1. FESTIVALS: Dhanu
Sankranti is
the sankranti (transmigration of sun from one rashi – constellation to
another) related to Dhanu rashi and occurs on 16th December.
It is celebrated as Dhanu
Yatra - a colourful festival related to Bhagwan Krishna's visit to Mathura,
at Bargarh, Odisha. Different acts of puranic descriptions are performed at
specific locations and the spectators move from place to place with the
action to follow the performance. During this festival the Bhagwan Krishna
is offered sweetened rice flakes which are specially prepared in a Conical
shape.
Dhanu is also name of the month in the
Malayalam Calendar. Women celebrate Thiruvathira in this month. Thiruvathira
is supposed to be the birthday of Bhagwan Shiva. Married women and girls do
'upavasa' (fasting) on that day, and sing and dance. Girls pray to Lord
Shiva to get a good husband while married women pray for the longevity of
their husbands. -- Go Top
2. 1.6 LAKH SEVA
PROJECTS RUN BY RSS: “Seva
– Service is an integral part of sangh work and it was natural that sangh
workers came forward to help fllod affected people in Jammu and Kasmir” said
RSS sarkaryavaha Bhayya ji Joshi at the press meet on 20th October
at Lucknow where a 3-day meeting of its Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari mandal was
held. He added that over
1.6 lakh service projects are being run by swayamsevaks all over the country
in rural, tribal and urban slum areas. Replying
to a question on the issue of Ram mandir, he said, “Ram Temple exists in
Ayodhya and people worship there daily. The only issue is to make it a grand
temple. As the matter is in the Supreme Court, hence, the Centre should try
to remove the hurdle and fulfil the promise made to the people during the
elections,” He claimed that more than 1.25 lakh youth have joined the
organisation last year. -- Go
Top
3. BHARAT LAUNCHES
THIRD NAVIGATION SATELLITE: Bharat’s
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C26) lifted off with aplomb from the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota at 1.32 a.m. on 16th October
and precisely put the Bharatiya navigation satellite, IRNSS-1C into its
perfect, pre-designated orbit. This was the 28th successful launch of the
Indian Space Research Organisation.
The IRNSS-1C, the third of the seven
navigation satellites in the Indian Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), has
wide-ranging applications in terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation. From
vehicle tracking to fleet management and from disaster management to
mapping, the satellite extends services to its clients.
The IRNSS-C1 carried two types of payloads,
one for transmitting navigation service signals to the users and another
consisting of a C-band transponder to facilitate Cube Retro Reflectors for
laser ranging.
The first two satellites in the series, IRNSS
1A and IRNSS 1B were launched from Sriharikota on July 1 2013 and April 4
this year respectively. -- Go
Top
4. NANAJI BROUGHT
INTEGRAL HUMANISM IN ACTION: “Nanaji’s
thinking was out of box, he always tried to do something extra, beyond his
given responsibility. Whatever he did he did with some value addition. He
always insisted on ‘self-sufficiency’ approach. Optimum utilisation of local
resources was the basis of his vision. He perfectly blended universal
science with local technologies,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while
releasing a book on Nanaji Deshmukh in New Delhi on October 11, the 98th
birth anniversary of Nanaji.
RSS Sahsarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale,
veteran Sangh Pracharak Shri Madan Das, DRI president Shri Virendrajeet
Singh and general secretary of DRI Shri Bharat Pathak also shared the dais.
Many distinguished personalities including RSS Sarkaryavah Shri Bhaiyaji
Joshi, former deputy Prime Minister Shri LK Advani, Governor of Guajrat
Prof. Omprakash Kohli, etc were present at the jam-packed Vigyan Bhavan.
Speaking on the occasion Dattatreya Hosabale
said, Nanaji brought ‘Integral Humanism’ propounded by Deendayalji in
action. “When people are looking for models of development on Bharatiya
values the one created by Nanaji are the living examples.
-- Go Top
5. BHARATIYAS
CELEBRATE DESI FESTIVALS IN DENMARK: Vijayadashmi
was celebrated by Bharatiyas in Copenhagen on September 28 in a traditional
way, thanks to the efforts put in by members of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS)-Denmark.
