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Vijayadashami Mahostav, Kali Samvat 5107, 9th Oct. 2005 AD
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Sanmanniya Mukhya Atithi Dr. T. V. Narayan, Vidarbha Prant Sah-sanghchalak Man. Shriramji joshi, Nagpur Mahanagar Sanghachalak Dr. Dilip Gupta, sisters and brothers, media representatives and dear swayamsevak bandhugana,
This year's Vijayadashami day (The tenth day of the bright lunar month) has a special significance for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It was on the Vijayadashami day that the R.S.S. started on its arduous mission of consolidating and strengthening the Hindu society by lifting it above the narrow loyalties of caste, sect, province and language. This years Vijayadashami will see the R.S.S. completing 80 years of its journey and entering the 81st year. In other words, four generations have striven and the fifth one is coming up. Every generation has made its own special contribution to the development of the R.S.S. In the first generation Dr.Keshav Baliram Hedgewar convincingly demonstrated, in a small span of 15 years, that the Hindu society riven with dissensions of caste, creed and languages, could be successfully organised, which was till then considered to be an impossible task. In the Officers Training Camp of 1940, swayamsevaks from all the provinces extending right from Kanayakumari to Kashmir and Kutch to Kamroop, had participated. Dr. Hedgewar was seriously ill at that time and contrary to doctors' advise not to move out, attended the last valedictory function. In his speech, which proved to be the last in his life, he expressed his satisfaction and said- `I am witnessing our Hindu Rashtra in a miniature form." A week after this he breathed his last, but, before that he handed over the reins of the organization to young Shri Madhavrao Golwalker, popularly known as `Guruji'.
Soon after Shri Guruji look over, his leadership was put to hard lest. The period between 1940 to 1947 was the most turbulent period in the annals of Bharatiya history. Second world-war `do or die' movement of 1942, call for direct action by the Muslim League in 1946 and its execution and lastly the acceptance of Partition by the tired political leadership. A hundred thousand were butchered, millions forced to migrate from their hearths and homes and their rehabilitation etc. were the different challenges facing the country. Shri Guruji, with his impeccable leadership, steered the boat of R.S.S. clear from those turbulent waters. He was also instrumental is persuading the Maharaja of Kashmir to accede to the Bharatiya Union, when the Pakistani army, putting on the garb of tribals invaded Kashmir. It was at that time that the R.S.S. swayamsevaks worked day and night to restore the airports of Shrinagar and Jammu. Not withstanding all these services rendered by the R.S.S, Pt. Nehru imposed a ban it by falsely implicating it in the ghastly murder of Mahatma Gandhi. Shri Guruji lead an unprecedented `satyagraha' in which swayamsevaks, more than the combined number of all the previous satyagrahas conducted by the Congress, courted jail. As a result the ban on the R.S.S. was unconditionally withdrawn. At this point the second generation took over.
In the period up to 1965, a signature campaign for the protection of the cow and its progeny was undertaken by the R.S.S. in which 17.5 million signatures were collected within a brief span of one month, which was a record till then. It highlighted the importance of cow and its progeny in a predominantly agricultural country like Bharat. Chinese encroachment on a part of our territory was brought to the notice of the general public and during the 1962 Chinese aggression full support was given to the Govt. Again during the Pakistani aggression in 1965, all out support to the Army and the Govt. was given. The R.S.S. also controlled the traffic in Delhi in those days.
The Third generation which started in 1965 was fortunate enough to have the guidance of Poojya Shri Guruji for eight years. In that period Sangha work spread to practically all the districts of our country. During the next Pakistani invasion in 1971, again all help was rendered to the Army and the Govt. It was under Shri Guruji's tenure that workers of the R.S.S. were deployed in different walks of social life to fulfill the aim of all round development of the Hindu nation. They studied the problems in the specific fields of social life allotted to them, searched for their solutions according to the Hindu thought process and to work them out, established independent organisations with the help of like minded people of the society. As a result, organisation like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Bharatiya Jan Sangh, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrama, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Saraswati Vidya Mandirs were founded, most of them today becoming top organisation in their respective fields. The special contribution of revered Shri Guruji was in creating a common platform for all the different sects and denominations in the Hindu society which was named as `Vishwa Hindu Parishad'. The V.H.P. in its conference in Udipi in Karnataka in 1969 was able to pave the way for social harmony by getting an edict from the `Dharmacharyas' that untouchability has no sanction in Hindu Dharma. Those who practice untouchability in their dealings are themselves acting against the tenets of Hindu Dharma.
