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We had barely travelled for about 20-25 minutes. The impact of
the programme was so impressive that none of us was talking.
As we turned to enter the society in order to make to
Subhashbhai’s residence, the body of Keshavrao just fell into
my lap. It was the touch of a cold body, as if a piece of ice was
there in my lap. I tried to shake him driving and calling him at
the same time, but all in vain. We reached the residence of
Subhashbhai in about three minutes. The doctor was called
immediately, who declared him dead. It was a moment of
unbearable sorrow just half an hour after the moment of extreme
joy. His death had snatched a piece of diamond from the hands
of the Sangh. Nobody in the entire Sangh family was ready to
accept this information as true. For the Swayamsevaks, who had
attended the Swaranjali programme in Baroda, it was like a
strike from the heaven. The atmosphere was very gloomy.

It was an unforgettable moment of life. I had seen the death
so near me for the first time in life. I had seen death befalling
like lightning. It was for the first time that I had understood
what morality of life means. The metaphysics of uncertainty of
life and certainty of death was manifest before our eyes in its
terrible form.

When we normally call the name of a Pracharak, a particular
image appears before the eyes, but the image of Deshmukh was
quite distinct from it. It was his habit to live a organised life
better than a householder. He was born and brought up in Kashi.
As he was born in a scholarly family, we could find a glimpse of
logic and intellectual elements in his talks. He had been to
Gujarat, especially in south Gujarat, for a long time. This priest
from Kashi was one who could compete with even a trader from
Surat (Surati Lala) when it came to eating. There is a proverb in
Gujarati: “Suratanun jaman ane kashinum maran.” (Birth in Surat
and death in Kashi are auspicious) And here, the priest from
Kashi was fond of Surat food. He lived a very systematic and
excellent lifestyle. He possessed high thinking so far as the
choice of food was concerned. The effect of his lifestyle was
seen on his working style too.

Keshavrao, who passed his childhood in Kashi on the banks
of the Ganga, sat down for meditation on the banks of the