?Ganga Jale Ganga Puja?, while worshipping river Ganga, devotees offer Ganga water as part of ritual to Goddess Ganga.
One has to borrow Dattopant Thengadiji'swords while assessing his personality. Said Thengadiji:
?Time horizon of a politician is five years.
That of a statesman is ten years. And of a seer is hundred years.?
Thengadiji belongs to the category of Seers or Risis?Lok Sangharsa Samiti
In 1975, Indira Gandhi having lost her election case in Allahabad High Court imposed emergency and banned R.S.S. activities. She put political leaders including Jai Prakash Narain, Morarji Desai, and Balasaheb Deoras and thousands of people inside the prison. Lok Sangharsa Samiti was formed under the leadership of Nanaji Deshmukh to fight against the tyranny of Indira Gandhi. In Orissa, I was asked to carry forward the activities of Lok Sangharsa Samiti. On September 9, 1975, I came to Kolkata to meet Dattopant Thengadiji who took the responsibility of Lok Sangharsa Samiti by resigning from B.M.S. (Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh).
We mostly of B.M.S. met Thengadiji at night secretly. At the end of discussion on emergency and Indira Gandhi'sdictatorship etc., Thengadiji told us that Indira Gandhi'sadministration would collapse after seventeen months. ?Is it astrology?, I asked. Thengadiji replied that after keenly observing the functions of a government one could predict when the functioning of that government would come to grinding halt. The reasoning Thengadiji advanced was that a dictator must have a team of faithful executors who follow dictates of dictator unhesitatingly. Indira Gandhi lacked such a team besides such other factors. Since Mrs. Gandhi at her age could not inculcate the attributes of a dictator the government would fall within sixteen months, told Thengadiji and he simply gave her the grace period of thirty days. Indira'sfall was inevitable, not depending upon our struggles. Thengadiji further told, ?If you want to record your names in the fight against emergency you may agitate and court arrest.? Thus we were relaxed and gravity of the situation got diluted and everybody started talking about the current events like George Fernandes'sexplosives rendered ineffective without proper activists and Marxists declaring their helplessness as their very survival was at stake etc.
BAIKAL?Largest sweet water lake in world
Thengadiji narrated how at Baikal lake in Russia sunrise and sunset occurred within some hours. So it was never total darkness there. This prompted Hiren Mukherjee CPI-M.P. to say ?Baikal? was an Indian word since in Russian language it was mere name having no relation with cosmic phenomenon.
Thengadiji'sworks
?Whether function precedes organ or organ precedes function?? questioned Thengadiji and sought an answer. Almost entire ancient literature in Sanskrit he read for years and then took up studying western literature and made comparative analysis, elucidated existing divergences and deciphered road maps. Integral Humanism a Study, written by Thengadiji is a masterpiece where he excels and makes contribution to the theory enunciated by Deendayalji.
Dialectical materialism versus Anasakta Yoga a treatise of 1200 pages written by a professor was in his table for comments. ?When he gets time to examine this? asked me the Professor at 57-South Avenue. ?On Revolution? another book written by him was distributed among underground activists during emergency period who out of frustration wanted to resort to violence. This book contained all coup d?etat, armed struggles, mass upsurges held around the world and its consequences. Rastra and a number of books written by Thengadiji reveal his insight and approach in perfection.
Thengadiji and his washerman
Thengadiji'sintelligence did not deter him to come down to the level of his washerman. In fact, I had to move with him more than two km in South Avenue under scorching heat at 2 pm., when he visited his washerman, shoe maker, barber etc., in their thatched houses. Once in a year Thengadiji used to meet those persons in their (jhopri) houses.
Thengadiji'spatience
Scholar worker he was, gifted with rare intuition. Vishnu Shaharsa Nama he used to recite in spare time. He was in Puri Express to arrive at Cuttack in the morning. He wanted to sleep. But the fellow passenger went in talking non-stop. Thengadiji opened up ?Illustrated Weekly of India? to avoid fellow passenger'stalks. The first couplet he found was written thus, ?My candle is burning at both the ends ????.? Thengadiji patiently waited till midnight for the passenger to stop talking.
Conclusion
The western source and course is dried up and reached its end. Those who perceive Integral Humanism as an alternate theory and suffer from stagnancy should follow Thenadiji to usher in an alternate model, which the world needs today for its survival and sustainability.
Thengadiji'sgenius was ahead of his time and he is aptly called ?Rashtra Rishi?.
(The writer is an All India Co-Convenor (SJM), can be contacted at E-mail: saroj.mitra@rediffmail.com)
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