The most interesting part of these celebrations was the play: Ramleela. Done
with very few props, the characters were able to convey Lord Rama's story to
the audience.
"The programme was designed for all age groups
and involved a drawing contest based on Ramayana characters and a discussion
on the main characters of Ramayana. There were 15 people in the play and we
spent more than four weekends preparing for it," said Hemant Dubey, one of
the active members of HSS-Denmark.
Dattatreya Hosabale, Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh's joint general secretary, had travelled to Copenhagen from Bharat to
attend the Vijayadashmi celebrations. "He spoke on the significance of
Vijayadashmi as well as key learnings from Ramayana for an hour, before
ending it with a moral for the children.
Apart from this event, many other events were
also organized by different Bharatiya communities. Bharatiya Mandir in
Copenhagen organised Ravana Dahan, where a small effigy of Ravana was burnt
to ashes. The Gujarati community played Garba at another event on September
27. The Bengalis organised Durga Puja on a grand scale. On October 4, the
newly formed Telangana Association of Denmark also celebrated Dasara and
Telangana state's biggest festival, Bathukamma.
-- Go Top
6. MILLENNIUM
ANNIVERSARY OF THE CORONATION OF CHOLA KING RAJENDRA I:
The 1000th year of coronation of renowned King
Rajendra I of the famous Chola Dynasty of Bharat is a matter of great pride
and inspiration to all of us. Crowned in 10I4 CE, King Rajendra I had his
rule extending not only from the banks of river Ganga to the whole of
Southern Bharat but also up-to Sri Lanka, Lakshadweep, Maldives, Myanmar,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. By virtue of his well
managed administration and a well organized military, trade, commerce, art,
culture, architecture and sculpture flourished under his reign in this
entire region.
Literature and pursuit of knowledge also
flourished in his times and several books and volumes were written, both in
Sanskrit and Tamil. During his rule, several grand temples and Stupas were
constructed in Bharat, Sri Lanka and South East Asia which stand testimony
to our living cultural heritage. It is testified from his Charter comprising
21 Copper Inscriptions with his royal insignia written in both Sanskrit and
Tamil and paying obeisance at the very beginning to Lord Vishnu which are
kept by Leiden University of Netherlands.
At the time of Mahmud Ghazni’s attack on our
north-western frontier and the turmoil of Euro-Arab conflict, King Rajendra
I provided stable rule to ensure peace, prosperity and unhindered trade in
the entire South East Asian Region to Bharatiyas, especially Tamil traders
and their trade associations. He also established diplomatic Mission in
China to promote trade.
He also set up a University for study of Vedas
and other disciplines at Ennayirum. Besides ensuring political stability, in
order to promote cultural unity and emotional integrity he sent his General
Aryan Rajrajan to bring holy water of Ganga, ceremonially received it, mixed
it with Kaveri waters and built a grand lake due to which he came to be
known as Gangai Konda Cholan [i.e. Chola who brought Ganga].
Remembering such glorious period of our
history will be inspirational to the people in the work for national
resurgence. All the people of Bharat including Swyamasevaks are called upon
to remind Bharat and the world about the achievement of the Chola king
Rajendra for providing benign rule with all round progress in such a vast
area and to ensure their support as well as participation in all the events
related to this incidence.
(Statement by RSS sarkaryavaha Bhayya ji
Joshi on the eve of meeting of ABKM at Lucknow )
-- Go Top
7. DUBAI-BASED
BHARATIYA-ORIGIN EYE SURGEON HONOURED IN LONDON: Dr.
Vinod Gauba, Dubai-based Bharatiya-origin doctor has been conferred the
prestigious Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman for his contributions to
healthcare. Dr. Gauba, 36, who has worked with the less fortunate and
visually impaired, was presented with the award earlier this month by
Baroness Verma at the House of Lords in London. He was awarded for his
pioneering role in the field of ophthalmology.
'Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman' is presented
to 20 recipients selected from over 30 million Non-Resident Indians or
people of Indian origin for exceptional achievements in various fields.
"With Dubai fast becoming the Middle Eastern
healthcare hub, we are proud to possess a premier level of expertise and
technology in the UAE, attracting patients not only from the region but from
all across the globe," Gauba said. He is based at Dubai Healthcare City, a
multi-specialty surgery centre for providing specialized eye care.
