Poojaneeya Guro mahathman sweekarikkuka pran pooja...

Our World Mission

It is a matter of common experience that it is only by developing one's unique characteristics that man rises to his full stature, and enjoys bliss and happiness. So, to seek harmony among the various characteristics has been our special contribution to the world thought. Thus, in short, we stand for a harmonious synthesis among nations, and not their obliteration.

It is clear, therefore, that the mission of reorganizing the Hindu people on the lines of their unique national genius, which the Sangh has taken up, is not only a great process of true national regeneration of Bharat, but also the inevitable pre-condition to realize the dream of world unity and human welfare. For, it is the grand world-unifying thought of Hindus alone that can supply the abiding basis for human brotherhood, that knowledge of the Inner Spirit which will charge the human mind with the sublime urge to toil for the happiness of mankind, while opening out full and free scope for every small life-speciality on the face of the earth to grow to its full stature.

This knowledge is in the safe custody of Hindus alone. It is a divine trust, we may say, given to the charge of the Hindus by Destiny. And when a person possesses a treasure, a duty is laid upon him to safeguard it and make it available for the welfare of others. If he fails in that supreme duty, he ruins not only himself but also others. Hence the sacred duty of preserving the Hindu society in sound condition has devolved upon us.

How can we say that it is the Hindu society alone that can fulfill this grand world mission and none else? History had recorded that it is in this land alone that, right from the hoary times, generation after generation of thinkers and philosophers, seers and sages rose to unravel the mysteries of human science of realization of that Great Unifying Principle. The penance and sacrifice and experience of hundreds of centuries of a whole nation is there as the inexhaustible fountain-head of this knowledge to assuage the spiritual thirst of the world.

Further, it was not mere dry knowledge confined to the intellectual speculations of a few thinkers sitting in their forest hermitages. It was a living thought driving our ancestors - thinkers, administrators, merchants, scientists, artistes and philosophers - to reach distant lands carrying that message of world brotherhood. Wherever they stepped, they taught the local people the spiritual and cultural values of life, taught them the sciences of material prosperity as well and built up a homogeneous brotherhood of nations under their benign wings. Our Hindu society - strong, self-confident and self-effulgent - acted as the fulcrum of that far-flung empire of the Spirit.

Our arms stretched as far as America on the one side - that was long before Columbus 'discovered' America! - and on the other side to China, Japan, Cambodia, Malaya, Siam, Indonesia and all the South-East Asian countries and right up to Mongolia and Siberia in the North. One powerful political empire too spread over these South East areas and continued for 1400 years, - the Shailendra empire alone flourishing for over 700 years - standing as a powerful bulwark against Chinese expansion.

During all these centuries, there were neither uprisings by the local people nor their exterminations which would have been the inevitable result if there been the slightest sign of domination or exploitation by a foreign people and a foreign culture. On the contrary, those people were grateful to us. That stands in glowing contrast to the bloodstained pages of the history of expansion of Islam, Christianity and now Communism and of the various 'world conquerors' produced by other countries. Even to this day, the basic life-pattern of many of those people is Hindu. They bear Hindu names. We find so many Hindu faces all over there, proud of their Hindu heritage, even though many of them are now Muslims by religion.

However, today such a glorious heritage is being condemned and brushed aside by its own children. It has become a fashion these days to deride our ancient ideals and traditions and talk of recasting our society in the mould of other modern 'isms'. But such attempts at supplanting our life-pattern by another, paying no heed to the natural blossoming of our innate character, can only result in degeneration.

It is inevitable, therefore, that in order to be able to contribute our unique knowledge to mankind in order to be able to live and strive for the unity and welfare of the world, we stand before the world as a self-confident, resurgent and mighty nation. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has resolved to fulfill this age-old national mission by forging, as the first step, the present-day scattered elements of the Hindu society into an organized and invincible force, both on the plane of the spirit and on the plane of material life.

