Guest guest Posted December 29, 2002 Report Share Posted December 29, 2002 > > > AUM > > THE MARTYR MAHATMA > > > By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM > > > >The Convocation Ceremony was the crowning achievement of the first ever >experiment done in imparting education through an ancient system in modern >times.. Only a man of patience and perseverance, grit and determination of >a high caliber could have done it. And he did it. He was Mahatma Munshi >Ram. Later in life, on entering the Sanyas Ashram or the fourth stage of >life in the Varnashram dharma, he renamed himself in the ascetic tradition >as Swami Shraddhanand Saraswati.. Indeed that name motivated millions of >men and women to join the struggle for independence of India from the >British yoke. His towering image, both moral and physical, moved the >masses. The masses comprised all classes and votaries of all castes and >creeds, regions and religions. This mahatma was the magic man, although he >himself believed in no magic like his main mentor and spiritual Guru, >Maharshi Swami Dayanand Saraswati – the Renaissance Rishi.. > > > >Born on February 22, 1856 ( As per the traditional Hindu calendar the date >of birth was : Phalgun krishna trayodashi,Samvat 1913 Vikrami) at village >Talwan in Jalandhar district of the Punjab province, he was named as >Brihaspati and Munshiram. The latter was easier to pronounce and became >popular. His father, Lala Nanak Chand, was a police officer in the East >India Company administered United Provinces. The young boy, a pampered >child, moved from place to place on his dad’s transfers and was bereft of >formal education in the formative years of life. Nonetheless, he learnt a >lot in the school of life and, therefore, developed a pragmatic approach to >life’s problems and their solutions. It indeed held him in good stead in >later life when the going was tough. A little lack of attention from a busy >father and excessive indulgence in affection of a doting mother resulted in >the young Munshiram leading a wayward life. If there was a fall guy around, >it was indeed he. What a miracle that such a man reformed himself to his >finger tips and rose in stature in the public esteem to become a Mahatma. > > > >Munshiram gave the credit to Swami Dayanand Saraswati for putting him back >on the rails. Munshiram was a young boy when Swami Dayanand Saraswati had >visited Benares,now Varanasi, for the historic Shastrarth or learned >disputation with the traditional pundits. A rumour floated on the waves of >the sacred Ganges and its ghats that a magician sadhu was out in the >streets at night, holding a mashal or an oil torch in one hand and a book >in the other, to carry away youngsters. It was an anti-publicity done by >the enemies of the great Swami who had won the intellectual and religious >bouts against traditionalists mired in mirages of superstitions. The mashal >in his hand was the torch of knowledge and the book was the Vedas, the >divine revelation of mantras at the beginning of the Creation. Munshiram >missed meeting the great reformer because his father did not want such a >meeting to take place. Many years later, the same father encouraged his >wayward son in Bareilley to meet the same sanyasi for a mental and >spiritual cleansing. That was indeed a turning point in the life of >Munshiram. After a long intellectual discourse with Swami Dayanand >Saraswati there was a gradual change of heart in Munshiram. The seed sown >in the United Provinces germinated and flowered in the Punjab. Munshiram, >the fall guy, was transformed into a man with a mission who ascended the >pedestal of a Mahatma. It was also a turning point in the religious and >political history of India which was struggling for freedom from the >British Empire. > > > >Lahore, the then capital of the undivided Punjab, and Jalandhar were the >main places of action in initial years of a reformed Munshiram. He became a >successful lawyer and earned name and fame. He was quite active in the Arya >Samaj circles and took the Reformation movement seriously. He promoted >movement of education of girls in the right earnest. As a matter of fact, >when he saw his own daughter, Ved Kumari, coming under the influence of >Christianity while studying in a Christian Mission run school, he made up >his mind to wean away children of his compatriots from the external >influence by providing them good education in schools run by the Arya >Samaj. Like-minded Indians came forward to support him and the educational >mission was a roaring success .He had, however, miles to go on this road of >education. He had a vision. Educate young Indians in the Indian educational >institutions run on the ancient Vedic system. The Gurukul system of >education was the new mission of Munshiram. > > > >History too had a major role to play therein. Swami Dayanand Saraswati, who >had founded the Arya Samaj in 1875 in Bombay, breathed his last in 1883 in >Ajmer,Rajputana. The Aryas of Punjab decided to commemorate his singular >contribution to the new Awakening in India by opening a chain of schools >and colleges which would make our young men and women proud of their Vedic >Dharm, their culture and traditions and their country. The Dayanand >Anglo-Vedic School was founded in 1886 in Lahore. A young Arya Samajist >graduate, Lala Hansraj, volunteered to work as its Headmaster without >charging a single Rupee as a salary. All Aryas worked for the new venture >whole heartedly. However, some of them like Lala Munshiram and Pundit >Gurudatt felt that in the DAV School, the Anglo element was dominating the >Vedic element. The new educational venture was far away from realizing the >dreams of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. The Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Punjab went >with them. It was decided in Lahore to launch a scheme for the Gurukul >system of education. Munshiram spearheaded the movement. > > > >Money, money, money. That was both the problem and the solution. A sum of >Rs 30,000 was required to launch the project. Who would collect this >princely sum ? In the closing years of the 19th century, it was a major >amount for men and women of limited means. The new Aryas were mostly middle >class men and women in service of the government or other bodies and could >not afford to donate a large sum, notwithstanding their wish to do so. >Munshiram Ji took it upon himself to go round and achieve the seemingly >unachievable. On return from Lahore, he stayed put in the waiting room of >the Jalandhar railway station and made up his mind not to cross the >threshold of his house until the mission of collecting the amount was >completed. Indeed, a man of firm determination he was. A fine example he >was for young men and women of today to emulate. Munshiram’s mission was a >success. He succeeded in collecting a sum of Rupees 40,000.00 in eight >months. > > > >The dream came true. The Gurukul was officially inaugurated on 16 May 1900 >at Gujaranwala in the West Punjab, now in Pakistan. Twenty young boys >formed the first batch of Brahmacharis (that is how students of the Gurukul >are addressed). Among the pioneers were the two sons of Munshiram Ji – >Harishchandra and Indra. In the initial years it was the personal care and >attention of Mahatma Munshiram that overcame the teething troubles. He had >around him a devoted group of teachers and the taught. Their missionary >zeal to make the novel project a success was of immense help when the >infant Gurukul moved from Gujranwala in the Punjab to Kangri- Haridwar in >the United Provinces. In the midst of dense jungles, on the banks of the >Ganga river it was indeed an idyllic surrounding that any Rishi-Muni >running an Ashram would fall for. Of course, it had its hazards too like >the wild animals, rigours of terrain and a near absence of hospital >facility. However, the devoted and dedicated students and teachers under >the inspiring leadership of their Acharya, Mahatma Munshiram weathered it >all beautifully well. Hunger, sickness and privations of sorts were >rendered into meaningless words and phrases that existed in the dictionary >of doubting Thomases sitting in the cosy comfort of their homes in Lahore. >The jungles of Kangri and the Ganga of Haridwar gave the Brahmacharis a >soothing comfort that the Devtas dream of. > > > >Over a period of time the Gurukul became the proud alma mater of many men >who made a mark on the national scene as patriots, journalists, teachers >and writers. Each one of them had nothing but admiration for the mahatma >who steered the ship for more than 17 years at a stretch. His was >leadership of the highest caliber that a general of the army would wish for >both in peace and war. In running the show there were problems galore. The >Mahatma knew it well where the solutions lay and he lost no time in finding >them. The financial help in cash and kind came flowing in. The annual >function of the Gurukul held on 13 April, that is the Baisakhi day, drew in >men and women from all walks of life and from all regions where the word >Gurukul was heard and understood. Besides the parents and guardians who >came to have a reunion with their sons and wards, there were writers, >pressmen and booksellers too, not forgetting the detractors of the Mahatma >who excelled in finding faults where none existed. Those who came to scoff >remained to pray with the Mahatma. > > > >Mahatma Munshiram made a debut in the world of journalism with his writings >in Urdu and Hindi on both religious and social subjects. He wrote a large >number of tracts too. Propagation of the Vedic Dharm was his mission and he >never deviated from this path. Following in the footsteps of his mentor, >Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the Mahatma gave precedence to Hindi in Devnagari >script in his writings. His paper, Sadharm Pracharak, was initially >published in the Urdu language and became very popular. Later on, >notwithstanding a financial loss, he chose to change over to Hindi in the >Devnagari script which in the then Punjab was considered to be a language >of women folk alone. The Mahatma’s editorial comments on burning topics of >the day carried weight and influenced the public opinion. It would be >relevant to mention that the mahatma never followed a populist policy and >always chose to call a spade a spade. He stuck to Truth, come rain come >shine. > > > >Mahatma Munshiram entered the Sanyas ashram of his own volition. It was the >call of his conscience. In his life span of three scores and ten, half of >which he lived as a widower after the untimely demise of his devoted wife, >Shrimati Shiv Devi, he wore ochre clothes of an ascetic and lived like one >for nine years or so. He owned no property and coveted not for loaves and >fishes of any office, high or low. However, the cause of upliftment of the >downtrodden and the Shuddhi movement, that is , bringing back to the Vedic >Dharm those men and women who had strayed into other religious folds, was >very dear to his heart. He worked for both relentlessly and laid down his >life at the altar of the Shuddhi. More of that a little later. He founded >many institutions and established Arya Samajes for the upliftment of the >have-nots and the downtrodden. He was pragmatic in his approach and >lamented that many political persons paid