-- Go Top
8. STATE DEPARTMENT
CELEBRATES DIWALI AS GLOBAL AFFAIR: Bharatiya
tapestries, silver lamps, and traditional delicacies adorned the Benjamin
Franklin State Dining Room as Secretary John Kerry inaugurated the U.S.
Department of State's annual Diwali celebration. He lit a diya while a Hindu
priest from the Sri Shiva Vishnu Temple (SSVT) of Maryland sang Vedic hymns
amidst hundreds of well-wishers, including senior administration officials,
Ambassadors, and community leaders. "As we celebrate Diwali this evening, we
also hail the accomplishments of the many hundreds of thousands of Hindu,
Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain Americans who live now all across our country in
every community," said Secretary Kerry. "And we honor their faith and their
traditions, and the indispensable contributions that they make every single
day to our prosperity, to our freedom, and to our culture - to this new
chapter of American history that they are helping to write." Kerry was
joined on stage by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ambassador of Bharat, who
highlighted the joyous festivities taking place around the world.
On 20th October 2014, Prime Minister David
Cameron warmly welcomed British Hindu community leaders and sevaks to his
residence at 10 Downing Street, with the blessing "Shubh Diwali". At the
annual Downing Street Diwali celebration, he spoke of the valuable
contribution of the British Hindu community to British life, in terms of the
four purusharthas (human purposes) and he spoke of the vital contribution
that the Hindu philosophy of reverence for Light, encapsulated in the Diwali
celebrations, had for all people of all faiths and he wished the British
Hindu community prosperity and happiness.
-- Go Top
9. BHARAT TO BUILD
1800-KM HIGHWAY ALONG CHINA BORDER IN ARUNACHAL:
To counter China, Bharat is all set to embark
on an ambitious road project along the McMahon Line in Arunachal Pradesh.
The proposed Indo-China frontier highway will run parallel along the China
border and will be 1,800 km long.
The proposed highway will pass through Tawang,
East Kameng, Upper Subansiri, West Siang, Upper Siang, Dibang Valley, Hawai
and Vijaynagar in the bordering areas. The Government has already relaxed
environmental clearances for border area projects. “ The construction of the
road will be a huge challenge considering the rough and hostile terrain,
mostly snow-fed, through which it would pass, and will be the biggest single
infrastructure project in the history of Bharat with an estimated cost of
over Rs 40,000 crore,” Rijiju said in Itanagar.
-- Go Top
10. BHARAT IGNORES
CHINA'S FROWN, OFFERS DEFENCE BOOST TO VIETNAM: Bharat
took a decisive step towards countering China's assertive poweron 28th October
by committing to help Vietnam's defence modernization, a move that will
resonate unpleasantly in Beijing.
After his meeting with visiting Vietnamese
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Bharatiya PM Narendra Modi said , "Our
defence cooperation with Vietnam is among our most important ones. India
remains committed to the modernization of Vietnam's defence and security
forces. This will include expansion of our training programme, which is
already very substantial, joint-exercises and cooperation in defence
equipment. We will quickly operationalise the $100 million line of credit
that will enable Vietnam acquire new naval vessels from India."
For the first time, Bharat sent clear signals
that it may be willing to sell the Brahmos short range cruise missiles to
Vietnam, a long-standing demand by Hanoi. The previous Bharatiya government
was a little hesitant, citing reservations by Russia (which is a
co-developer). -- Go Top
11. MASSIVE RELIEF
AND RESCUE OPERATION BY SWAYAMSEVAKS IN CYCLONE HIT AP: The
cyclone Hudhud severely hit three districts of Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam,
Vizianagaram and Srikakulam. Although, the north-east monsoon affects every
year the coastal areas of Bay of Bengal during October-November, this year
the devastation is huge. Visakhapatnam is the worst hit city.
RSS swayamsevaks started relief and rescue
operation on October 12 itself by cutting the trees fallen across the
streets and clearing the garbage to facilitate the movement of people and
the vehicles. RSS with its several associated organisations like Jana
Samkshema Samithi, Sewa Bharati, ABVP, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Vishwa Hindu
Parishad, Bharatiya Vidya Kendram Educational institutions, etc, plunged
into service activities from the moment they could came out of their houses.