In 1973, Poojaniya Guruji handed over the reins to Shri Balasaheb Deoras before retiring to his Heavenly abode. The main events after Poojya Balasaheb took over, till 1985, were the successful fight given by all the democratic forces during the emergency from 1975 to 1977 and restoration of democratic traditions. The period 1983-84 saw the emergence of `unity rathy-atras' in which the chariots carried the representations of Bharat Mata, Ganga Mata and Go-Mata, the three most revered mothers in our nation. They got unprecedented and enthusiastic response form the people and a great awakening was witnessed in the country. Form 1985 the fourth generation took over and stirred the conscience of the people for the restoration of the Ram Janma-bhoomi Temple though the Ram Rath Yatras criss-crossing the country from one end to the other. Many became martyrs in the cause, many courted arrest and the polity of the country changed. In 1994, Poojya Rajju Bhaiya took over the responsibility of the Sarsanghchalak of R.S.S. and guided the organisation over the next six years. The fourth war with Pakistan was fought in 1998 in which Pakistan had to taste defeat. This generation also saw terrorist attacks on America, which was till then considered to be the safest place out of the reach of terrorists. It also heard the call for international cooperation for concerted action against terrorism. In the year 2002, the R.S.S. undertook campaign for national awakening when four hundred thousand and five villages out of a total of six hundred and thirty-five thousand were covered and the attention of the general public was drawn towards national security.Today the fifth generation is stepping in.
The R.S.S. has witnessed many ups and downs during this period. The spirit with which all the four generations strove for the fulfillment of their objective are summed up in a Hindu verse which means-
In this arduous path of action there are flower petals as well as thorns. Some people support, while hundreds oppose. There are standing ovations but at the same times there are brickbats. There are mountains of obstacles as also whirlpools of allurements. But we are continuously moving forward towards victory, without in anyway being deterred by either pain or pleasure."
When a common man sees all around the births of many institutions and their demise or disintegration into factions once the founder is no were, he is amazed at the unstoppable onward march of the Sangh. A question arises in his mind about the inspiration which keeps on making the swayamsevaks work incessantly day and night. The same question cropped up in Bubu Jayaprakash Naryan's mind when he was being introduced to some instructors and pracharaks (organisers) in the officers training camp of Delhi in 1968. It may be mentioned here that after the ghastly assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948, he also was among one of those who were instigating the enraged public against the Sangh. From then onwards he had nurtured a bias against the R.S.S. It was lessened to a certain extent during the severe draught of 1965-67 in Bihar when he was heading an all party draught relief committee having swayamsevaks also. What he saw then was that a majority of cadres of other parties thought their duty fulfilled by distributing relief material in the nearby villages, the swayamsevaks of the R.S.S. treaded 40 to 50 kilometers either on foot or on bicycles and reached the relief materials to the needy in those villages. He had also experienced that even workers engaged in service activities of `Sarvodaya', could not sustain for long. On that background when he was introduced to workers who were carrying on their activities continuously for 25 to 30 years, his above question was but natural.
Answering his querry one of the workers said- "We have set before our mind's eyes the objective of seeing our Hindu nation one of the most prosperous and resurgent nation in the world sitting on the top. This objective cannot be achieved by the ephemeral politics. For that a cadre will have to be reared up which will be imbued with sterling character, feelings of intense patriotism and considering life fulfilled by becoming one of the stones in the foundation. We are enthused with that aim and are steadfast in our mission." Later in 1972, Babu Jayaprakashji addressed the concluding function of a training camp in Patna and averred - "If anybody has the capacity to eradicate the evil of untouchability from in society and bring together Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bharat for creating Akhand Bharat, it is the R.S.S."
