The aim of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is to bring supreme glory to our country. It is remembered in the daily prarthana (prayer) – Param Vaibhavam Netum Etat Swarashtram. To attain supreme glory, society has to be organised. The present majority of the Hindu society seems to be engulfed with a false sense of higher and lower status , alienated from one another, scattered due to caste-based discrimination, and divided by vices like untouchability. All social reformers like Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Swatantryaveer Savarkar, etc. have given priority to the effort to make Hindu society flawless. For all of them, inculcating qualities in the Hindu society to be called as a ‘society’ in a true sense was the core concern. Individuals in Hindu society suffer from narrow-mindedness of ‘me and mine’.
Recognising that making the Hindu society flawless and organised is the first condition for achieving the Supreme Glory, which includes independence, prosperity and contentedness for all, the Sangh decided to organise the Hindu society as its work.
The goal of Sangh is “Param Vaibhav (supreme glory) and for that Hindu Sanghatan (organisation)”. The words Hindu Sanghatan encompass all the ideas of social reforms.
Organising Hindu society is not an easy task. It is a test of courage. Organising Hindu society is even more difficult than weighing a live frog.
Hindu society is so riddled with divisions that even if our lives are over, unity will remain far from being achieved. Disappointment and despair will prevail.
Even though it may seem impossible, it is imperative to do it. We need to create an organisation of dedicated karyakartas who will be consistent, will not get discouraged, and will not give up midway.
Sangh Shakha is run to produce karyakartas adept in organisational skills. The Sangh has adopted the name “Swayamsevak” for them. The meaning of “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh” can be briefly explained as follows – Rashtriya means Hindu, Sangh means society, and those who have taken up the task of organising the Hindu society are Swayamsevaks.
The goal of Sangh is “Param Vaibhav (supreme glory) and for that Hindu Sanghatan (organisation)”. The words Hindu Sanghatan encompass all the ideas of social reforms
The concept of organising the entire Hindu society is not easy to grasp. The concept of organisation of a caste, same language speakers, farmers, labourers, Congress, BJP are easier to understand. The concept of organisation of all-inclusive Hindu society was not proposed by anyone else except Dr Hedgewar. The resolve to organise a ‘virat’ society, consisting of villagers, city-hill-forest dwellers, rich and poor people spread across six lakh villages and speaking different languages, is miraculous. Doctor considered it as divine work. His life till the last breath exemplified this work. Hundreds of karyakartas have sacrificed their lives keeping his ideal in front of them. The most revered Sarsanghchalak Shri Guruji, Balasaheb Deoras, Professor Rajendra Singh ji, Honorable Sudarshan ji have put forth the same ideal before everyone.
What qualities are necessary in swayamsevaks who set out for the seemingly impossible task of organising a Hindu society, must have been the subject of deep contemplation for the Sangh founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. He was acquainted with many people working in public life – Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Maharishi Yogi Aurobindo, Trailokyanath Chakraborty, Bhai Parmanand, to name a few.
Generally, those who looked after the arrangement of programmes for a convention were called ‘Swayamsevaks’ – the literal translation of volunteer. The concept of ‘Swayamsevak’ in Dr Hedgewar’s mind was completely different.
- Organising means connecting people. We must connect, not divide. Connecting is difficult! A ‘Swayamsevak’ should be selfless, having affinity towards the entire society, without any discrimination in mind then only this connecting is possible.
- One needs to visit home to connect with an individual. One has to develop a nature of approaching a stranger’s place.
- One needs to find time to reach out to new people. One needs to be able to complete other responsibilities in the shortest amount of time and give maximum time to the organisation.
- Should be soft-spoken, a man of few words and ability to listen to others .
- Should work with a resolve.
The work of organising the Hindu Samaj is a test of courage. The work has to be done continuously with the mindset of Kaaryam vaa saadhayet deham vaa paatayet (Either will complete the work or will sacrifice the
earthly body.
This same legacy has to be passed on to the next generation. Five Sarsanghchalaks came after Dr Hedgewar and the work is going on continuously and regularly. Doctor Ji evolved the ‘Shakha’ method of functioning that can materialise the idea of ‘Swayamsevaks’ he had in mind.
The Shakha begins with obeisance to the bhagwa dhwaj and ends with veneration to Bharat Mata. No image of any deity or person is kept in the Shakha. The dhwaj is accorded the highest place. All are equal in front of the flag, there is no place for any kind of high-low, educated-uneducated, urban-rural, and other discriminations. ‘Everyone holds Bharat-Mata as the only Goddess to be worshipped’. ‘The readiness to sacrifice everything for Bharat Mata means Swayamsevak’ – This desire of Swayamsevak – Patatu Eshah Kaayah – sacrificing this life – is expressed in daily prarthana- Bharat Mata is the worshipable deity, Society is God and the Bhagwa Dhwaj our ideal. This is the structure of the Sangh Shakha. There is no place for ego and selfishness.
