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The Sangh has often been misrepresented by its detractors, political or ideological, as having political motives or as a pare-military organisation. The seven-decades-long growth of the Sangh and its ever-growing influence over the society are also sometimes attempted to be evaluated in political terms. But the Sangh, it must be remembered, is for attaining the 'Saravangeena Unnati' (all-round development) of Bharat, and for this end only the swayamsevaks pledge to dedicate themselves. They do desire that the political field too needs to bc cleansed and reformed, based on Hindu values and ethos, but politics is just one among the many facets of social life. As such, to cast political aspersion on Sangh is, to say the least, baseless, since the concept of all-round development encompasses the entire spectrum of life, including politics.
The Sangh has to its credit a few thousands of service projects, covering varied fields of social life. Apart from the projects, the swayamsevaks on their own are rendering service to the society, individually and collectively too, wherever needed, whatever the cause. In fact, a Sarvodaya leader, in appreciation of the service rendered by the swayamsevaks for the cyclone-hit victims of Andhra Pradesh in 1977, meaningfully said that 'RSS' stood for 'Ready for Selfless Service'. Obviously, the real purpose of the Sangh is rightly understood by the unbiased and discerning analyst only.
The thrust of all samskars in the Shakha, though it outwardly appears to be for military-like discipline, which in any case is essential for any nation-building exercise, is for imbibing the noblest qualities of head and heart. Admittedly, a swayamsevak attending a Shakha is a common man, with exposure to unhealthy and corrupt practices now rampant in the society outside the Sanghasthan. Yet, by involving himself in all the wholesome physical and intellectual programmes, both formal and informal, in the Shakha, he in course of time becomes broadminded and service-oriented, ready to serve the society. In the Shakha, because of his interaction with the other members of society, his angularities become rounded off, the tastes and the outlook get moulded for a purer plane where, in place of self-aggrandisement, the dedication for the service of the society becomes his fervent preoccupation. With these samskars rooted deep in his mind, while he considers participating in daily Shakha, a must in his routine - for that alone provides him the driving-force for all his social work - he gets real satisfaction in applying all his energies for the amelioration of social maladies.
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