In order to fulfill the aim of the R.S.S., the Hindus, who constituted 87% of the population then and because of which this country is called Hindusthan, needed to be strengthened. For that Sangh followed the vedic instructions of meaning - `Let us walk in unison, let us speak in unison and let our minds be inspired by the same thoughts. This was brought into practice in our daily Shakha. Three things have contributed for the continuous progress of the Sangh -(1) Keeping the objective of all-round development of the Hindu Rashtra consistently before the eyes, (2) unswerving faith in the efficacy of the shakha technique which was adopted as the means and (3) at every level free consultation among a team of 8 to 10 workers to arrive at a consensus. This is the secret of the constant increase of R.S.S. Other organisations inspired by the Sangh have also adopted the same technique of taking decisions and are progressing.
There is no dearth of those engaged in negative propaganda against the R.S.S. even today. In spite of that the Sangh is progressing. This is the very reason for their ire. The media, which includes electronic media also which disseminates news round the clock, are the most vociferous. Among them also the criticisms of those who are backed by foreign money, are getting more stringent. A majority of journalists engaged in the media are those who have set aside the journalistic ethics. In order to increase their worth they try to show that they have got a scoop. In this process truth becomes the casualty. The main principle of journalism that `news is sacred and comments are free' has been given a go-by. There is mix of news and comments with the result it have become difficult to decide as to what is the actual fact. One more thing. Most of the so-called upcoming journalists comment on subjects about which they are generally ignorant. So many journalists are attending the function here. Hardly there may be one or two who have deeply studied the main publications of the R.S.S.
Some of the journalists may be seething with rage thinking what right has this fellow to criticize us ? But if you have the freedom to take to task whomsoever you like, being a citizen of the country I also possess the right to criticize. Only thing I want to assure is I do not make any statement without any proof. However, if somebody draws my attention to any comment not based on fact, I shall not hesitate to apologize for it. But when I expect the same gesture from the journalists, I do not get any response. If national interests are kept uppermost in our minds, only then whatever we say or do, will be beneficial to the national cause.
Here I am reminded of the attack on the twin towers of the seat of the World-Trade-Organisation on the 11th September 2001, when terrorists inspired by the Al-Qaida hit with their planes causing death of thousands of souls. The American media showed the smashed twin towers, the relief operations but not a single dead or mauled body. Everybody thought that the prestige of their nation was at stake. The same thing was repeated on 7th Sep. 2004 when there were a series of bomb blasts in London tube railway station and elsewhere. But the electronic channels inspired by the same countries working in Bharat adopted just the opposite attitude during the blasts, carried out by the same terrorists forces in Gujrat and Mumbai. They gave only one sided news of the riots, just to sully the image of Bharat in the world. The non-governmental commission headed by the retired Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Justice D. S. Tewatia constituted to probe the incidents of Gujrat, made the following comment regarding the role played by the media. It said -" Whereas the media in Gujrat gave balanced view of the incidents, the English news papers published from Mumbai and Delhi, as also the electronic media gave only one-sided reports of the riots and casualties and thus helped the it's spread in the other parts of the state". He wrote a sentence - " They editorialized the news".
The whole of U.S.A. is in state of tension after 11th Sep. I had the occasion to visit U.S.A. in the month of July. I noticed that on the air-tickets of people from Bharat, Pakistan and other countries to America, four S were inscribed before passing through the frisking counters at the International airports. Perhaps it meant special super security system. At four places with the help of latest gadgets body, feet, shoes, fingers and eyes were examined. Before my visit, one of my friends had gone and spent about a month in the States. He had gone to see what was the situation after 9/11. Four years ago when he had gone to U. S. A. it was an open country. At every frisking counter he used to ask the security personnel as to why they were in so much tension ? They used to reply -"Our major concern is if another Mohammad Atta gets in, we don't know what calamity will befall America. So we have to be extra cautious". In the U.S. the security is the sole concern of the Govt. The common people do not participate in it.
Bharat is facing terrorism for the last more than 25 years. But here not only the Govt. of Bharat but also the general public dare the terrorists. The terrorists threatened that nobody should undertake the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage. The people responded with even greater numbers visiting the shrine. Formerly if the number used to be in thousands, lakhs turned out after that threat. Govt. said that the pilgrimage to the Amarnath caves should be limited to one month. The people said we would visit all the two months. Not only that, before the `Chhadi Mubarak', starting from Shrinagar could reach the cave, already five thousands had visited it. Some men and women from a village in Uttarpradesh has gone to visit Shrinagar just to see how the terrorists shoot and scoot.