The Downfall of the Hindus

The very first thing that strikes us about ourselves is that we all belong to a great people called Hindus numbering 30 crores, who dwell in this land of Bharatvarsha and on whose account the country is known as Hindustan. The Hindus were once one of the most powerful and leading nations of the world, and covered with all glory and greatness. In the past, so long as no foreign power polluted the soil of this land, we lived in peace and plenty. We had a galaxy of mighty empires, unequalled religious philosophies and enduring social fabrics. We had great thinkers and statesmen, heroes and warriors, among us, with great armies at their command. But how is it that the same people today have lost all this power, glory and freedom? Many thinking minds attribute the fall and decay of the great Hindu nation of the past to various causes that strike them. Some of them say that the foreigners were too powerful for us to defeat and were well equipped with men and material. They were armed with superior weapons and had more powerful armies, well trained and well disciplined than the Hindu forces. In short they believe that our downfall was not due to our own inherent weakness and degradation but to the superior forces of the foreigners who descended upon this land to destroy our way of life.

The motivation of freedom movement

The Bhagavad-gita is universally renowned as the jewel of India's spiritual wisdom.
It is is also known as Gitopanisad & is the essence of Vedic knowledge & one of the most important Upanisads in Vedic literature.

Spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead to His intimate disciple Arjuna, the Gita's 700 concise verses provide a definitive guide to the science of self realization.

The purpose of Bhagavad Gita is to deliver mankind from the nescience of material existence. No other philosophical or religious work reveals, in such a lucid & profound way, the nature of consciousness, the self, the universe & the Supreme.

Vinoba Bhave, (1894-1982), the great spiritual leaders and social reformers of modern India, was a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. Founder of the Bhoodan, or land-gift, movement, seeking donations of land for redistribution to the landless, said :

"The Supreme Lord of the Gita confirms the faith of each and grants the rewards each seeks....No matter what we revere, so long as our reverence is serious, it helps progress."

"Hinduism gives its followers complete freedom. It does not insist on any particular discipline or prayer. Religion has to release us from bondage. The only imperative commandment it can have is to ask us to purify ourselves. Hinduism has emphasized the need for inner purity. Indian civilization and culture has shown a tremendous capacity for assimilation and absorption. If Hinduism becomes narrow, we shall be destroying our precious heritage. "

Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) freedom fighter, great Sanskrit scholar and astronomer. He was an ardent patriot and a born fighter. He has been called the Father of Indian Nationalism. He is the author of The Orion and The Artic Home in the Vedas in English and of Gita Rahasya in Marathi. He was the fearless editor of the two leading newspapers of the Deccan - the Kesari and the Mahratta. He suffered imprisonment thrice - one of them a rigorous one for twelve months in 1897 and deportation to Manadalay .

His contribution to modern India stands on par with that of Mahatma Gandhi's. Proclaimed to the nation, "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!" Wrote his famous commentary on Bhagavad-Gita, the sacred book of Hindus.

He stressed that Gita taught Karma (action), nothing but action. Religion or spiritual message were secondary and the need of the hour was to arise and fight. This was Lord Krishna's message to Arjuna.

He explained: "The most practical teaching of the Gita, and one for which it is of abiding interest and value to the men of the world with whom life is a series of struggles, is not to give way to any morbid sentimentality when duty demands sternness and the boldness to face terrible things."

(source: The Soul of India- By Amaury de Riencourt p. 301).

Jagdish Chandra Bose (1858-1937), a pioneer of modern Indian science, combined ancient Indian introspective methods with modern experimental methods to demonstrate "the universal livingness of matter" or the "omnipresence of Life in Matter."

Modern science thus endorsed the ancient Upanishadic truth that the entire universe is born of a life-force and is quivering with a touch of animation. His work represents the triumph of spirituality over extreme materialism.

C. Rajagopalachari (1878-1972) popularly known as "Rajaji" was a great patriot. He was a scholar, a statesman, and a linguist. A contemporary of Mohandas Gandhi, he was also free India’s first Governor General. Perhaps his most signal accomplishment was his thoughtful rendition of the Mahabharata and Ramayana in English, making the stories and wisdom contained in those classics available to a new generation of English educated Indians. In his book Ramayana, Rajaji captures for us the pathos and beauty of Valmiki's magic in an inimitable manner.

He spoke eloquently of the Upanishads.

