“Netaji sacrificed his life for the country. Netaji never saw selfishness. He could have lived a luxurious life, but he chose exile–he had to go out of the country, went to jail and formed an army to fight for independence. His life was nothing but a penance (tapasya) and he worked selflessly for the country,” said Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat addressing a special event on January 23, 2023, on the occasion of Parakram Diwas.
The event named ‘Netaji Loho Pronam’, which means ‘Netaji please accept our respect’, was organised by RSS Dakshin Bang Prant to pay tribute to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his 126th birth anniversary in Kolkata, which is also his birthplace.
“We never did justice to Netaji. Swami Vivekananda had once said his speech in Lahore that we needed young people. Guru Gobind Singh sacrificed everything in his life, fought wars, his four sons were killed, he was killed too. He got nothing but indifference from the same people whom he sacrificed everything for. But he never complained anything against them, and worked selflessly. The only person who had all the qualities of what Swami Vivekananda had described was none other than Netaji Subhash Chanda Bose,” Sarsanghchalak said.
Dr Bhagwat said, “There were people who were against him and had different ideologies, but despite of having such a big army, he didn’t fight inside feud to oust them. And that’s why even after many years of independence Netaji’s legacy is still alive without even making any efforts. Still, he is in our remembrance and we call him Netaji as he guided each and every one as an unmatched true leader.”
“For the country’s welfare, he went to any extent and fought wars. Despite being the commander of the army, he led the army from the front with shoulder to shoulder like a common soldier. He undertook the daunting task of challenging the mighty British empire by forming a new army. Such was his calibre. If luck was with him, he could have entered a long way deep inside our country. Together with the other freedom fighters in the country, they could have set the country free a long time back. So even though it is our duty to pay tribute to Netaji, but we should instil Netaji’s qualities in ourselves to complete unfinished work of Netaji’s dream of making India great is incomplete. We all have to work hard to fulfil it,” he added.
Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat further said, “When we want to do something, we have to reach a destination. The path and direction to the destination can be different as per the time, situation and circumstances. But the object and destination doesn’t change. Subhash babu (Netaji) was first associated with the Congress and followed its path of ‘satyagraha’, and ‘nonviolent andolon’, but when he realised that this was not enough and there was a need for an Armed freedom struggle, he worked towards it. Paths differed but the goals were the same. Therefore, it is the goal or object what is most important. And one should have the quality to cross the barriers in the path towards the destination. And the destination fulfil Netaji’s dream. Sangh is constantly following the same principle like all other great personalities who selflessly work hard to make India a great nation to contribute to the world. That is bring peace and prosperity to the whole world maintaining without encroaching into anyone’s freedom and individuality.”
“Netaji had said India is an Immortal nation. It cannot ever come to end. India taught ‘Dharma’ to the world. This ‘Dharma’ is not religion, but the philosophy of Unity by respecting all. Netaji said that India is a smaller version of the world and India has to provide relief to the world. If we solve the problems of India, then we can solve all problems of the world.”
“Netaji said that since losing independence, we started putting self before nation. We have had so many different types of cultures, food, languages, religions, and physical appearances in India, but despite all these, we remained United since ancient times. But we lost our rich cultural identity and started fighting within ourselves. We became divided, and the invaders took advantage of it. But the time has come to instil in our hearts that we have put ‘nation first’, before all self-interests and prosperity.
In Sangh, we pray every morning where Bharat Mata comes first, even before the Gods. And our prayer end with Bharat Mata too.
“Although we got our freedom, but the work is not over yet. British no longer rules us, we govern ourselves by our elected representatives. But based on our true heritage and culture we have to create a remarkable India so that our country can lead the whole world to the avenue of peace and prosperity. We have to follow the philosophy of Netaji for building the nation by instilling good qualities in ourselves, keeping interest of the nation before self and following the disciplined life.”