The incident came to light because they had traveled back without a ticket. So in a country where confronting the terrorists is considered an entertainment, there the morale of the terrorists takes a dive. They say that they can fight with the government, the police and the security forces, how can they confront unarmed people. This is the strength of our country. If taking cognizance of it the government and the people carry out to fight together, it will not be difficult to see the end of terrorism.
But immediate political considerations come in the way. To win the elections by hook or crook, they feel no compunction in aligning with these very demonic forces. Last time the Congress in Andhra Pradesh took their help to win the elections. After coming to power the Chief Minister lifted the ban on the Maoists. The result was that they organized a huge rally in Hyderabad which was participated by more than a hundred thousand people. This gave a tremendous boost to the morale of the extremists who were on the verge of collapse. They rebuilt their organization anew and began to carry on their terrorists activities in the neighboring states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
When the police of these states resorts to hot pursuit of these outfits they immediately escape into the safe heaven of A. P. And according to our constitution the police belonging to one state cannot enter another state with the permission of that state. Even the Central Security Forces can go there only when there is a demand from that state government. In the conference of the Chief Ministers, the C.M.s of the affected states urges the C.M.of A.P. to impose a ban on these outfits, but he did not respond. Later however he was forced to it only when a Congress minister in his council of ministers was shot dead by these terrorists. But by that time several innocent people had fallen a pray to their bullets.
A question arises from where do the general masses gather this strength for such courage? The same is witnessed during the natural calamities also. People begin to render help even before the Govt. machinery makes any move. Recently, I got an opportunity to visit Nagapattinam district on 20th September during my tour of South Tamilnudu. There is a temple of goddess Neelayatakshi, one among the 52 Shakti Peethas. On 26 Dec. 2004 the Tsunami tidal waves wrought havoc in the coastal villages of this district. Six to tens meter high tidal ways hit the villages one after the other at about 9 AM and before the people could realise as to what actually was happening, many huge fishing ships, parked vehicles and fisherman were washed away. Immediately after about half an hour the members of Sewa Bharati reached the venue. The govt. reported 3378 deaths. Out of that Sewa Bharati had fished out about 1800 dead bodies, and rescued 115 people who were perched on the roofs or were found hanging on the ceiling fans. By 3 P.M. food packets and water - pouchs were provided to the survivors. In the first three days 46 thousand food packets were distributed. About five and a half thousand men and 300 ladies arrived from nearby shakhas and were engaged in the relief work. Sewa Bharati organised 68 medical camps in the first week. For about a fortnight Sewa Bharati arranged for the distribution of food, water-bottles, milk-powder for children, mats, stove, blankets etc.
To revive the morale of the fishermen a `Ganga Mata' procession went through the coastal villages. 1143 temporary livid shelters were built and the venue was named as Vedavyasa Nagar. These shelters, which were build according to the principles of `Vastu-shastra', are still in existence. Asbestos iron sheets have been used to make them durable. Water -purification plants have been installed in collaboration with the Tata Relief Society . Today, computer training centers, sewing classes, coaching centres with about 5500 students and medical centres have been started. Monthly medical camps using Siddha medical therapy were conducted. Stationary worth 150 thousands and 550 bicycles were distributed and 450 thousands worth of materials were distributed among the affected other than the fisherman. Subsequently ten acres of lands have been earmarked by the Govt. for Sewa Bharti where 800 permanent residences, community halls, school, hospital, children's home, industrial training centre, market, fish market and temple are proposed to be constructed to make it a model village.
Some so called 450 church-inspired and foreign funded NGOs reached that area three days after the tragedy. The fisherman and other people of the affected villages bluntly told them -"Where were you for three days when we were dying here. You were holidaying and did not remember us. Please go away. We shall not accept any help from you." It should be remembered that those fishing villages are guided by caste and gram panchayatas prevalent since the Vedic times. The caste panchayatas settle the problems of the members of that particular caste and the gram-panchayatas handle the disputes cropping up between the different castes. The sarpanchas of all those villages and caste-panchayatas said-" We shall accept help from only Hindu organizations like the Sewa Bharati, R.S.S., V.H.P., Mata Amrutanandmayi, Shri-Shri Ravishakar and Tata companies." All these institutions pooled their resources under the banner of Tsunami Relief Initiative and are working in collaberation with each-other.
