Eknath Ranade, the man with ‘Rock’ solid determination

* November 2015 marks the culmination of birth centenary celebrations of Eknath Ranade, a son of Vidarbha who made it the cause of his life to realise the dream of Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari

By Kartik Lokhande 
It was 1962, a year that had stirred the atmosphere in the country owing to several factors including a war with China. In January 1963, India was to celebrate the birth centenary of Swami Vivekananda. In down south, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, tension was in the air over Swami Vivekananda’s memorial. There were attempts by some to claim the Rock off the shores of Tamil Nadu where Vivekananda meditated.
A firm leadership is required to navigate through little storms in the journey towards realisation of a goal. Eknath Ranade, a man born in village Timtala in Amravati district of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, was destined to be that firm leader as far as Swami Vivekananda’s memorial at Kanyakumari. Born on November 19, 1914, Eknath Ranade was the youngest of eight siblings. His father Ramakrishnarao Ranade served in Great Indian Peninsular Railways in Vidarbha, and was married to Ramabai from Pune.
In his childhood, Eknath Ranade was fondly called ‘Nath’. In 1921, he came to Nagpur to stay with his eldest brother Baburao. He had his primary education in Government Primary School in Phadanvispura, Nagpur. Following his father’s ailment, Ranade family shifted to Nagpur. Later, Eknath Ranade got associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He rose very fast in the hierarchy on the basis of his hard work, dedication, and phenomenal memory. For six years, he also worked as its Sarkaryavah.
The year 1963 changed Ranade’s life. Circumstances so conspired that he decided to take a plunge into the social atmosphere troubled over Swami Vivekananda’s memorial at the Rock at Kanyakumari. Once he dedicated himself to the cause, he made it his mission to tour the country, meet political leaders, businessmen, discuss the idea of the memorial at Kanyakumari with them, convince them to participate in the process in whichever the way they could, and started asking for money. But, was it was not an easy task.
Ranade had to first associate himself officially with Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee. He became its Organising Secretary on August 11, 1963. Humayun Kabir, the then Union Cultural Affairs Minister, and Bhakta Vatsalam, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, were not in much favour of the idea of Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Ranade decided to first convince Humayun Kabir. Ranade went to Calcutta, Humayun Kabir’s constituency; spread the word about the memorial plan, and then addressed a press conference with a mention that Humayun Kabir was not in favour of it. The newspapers in the capital of West Bengal flayed Humayun Kabir for that, forcing him to say that he was not against it but had raised some ‘issues’.
Then, Ranade went to Bhakta Vatsalam. Despite discussions, when it appeared that Bhakta Vatsalam was not convinced fully about the memorial, Ranade decided to meet senior Congress leader Lal Bahadur Shastri seeking his guidance. Shastri approved of Ranade’s idea of collecting signatures of Members of Parliament on a petition for the memorial and submitting the petition to Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister.
A determined man, Ranade got to work in Delhi. First, he took signature of Raghunath Singh, the then Secretary of Congress Parliamentary Party, and a very influential leader. Seeing his signature, many other Congress MPs also signed the petition. Within one hour, 90 Congress leaders signed the petition in Central Hall. A skillful Ranade convinced Ram Manohar Lohiya, entire Socialist group, Communist leader Renu Chakravarti and her party leaders, and several others to sign the petition.
Within three days, Ranade had collected 323 signatures!! A stunned Shastri himself went to Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, and the next day Pt Nehru made a statement that Government of India ‘would very much like to have’ Swami Vivekananda’s statue on the Rock. This softened Bhakta Vatsalam and he said that he had never objected to the statue on the Rock. Simultaneously, Ranade continued to rope in many stalwarts including DMK leader C N Annadurai. In fact, the committee had become a national body now with many serving and former Chief Ministers and stalwarts becoming its Vice-Presidents or members of the general body. One man’s efforts united political leaders of the nation towards a greater cause, cutting across political barriers.
However, Ranade’s work did not stop there. It kept on expanding its scope. The remaining area of the Rock had to be developed into a beautiful and unparalleled memorial. It required more designs and approvals. Ranade took some time in meeting architects, getting the designs prepared, and then showed it to Shankaracharya of Kamakoti Peetam for approval. On being told that the Shankaracharya had approved fresh design of the memorial, Bhakta Vatsalam told Ranade, “When the Acharya Swami himself has suggested this, what is there to be approved?”
A man determined and destined to create a historic monument in the form of Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari, Ranade wrote and talked to countless many people from different walks of life. Since taking over as Organising Secretary of Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee in 1963 till his death in 1982, he wrote over 25,000 letters! Vivekananda Rock Memorial is as much a memorial to Swami Vivekananda, as much to the dedication of Eknath Ranade.
As it stands today, Vivekananda Rock Memorial comprises of three main features -- Vivekananda Mandapam, Shripada Mandapam, and ferry service. With Ranade’s tireless efforts in crossing every obstacle, and inspiring the team of Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee, the work was completed in March 1970. There was grand inauguration. V V Giri, the then President of India, inaugurated the Rock Memorial on September 2, 1970. K Karunanidhi, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, presided over the function.
Ranade was not a man who would stop at the Rock Memorial. By this time, he had crystallised an idea of a living memorial to Swami Vivekananda in the form of a body of volunteers. Accordingly, during the drive for collection of funds for the Rock Memorial, he decided to collect funds from every state of India including the far eastern state like Nagaland. Through this, he took Vivekananda’s work to every nook and corner of the country. He floated the idea of ‘One Rupee Folder’ to contact as many people as possible. About 50 lakh folders were printed and nearly 30 lakh people donated Re 1, Rs 3 or Rs 5. The amount did not matter, but attachment of so many people to the cause did.
Once the Rock Memorial was completed, he created a living memorial through launch of Vivekananda Kendra in 1972. He worked on making Vivekananda Kendra an institution of selfless workers engaged in man-making and nation building. Gradually, Vivekananda Kendra’s headquarters were established in what is today known as Vivekanandapuram. He dedicated himself to inspiring volunteers, travelling, and publication activites of Vivekananda Kendra.
This pace of work took its toll on Eknath Ranade’s health. In 1980, he collapsed while taking a walk and slipped into coma. By the time he recovered, he had lost vision partially. Sadly, the man with phenomenal memory had lost his memory almost completely. Doctors advised him to slow down, but he ignored it and continued contributing to the larger cause of man-making based on Swami Vivekananda’s vision. Ranade suffered a massive heart attack in Chennai on August 22, 1982, and attained eternity.
As a mark of respect for his unmatched work, Ranade’s body was taken to Kanyakumari and cremated on August 23, 1982. The funeral pyre was lighted against the backdrop of a setting Sun, with the saffron flag with ‘Om’ on Vivekananda Rock Memorial lowered.
Today, Eknathji, as he is fondly remembered, may not be there in physical form, but he as an awakened individual lives on in abstract form through Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari as well as through countless many ‘Jeevanvratis’ of Vivekananda Kendra.
The man may not be here, but his vision lives on. For, noble thoughts are immortal... 

(20-11-15)