BVK College became the centre of activity for
receiving the material and disbursing to several destinations. Nearly 1,000
volunteers were engaged in the 24 hours run activity. More than one lakh
water packets, 25,000 milk packets, several packets of food, bread and
biscuits had been distributed in nearly 50 localities far and near in the
city. Similar supplies were sent to villages of the district including the
coastal fishermen villages. Several dignitaries like Minister Shri Ravella
Kishore Babu, Shri Manikyala Rao, Sri Vishnu Kumar Raju MLA, Dr K Hari Babu
MP, RDO and others visited the affected areas.
-- Go Top
12. RSS VOLUNTEERS
CLEAN MOSQUE IN CYCLONE AFFECTED VISAKHAPATNAM: Volunteers
of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) cleaned mosques in Visakhapatnam,
after cyclone Hudhud left behind a trail of destruction when it hit the
region last week.
Coordinator of Visakhapatnam region of RSS,
Ram Bahadur, said that the political leaders in the country had created a
wrong perception that RSS is against Muslims and Christians.
The volunteers were seen using electric saws
to cut trees that were fallen inside the mosque complex. They were also
cleaning the floors and removing broken glasses that were scattered
everywhere. A volunteer of RSS, Kurmit Kaur, said they were merely being
human. -- Go Top
13. WIDOWS PERFORM
LAKSHMI PUJA AT KUDROLI TEMPLE: A
large number of widows were allowed on 22nd October
to perform Lakshmi Pooja (workship) on the occasion of Deepavali in the
Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatheshwara Temple – established in the city by social
reformer Narayana Guru and renovated by Senior Congress Leader B. Janardhana
Poojary. Allowing widows to do the pooja is among a string of measures taken
by the temple aimed at social reformation. The temple has, earlier appointed
widows, a couple of them from Dalit communities, as priests.
Around 2,000 widows from Mangalore and other
parts of the state participated in the programme. They were brought into the
temple in a procession accompanied by beating of drums and other musical
instruments.
Indira, Lakshmi and Chandravati, the three
priests at the temple, performed Lakshmi Pooja that was witnessed by the
large number of widows gathered in the temple. After the pooja, widows were
allowed to perform ‘Aarati’. The women priests sat along with idols of
presiding deity on the silver chariot that was taken around sanctum sactorum
by these women three times.
This is not the first time widows have been
involved in the rituals. The temple believes in “One caste one religion one
god” philosophy advocated by Narayana Guru. Three years ago a large number
of widows performed Chandika Homa and poojas of Nava Durga idols during the
Navaratri. -- Go Top
14. BHAGINI NIVEDITA
SEWA NYAS DONATES RICKSHAWS TO PAK HINDUS: Bhagini
Nivedita Sewa Nyas Delhi, on 11th October
provided cycle rickshaws and other basic necessary things to the Hindus who
came from Pakistan. Apart from it, 25 families who came recently from
Pakistan were provided with various household things like clothes, mattress,
etc. Speaking on the occasion, general secretary of the Nyas Shri Mahavir
Prasad Gupta assured the Hindus coming from Pakistan every possible help
till they are granted citizenship in Bharat. He also applauded the support
of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharat Vikas Parishad and many other organisations
which have been helping the Nyas in this endeavour.
-- Go Top
15. MALAYSIAN
HINDUS CALL TO SAVE CENTURY-OLD VIVEKANANDA ASHRAM: An
organization of Hindus in Malaysia Hindraf recently urged the National
Heritage Department of Malaysian Government to take immediate steps to
protect the Swami Vivekananda Ashram at Jalan Tun Sambanthan, in
Brickfields.
The century-old ashram has been earmarked for
major redevelopment that will see a 23-storey residential tower with 264
units and an eight-storey car park built at the site. “Hindraf strongly urge
the National Heritage Department steps in to object on the proposed
development to protect and preserve this cultural heritage as part of the
rich Malaysian heritage,” said its chief P. Waytha Moorthy.
