RSS is my soul: Vajpayee

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Alexandravrnparker <vrnparker > wrote:

VFA-family, friend vijai <friend_vijai> wrote:"The

Sangh is my Soul"(by Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee)I came in contact with the RSS

in 1939 through Arya Kumar Sabha, a youthbranch of Arya Samaj, in Gwalior-then

a princely state which was notpart of any province. I came from a strong

'sanatani' family. But I usedto be at the weekly 'satsang' of Arya Kumar Sabha.

Once Shri BhoodevShastri who was a senior worker of Arya kumar Sabha, and a

great thinkerand an expert organiser, asked us: "What do you do in the

evenings?""Nothing", we said, because the Arya Kumar Sabha used to meet in

themorning on every Sunday. Then he recommended us to go to the shakha.Thus I

started going to the Shakha in Gwalior. It was my firstassociation with the

RSS. At that time the shakha in Gwalior had

justbegun. It had only Maharashtrian boys, and naturally all theswayamsevaks

used to speak only Marathi. I started going to the shakharegularly. I liked the

games played in the shakha as well as the weekly'bauddhiks' (intellectual

discourses).A pracharak, Shri Narayanrao Tarte had come from Nagpur to start

theshakha. He was indeed a superb human being; a very simple man, a thinkerand

an expert organiser. What I am today is the making of Shri Tarte.Next to him I

was inspired by Deendayal Upadhyaya and Bhaurao Deoras.Gwalior was then not

within the field of Bhauraoji. But once he had cometo Gwalior with Shri

Balasaheb Apte who was the then Bauddhik Pramukh.Apteji was very soft-spoken.

We were soon drawn towards him. I hadtalked with him for only a few minutes.

But the same year (1940) when Iwent to see the first year Officers' Training

Camp (OTC), I came inclose contact with him. I went there just to

attend the valedictoryfunction of the camp, not for training. Dr. Hedgewar had

also come therefor the some time. I first saw him there. When Doctorji was ill

I wentto see him. In 1941 when I was in High School I did my first year OTC.In

1942 when I was in Intermediate class I did my second year OTC, and Idid my

third year in 1944 when I was doing my B.A.When I wrote 'Hindu Tan-man Hindu

Jeevan' I was a student of class X.After completing my graduation from Gwalior

I did my M.A. from the DAVCollege in Kanpur, because there was no post-graduate

college inGwalior. I then got State Government's scholarship also. Owing

toPartition, I could not complete my Law. And then in 1947, I decided togive up

my studies to come out as a whole-time worker of the RSS. Till1947 I did the RSS

work at the shakha level and carried on my studies. Ialso participated in the

Quit India Movement in 1942 and was jailed.

Iwas then studying for my Intermediate examination. I was arrested frommy native

village Bhateshwar in Agra district. I was then 16.My father was not attached to

the RSS, but my elder brother was. Hewould go to the shakha. Once he went to the

winter camp where he createda problem. He said: "I cannot take my food with the

other swayamsevaks.I shall prepare my food myself." And see how deftly the RSS

handled thesituation. The 'sarvadhikari' (superintendent) of the camp complied

withhis request and provided him all the necessary thing for preparing hisfood.

After taking his bath and properly adjusting his sacred thread,etc., he started

cooking his food. On the first day he prepared the foodfor himself. the next

day, however, he could not prepare it and joinedthe queue of all swayamsevaks

for partaking of the food. Within 44 hourshe was changed.The RSS does not

change only

individuals. It changes also the collectivemind. This is the beauty of the RSS

ethos. In our spiritual tradition anindividual can attain a great height. Even

self-realisation is possibleif one undertakes the right 'sadhana' and also

attain 'nirvana.' Butwhat about the society? Nobody thinks about his obligation

to thesociety in general. Now for the first time the RSS thought about it

andconcluded that by changing individuals we shall change the society. Hadthe

sarvadhikari at the camp scolded him and not allowed him to preparehis food

himself his spiritual development would have been thwarted,whereas in the RSS

within 44 hours he was a changed boy. This is the"secret method" of the RSS.

That is how society is changed. It is truethat it is a long process but then

there are no short-cuts, no instantrecipes.Gandhiji had praised the RSS for the

absence of untouchability in theorganisation. Only

the RSS organises the society. Other movements onlydivide the society by

emphasising distinct 'identity', different'interests', special 'status', etc.