"The spacious imagination, the majestic sweep of thought, and the almost reckless spirit of exploration with which, urged by the compelling thirst for truth, the Upanishad teachers and pupils dig into the "open secret" of the universe, make this most ancient of the world's holy books still the most modern and most satisfying."

(source: The Discovery of India - By Jawaharlal Nehru Oxford University Press. 1995. pg 90).

"The Mahabharata has moulded the character and civilization of one of the most numerous of the world's people. How? By its gospel of dharma, which like a golden thread runs through all the complex movements in the epic; by its lesson that hatred breed hatred, that covetousness and violence lead inevitably to ruin, that the only conquest is in the battle against one's lower nature."

Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) most original philosopher of modern India. Education in England gave him a wide introduction to the culture of ancient, or mediaeval and of modern Europe. He was described by Romain Rolland as ' the completest synthesis of the East and the West.'

He was a brilliant scholar in Greek and Latin. He had learned French from his childhood in Manchester and studied for himself German and Italian sufficiently to study Goethe and Dante in the original tongues. He passed the Tripos in Cambridge in the first class and obtained record marks in Greek and Latin in the examination for the Indian Civil Service.

This is what Aurobindo said in his book, India's Rebirth (ISBN 2-902776-32-2) p 139-140.

"Hinduism.....gave itself no name, because it set itself no sectarian limits; it claimed no universal adhesion, asserted no sole infallible dogma, set up no single narrow path or gate of salvation; it was less a creed or cult than a continuously enlarging tradition of the God ward endeavor of the human spirit. An immense many-sided and many staged provision for a spiritual self-building and self-finding, it had some right to speak of itself by the only name it knew, the eternal religion, Santana Dharma...."

" The people of India, even the "ignorant masses" are by centuries of training are nearer to the inner realities, than even the cultured elite anywhere else"

“The Gita is the greatest gospel of spiritual works ever yet given to the race."

In his famous Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo summed up the whole problem in these words:

We will use only soul-force and never destroy by war or any even defensive employment of physical violence ? Good, though until soul-force is effective, the Asuric force in men and nations tramples down, breaks, slaughters, burns, pollutes, as we see it doing today, but then at its ease and unhindered, and you have perhaps caused as much destruction of life by your abstinence as others by resort to violence. Strength founded on the Truth and the dharmic use of force are thus the Gita’s answer to pacifism and non-violence. Rooted in the ancient Indian genius, this third way can only be practised by those who have risen above egoism, above asuric ambition or greed. The Gita certainly does not advocate war ; what it advocates is the active and selfless defence of dharma. If sincerely followed, its teaching could have altered the course of human history. It can yet alter the course of Indian history."

The Gita is, in Sri Aurobindo’s words, “our chief national heritage, our hope for the future.”

Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) most original philosopher of modern India. Education in England gave him a wide introduction to the culture of ancient, or mediaeval and of modern Europe. He was described by Romain Rolland as ' the completest synthesis of the East and the West.'

He was a brilliant scholar in Greek and Latin. He had learned French from his childhood in Manchester and studied for himself German and Italian sufficiently to study Goethe and Dante in the original tongues. He passed the Tripos in Cambridge in the first class and obtained record marks in Greek and Latin in the examination for the Indian Civil Service.

This is what Aurobindo said in his book, India's Rebirth (ISBN 2-902776-32-2) p 139-140.

"Hinduism.....gave itself no name, because it set itself no sectarian limits; it claimed no universal adhesion, asserted no sole infallible dogma, set up no single narrow path or gate of salvation; it was less a creed or cult than a continuously enlarging tradition of the God ward endeavor of the human spirit. An immense many-sided and many staged provision for a spiritual self-building and self-finding, it had some right to speak of itself by the only name it knew, the eternal religion, Santana Dharma...."

" The people of India, even the "ignorant masses" are by centuries of training are nearer to the inner realities, than even the cultured elite anywhere else"

“The Gita is the greatest gospel of spiritual works ever yet given to the race."

