Our Lal Bahadur Shastri

Lal Bahadur Shastri was a noteworthy figure in the freedom struggle. He was humble and broadminded. He was filled with inner strength. Steadfastness was his personality. He had faced the mountain of sorrow. He had neither an elegance body nor wealth to meet his basic needs even in his adolescence.He had remained without food for a month because he had no money to purchase food. As he could not afford the fare of a boat, he had to swim across the Ganga River to attend school. He had to lose one of his sons due to lack of money. But, he was bahadur (brave) as his name suggested. He not only tackled all his obstacles but also became the Prime Minister of India.

He was born on 2nd October 1904 at Mugalsarai. He came from a pauper family. His father was Shri Sharada Prasad and mother was Smt. Ram Dularee Devi. His father departed when Lal Bahadur was a child. It resulted into the worst economical condition of the family.

He studied at Varanasi. Mahatma Gandhi went Varanasi in 1911 during Non cooperation movement. Gandhi jee convinced the young to play a part in the freedom struggle of India. At just sixteen, Lal Bahadur also gets motivated and joined the movement. He was sentence to the rigorous imprisonment for 2 years. Later, at Kashi Vidyapith he was awarded a bachelor’s degree or shastri which became part of his name. When India got her independence, shastriji held several Union Cabinet port folios. He added a new dimension to the Railway ministry, Commerce and Home Ministry. He resigned as a railway minister after he felt responsible for a major rail accident in Tamilnadu. This extraordinary wave was greatly appreciated by the country. He became Prime Minister on 9th June 1964 after the demise of Jawajar Lal Nehru. Though he remained only 18 months in this post, the country developed in every aspect under his prime ministerial tenure. He did much praiseworthy work. Problems such as Indo-Nepal relationship, language dispute of Assam and the theft of holy hair of Hazarat in Kashmir etc were solved by him diplomatically. He showed consummate guts in taking a speedy resolution to attack Pakistan in self-defense in 1965.

He is well-known for the saying “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”. He wanted the safety and the prosperity of the country. Hence, he chose the soldier and the farmer as the national builder masses.

Pakistan’s aggression into Kashmir was ended in Pakistan’s defeat and the ceasefire in Tashkent signed by Shastrijee and Ayub Khan on 1966. Shastri died in Tashkent soon after signing the treaty. He was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1966. The country lost her great son. All his life time he was known for his honesty, simplicity and humility. We have several lessons to learn from his life history.

Our Swami Vivekanand

“Arise! And Awake! Stop not till the goal is achieved.”
                                                                -- Vivekananda

It was Swami Vivekananda who revived the greatness of Hinduism and the Motherland. He was an infinite dynamic reformer, a great orator and a natural spiritual leader. He worshipped energy and vitality. In the words of Nehru,” Rooted in the past and full of pride in India’s heritage, Vivekananda was yet modern in his approach to the problems and was a kind of bridge between the past of India and her present.”

Swami Vivekananda was Narendra Nath Dutta in his early days. He was born in the famous and affluent Dutta family in Calcutta on Monday, 12th January 1863. His father, Vishwanath Dutta was a well-known lawyer and took delight in the study of the Bible and the poems of the Persian poet, Hafiz. Narendra’s mother, Bhuvanaswari Devi was a very intelligent and pious lady with exceptionally intelligence and possessing royal dignity. The influence of the mother in the formation of the character and development of personality is always very great. Narendra learnt the Epics and Purans from his mother.

Whenever a sadhu came to his door; he would be delighted and would give him anything he found. He was the soul of social circles, a brilliant conversationalist, a sweet singer, a man with philosophical insights and leader in all creative activities. Purity of character was always with him. He had a monastic instinct underneath the surface of the gay life he seemed to live. So whenever his father urged him to marry, he rebelled and the idea was abandoned. He was restless in search of the ultimate Reality or God. For that he met a good number of spiritual thinkers and scholars and wanted to know if they had seen God and found the ultimate Reality. At last, the principal of the General Assembly’s Institution (now Scottish Church College), Hastie suggested him to meet with Sri Ramakrishna. Naren visited Ramakrishna and asked straightway if he had seen God. He replied in affirmative and said that he could even show God to him. This naturally took Naren by surprise. Later he started to receive spiritual guidance from him. When Ramakrishna passed away in 16th August 1886 because of cancer, he began to live together with other disciples of Ramakrishna. He founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897. This mission has probably alleviated human sufferings and spread education to a great extent. He traveled extensively throughout India. He was appalled to see the conditions of the rural people- superstitious, half-starved and victims of caste-tyranny. He attended the Parliament of Religions at Chicago in September 1893 to represent Hinduism. He made a tremendous impression. The press paid him the highest tributes as an exponent of India‘s age old value. It was the highest pride and the climax of international acclaim that he brought for his country. All the national leaders became aware of the strong and weak aspects of India. Rabindranath Tagore once told Romain Rolland ‘If you want to know India, study Vivekananda.’

The message that he preached was remarkable and scientific. He believed in a root and branch reform. He wanted the masses educated. What made him great was that he sought man before seeking God. He had great affection for Indian women. He stated that an Indian woman was living embodiment of universal motherhood. He gave a human interpretation to Vedanta. In short, he was a remarkable humble man. He left this world on July 4, 1902 but his ideals will ever lead the world to reach the Ultimate Reality.