One hour is fixed for the Shakha. Utilisation of each minute of this hour is carefully planned. One becomes successful in his work when one achieves coordination of body-mind-intellect. A personality that pulls the intellect on one side, the mind on the other and the body and senses on the third side will not be integrated one. One will always experience a dual state of mind. The planning of one hour is generally as follows.
The first five minutes are for Dhwaj Vandan, and the last five for Bharat Mata Vandan. Forty minutes are for physical activities like sports, Surya Namaskar, Yoga, Samata, Sanchalan etc. A weekly schedule is set for ten minutes every day for bauddhik or intellectual activities.
Sports make the mind happy, enthusiastic, and eager to win. The feeling of I will win is important in life. The ambition to win and move forward in society is necessary.
An attempt is made to instil discipline in the Swayamsevaks through yoga, samata (drill), sanchalan (route march) etc. The ‘arbitrariness’ of bodily senses is reduced. The body remains under the control of our mind.
Surya Namaskar is considered to be a beautiful full-body exercise in all aspects. It combines seven asanas and pranayama. Surya Namaskar creates a healthy, hardworking body.
Shareeramaadyam Khalu Dharma Saadhanam (In order to fulfill our dharma, first start with the body) is a famous maxim. Ten minutes are designated for intellectual activities. Discussions on topics such as loyalty to Hindu society, the disturbed state of current society, lack of unity, essential efforts to create a sense of harmony, giving time for it, etc. are held.
The intellectual activity is in the form of telling short motivational stories that convey qualities of affinity for society, bravery, valour, character, service, dedication, etc. Patriotic songs are sung collectively in the Shakha. Swayamsevaks get immersed in singing the songs. The daily prarthana is an integral aspect of the intellectual dimension as it provides the thought process for being a Swayamsevak.
The volunteer who conducts or leads the Shakha is called the Mukhya Shikshak (Main Instructor). A slightly older Swayamsevak who helps him is called the Shakha Karyavah (Secretary of the Shakha). Gana Shikshak (group instructor) are appointed according to the categories of the participants such as child, student, youth and adult. Some Shakhas also take place separately according to these categories such as Child, students, professionals and elderly. Groups of 5-7 Swayamsevaks are formed in the Shakha. Each group has a Gata Naayak (group leader). The Gata Naayak goes to the house of each Swayamsevak in his group and gets acquainted with the family members. Organisational skills begin with the Gata Naayak.
Planning skills are developed from the Shakha level itself and going into minute details becomes a habit.
Due to planning skills and ingrained discipline, Swayamsevaks carry out tremendous tasks very easily. These qualities are clearly seen during disasters; be it an earthquake, flood, storm or corona pandemic.
In the meantime, the Ganga Mata-Bharat Mata Yatra took place. Fifty thousand kilometers were travelled, punctuality was kept, and there was no confusion in the arrangements anywhere. The Indian Express daily column described it as ‘military precision’. The All India convener of the entire program was respected Moropant Pingle, who had been a Swayamsevak since childhood.
The personality of honourable Eknath Ranade, who took every step with the confidence of a winner and who made the Vivekananda Shila Smarak (Rock Memorial) a reality, was created by the Sangh Shakha. Eknathji did not just sit back and relax after erecting the Smarak. Inspired by Swami Vivekananda, he established a university for the proper training of the youth committed to social service. Hundreds of karyakartas trained at the Vivekananda Kendra are contributing in unifying the society across the country.
In the early days, many Swayamsevaks from Nagpur and Maharashtra left their homes to expand the Shakha work in other prantas (provinces), in unknown territories. Rajabhau Paturkar and Madhavrao Mule in Punjab, Vasantrao Oak in Delhi, Shri Bhaurao Devras and Nanaji Deshmukh in Uttar Pradesh, Madhusudan Dev in Bihar, Baburao Paladhikar in Odisha, Dadarao Paramarth, Dattopant Thengadi and Yadavrao Joshi in the South are just a few names to mention. Where would they have slept? When would they have eaten? Their ingenuity and planning, their affinity to each individual, their perseverance, are truly remarkable. And this was possible due to the process called Shakha.
Today, 80000 Shakhas are functioning to nurture such Swayamsevaks. The following sentence is seen in the literature of Swami Vivekananda. “I am in search of such individuals, such man making machines. Man with capital M.” What was his expectation from the people of the country when he was saying this? I want intelligent and courageous youth who will enter the jaws of death, who will swim across the ocean of unfathomable. I want the flame of fulfillment of aspiration burning in their hearts. I want youth who are ablaze with the radiance of holiness, who have the auspicious armour of faith in God, whose muscles and nerves are pulsating. I firmly believe that thousands of young men and women with immense compassion for the downtrodden will travel from Himachal to Kanyakumari. They will call for liberation, service and social upliftment and all kinds of equality and this country will rise from the ashes with manliness”.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Sangh has made efforts to realise Swami Vivekananda’s above ideas of national resurgence in the form of a Shakha system, keeping in mind the objective of ‘Man making that is Swayamsevak in making’.
