18 / March 2018 / Yuva Bharati
of his interest were learning and teaching.
Even in the midst of political activities he
never gave up his active involvement in the
scholarly profession. On the other hand,
he was eminently successful in combining
the two...
“One trait Tilak shared with Sri Aurobindo
is that ahimsa or non-violence is not an
unconditional creed that should be placed
above the freedom of India. In this
they differed from Mahatma Gandhi. It
is remarkable that all the three – Tilak,
Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo -- looked to
the Bhagavad Gita for inspiration. While
Gandhiji interpreted the Gita in support
of his views on ahimsa, Tilak and Sri
Aurobindo derived from the same scripture
inspiration for action – even violent action- based on yoga, equanimity of mind.
Both of them were in deep sympathy
with the revolutionaries of the freedom
movement. They were leaders of the so-
called extremist faction of the Congress, as
distinct from the moderates. Both of them
believed that a nation forcibly occupied and
enslaved has the right to attain freedom by
every possible means...”
‘The Story of Two Celebrations’ relates to
two great events in history. One is about
the Khalsa Movement, the Founder of
which was the tenth Guru of the Sikhs,
Guru Govind Singh. “The founding of the
Khalsa Panth was a landmark in the history
of the Sikh religion as well as in the history
of our country...” The courage with which
the Sikh Gurus and their followers faced
the cruellest of fate, and their sacrifice in
defence of the Sikh religion against the
relentless and formidable forces of the
Mughal emperor Aurangazeb are chilling
narratives. Again to quote the author,
“Guru Govind Singh was not only a great
warrior and an able organizer but was
also a great scholar, a lover and patron of
learning, a profound mystic and a poet of
the highest order. Even in the midst of the
greatest calamities, he never lost his faith in
the Divine support. Nor did his adversities,
even betrayal, make him a cynic.” To this
great Sikh Guru, Swami Vivekananda paid
glowing tributes in his lecture delivered
at Lahore. Vivekananda said: “Then
and then alone you are a Hindu when
the distress of anyone bearing that name
comes to your heart and makes you feel as
if your own son were is in distress. Then
and then alone you are a Hindu when you
will be ready to bear everything for them,
like the great example I have quoted at the
beginning of this lecture, of your great
Guru Govind Singh. Driven out from this
country, fighting against its oppressors,
after having shed his own blood for the
defence of the Hindu religion, after having
seen his children killed in the battlefield- ay, this example of the great Guru,
left even by those for whose sake he was
shedding his blood and the blood of his
own nearest and dearest – he, the wounded
lion, retired from the field calmly to die in
the South, but not a word of curse escaped
his lips against those who had ungratefully
forsaken him! Mark me, every one of you
will have to be a Govind Singh, if you want
to do good to your country.”
The next celebration dwelt upon in the