I distinctly remember the night Dada rushing me to the hospital mounted on the shoulders of an elder student when my condition was bad due to asthma. He used to give me light works considering my weak health. Dada also ensured that I got dinner before sunset. When there were around 45 students to look after, now I imagine how inconvenient it must have been for Dada to pay this special attention only for me. Whenever anybody used to fall sick, Dada used to treat him so impeccably that only on rare occasions one was taken to the Doctor. So much so that even after I had left Gurukul, I used to take Dada’s opinion on medications for me as well as for my family members. Dada is a voracious reader. The most exciting time of the day for us was the time after evening prayer. Dada used to tell us a story, incidence or anything of interest & learning. This session after the prayer then used to turn into a full-fledged discussion, laughter and roar. This was followed by dinner. Dada used to eat at the end when all students had had their food. The habit of reading books was instilled in us by Dada. There were so many books for us to read and I remember I was given charge of the ‘small library’ for some time. This reading habit is one of the best gift that all of us got from Dada. Dada read us many books. Harivijay, Pravachane, Ek Hota Carver are a few that I remember. Even now he shares & suggests the books that I must read. This has helped me a great deal in my professional career as a Training Manager with one of the big Retail Companies today.

     Dada is a great patriot. He is at his best when he speaks on the issues of national interests. He made us aware that we as the sons of this soil have inherited a glorious past. A past, that no other country can boast of. Dada encouraged us to read the biographies of martyrs who sacrificed their lives at the feet of Mother India. Savarkar, Vivekananda, Shivaji Maharaj, Rana Pratap, Guru Govind Singh were (and are) our heroes. I did not see such a burning love for one’s country in my life afterwards. Dada has taught us to be brave & raise our voice against injustice. We used to celebrate all the festivals. Dada used to make delicious dishes on such occasions himself. Working together in a team was another great learning. Daily tasks such as cooking, washing etc. were assigned to various teams on rotational basis. Dada had to discipline us from time to time. We had tremendous respect as well as fear for Dada as we knew that our good behavior would be rewarded but at the same time bad behavior would not go unpunished. This discipline of daily exercise, prayer, study and extracurricular reading is the essence of all my learning at the Gurukul.

     Dada used to teach us the difficult topics in studies. The manner of teaching was so good that we never had to worry about those topics in terms of examination. Many students who were very poor in studies when they were admitted excelled in studies in the later years at Gurukul. Like me, most students who are given admission have some or the other difficulty in pursuing education at their homes. Students initially are very rebellious and do take time to adjust to the ways of Gurukul. Dada manages it all single handedly. That was an immature age when we could not understand the greatness of our Beloved Dada. Selfless, untiring, calm, generous, distinctly intelligent, warm hearted, alert, Dada is rarest of rare. He was a Teacher, a Father, a Mother, a Doctor, a Friend all combined together and much more. My shallow capacity to describe him will only make him appear smaller than what actually he is. I can only say that I was so fortunate to have spent 6 memorable years under Dada’s supervision & that no other event in my life hereafter can be even close to it.