They only encourage untouchabilityby constantly reminding the so-called

untouchables of their"separateness.You are being insulted. You have no place

in society."The RSS has a two-fold task before it. One is to organise the

Hindus. Tobuild a strong Hindu society, well-knit and rising above caste and

otherartificial differences. Some differences will persist but then varietyis

the spice of life. Like, we have the differences of the language. Wedon't want

to destroy this diversity. The other task is to assimilatethe non Hindus, like

Muslims and Christians in the mainstream. They canfollow the faith of their own

conviction. No one can object to it. Weworship trees, animals, stones, and what

not. We have hundreds of waysof worshipping God. They

can go where they want. But this country mustbe looked upon as the Motherland

for them. They must have a feeling ofpatriotism for this country. But the

Islamic division of the world into'Darul Harab' and 'Darul Islam' comes in the

way. Islam has yet to learnthe art of existing and flourishing in a country

where Muslims are in aminority. They cannot convert the whole of India to

Islam. After all,they have to live here. So they have to recognise this fact.

And todayit has become a matter of grave concern and deep thinking in the

Muslimcountries. Because Quran offers no guidance in this regard. It onlytalks

of killing kafirs or converting them to Islam. But they cannot doit always and

everywhere. How can they do it where they are in aminority? If they try to do

it, a major clash will take place and onlythe members of the minority will be

killed. But Muslims themselves haveto change this state of

affairs. We cannot change it for them.Congress has not correctly understood the

Muslim problem. They continueto carry on their policy of appeasement. But to

what effect? The Muslimsof this country can be treated in three ways. One is

'tiraskar' whichmeans if they will not themselves change leave them alone,

reject themas out compatriots. Second is 'puruskar' which is appeasement,

i.e.,bribe them to behave, which is being done by the Congress and others

oftheir ilk. The third way is 'parishkar' meaning to change them, that

is,restore them to the mainstream by providing them samskaras. We want tochange

them by offering them the right samskaras. Their religion willnot be changed.

They can follow their own religion. Mecca can continueto be holy for the

Muslims but India should be holier than the holy forthem. You can go to a

mosque and offer namaz, you can keep the roza. Wehave no problem. But if

you have to choose between Mecca or Islam andIndia you must choose India. All

the muslims should have this feeling:we will live and die only for this

country.I wrote "Hindu Tan-man Hindu Jeevan" when I was studying in the

tenthclass. I had then said, "koi batlaye Kabul mein jaakar kitni

masjidentodin." I still stand by my words. But we (Hindus) did pull down

thestructure in Ayodhya. In fact it was a reaction to the Muslim vote-bank.We

wanted to solve this problem through negotiation and legislation. Butthere was

no puraskar for burai (evil act). We change burai also withparishkar. Now I

think, the Hindu society has been regenerated which wasthe prime task of the

RSS. Earlier Hindus used to bend before aninvasion but not now. This change in

Hindu society is worthy of welcome.So much change must have come with the

new-found self-assertion. This isa question of self preservation. If the Hindu

society does

not expanditself it will face the crisis of survival. We have to expand

ourselves.We have to take others along with. Now the Yadavs and the

so-calledHarijans are going with us. After all we have to live as Hindus. Once

aYadav leader came to me and said: "Don't condemn all Yadavs. All Yadavsare not

with Mulayam Singh and Laloo Prasad. A 'samskrit' (cultured)Yadav does not like

them. There can be sections of Rajput, Kurmi andGujjar Muslims but you cannot

find any Yadav Muslim anywhere. The Yadavsnever accepted Islam. This talk of

"Yadav-Muslim" Unity - MY card - isnothing more than an empty slogan for

votes."The simple reason for my long association with the RSS is that I likethe

Sangh. I like its ideology, and above all I like the RSS attitudetowards people,

towards one another which is found only in the RSS. Iremember an incident, when

I was in Lucknow. The Socialist movement wasits peak. Suddenly a

senior socialist activist fell ill. He was lyingalone in his house, and nobody

went to enquire after his well-being.Then Acharya Narendra Deo came to know and

he went to his house to seehim. The Acharya then said, "What fraternity is this

in the SocialistParty? Nobody has come to see you. It can never happen in the

RSS. If aswayamsevak does not go to the shakha only for one day the same

dayfriends will promptly reach his house to enquire about his well-being."When

I was ill during the Emergency, my family members did not turn upto see me.

They were afraid of being arrested for any such action. Onlythe RSS workers

helped me. See, how much living contact and fraternalfeeling is in the RSS.

Actually the Sangh is our family. We are all one.In the beginning we could not

spread our work in all sections of thesociety because we did not have enough

workers. "Man-making" is theprime job of the RSS. As we now

have more workers, we are covering allsections of the society in all fields of

life. Changes are taking placein all spheres. But the work of man-making will

not be discontinued, itwill go on. It must go on. That is what the RSS movement

is.Post message: hssnjUn:

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