For about three days the church-outfits tried in various ways to enter the villages. But when they found that there was little response, most of them departed. Only about 10 institutions who have been allotted the task of rebuilding some villages, remained but the inhabitants of those villages said that they may help them but they were not going to be converted to Christianity. In the same period an e-mail from Chennai based Bhoomika trust, a church outfit, fell into the hands of a volunteer of Sewa Bharati in which an evaluation of the situation was given. It was said that so much emergency relief material had reached the people that was now being misused. Even those who were not affected, were grabbing it. In their Coordination Committee held at Nagai it was felt that there was no need for emergency relief material now, because people had already got in the last 48 hours. Therefore their donors should wait for sometime till the Govt. announced its policy for the second phase of rehabilitation so that they might know who had to do what and where. This very e-mail mentions about a golden opportunity. It says- "We have also heard of fishermen, already frustrated by what we are told, the diminishing catch at the seas, who may be looking at this disaster as an opportunity to seek alternative livelihoods. This can be used to wean some of them to come out of this occupation." People with such vested interests can not be called selfless.
It is very natural in Bharat for the people to extend a helping hand even before the Govt. becomes active because it is ingrained in the community psyche. During the incessant rains that lashed Mumbai, and the government machinery had paralysed, the common people came forward to render succour to the needy. But the same we do not see in America. It is equiped with the most modern sophisticated technology on the basis of which America boasts of tracking the minutest movement in any part of the world and reach there in no time. America claims that it is the guardian of an egalitarian democracy and it has ended all kinds of discrimination. But this claim was proved hollow when on 29th August, New Orleans city in Lousiana state was hit by `Katarina' and subsequently `Rita' in Houston. Not that they had no early warning. The American scientists had warned a year before about the impending cyclone and had told about its character and it's potentiality of damage. The actual cyclone which hit, was milder than what was expected and was a dwarf as compared to the Tsunami disaster. But after the havoc it caused it is estimated that New Orleans will need complete two years to recover.
But what was the role of the American government and its people? President Bush was enjoying his vacation and returned only after completing it. He reached the venue only on the fourth day. ie 2nd Sept. The Governor of Lousiana was saying "Our 7000 national guards have all been sent to Iraq. Form where should I bring extra guards?" The Director of the Federal Disaster Management Committee, a political appointee, had no knowledge even after five days that in the Convention Centre more than 25000 people had taken refuge and had been suffering without food and water. Ultimately he was removed on 9th of September. Were the afflicted people neglected by the Govt. because a majority of them were blacks? Brought centuries ago as slave labourers these blacks had adopted the Christian faith, had changed their names but could not change the colour of the skin. This colour itself became the cause of their misery and destitution. Could not the U.S. Govt. which sent 22 trillian dollars on the war in Iraq, spend a few million dollars for saving its own hungry citizens at home? Not only many countries of Asia like Bharat, Bangladesh, Japan and Kuwait rushed to help, even countries like Cuba and Venezuela, considered to inimical to America offered to help.
This is the same Venezuela about whose President the T.V. evangelist Pete Robertson of the Baptist Church had given a call for his assassination. Robertson made this gory statement in a popular T.V. channel saying that it would be cheaper to kill him than wage a war. The reaction of the Bush administration was only this much that they considered it to be improper. When a journalist said that had Robertson been living in England he would have been declared a terrorist and deported from that country, the spokeman said- "Well, we're not living in Britain." However, after stringent criticism by the media Pete Robertson had to tender an apology.
America did not have any hesitation in accepting aid even from small countries, where as Bharat during the Tsunami havoc, did not accept any foreign help, though thanking them for their gesture. Such statements from the heads of churches is no surprise because the history of Christianity had been soaked in blood. Bharat had a bitter experience of `Inquisitions' during the Portuguese rule. Recently, Richard Zimler has brought out a historical fiction titled `Guardian of the Dawn'. He had been awarded many prestigious literary awards for his earlier titles. He told in an interview - "Historians consider the Goa Inquisition to be the most merciless and cruel ever happened. Over a period of 252 years, any man, woman or child living in Goa could be arrested and tortured for simply whispering a prayer or keeping a small idol at home." The reason he gave for bringing out the book was -" My friends in Portugal know nothing about it. I want the readers to feel as if they are living in Goa in that period. I want them to feel the atmosphere of those times and the cold shadow of the inquisitional palace following over their lives. We all need to be alert to the intolerance creeping in our children and ourselves. We ought to learn from the ancient Asian tradition, which is of respecting the religious beliefs of others and not imposing their own Gods on them."
