Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s motivation for social work
Anil Vyas
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded to unite the Hindu community in our country. The work of the Sangh is to build a person with patriotic character through the Shakhas (Branches) and solving all the problems of the society through such persons. Every Swayamsevak always tries to put into practice the idea that “the Sangh will do nothing, but the Swayamsevaks will not Leave Anything”. In one of the songs of the Sangh, it is said that –
दाही दिशांना जावू फिरू, मेघासम आकाश भरू।
(Daahi dishanna javu phiru, meghasama akash bharu)
(We) will go in all Ten Directions (everywhere), Will pervade the Sky like Clouds!
अथक निरंतर परिश्रमाणे, या भूमीचा स्वर्ग करू।।
(Athak nirantar parishramane, ya bhumicha swarga karu)
With continuous untiring hard work, will make this land a paradise.
The prayer of the Sangh mentions the Overall upliftment of the Hindu Rashtra. The concept of Hindu Rashtra encompasses all Hindu society. Necessary social work is expected for this. In the prayer of Sangh, Prosperity (Abhyudaya) and Unconditional (Nishreyas) thoughts are presented and it is mentioned that परंवैभव नेतुं एतद् स्वराष्ट्रम (ParamVaibhav Netum Etad SwaRashtram)- ‘We will lead Our Nation to Supreme Prosperity’. Various efforts will have to be taken to make all this happen and to make all the elements of the country Happy and Prosperous. The Sangh is always at the forefront of all these efforts.
The initial period of 20-25 years of the Sangh was spent in spreading and inculcating Sangh ideology all over the country. However, in this period, especially from the work of Dr. Hedgewar, the actions in the form of seeds, seem to have taken a huge form today. The work done during the floods on the Damodar River in Kolkata in year 1913, the planning made during the Ram Navami of Ramtek in 1926, are some examples illustrating the direction of the social work of Dr. Hedgewar.
Everyone who considers this land as motherland (मातृभूमि) and holy land (पुण्यभूमि) is a Hindu. All of us are the children of this Mother India. The great form of it is that we are the Children of Mother India. This relation fosters the brotherhood amongst all of us. Our Family System (कुटुंबव्यवस्था Kutumb Vyawastha) is unique in the Universe. Once this concept is clear, then the motivation to help each other as a brother explains the motivation behind the social work of the Sangh. In the manner in which the mother of the family is ready to do anything for her children, the Swayamsevaks of the Sangh work with motherly love, without any expectation in return, with their body, mind and money, throwing themselves in the various calamities that befall the society and nation.
Various sections of the society need to get some minimum facilities to live a happy life. If all these needs cannot be met on its own, then the society needs to fulfil these needs. For example, if one of the child from all the children in a family has a physical or mental disability, the mother will naturally make different efforts for that particular child. In the same way, service work is designed to meet the Basic Needs of various sections of the society. One of our songs describes this meaningfully as,
समान अवसर मिले सभी को, कोई भी न उपेक्षित हो।
(Saman avsar mile saabhi ko, koi bhi na upeksht ho)
सभी स्वस्थ, शिक्षित, संस्कारित, समर्थ और सुरक्षित हो।
(sabhi swastha shikshit sanskarit samarth aur surakshit ho)
Let everyone get equal opportunity, none should be neglected.
Everyone should be healthy, educated, cultured, capable and safe.
The aim is to provide equal opportunities to the community members for whom such services are rendered by meeting their present needs and then to lead a self-reliant, self-respecting life and give back to the society. But there is no such restriction. For example, if a child’s education cannot be completed due to various reasons, the hostels make them understand it well. In future, when these children develop natural capabilities, they start doing something for society.
There are two aspects to the social work. To solve the problems those arise immediately. Deeds done in crisis like deeds done during floods, droughts or the current corona, accidents, etc. In such cases, immediate assistance is provided to the affected persons and a long-term plan is implemented to rehabilitate the affected people. Numerous examples can be given in this regard. Killari earthquake near Latur, work in Maalin village near Bhima Shankar, last year’s floods in Kolhapur-Sangli are recent examples. The work done during the Partition period across the country and the service done during every war are other similar examples. However, since the birth centenary of Dr. Hedgewar in 1989, the Sangh started the service work to solve the problems faced by various sections of the society in their daily life. More than one and a half Lakh Service Projects run daily and weekly are meeting various needs of the society.
These services are carried out by studying various problems in the country and preparing a plan of action at the local level. They are mainly divided into four sections. These include education, health, self-reliance and community service. More than 50 types of services such as ritual classes, hostels, mobile science laboratories, health guards, weekly-daily clinics, medical literature centres, adolescent development, counsellingcentres, women’s self-help groups are providing basic services to the needy and helping them to become self-reliant.
Through its service work, the Sangh is reaching out to all corners from the hilly areas of the country to the local slums and the common households of the urban areas, and fulfilling the needs of the society with a sense of duty. The sense of duty towards our brothers is the inspiration for the social work of the Sangh.
(The Author is SevaKarya Pramukh of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Seva Projects in the Pashchim Maharashtra.)
