Eknathji was blessed with a very
influential personality. His resolute strength used to create the first
impression. He was always very careful about his strong physical health. He
used to exercise regularly. Bes
ides this physique, he had equally strong will
power and sharp intellect. He was also endowed with intrinsic energy and very
clear grasping capacity. His personality in the words of Swami Vivekananda was
that of a Man with capital “M”.
The strength is always associated to
harshness. Eknathji too, at times used to get harsh but at the same time he had
the tenderness of heart. As is said in a Sanskrit shloka “Vajradapi kathorani
mruduni kusumadapi” Eknathji had the hardness of a diamond and the tenderness
of a flower, together, in him. He was very scrupulous regarding the conduct or
behavior. He did not tolerate any error and was very strict and harsh about the
doer. But he would parden those who were
ready to mend their ways and work honestly with devotion. He himself never
allowed the personal feeling to create hurdles while performing his duties and
hamper his work. There was wonderful combination of two qualities in his
personality.
Eknathji was impartial as well as
stoic as is described in Bhagwadgita.
Eknathji always stood apart from the
other social workers or the persons who were active in this field when it came
to perfection. He was the man who never made any compromise regarding
perfection in every bit of work. He was always anxious to experiment every option
that would accomplish the task in its entirelt, whether the task was trivial or
important, he wanted it be carried out meticulously. For him no work was small
work. Whether it was writing a letter to his junior colleague or a mission of
erecting Shila Smarak, both were equally important, to be done perfectly and
precisely.
In order to leave no mistake he would
write the same letter again and again. It did not matter how many times!
Eknathji’s this characteristic of
perfection would come to fore prominently when he used to make preparations for
the orientation camp in the training. He used to prepare and revise his speech
every time before delivering it. He would think deeply about each aspect and
angle of the subject. While presenting his thought and concept he always
insisted on the use of perfect words to drive his ideas home very clearly
without any ambiguity. He was never satisfied with the synonyms that were close
to the meaning of the words. He used to consult the dictionary, to find out the
exact word that carried the meaning he meant and intended. I have often watched
him looking into the dictionary for some word, while writing a letter. He used
to put life into the words else with the acquired strength from his penance he
used to reach the meaningful (alive) words.
Eknathji was gifted with a rare
quality of powerful oratory. He used to cite the inspiring examples and
anecdotes that would make his lecture interesting and easy to grasp. The
examples that he would present used to be from the day to day life of the
audience and straightway touch the chord of their heart.
Eknathji had framed a very clear
concept of his life. He was confident his life would not cease till he has
accomplished the destined task. After I come to know he had faced some heart problem
at Kanyakumari, I immediately wrote him a letter. The reply he sent to was
stunning and astonishing. He had written, “Having stayed in close contact with
Shila (rock) I too have become rock. Hence like the rock I too can never get a
heart attack”. This astounding self confidence stayed with him, till the end of
his life.
It is said that some persons are
great by birth. Some acquire the power by working hard, where as greatness is
imposed on some. From the acquaintance, I had of Eknathji, and as far as I know
him, I can tell that Eknathji was a great man who belonged to the second
category mentioned above. Every person is born with the seeds of virtues that
possess the capacity of making a man great. Eknathji too had these. But there
are a few who develop the naturally gifted greatness fully by putting in the
efforts. Eknathji was one among them. He was always prepared to sacrifice
everything for attaining the goal; he was willing to do away with the things
easily that could stand an obstacle in this path of reaching the goal. There
was never a room for laziness as he was prepared to put in all the efforts. His
extra ordinary memory was the outcome.
The same
can be said about of his other talents. His glorious talent had comprised of
one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent efforts. Eknathji had presented
an ideal example of hard earned genius, before the workers, in his own form.
Therefore Eknathji’s biography can revive the confidence in the minds of the
Swayam Sewaks that, “We too can make our life supreme”.
Mananeeya. P. Parameswaranji
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