaks’
sacrifice and service in this instance. “Brother, if someone serves his
mother, does he think it worthy of publicity?”
All for the motherland
After
Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, the Sangh was banned. It was later
found to be not guilty. Guruji was released from jail. This man, who
spoke of loving all humanity, was to be felicitated in Delhi. He was a
young man of only 40. Lakhs of swayamsevaks were ready to sacrifice
their lives for him. Lakhs of ears were eager to listen to him in Delhi.
Journalists from all over the world were at hand. Everyone was eager to
know what instruction Guruji would send out. Would he urge them to
bring down Pandit Nehru’s government violently? To spread anarchy across
India? Instead, after 19 months in jail, this great man said: “Forget
all that happened. Those who did it are our people. If the tongue is
caught between the teeth, we don’t break the teeth to punish them
because the teeth are also ours. Forget it.”
Think about that. Such balance and restraint at the age of 40. There are many such examples in 33 years of unbroken sacrifice.
On
that day, when everyone was praising Guruji, he was sitting on the
stage scribbling on a piece of paper. People assumed he was writing a
response to what was being said about him. But he was not impressed by
that. He was writing the lyrics to ‘Vande Mataram’ so that the singer
could refer to it at the programme’s end. His insistence was that
the song should be sung in entirety always.
Striving till the end
In
1969, he was diagnosed with cancer. Life was now uncertain, death
was near. He did not lose his patience. The sky is blood red both at
dusk and at dawn. There was nothing to rejoice or mourn over.
It
was decided to operate on him and a delay would hasten him towards
death. But he was clear that it would have to wait. The sanghshikshavarg
programmes of the summer vacations had been already scheduled. It
wasn’t right to operate before that.
He was in great pain, but he
chose Sangh over self. For two and a half months, he went on an intense
tour and did not allow himself to be operated on till he had met
with swayamsevaks from all corners of India.
He even turned the
hospital into a temple of social service. After a gruelling four-hour
surgery, he was off to ask about the wellbeing of other patients.
During
his final days he went to Kottakkal in Kerala. Bathing in oil was
considered a cure over there. Dr Madhav Paradkar was then looking after
Guruji. One day a local physician came. He lit some lamps and said to
Guruji: “Pray to god that you are healed soon.” Guruji said to him: “You
are free to do what you wish. But why pray for this weak body to
survive longer? Whatever work He wants out of it, He will take. When He
thinks the work is done, He will summon me. I’m not going to pray just
to live longer.”
During that time, Shri Bahurao Deoras and Rajju
Bhaiyya came to Allahabad. They came to a famous pundit there . When
they reached his door he said to them: “I know the reason you’re here.
You come for the well-being of a wise and great man. However, I don’t
see him living after 6 June. He’s a Mahatma. There is no reincarnation
for him. He is deserving of moksha. He has reached the stage of being a
Paramhans.”
On the morning of 5 June 1973, Dr Abaji said: “The
bell has rung...” We might think that was a strange thing to have said.
But it signifies a spiritual life. The bell is connected to the temple
and the idol. The message to go to god and the Allahabad pundit’s
prophecy came together.
2006 was Pa Pu Guruji's centenary year.
We are not capable to know or analyse Guruji’s life. This is a humble
attempt to recount those beautiful moments of his life and I hope
it makes your moments joyous.
Le chalein hum rashtra nauka ko, bhanwar se paar kar.
Let us take the ship of state, away from the whirlpools that threaten it.