The statue and the ashram were built by the
Jaffna Tamil immigrants in 1904 in honour of Swami Vivekananda, who visited
Malaya in 1893. -- Go Top
16. BHARATIYA ARMY’S
EASTERN COMMAND TURNS 94: Army's
biggest operational command - the Eastern Command - responsible for military
operations along the international borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China,
Myanmar and Nepal, turned 94 on 31st Oct.
The Eastern Command will continue to strive
for "unparalleled professional competence to ensure the highest standards of
operational readiness", Lt. Gen. M.M.S. Rai, general officer
commanding-in-chief, said on the occasion at its headquarters at Fort
William Kolkata.
The Eastern Command was formed Nov 1, 1920,
with its summer headquarters in Nainital and winter headquarters in Lucknow.
The command was designated as Eastern Army in April 1942, and its
headquarters moved to Barrackpore. The Eastern Command theatre consists of
three distinct geographical regions - the mountainous sectors of Sikkim and
Arunachal Pradesh in the north, the jungle-clad hill tracts of Nagaland,
Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya in the east and the south, and the
plains of Assam and Bengal.
Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw, who led the
Bharatiya Army to victory in 1971 was one of Eastern Command's illustrious
commanders. Besides the current army chief, Gen. Dalbir Singh and his
predecessors Gen. Bikram Singh and Gen. V.K. Singh, others who have headed
the Eastern Command are Gen. P.P. Kumaramanglam, Gen. A.S. Vaidya Gen. V.N.
Sharma, all of whom rose to army chief.
-- Go Top
17. NATIONWIDE BLOOD
DONATION CAMP OF VHP: 1 LAKH UNITS COLLECTED: In
an overwhelming response to nationwide blood donation camp of VHP on 2nd November
, thousands of youth donated blood across Bharat, crossing a collection of a
total of 100,000 units of blood across the nation. The blood donation drive
was organised by VHP and its youth wing Bajarangadal to commemorate the
Golden Jubilee year of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
VHP Chief Dr Pravin Togadia inaugurated VHP
blood donation drive at Karolbagh of New Delhi. ‘In Karnataka 62 blood
donation camps were held in which nearly 6000 units of blood collected’,
said VHP leader Gopal Nagarakatte.
-- Go Top
18. BHARATIYA COP
WINS UN’S FEMALE PEACEKEEPER AWARD: A
Bharatiya police inspector has been named recipient of a prestigious
international female peacekeeper award by the UN's police division for her
"exceptional achievements" in her duty with the UN mission in Afghanistan.
Inspector Shakti Devi of the Jammu & Kashmir
Police, currently deployed in the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA),
has been awarded the International Female Police Peacekeeper Award 2014.
Devi has been honoured for her "exceptional
achievements" in leading the establishment of Women Police Councils in
several parts of Afghanistan. She has also contributed to the improvement of
the status of female police and has effectively helped the police of
Afghanistan move towards achieving their goals of fully adopting democratic
principles of policing.
The award was delivered during the
International Association of Women Police (IAWP) conference held earlier
this month in Winnipeg, Canada. -- Go
Top
19. BHARAT - BORN
SCIENTIST AWARDED WORLD FOOD PRIZE: Bharat
-born Mexican scientist Sanjaya Rajaram has been presented with the
prestigious World Food Prize 2014 for his agricultural research that led to
a remarkable increase in world wheat production building on the successes of
the Green Revolution. "It is a collective achievement, rather than that of a
single person," Rajaram told while accepting the award at the Iowa State
University in USA. The award "honours the innovative spirit of farmers", he
said adding that "without their contributions, my research wouldn't have
been possible".
By crossing winter and spring wheat varieties
-- which were distinct gene pools that had been isolated from one another
for hundreds of years -- he created wheat varieties that are disease- and
stress-resistant and adaptable to diverse geographical regions and climates.
