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in good humour. His viewpoint of looking at the material world
was quite amazing. He always said that the only mantra to keep
happy in life was never to expect anything from anybody, nor
should you plead with somebody for a favour. No expectation,
no pleading. His principle seemed to be very simple, and it was
the mantra that kept him happy under all circumstances.

Today, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is identified
amongst the largest organisations in the world; in its basis lies
the fragrance of such great people as Vasantrao who have
irrigated it with their sweat. In his initial period, Vasantrao went
to Sabarkantha to start the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh work.
He vowed to establish the Sangh at Idar and Himmatnagar.
There was no support there to start his work there. Neither he
had money to stay there. Facing such adverse situations, he
started the work in his youth. He started the Shakha at
Himmatnagar. He would attract a few children there, and as
soon as the Shakha was over, he would walk to Idar, sometimes
he ran, because he did not have the money to travel by bus. He
walked about 28 kilometres every other day. It became a part of
his routine. He worked at Idar, and often slept in the caves there.
He did not have time to cook his dinner, nor had he any place
to stay, so he often bought bajra flour and soaked it in water to
drink for his dinner. Thus, he worked hard; it was like penance,
and thus, he laid the foundation of the Sangh work there. In
some time, he was assigned to supervise the Sangh work at
Nadiad too. He got a room in the Santram Temple for his stay,
and with this, the Sangh work started to expand.

A couple of Swayamsevaks attending the Shakha at Nadiad
were vegetable trader, so they often gifted Vasantrao some
vegetable. The Swayamsevaks felt that the vegetable would
make his meals tastier, but they never realized that he had
nothing to eat anything with the vegetables. Often he ate up
cabbage, tomato and onion in salad and was content with it.
When these Swayamsevaks realized the truth, they were amazed
to know the penance that Vasantrao was undertaking, but he
never let anyone know of it. It led to firm up their spirit of service
in the Sangh. They also determined to send food for Vasantrao
from their homes in turn.