In his famous Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo summed up the whole problem in these words:

We will use only soul-force and never destroy by war or any even defensive employment of physical violence ? Good, though until soul-force is effective, the Asuric force in men and nations tramples down, breaks, slaughters, burns, pollutes, as we see it doing today, but then at its ease and unhindered, and you have perhaps caused as much destruction of life by your abstinence as others by resort to violence. Strength founded on the Truth and the dharmic use of force are thus the Gita’s answer to pacifism and non-violence. Rooted in the ancient Indian genius, this third way can only be practised by those who have risen above egoism, above asuric ambition or greed. The Gita certainly does not advocate war ; what it advocates is the active and selfless defence of dharma. If sincerely followed, its teaching could have altered the course of human history. It can yet alter the course of Indian history."

The Gita is, in Sri Aurobindo’s words, “our chief national heritage, our hope for the future.”

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) poet, author, philosopher, Nobel prize laureate. Tagore was deeply critical of the British Raj in India. He also made some statements to the press about the ghastly book by Katherine Mayo called Mother India, which was then a huge bestseller in the U.S. Mayo's book offers that other old myth of India: poor, backwards, savage. Tagore's aim was criticize an unjust practice (colonialism) and an international system (the League of Nations) which was thoroughly unsympathetic to the plight of colonized people in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

He described the Vedic hymns as:

"A poetic testament of a people's collective reaction to the wonder and awe of existence."

India harmonized rural life and urban life. She was no blind worshipper of urbanization like the west of today.

Tagore says well in his book, Sadhana:

"The civilization of ancient Greece was nurtured in the city walls. In fact, all the modern civilization have their cradles of brick and mortar, The walls leave their mark deep in the minds of men...Thus in India it was in the forests that our civilization had its birth, and it took a distinct character from this origin and environment. It was surrounded by the vast life of nature and had the closest and most constant intercourse with her varying aspects...His aim was not to acquire but to realize, to enlarge his consciousness by growing into his surroundings. the west seems to take pride in thinking that it is subduing Nature as if we are living in a hostile world where we have to wrest everything we want from an unwilling and alien arrangement of things. This sentiment is the product of the city wall habit and training of mind. But in India the point of view was different; it included the world with the man as one great truth. India put all her emphasis on the harmony that exists between the individual and the universal....The fundamental unity of creation was not simply a philosophical speculation for India; it was her life object to realize this great harmony in feeling and in action."

India chose her places of pilgrimages on the top of hills and mountains, by the side of the holy rivers, in the heart of forests and by the shores of the ocean, which along with the sky, is our nearest visible symbol of the vast, the boundless, the infinite and the sublime.

(source: Indian Culture and the Modern Age - By Dewan Bahadur K. S. Ramaswami Sastri Annamalai University. 1956 p. 32-33).

"India has all along been trying experiments in evolving a social unity within which all the different peoples could be held together, while fully enjoying the freedom of maintaining their differences. The tie has been as loose as possible, yet as close as circumstances permitted. This has produced something like a United States of a social federation, whose common name is Hinduism."

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) first prime minister of free India, was more than a deeply moral human being. He yearned for spiritual light. He was particularly drawn to Swami Vivekananda and the Sri Ramakrishna Ashram. The Upanishads fascinated him. Nehru called the Vedas as:

"The unfolding of the human mind in the earliest stages of thought. And what a wonderful mind it was!." It is the first outpourings of the human mind, the glow of poetry, the rapture at nature's loveliness and mystery." A brooding spirit crept in gradually till the author of the Vedas cried out: 'O Faith, endow us with belief'. It raised deeper question in a hymn called the ' The Song of Creation'.

"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe."

"I am proud of this noble heritage which was and still is ours, and I am aware that I too, like all of us, am a link in that uninterrupted chain which finds its origin in the dawn of history, in India's immemorial past. It is in testimony of this and as a last homage to the cultural heritage of India that I request that a handful of my ashes be thrown in the Ganga at Allahabad (formerly known as Prayag) so that they may be borne to the vast ocean that bears on the shores of India."

keshav tum ko pranam

Gallant Fighter For Motherland

Patriotic personalities like Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, etc., were fighting to put an end to the oppressive rule of the British.

Keshav was ever eager to listen to the speeches of such great leaders. He nourished a desire to become a speaker like them.

Keshav and his friends formed a discussion group for the purpose.