In 2007, Norman Borlaug called Rajaram "the greatest present-day wheat
scientist in the world". Borlaug is known as the father of the Green
Revolution. -- Go Top
20. SHRI VISHWA
NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri
Ravikumar, sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag, is on a tour to Australia. Shyam
Parande, secretary Sewa International is on a short tour to Mauritius. Shri
Saumitra Gokhale, samyojak Vishwa Vibhag, Dr. Ram Vaidya, sah samyojak &
Ravikumar would reach Bharat on the occasion of World Hindu Congress in
November. Visitors: Vikram
Sharma – USA, Nicola Brown
– UK -- Go Top
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Sandalwood
perfumes even the axe that hurls it down! The more we rub sandalwood against
a stone, the more its fragrance spreads. Burn it, and it wafts its glory
through the entire neighbourhood. Such is the enchanting beauty of
forgiveness in life. – Swami
Chinmayananda -- Go Top
JAI SHREE RAM
RENDEZVOUS WITH A VISIONARY
Asim Kumar Mitra
I just cannot remember the day. But I can
definitely recall that on that day Eknathji (Shri Eknath Ranade) was coming
to Kolkata from Chennai by a morning flight. I went to the airport to
receive him. We were heading towards Vivekananda Kendra Karyalaya. All of a
sudden Eknathji asked me, “What do you think? What should I do now?”
So sudden was the question, I was taken aback.
If a giant personality like Eknathji asks such a question to a most junior
worker like me what should I say? I had no answer for a moment. Then I
thought when Eknathji was assigned the work of Vivekananda Memorial, he was
Sarkaryavah of RSS and as a Sangh swayamsevak we have been missing him. So
much so, the time before the country (1971 or 1972) was also bad so I said
we hardly can afford to miss you any more from the Sangh work.
It was my honest and spontaneous reply. As a
seasoned ‘karyakarta’, Eknathji immediately read my mind and started
explaining the situation. By that time the first phase of the work of
Vivekananda Memorial work was over and the then President of India VV Giri
had inaugurated the grand memorial of Swami Vivekananda. In a way, the job
assigned by Shri Guruji to Eknathi was successfully done. Now, puting
forward a question to one and all of his acquaintances was obvious. What is
the purpose of setting up of a temple? Should it not become a centre of
activities to fulfill the ideal of ‘Serve people, serve God’?
Answer was there in the question itself. But a
junior person like me failed to understand that. Because my mind was swayed
by the idea that RSS is doing this job. The idea of comprehensive upliftment
of the society is very much there in the fabric of RSS ideology and its
work. Why then a separate organisation is at all necessary? Then Eknathji
went on at length to give me a piece of his mind. I was not quite convinced.
Confusion about this was prevailed in my mind for quite some time. Then I
had gone through a report of Eknathji’s lecture on this very subject at
Bangalore and I was totally convinced by listening his point of view. Let me
quote some portions of that lecture. He said:
“Some people ask, ‘Could this stone-structure
alone be a fitting memorial to that great patriot saint?’ To them I may
humbly say that I myself have never been much of a believer in merely
putting stone upon stone. The real urge in the Committee workers, including
me, to work out the present memorial-plan springs forth from their faith and
confidence that this granite structure would not only be an abiding source
of great inspiration to posterity, but should also provide a nucleus a round
which, over a period, great activities which the Swamiji preached and
envisaged would spring up.
“Kanyakumari is a place, which may be
considered as great symbol of purity and unity. It is a meeting point of
three oceans. If the Sangam at Prayag is sacred because of the mingling of
the holy waters of the three sacred rivers, this holy spot is a Mahasangam
where the waters of the Ganga and Sindhu, Narmada and Goda, Krishna and
Kaveri ultimately meet in the form of those three oceans the Gangasagar, the
Sindhusagar and Hindu Mahasagar.
The place is, in a way, a meeting point of the
East and the West also Standing at the topering end of our country, at
Kanyakumari we can notice the disc of the sun rising from the sea in the
East and taking a dip in the sea in the West.”
“It is again the meeting point of the North
and the South. The Goddess Kanya stands there at the southern most tip of
our land, with a garland in Her hand to meet Her Lord, Shiva, whose abode is
in Kailash, in the regions of the northernmost Himalayas.
“What a unique symbol of unity and purity! I
have faith and confidence that the great memorial that is taking shape at
that holy spot will, in times to come, generate a powerful current of
Swamiji’s thought and will envelop the entire country.”
This lecture of Eknathji led me to understand
him from altogether a different angle. His vision was so clear at the same
time so down to earth as people of Bharat were eager to accept without any
hesitation and time has proved its perfectibility. I was associated with the
construction of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial at the very initial stage i.e.
from 1963 to 1970. I visited Kanyakumari in the year 1963 as Eknathji wanted
me to go there to get first hand experience.
