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BIOGRAPHY

MY VILLAGE MY PLACE OF PILGRIMAGE

I was born on 15th June, 1938 at Bhingar Village near Ahmednagar. Although I belong to Ralegan Siddhi Village which is tucked in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar District, my paternal grandfather worked as a sweeper in the British Army in the Bhingar Cantonment. Thus, our entire family used to stay with him in Bhingar. In Bhingar, I studied in the Late Khushroo Irani Brothers School up to standard 4th, after which my maternal uncle took me to Mumbai for further studies. My mother instilled good values in me. Although she was illiterate, she knew how to build relationships with people around and how to be a good human being, which comprised not to tell lies, not to steal, not to be shrewd. always make efforts to do good for the people, if you are unable to do good for them, at least do not do ill to others, she would say. These values had a great influence over me all my life.

Since my childhood I was staunchly patriotic thanks to the values instilled by my mother. That’s how I applied and joined the Army in 1963. Why do people live then? What is the purpose of life? I contemplated but could not find any answers. I asked this question to many people but none was able to satisfy my quest. Thus, one day I sat in silence in a corner of the room and thought of committing suicide. By sheer coincidence, I saw an attractive photograph of Swami Vivekananda on a book cover, at the book vendor’s stall at the Delhi Railway Station. I bought it because I found the cover page, attractive. I started reading and found the thread of life. I started reading his other books but it was a bit challenging for me to understand his philosophy, particularly not for a not-so- educated person like me. However, through his words. I comprehended that man indulges in the possessiveness of materialistic wealth, in his chase of happiness. Swami Vivekananda says that happiness can’t be sought from outside, it has to come from within. Serving the poor and the sick and attending to those who have gone astray is the true worship of God. Man receives endless joy through such service, however this service should be like an offering to God and without any expectations. Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy of life and Mahatma Gandhi’s call for ‘go back to villages appealed to me so much that at the age of 25 years. I decided that I would devote my entire life to the service of the village, society and the nation, with utmost selflessness. ‘Karmanyevadhikaraste ma faleshyu kadachan’ (work without expectations) became the mission of my life. Read More

In 1965, the enemy, that is Pakistan, attacked, by air, at the Indo-Pakistan border of Khemkaran. In that assault, all my colleagues were martyred. Twenty five to thirty bullets hit the vehicle which I was driving because of which the front tires burst. Three bullets hit the windscreen but I was saved. I saw blood all around me and I thought that the fact that I was saved and all my colleagues around me were killed, it implied that God wants me to get something done through me. I made a pledge. I took this escape from death as rebirth and vowed to devote this new lease of life to the service of my village, society and my nation. I also pledged to remain a bachelor, for marriage meant that my first priority would be attending to the family’s daily needs and children upbringing. That would adversely affect my mission. This pledge which I took on the Indo- Pak border at the age of 25 years continued be strong even in my ripe age of 82 years. I feel this is a blessing showered on me by the Almighty. God has been kind to me and without tainting even a wee bit of my character. I gained the strength of self-restraint and self- discipline. If a soldier decides to overcome the challenges, the hardships turn into achievable goals. That’s a lesson I learnt from the Army. If social activists form their goal of life to selflessly serve, they will conquer death. Such a person will never cow down to challenges, opposition and humiliation. He will never back out even if death stares at him. This is how he continues to overcome all challenges. In the last 50 years I’ve pursued with my resolve and did not get discouraged with any opposition, challenge or humiliation. When I decided to dedicate my life to my village, the society and my country, I realized that serving’ the people is my destination. With this approach, development took place in Ralegansiddhi and nearby villages. Personality should be unblemished with pure thoughts, pure morals, untainted character and a life of sacrifice. A life of sacrifice is the rich cultural heritage of our country. The law of nature in regard to sacrifice is that. if you want to see a well-studded maize corn on the corn fields, one corn has to bury itself in the ground and sacrifice its existence. They are perhaps ignorant that those who do not bury themselves are churned to nothingness in the flour mill. The seed that is buried is never destroyed -it creates thousands of new corns. Sant Tukaram has said “eka beej kela naash | Mag bhogile kanees.” I took the garb of a seed at the age of 25 years and decided to bury myself in serving the society. Today, the fruition is colossal. No one would listen to a leader who only talks but does not walk the talk. The wise say that action is stronger than speeches. Sant Kabir says, “kathani meethi khaand si | Karanee vish ki loay | Kathnee chod karanee kare toh vish ka amrut hoay |” Just talking is like Khandsari sugar, it is like poison. Instead of only talking, if you show your merit in your actions, then poison turns into sweet nectar.