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On his visit to Kolkata’s Acharya Shri Mahashraman at Rajarhat, Bhagwat said, “For any personal and social work or service to the nation - purushartha is important.
Kolkata: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief, Mohan Bhagwat, on Sunday stressed for purushartha to serve the nation.
On his visit to Kolkata’s Acharya Shri Mahashraman at Rajarhat, Bhagwat said, “For any personal and social work or service to the nation - purushartha is important. Indian culturally rich, and we all want development. But this is only possible if we all follow a disciplined direction.”
“I personally feel that one should be disciplined to achieve goals. One should learn the art of self-restraint to build the nation. Above all, we can change the society by following the footsteps of santh (saint),” he said.
The RSS chief, after staying at Acharya Shri Mahashraman Education and Research Foundation for an hour, left for an ‘unscheduled’ meeting with karyakartas.
Bidyut Mukherjee, the RSS organisational secretary in Bengal, briefed him about the crises in Darjeeling and Basirhat. He was also briefed about a large number of people who are interested in joining the RSS in Bengal.
“Besides these issues, the problems we are facing from the state administration were discussed with him,” an RSS worker said, adding that he met selected industrialists, politician, businessmen, intellectuals and religious leaders.
Meanwhile, Bhagwat’s visit was closely monitored by the state administration. Ever since Mamata Banerjee came to power in Bengal in 2011, the Sangh's membership has increased in the state by nearly five times. Not only Hindus, but several leaders from the Muslim community have also joined the RSS and have been working extensively on rural development in Bengal.
RSS Bengal unit kept Bhagwat’s visit a low-key affair because they felt that his visit - amid Darjeeling and Basirhat issue - could lead to unnecessary speculations.
In the last six months, this was Bhagwat’s second visit to Bengal. On January 14, for the first time, the 66-year-old addressed a Hindu Sammelan at the Brigade Parade Grounds, the largest venue to hold any political gathering in Kolkata.
His visit had courted controversy after the Kolkata Police denied permission for a rally in the city, prompting the Sangh to move Calcutta High Court for approval.