Eknathji used to tell one thing that the idea
of setting up of a memorial for Vivekananda would be successful only when
mass participation in the construction work was assured. He said, through
one-rupee coupons money should be collected so that even a poor man could
participate in this Mahayajna. Mrs. Kamal Basu, wife of late Jyoti Basu,
former Marxist chief minister of West Bengal, collected more that eleven
thousand rupees by selling One-Rupee Coupons and deposited them to
Vivekananda Rock Memorial Fund.
Eknathji was a perfectionist. When the
question of constructing the bronze statue came he had engaged almost all
the famous and renowned sculptors of the country. While engaging them he did
not give any undertaking as to whose sculpture would be set up at the
memorial temple on the rock. He only said the committee which was assigned
to do this work selects the statue to be set up there at the Shilamandir. In
Calcutta, he engaged Shri Debi Prasad Roychoudhury who was world famous
sculptor and whose sculptures of Gandhiji or Freedom Movement of India were
set up there in Calcutta, Delhi, Patna and many other places. Eknathji asked
me to regularly visit the house of Shri Roychoudhury to watch the progress
of the work and report it to Eknathji. Whenever I went to his house, Shri
Rouchoudhury used tell me, “It was a mystery that I had accepted the
proposal put forward to me by Eknathji. You know this proposal itself was
derogatory for me as it had put me on the same rank of other general
sculptors, which I was not. But Shri Ranade must have some kind of spiritual
power by which he influenced me.” The fact remained that the statue made by
him was not put up at the Shilamandir at Kanyakumari. But it was placed
somewhere else and in that case Eknathji abided by the condition of contract
rules.
Eknathji had faced two almost insurmountable
hurdles. Those hurdles were put up by (1) Prof. Humayun Kabir, Central
Cultural Affairs minister and (2) Shri Bhaktavatsalam, the then Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu. Both were very tough personalities. How Eknathji
managed those two guys is an interesting history. Recently, some 4/5 months
back at a meeting held at Chhatubabur Rsjbati, retired Justice Shyamal Sen
of Calcutta High Court, while mentioning the role of Chpalakanta
Bhattacharya, former editor of ‘Ananda Bazar Patrika’ and Congress MP said
Chapalababu was of great help to Shri Eknath Ranade in collecting signatures
of Members of Parliament in support of constructing the grand temple of
Swami Vivekananda at the rock at Kanyakumari. Eknathji was in Calcutta at
that time to organise opposition against the comment of Humayun Kabir as
“temple on the Rock would spoil the scenic beauty”.
Swami Sambuddhananda was the General Secretary
of Ramakrishna Mission at that time. He asked Debu Maharaj who was looking
after the press section of the Mission to accompany with Eknathji and help
him out in this campaign. The Press of Calcutta had given all out support to
the cause of Vivekananda Temple at Kanyakumari.
In Calcutta the sentiment about Swami
Vivekananda was tremendous. But the work started by the Vivekananda Rock
Memorial at Kanyakumari under the leadership of Shri Eknathji was unknown to
them. At the same time Eknathji himself was also not so much acquainted with
the prominent personalities of Bengal. Hence he chalked out a unique
programme of writing personal letters to all those important personalities
regularly apprising them of progress of the work at Kanyakumari.
Apart from this, every time he came to
Calcutta he used to meet the chief minister, Mayor of Calcutta, sometimes
the Governor of Bengal and the leaders of different political parties and
social organizations. Personalities like the great historian Dr. Ramesh
Chandra Majumdar, Speaker of state assembly Keshav Chandra Basu, Principal
Dr. Amiya Kumar Majumdar, Bharat Maharaj of Belur Math and several other
Swamijis of Ramakrishna Mission etc. Before his visit to Calcutta, every
time he used to write letters to all those expressing his desire to meet
them.
I know these things because as Calcutta
Representative Eknathji used to keep me informed by sending copies of those
letters to me. I am fortunate enough to get to work with such a visionary as
a representative in Kolkata.
(This year is the birth centenary of
Eknathji Ranade. The writer is Kolkata based senior journalist)
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