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There is a large section of people who have infinite faith in
Shastriji. We all have experienced that when aged people of the
social life meet, they often talk, “When I was young, I went to a
particular village where I saw a particular thing,” and the like.
An individual may grow in age and status, yet his memories
keep coming back to him at all times.

I can recall that once Atal Behari Vajpayee described an
incident in a very emotional tone. He said, “When I was young,
I had joined the Hindu movement, and Sardar Patel had come
to Gwalior to attend a celebration holding the integration of a
native state into India. I can remember that glorious face of
Sardar Patel even today, it was a memorial moment of my life.”
It feels good to say such things. Friends, it appears to me that
people would quite often recall that they were present in the
celebration to honour Shastriji when he was 101 years.

There can be no greater joy, greater moment in life than
this. I can say that it is a great revolutionary moment. It is a nice
opportunity to sit at the feet of the cultural heritage. Every
moment of the elderly is our national heritage.

Just as for Mahatma Gandhi his life was his message, we
can say for Shastriji that his devotion to work was his life. It
was always filled with joy, vitality, karma. If you peeped into
his life, you would for sure find something new to learn every
time. He abided by the tradition of change; he did not hold
orthodox views. He was religious, but he did not favour those
who limited the religion into a small bag. It is due to this reason
that he devoted his life to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad right since
the year of its founding; there is no exaggeration to claim so.

Shastriji was associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad,
so many laureates were unhappy with him; but Shastriji never
cared about them. He always cared for the welfare of the
Hinduism.

When riots broke out after the Godhara massacre, Shastriji
was the head of the Gujarat chapter of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad. He advocated for the welfare of Gujarat at that time.
In an interview to a newspaper, he stated: “After the Gujarat
riots, it is the television channels and national newspapers that