In 1905 Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of Bharat, partitioned the Bengal Province into two. This provoked thousands of youths to revolt against the British. Foreign clothes were burnt. A few British officers were killed. How could the British’s tolerate this? They rained lath blows on the protesters, and shot many. They arrested the freedom fighters and dumped them in jails.

This was the time when "Vande Mataram" had become the refrain of the freedom struggle. It turned out to be the war cry of millions of youths, reverberating in the skies of Bharat.

Keshav was then studying in Neel City High School of Nagpur. The very mention of Wande Mataram" used to enrage the British. It was as, if molten lead was being poured in their ears. They had banned the singing of Wande Mataram" 'in schools. Severe punishment awaited those who brazenly sang it. Such was the terror- stricken atmosphere prevailing then.

One day during 1908, an officer of the Department of Education arrived for inspection of the Neel City High School. The students were already occupying their seats in the respective classes. The atmosphere in the school was rather serious and disquieting.

The Inspector set out for inspection along with the Headmaster of the school. They wanted to first visit the matriculation class. Barely had they reached the threshold of the classroom when, like a bolt from the blue, a deafening cry of Wande Mataram" rang out of that classroom piercing the ears of the duo. The Inspector was angry beyond words. Shutting his tears, he moved to the next class. There too, the same scene awaited him: same resounding roar of' Vande Mataram' greeted him.

The Inspector thundered, "This is treason. Who have been singing Vande Mataram'? Debar all those fellows from the school. They should be punished mercilessly." Passing strict orders, he left the school in a huff.

The question which occupied the minds of all was, who might be the brainy chap who was so bold as to organize the singing of "Vande Mataram" in chorus?

The teachers held out threats to the students. When this method failed, they begged of them to reveal the secret. But to no avail.

They declared that they would order mass rustication if the name were not revealed. The students remained unmoved.

As none disclosed the name of their leader, all the students of both the classes which had sung Vande Mataram' were summarily removed from the school. But all of them came out of the school and marched like victorious warriors singing in unison Vande Mataram', this time with an even louder voice.

Keshav never set foot in that school again. He was a blossoming youth of just nineteen then. His was a well-built, tall, muscular body: a result of regular workouts in the gymnasium: rather dark in complexion-, face pitted with small pox marks; a bright pair of eyes. It was the same Keshav who had kindled the flame of patriotism in the bosoms of his fellow-students in the Neel City High School to sing Vande Mataram'.

After leaving the Neel City High School, Keshav joined Rashtriya Vidyalaya of Yeotmal. The leaders had started such schools at several places for providing national education to students. It was a model school with ideal teachers, who were content with low salaries, but evinced very keen interest in imparting good education to students. Since it was inculcating a national outlook through education, the Government was naturally unhappy, On account of perpetual harassment by the Government the Yeotmal School was eventually closed down. But Keshav remained unperturbed, He went to Pune to continue his studies. Thereafter, he took up his Entrance examination of Calcutta Rashtriya Vidyapeeth at Amaravati in Maharashtra. In those days of extreme hardship, it was a miracle that Keshav had progressed so far in studies. It was indeed a remarkable achievement on his part. Steeped in poverty, the household never knew when the next meal would present itself to them. But it was not this condition that was worrying Keshav. His anxieties were different. What caused immense sorrow to him was that the Motherland was under an oppressive foreign rule. Many felt that armed revolt against the British was the only way for freeing the country.Persuaded thus, Keshav chose to go to Bengal, which was the cradle of revolutionaries, in order to gain experience in their close association. In fulfillment of the desire of Keshav, the elders of Nagpur like Dr. Moonje came forward to provide the necessary help for Keshav's further education. He was sent to the National Medical College of Calcutta - to a strange land 700 miles away from Nagpur, in mid-1910.

'Keshav' become 'Keshavrao' with his admission to the Medical College at Calcutta.

Final Decision

The Sampoorna Swaraj movement was in full swing. Hedgewar brought out a journal in cooperation with his friends titled 'Swatantrya'. It was full of fierce articles demanding complete Independence. When the paper began to limp due to financial losses, Doctor Hedgewar himself took over the reins of its editorship.

