Reminiscences by M.G.Vaidya

During JanamShati Parva of Ma. Eknathji Vol 43 Feb 2014 I have seen Eknathji since I was a bal-swayamsevak of Mohite Shakha. I still remember that he was a student when he became the officer of Nagpur’s Ganesh Peth Shakha (branch). I also remember that he was an expert player of Kabaddi (in those days the game was called hu-tu-tu). He had played for a team in the hu-tu-tu tournament organized by a gymkhana (vyayam shala) near Mohite Wada at Nagpur. Late Man. Balasaheb Deoras was his team member. Probably “Samarth Mandal” was the name of the team. Eknathji had acquired a B.A. (Honours) degree in Philosophy (in those days this degree was treated as equivalent to M.A.) from Hislop College, Nagpur, an institute run by Christian missionaries. Later, he set out to work as a Sangh Pracharak. Initially he was the Prant (province) Pracharak of Mahakoshal. Chhattisgarh, in those days, was a part of Mahakoshal. Later it was included in Madhya Pradesh. Internal Conflict / Storm During all this period I never got an opportunity to talk to him. It was after 1950 that I came into direct contact with him, after the ban on RSS was lifted. From 1950 an internal storm had begun to arise. Earlier it was only in the form of whispers, but after 1952 it became quite evident and vocal. The reason behind this ideological unrest was very clear. India had gained freedom on August 15, 1947. In a pledge taken in Sangh it was said: “I have become a part of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to acquire independence for Hindu Rashtra.” It was therefore necessary to make changes in these words. But just five months after independence, on the pretext of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, a ban was imposed on RSS in order to destroy it. The ban was later lifted on July 12, 1949. This was followed by many desirable changes. After independence a thought had sprung up in the minds of some swayamsevaks. According to them there was no need to run shakhas daily since freedom had been achieved. After 1952 this whisper became louder. There was a feeling that Sangh should start and involve itself in social work. Another thought was that Sangh should enter direct politics. An example of the first thought was presented in Pune by Shri Madhu Dewal and Shri Appa Pendse, two competent pracharaks. Shri Dewal formed a committee in Sangli district at Mhaisal village for the upliftment of the Harijans, whereas Shri Pendse founded “Jnana Prabodhini” in the field of education. In Nagpur some people even went to the extent of establishing a parallel Sangh. During this tempestuous period, Shri Eknathji Ranade and Shri Madhavrao Muley were among the senior pracharaks who stood firmly by Guruji. Sangh’s Ideological Stand In this changed scenario, Shri Guruji made Sangh’s fundamental stand clear. First in 1954 at Sindi (District Wardha) before the pracharaks of the country. The brainstorming continued for a week. Later in 1960 at Indore he explained the same before a larger number of swayamsevaks, and again in 1972 at Thane before an even larger gathering of swayamsevaks and karyakartas. In the week-long meeting at Thane, besides the senior members of Sangh, leaders of all allied organizations of RSS were also present. The gist of all these lectures was that RSS is an organization of the entire Hindu community, not an organized gang. There are various fields in society like politics, religion, education, industry, agriculture etc. Similarly there are various components of society like women, labourers, students, tribals, farmers etc. Therefore organizing the entire society means organizing all these components. RSS will be in and beyond all these sectors. It will be superior to these because its domain will be the entire society — that means the whole country. Eknathji was one of those workers in the front row who strongly endorsed and advocated this ideology. Sarkaryavah of RSS Man. Eknathji served as Sangh’s Sarkaryavah for six years, from 1956 to 1962. During this tenure, Man. Shri Guruji’s birthday was celebrated throughout the country. Funds were also collected. With these funds all the debts accumulated during the period of the ban were paid off. I still remember an event from those days, though I am not sure of the exact year. Probably it was around 1953. I was the main master in an OTC at Pune. There I met a swayamsevak from Nagpur who had come to Pune to complete his post-graduation in Psychology. Prior to that he had worked as a Pracharak in Mahakoshal for two years. He asked me some questions about the system for Pracharaks. I said, “I was never a Pracharak, hence I won’t be able to tell you anything about this. Please contact Shri Eknathji.” “Will Eknathji meet me?” he asked. “Why won’t he?” I replied. Accordingly I arranged his meeting with Shri Eknathji. Eknathji asked him, “Whom do you believe in RSS? Tell me the name of the person. I will talk to you after that. You should obey till you agree with me.” To this he replied, “I don’t believe anybody.” Eknathji then told him, “I will not talk to you. Nobody can bring changes in RSS by rebelling from the bottom. Only through mutual trust and communication can a way be proved.” An Event All the workers of Vivekananda Kendra are aware of how Eknathji toiled for the Vivekananda Smarak at Kanyakumari. How he managed to get the signatures of Members of Parliament and submitted the paper to Lal Bahadur Shastri, and how he sought the cooperation of society for collecting funds — workers know this entire history. There is no need to repeat it. But I would like to narrate an incident that indicates how Eknathji won people’s hearts. My niece joined Vivekananda Kendra as a Jeevanvrati. During her training at Kanyakumari she fell in love with a young man. Eknathji noticed this and told them: “I am ready to arrange your marriage. You can still work for Kendra after that — but on one condition. You must not be in touch with each other for the next three years.” Both agreed to this condition. My niece was sent to Pasighat, on the banks of the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh, and the young man was sent to Bangalore. Both of them followed Eknathji’s condition very strictly. When Eknathji later came to my home, he narrated this incident to me. I told him, “Let me assure you that the girl’s father will not be against this wedding. You may rest assured.” In due course of time both of them were married. Man. Eknathji himself was present at the wedding. This was the first ever incident of a married couple working as karyakartas for Vivekananda Kendra. Eknathji was a visionary who could think comprehensively about people and society. Needless to say, he was a staunch patriot and a great religious and social worker. The Shila Smarak at Kanyakumari and the various social activities run all over the country by Vivekananda Kendra are sufficient proof of Eknathji’s inborn and supreme qualities.