WHAT WE NEED TO REMEMBER AND NEVER TO FORGET ... 1

Service to the nation necessitates self-building as a prerequisite. Character-formation is of prime moment before any activity may be successfully undertaken that will conduce to the welfare of the nation. This is why the freedom fighters used to take to the study of the Geeta and the Works of Vivekananda, observe vows of absolute allegiance to the cause of the liberation of the motherland from the foreign yoke and practise purity to the level possible, setting aside personal emotional entanglements as subordinate to love for the motherland, when they prepared for revolutionary activity to free the motherland. This larger vision, this selflessness, this sacrifice is missing today among the indiscriminate critics of Netaji and among the ardent adherents of him as well. We must all try and realise that patriotism is enhanced by purity, study and service, all of which were prime ingredients in the making of the revolutionaries who fought against the British. Purity breeds fearlessness which is the bedrock of revolutionary activity, study lends clarity to the vision and service opens up the heart to make this life a consecration at the altar of the motherland's freedom. May we all be imbued with these ideals in life and may we make them practical in our daily intercourse as we expend our energy for the revitalisation of our motherland even as our valorous forefathers had bled to create the foundations on which we may build the edifice of our nation! Vande Mataram! Jai Hind!