But as time passed, the Non-cooperation movement cooled down. In-discipline and selfishness had reared their ugly heads in the society. The conspiring Britishers created rifts and rivalries between Hindus and Muslims.

After observing all this, Doctor Hedgewar came to the conclusion: If the yoke of the British slavery has to be overthrown, we have to mainly trust the Hindus. We have to awaken patriotism, discipline and bravery. Then only will the Muslims shed their separatist tendencies and stand shoulder to shoulder with the 'Hindus in the nationalist movement.

Torch-Bearer To The Country

Hedgewar did not wear the robes of a sannyasin; nor did he run away from the normal way of life in the society. But his inner being enlarged itself to include the entire society: the society at large became his family. He remained a life-long celibate to be able to apply himself totally to the task he had charged himself with. He was indeed a sannyasin in essence, though not in external form.

He lived only for 50 years. But the fragrance of his life will permeate the society for hundreds of years to come. Persons influenced by his thoughts, words and deeds are countless indeed. The incense-stick burns itself into ashes, but spreads its aroma in the surroundings. By wearing himself out, Doctor Hedgewar created a generation of dedicated social workers with unsullied nationalist spirit, character, and total identification with Hindu society, ever willing to sacrifice themselves in the nation's cause.

A tiny lamp lit seven decades ago has now become an effulgent star shining in the national horizon surrounded by a galaxy of millions of shining stars in the expansive skies, illumining cities, villages, hamlets, homes and hearths. With every passing day, the star shines brighter and brighter.

History and significance of vande matharam

Typical depiction of Bharat Mata by Rabindranath Tagore

Full Version in Anandamath

In Devanagari script सुजलां सुफलां मलयजशीतलाम् शस्यश्यामलां मातरम् . शुभ्र-ज्योत्स्नाम् पुलकितयामिनीम् फुल्लकुसुमित द्रुमदलशोभिनीम्, सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम् . सुखदां वरदां मातरम् ॥ सप्तकोटि कण्ठ कलकल निनाद कराले द्विसप्त कोटि भुजैर्ध्रत खरकरवाले के बोले मा तुमी अबले बहुबल धारिणीम् नमामि तारिणीम् रिपुदलवारिणीम् मातरम् ॥ तुमि विद्या तुमि धर्म, तुमि ह्रदि तुमि मर्म त्वं हि प्राणाः शरीरे बाहुते तुमि मा शक्ति, हृदये तुमि मा भक्ति, तोमारै प्रतिमा गडि मन्दिरे-मन्दिरे ॥ त्वं हि दुर्गा दशप्रहरणधारिणी कमला कमलदल विहारिणी वाणी विद्यादायिनी, नमामि त्वाम् नमामि कमलां अमलां अतुलाम् सुजलां सुफलां मातरम् ॥ श्यामलां सरलां सुस्मितां भूषिताम् धरणीं भरणीं मातरम् ॥

Vande Mataram (Sanskrit: वन्दे मातरम् Vande Mātaram, Bengali: Bônde Matorom) is the national song of India, distinct from the national anthem of India "Jana Gana Mana". The song was composed by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit.^[1]

Contents

[hide]

It is generally believed that the concept of Vande Mataram came to Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay when he was still a government official under the British Raj. Around 1870, the British rulers of India had declared that singing of God Save the Queen would be mandatory.^[1] He wrote it in a spontaneous session using words from two languages he was expert in, Sanskrit and Bengali. However, the song was initially highly criticized for the difficulty in pronunciation of some of the words.^[1] The song first appeared in Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay's book Anandamatha (pronounced Anondomôţh in Bengali), published in 1882 amid fears of a ban by British Raj. However, the song itself was actually written in 1876.^[1] Jadunath Bhattacharya set the tune for this song just after it was written.^[1]

