Rajju Bhaiya

I have distinct childhood memories of him. He looked like my father. He would also have occasional lunch or dinner at our place during his visits to Ballia.

It was his name that warmed your heart even before you could have seen him in person. 'Rajju Bhaiya' - these words exuded warmth. His name and his personality were a perfect match. There was an air of fatherly benevolence about him.

He was a great teacher. He gave ideas that could transform your life from the ordinary to extra-ordinary, if not in deed certainly in terms of your thinking.

Some people attribute a lot of bad things to the RSS. It is believed to be a communal organization that organizes riots and threatens the minority communities. I disagree with this view. An organization that had leaders like Rajju Bhaiya cannot be bad. He was one of the finest of human beings I have ever met.

And he gave me a Mantra, very early in my life, that remains imprinted on my mind. If I ever did something significant and constructive in my life, this Mantra would have much to do with that.

I was hardly 7 or 8 year old. I was too young to be the Mukhya Shikshak (Chief Instructor) of an RSS shakha. However, I would be accorded the privilege of attending the Baithaks ( Meeting of small groups of 'Swayamsevaks') of Mukhya Shikshaks, taken by senior RSS functionaries like Rajju Bhaiya, mainly because of two reasons. I was a hyper-active kid worker of the RSS. I was also the only son of district's RSS chief and would spend my time either attending the Shakha or playing carom and reading books at the RSS office apart from going to school. Rajju Bhaiya was a Prant Pracharak of Uttar Pradesh then as far as I remember.

It was one of those Baithaks of Mukhya Shikshaks at the RSS office where Rajju Bhaiya talked and elaborated upon this Mantra. It was a simple idea, easy to be comprehended even by a seven year old. He asked all of us if we knew the reasons why we had so many Indians who won Nobel prizes and became known for their thoughts and deeds the world over in pre-independence era. We did not have a clue. He finally gave the answer.

He said that before independence we had these people who looked beyond their small families and were genuinely concerned about the problems of entire society. This expanded their vision and capabilities and they grew into great men and women.

I got the whole idea instantly. If I just work for the welfare of my family, I would be limiting the possibilities of my personal growth to the extent I can satisfy its limited needs. Suppose I have to look after the needs of my district, I will have to work harder and the possibilities of my growth will be greater. Now, if I look at the whole of country as my family...

And suppose I consider the whole world as my family, it will be an opportunity for an unlimited growth of my personality.

It was a mind boggling idea.

These words were being spoken to a group of young lawyers, petty traders, students, and others, who lived in a small insignificant UP town like Ballia. We were being exhorted to develop a world vision and to excel in whatever we did.

This is what Swami Vivekanand expected the educated class of India to do even at the cost of their personal salvation - to impart life building ideas to the people. Rajju Bhaiya was doing exactly that.

He still lives for me in the form of the Mantra he imparted to me way back in 1964. His words would continue to shake me out of my lethargy and mediocrity.
 

Rajesh Kumar Singh