Sangh is frequently criticized as being anti-Christian and anti-Muslim. But what has been it's behavior ? Some six months ago a marriage party of a Christian family was returning to their own village Phoolkusum after completing all the marriage rituals in a church. While passing near a village Koolundi in Sambalpur district, their bus met with an accident in which 10 persons of the party were dead and rest badly injured. There was nobody in that dense forest to hear their call for help. By chance, a swayamsevak by name Sarveshwar Bhai heard their wailing. At once he informed the local swayamsevaks and about 50 swayamsevaks reached there with the ambulance of Kalyan Ashram and carried the wounded to a hospital 45 km away and provided them with medical aid, arranged for their breakfast and lunch and also donated blood. The whole expenses were borne by the swayamsevaks. Seeing the service orientation of the swayamsevak a pastor by name Mangal Digal became emotional and with moist eyes said - "Who says that Sangh is communal? They do not have any ill feeling towards any religion. The alacrity of the swayamsevaks gave us a new lease of life. We have realised that the R.S.S. is our friend and a friend of humanity."
If the leaders of different indigenous and foreign churches realise this aspect of the Hindu society of equal respect for all religions and desist from proselytisation then in the opinion of the Sangh they would have nationalised their churches. For a harmonious social life of our nation this is absolutely necessary. But their counterparts in other countries are contemplating otherwise. Recently there was a global conference of `church planters' in Dallas, America, which was participated by some 500 delegates from 71 countries and 82 denominations, where they decided to pool their resources and cooperate with each other in bringing the unreached 1.75 billion people into their fold to complete their world mission. The President of the `Global Planters Network' James Davis said, "The current global population growth is out pacing Christian conversions. We have to work together, networking relationships and resources to overcome this population growth. If not the Great Commission will not be fulfilled for more than 300 years." One of the delegated said "The goal of one billion new followers of Christ sets a good minimum number from which to start." Another delegate said "This vision to establish 5 million churches has to go beyond denominations."
On the other side, the Bush administration has earmarked 20 billion dollars to constitute a special fund, stationed in the White House, for the benefit of the NGO's working in Bharat and other Asian countries, who can withdraw the needed amount from that fund and need not submit any account. A plan has been chalked out to initially plant one church in every post office area, then at bicycle distance, then at walking distance and lastly at a hearing distance by the year 2011. In our country also, the " National Council of Churches" has discussed on 25-26th Nov., a new plan for the "Dalit Liberation Movement" to be the carried out with the co-operation of the Global Church Advisory Committee. For that a global coference is planned to be held outside Bharat to ponder over the liberation of it's Dalits. The cooperation of the Roman Catholic Churches is also sought.
Here a question arises - "Why is there so much heartlessness and intolerance in America which is thinking of spreading Christianity world-wise and why the Bhartiya Hindu society is so kind-hearted and broad-minded? The only reason is the difference in the world-views and life values of the two countries. The thinking of the west is limited to the consideration of body, mind and intellect. All these three do not bind the people together. Therefore the culture that has developed in the West is based on competition and an urge for domination where every individual is taken to be a competitor of the other and wants to dominate him. This tendency has given rise to rugged individualism and self-centeredness to such an extent that the natural families have broken down and community life has become non-existent. Everybody wants to live for himself and for his security has become dependent on the state. Human values have vanished, with the result that they have adopted the Charvak doctrine which says -"So long as you are alive enjoy a happy life and take loans and consume `ghee'." The only change they have made is that in place of `ghee' they have substited `wine'. In Bharat the prime-place has been given to the soul which being beginningless and endless, inheres all. Bhagwan Krishna says in his Geeta, "Beyond the senses is the mind, beyond the mind is the intellect and beyond that is the soul or conscience." We experience this soul in our dreamless state, when all the three, body, mind and intellect, lie dormant. But when we get up we say -"Ah, what a sound sleep I had. It was thrilling." Well, who experienced that thrill? We say `I'. But then I does not mean my body, not my mind, nor the intellect. It is that soul, a manifestation of eternal bliss, which is present in me, in you and in everybody in the form of consciense. It's realization is the ultimate objective of life and for that we must experience oneness with the family, the neibourhood, village, district, province, country, the world and with all the animate and inanimate objects of nature. After expanding our self to that stage, the ultimate stage is the union with the Infinite Universal Self, which is the abode of ultimate happiness. This is termed as `Moksha' ie. liberation.
