The Direct-Live Spiritual Link

MS Golwalkar, deeply influenced by the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition, epitomised both spirituality and nationalism-dedicating his life to India's civilisational resurgence and nation-building with unwavering fearlessness and selfless commitment

- ANIRBAN GANGULY

To anyone who reads Sri Guruji's talks and addresses on Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda it becomes evident that he spoke from a deep and direct knowledge of the Ramakrishna movement and of its essential philosophical and spiritual foundations.

For Sri Guruji, this was obviously not a mental construct or a superficial absorption. It had evolved and had emerged from a process of direct initiation and immersion he had undergone at Sargachi.

HVSeshadri, in a brief analysis of Sri Guruji's life, writes that 'apart from having an extraordinary ability to mobilize people and mould their lives and his organizational ability', Sri Guruji's 'extraordinary mental acumen enabled him to merge his personality entirely in the national life'. To Seshadri, Sri Guruji had succeeded brilliantly in fulfilling Vivekananda's dream of seeing workers for India's rise emerge in waves.

"The greatest gift of Sri Guruji," writes Seshadri, "was the casting of brilliant young men committed to serving this nation in the mould of Swami Vivekananda's firebrand life."

When prodded once on why he had first gone over to the atmosphere of Sri Ramakrishna Ashram from the Sangh and then returned to the Sangh work, 'leaving the Ashram', and had he not seen that the 'atmosphere of the Sangh was different from that of an Ashram?

Golwalkar, who was usually reticent to speak on this personal dimension of his life, replied that it was Dr Hedgewar, better than him, who 'could speak with authority [on] whether there is any difference between the atmosphere of the Sangh and that of an Ashram... Making one of those rare remarks about oneself, Sri Guruji observed that there was no dichotomy, no separation, no divorce or segregation between the ideals of the Sangh and its work and that of the message and mission of Swami Vivekananda.