"Vande Mataram" was the national cry for freedom from British oppression during the freedom movement. Large rallies, fermenting initially in Bengal, in the major metropolis of Calcutta, would work themselves up into a patriotic fervour by shouting the slogan "Vande Mataram," or "Hail to the Mother(land)!". The British, fearful of the potential danger of an incited Indian populace, at one point banned the utterance of the motto in public forums, and imprisoned many freedom fighters for disobeying the proscription. Rabindranath Tagore sang Vande Mataram in 1896 at the Calcutta Congress Session held at Beadon Square. Dakhina Charan Sen sang it five years later in 1901 at another session of the Congress at Calcutta. Poet Sarala Devi Chaudurani sang the song in the Benares Congress Session in 1905. Lala Lajpat Rai started a journal called Vande Mataram from Lahore.^[1] Hiralal Sen made India's first political film in 1905 which ended with the chant. Matangini Hazra's last words as she was shot to death by the Crown police were Vande Mataram^[2]

In 1907, Bhikaiji Cama (1861-1936) created the first version of India's national flag (the Tiranga) in Stuttgart, Germany in 1907. It had Vande Mataram written on it in the middle band ^[3]

A number of lyrical and musical experiments have been done and many versions of the song have been created and released throughout the 20th century. Many of these versions have employed traditional South Asian classical ragas. Versions of the song have been visualized on celluloid in a number of films including Leader (film), Amar asha and Anandamath. It is widely believed that the tune set for All India Radio station version was composed by Ravi Shankar.^[1]

Rabindranath Tagore on Vande Mataram

"Vande Mataram! These are the magic words which will open the door of his iron safe, break through the walls of his strong room, and confound the hearts of those who are disloyal to its call to say Vande Mataram." (Rabindranath Tagore in Glorious Thoughts of Tagore, p.165)

The controversy becomes more complex in the light of Rabindranath Tagore's rejection of the song as one that would unite all communities in India. In his letter to Subhash Chandra Bose (1937) Rabindranath wrote,

"The core of Vande Mataram is a hymn to goddess Durga: this is so plain that there can be no debate about it. Of course Bankimchandra does show Durga to be inseparably united with Bengal in the end, but no Mussulman [Muslim] can be expected patriotically to worship the ten-handed deity as 'Swadesh' [the nation]. This year many of the special [Durga] Puja numbers of our magazines have quoted verses from Vande Mataram - proof that the editors take the song to be a hymn to Durga. The novel Anandamath is a work of literature, and so the song is appropriate in it. But Parliament is a place of union for all religious groups, and there the song cannot be appropriate. When Bengali Mussalmans show signs of stubborn fanaticism, we regard these as intolerable. When we too copy them and make unreasonable demands, it will be self-defeating."

In a postscript to this same letter Rabindranath says,

"Bengali Hindus have become agitated over this matter, but it does not concern only Hindus. Since there are strong feelings on both sides, a balanced judgement is essential. In pursuit of our political aims we want peace, unity and good will - we do not want the endless tug of war that comes from supporting the demands of one faction over the other." ^[4]

In the last decade Vande Mataram has been used as a rallying cry by Hindu nationalists in India, who have challenged the status of the current national anthem by Rabindranath.

[edit] Dr. Rajendra Prasad on Vande Mataram

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who was presiding the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950, made the following statement which was also adopted as the final decision on the issue:

The composition consisting of words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations as the Government may authorise as occasion arises, and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honored equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it. (Applause) I hope this will satisfy members. (Constituent Assembly of India, Vol. XII, 24-1-1950)

my mother land

" I loved my motherland dearly before I went to America and England.
After my return, every particle of dust of this land seems sacred to me. "

~

Who will give the world light? Sacrifice in the past has been the Law, it will be, alas, for ages to come. The earth's bravest and best will have to sacrifice themselves for the good of many, for the welfare of all.

~

Truth, purity, and unselfishness - whenever these are present, there is no power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped with these, one individual is able to face the whole universe in opposition.

~

Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything.

~

The highest ideal is eternal and entire self-abnegation, where there is no 'I', but is Thou'.

~

By work alone, men may get to where Buddha got largely by meditation or Christ by prayer. Buddha was a working Jnani, Christ was a Bhakta, but the same goal was reached by both of them.

~

All expansion is life, all contraction is death.

~

All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore love for love's sake, because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.

~

The national ideals of India are Renunciation and Service. Intensity in those channels, and the rest will take care of itself.

~

Good motives, sincerity, and infinite love can conquer the world. One single soul possessed of these virtues can destroy the dark designs of millions of hypocrites and brutes.

~

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.