The expansion of this self is the basis to differentiate between the divine and the demonic forces. This basis determines who is a demonic man, an animal man, an ordinary man and an enlightened man. He who feels pleasure in torturing others is a demonic man, he who has no feelings towards sufferers is an animal man, he who feels for others' sufferings is an ordinary man and he who rushes to allievate others' sufferings is an enlightened man. A continuous unbroken tradition of such enlightened persons from the ancient past to the present day, exists in our country. Even those whom we designate as uneducated and uncultured according to the present standards, possess a sensitive heart. Some months back a poor fisherman named Jaykumar came to the office of `Ananda Viketan', a prestigious Tamil weekly, accompanied by his wife Rajavalli and 10 year old son Udaykumar, with the request that the editor help him in returning an amount of one lakh, which he had received as a consolation money, because his son was thought to be dead, to the govt. He said that his request had been turned down in all the govt. offices. Now that our son has returned please help us in returning it to the Govt. Our family and people of Todvai village have come to the conclusion that getting back the son is our greatest pleasure. Hence we have no claim over this money." In today's atmosphere, seething with corruption, the existence of such enlightened souls is the guarantee for a bright future for Bharat.
Today even in the West, some souls distressed at the rugged individualism and ifs fall out, are engaged in reviving the family system. This they call the social capital which refers to the reciprocal relations between individuals and family, friendship and community networks, that are built on trust and they bring the benefits of shared support and feeling of belonging. Those people are convening family conferences at different places and different countries. The third `Global Congress of Families" was organised in Mexico City in 2004. The inaugural speech was delivered by Allan Carlson. The speech was such that he who does not know the name of the speaker will invariably say that the speaker must have been a Hindu. The main points of the speech were- "The natural human family is established by the creator. To live in families is to be in harmony with his divine intent. Each new marriage is an affirmation of life, love and human continuity against the darkness. In marriage, man and woman are transformed into husband and wife and subsequently into father and mother. The spouses care for each other in sickness and health and parents nurture, train and protect their off springs until they are able to enter wedlock on their own. In a family all the members insure that no family member falls through the safely net, every member shares the pleasures and gets respect and realises his life mission. The basic human need for a family is land and housing. Hence the social, economic and political authorities should aim at providing land and habitat to young parents with children, turning them into property owners. Education of the children is the primary responsibility of the household which bears the obligation and natural authority to transmit to the children the spirituals doctrines and beliefs of the family, the customs and folkway by which the household lives, the practical skills necessary for the later creation of new households and the values required for the successful engagement in the world of work and commerce.
Many households coming together form the neighborhood and the village community. They provide shelter to households under their jurisdiction and allow for diversification and specialisation of skills where every young man earns a skill according to his ability, aptitude and inclination and earns a place in the society. Within such communities the sharp edges or peculiarities found in each household are tempered and makes the individual fit for living in harmony with others. Moreover the individual internalises restraint in behavior and ambition. Communities strive to forestall a complete industrialisation of human economic and social life by protecting the home economy through devices such as the family wage.
The proper role of the government should be to act as a servant of the families. They exist to protect households, villages and their members from external threat and mediate in disputes between households and communities that can not be resolved at the lower level. The structure of the state can vary from place to place and circumstances to circumstances, from monarchies to republics. The repositories of the natural authority ie. the households and the village communities cede to the nation-state the authority necessary to keep foreign armies and alien pressures at bay and to protect the mechanisms of fair commerce and exchange. Constitutional arrangements should insure that the basic authority remains in local and household hands.