lip service to upliftment of the >so-called Untouchables. > > > >Mahatma Munshiram dabbled with the politics of the country and the Indian >National Congress for a brief while. It was for the noble cause of India’s >independence. He surmised that it was the duty of every Indian to free the >motherland from the British rule. It was this mission that saw him leading >processions in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area against the oppressive Rowlatt >Act. In 1919 the Mahatma emerged as an intrepid leader of the masses. His >undaunting behaviour and reaction to the menacing soldiers of the Raj when >he bared his chest inviting the soldiers to fire on him first made him a >darling of the masses, both Hindus and Muslims. He went around addressing >groups of people and preached peace in that surcharged atmosphere. His son, >Indra, was by his side and has recorded those memorable events in his short >biography of the mahatma entitled “Mere Pita”(My Father). The scenes were >breath-taking. > > > >4 April 1919. Jama Masjid, Delhi. A huge congregation of Muslims had >gathered to mourn the dead and provide succor to the living patriots who >were protesting against oppressive policies of the British rulers. On the >pulpit of the mosque stood an Arya sanyasi in ochre clothes. He had been >invited by the Muslim leaders to encourage them in their mission of >freedom. The Sanyasi recited a Ved mantra invoking blessings of the >Almighty and praying for success of the just struggle. The Rigved mantra >ran thus : AUM tvam hi nah pita vaso tvam mata shatkrato babhuvith. > >Aghate sumnimahe. > >The address to the congregation ended with the words, AUM SHANTIH SHANTIH >SHANTIH. The congregation responded with the word AAMEEN. It was a perfect >scene of unity of purpose and amity among major sections of the Indian >society. How sad that it was so short lived. Who knew that the Mahatma >leading the Muslims would become a martyr at their hands. > > > >The scene changes. The dramatis personae are the Malkana Rajputs in the >mathura-Agra belt of the United Provinces. Long ago they had been forced by >the Moghuls to convert to Islam. Yet they had retained their cultural >distinctiveness. Swami Shraddhanand Saraswati saw a golden opportunity to >encourage them to return to the religious fiold of their forefathers.The >mission of Shuddhi of the Malkana Rajputs was a roaring success, >notwithstanding strong opposition of no less a person than Mahatma Gandhi >himself. Maharana of Mewar and Pundit madan Mohan Malviya rallied to the >support of Swami Shraddhanand Saraswati. The movement gained momentum. >Muslims could not bear it. They turned intolerant. One Asghari Begum of >Sind, along with her children and relatives, requested Swami Ji to convert >them to the Vedic Dharm.Swami ji accepted her request and admitted her >along with others to the Vedic fold in March 1926. She was renamed Shanti >Devi. The Muslim ex-husband of Shanti Devi fought a legal battle to take >her away to reconvert to their fold but lost. The great Swami, his son, >Indra and son-in-law, Sukh Deo were all acquitted of charges of abduction >and conspiracy. It added fuel to the fire. The social situation was >volatile. The Urdu newspapers of Muslims fanned the fire by their biased >writings. Gandhiji did little to bring in peace. His anti-shuddhi >statements only aggravated the animosity. Even the Muslim leaders of the >top echelon of the Congress party like Mohammed Ali and Shaukat Ali made >statements which were more of a hindrance than a help in bringing the two >communities together. It was rather strange that the Muslims wanted to have >unfettered rights to convert others to their creed but denied the same >right to others to convert Muslims to the Vedic Dharm or any other faith. >In their myopic policy of appeasement of Muslims the leadership of the >Congress party failed to appreciate its adverse effect on the freedom >movement. Swami Shraddhanand realized the gravity of this fallacious policy >and distanced himself from it. The Vedic Dharm was as dear to the swami as >appeasement of the minorities was to Gandhi and Nehru family. > > > >Swami Shraddhanand was at his Naya Bazar (now Shraddhanand Bazar) residence >in Delhi on 23 December 1926. He was convalescing after an attack of >bronchial pneumonia. Moreover after an exhaustive and successful election >tour in support of G D Birla, he felt a little drained out. At 4 PM came a >man of Islamic background to discuss some religious matters with the Swami. >The attendant, Dharmsingh, admitted him with great reluctance. The man, >blinded by Islamic fanaticism, whipped out a revolver, when the attendant >was away to fetch a glass of water for him, and fired two rounds at the >swami pointblank. As the attendant came in, the murderer fired the third >round at him. Swami’s secretary, Dharmpal, came running and overpowered the >assassin and held him. until the police arrived. The assassin was tried and >hanged till death. The Swami had attained martyrdom. > > > >Indra, Swami ji’s son , recalled the words that Swami ji had uttered not >long ago : > >“Yes, it is a source of contentment to me that I am singled out as the one >worthy of wearing the crown of martyrdom “. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now _______________ MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 3 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail&xAPID=42&PS=47575&PI=7324&DI=7474&SU\ = http://www.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/getmsg&HL=1216hotmailtaglines_advancedjmf_3mf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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