And lastly we should remain aware of the danger posed by the central state in its potential to become an end in itself. It begins to exercise authority not ceded by the foundational social units. Working to destroy the traditional order, this rouge, this post-family state, will create artificial `rights' that will make family centered enterprise difficult and will undermine family property. At its most perverse, this wayward state will set wife against husband, husband against wife, children against parents and household against household. This state will weaken the legal protections of marriage, create financial incentives to out-of-wedlock births and divorce. Such actions undermine natural society and erect in its place an order where individuals tend to become wards of the leviathan state. An order of free citizens becomes a `client society' where bureaucrats minister to the needs of `citizen subjects."
Are'nt you surprised that the above mentioned village- based, autonomous, independent order is the restatement of Hindu thought? In the era of subjugation of 600 years before the advent of the Britishers, this order remained unaffected. The gram panchayats used to enjoy four types of rights. They used to collect revenue and after depositing the share of the ruler, whosoever he may be, in the royal treasury, the rest of the amount was used for the development of the villages. Protection of the village with the help of strong bodied youths of the village was another function. The third function was to dispense justice between the disputing parties through the agency of nyaya-panchayats. The five panchas or judges unanimously selected by the villagers, consisted of representatives of different castes and designated as `Pancha Parameshar'ie the Five Divines. Fourthly, water -resources, land and forests all were considered as common village property and administered as such. Apart from them and tranpressing the confines of the villages were the caste-panchayats where people of different villages engaged in the same occupation called caste, used to ensure that the quality of their products remained excellent. In 1828, Charles Metcaulf, the Governor General of the East India Company wrote - "These panchayats are working wonderfully. They are autonomous republics. Much has changed in the last many millenniums but these have not changed. Though there is a scope for their improvement, I would like to say that they should not be disturbed."
But the East India Company thought otherwise. In order to strengthen the British stranglehold over their territory, they thought it best to destroy these autonomous units. They took away the rights enjoyed by the gram-panchayats one by one. For collecting revenue they appointed collectors, tahsildars and patwaris, for village protection they disbanded the local units and established their own system of police-thanas. The right of dispersing justice was transferred to the district and taluka courts and because of this centralization, millions of cases kept piling up and remained undecided for generations. Similary, water resources, land and forests were declared as belonging to the government. They were only given on lease to the villagers. Likewise the decentralised systems which catered to the needs of a cluster of villages, were centralized thus reducing the villagers to the status of hewers of wood and drawers of water making them utterly poor and destitute from which the rural population of the country has not yet recovered.
Whatever little freedom is left today, is also sought to be curbed by corporatisation of agriculture, as also the retail trade in which about 45 million shopkeepers are engaged. Foreign multi-national are being allowed to start super bazaars where the retailers will be reduced to the status of their commission agents. And all this in the name of globalisation of trade and commerce. Even in the area of small and medium industries, the incentives given to the workers for excellence in their work, in sought to be taxed. The worst scenario described by Allan Carlson has already been witnessed in communist countries like Soviet Union and China. Has'nt the moment arrived to rethink about our present Constitution based on the British model of democracy, and seriously think about replacing the present centralized, urban based, high energy consumptive, capital intensive and labour displacing dispensation by a decentralised, rural oriented, low energy consumptive, employing small capital and labour intensive order, where the autonomy of the family and the villages community and their interdependence will be restored and our spiritual life-values strengthened. Making optimum use of our resources we should fulfil the basic needs of our Bharatiya society and reduce the dependency on foreign capital.
For that, the dormant intrinsic potential of the society needs to be awakened and its vast energy release. A self- confidence will have to be generated among the masses that they can do everything right from village development to the development of the most modern information and space technology, they have to borrow nothing from alien countries. By signing such international treaties which restrict and limit our capacities? Let us accept whatever is beneficial and advantageous in our ancient tradition, and there is quite a lot, mould it according to the requirements of the modern age and march towards a glorious future. This is what the R.S.S. is aiming at and all our efforts are directed towards that end. Old superstitious are crumbling and a new self-confidence is building up. Next year the Centenary of Poojya Shri Guruji is being celebrated. Many programmes are being chalked out for mass-awakening. I request you all to participate actively and enthusiastically in those events so that with the cooperation of you all we may realise the grand dream of Swami Vivekananada,
"I do not see into the future; nor do I care to see. But one vision I see clear as life before me, that the ancient Mother has awakened once more, sitting on her thorne rejuvenated, more glorious than ever. Proclaim her to all the world with the voice of peace and benediction."
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