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Anger is Fire :
It was in the year 1952 when popular elections on the basis of adult franchise first took place. Shri Gulam Rasul Kureshi, a nationalist Muslim and a very close associate of Gandhiji was contesting Dhandhuka Constituency as a candidate of Indian National Congress. Those were the days when Santbalji was supporting Congress in all popular elections. There were people who did not approve of a Saint thus taking interest in politics. But Santbal honestly believed that it was in the interest of the nation to accord full support to the Congress which wanted to inplement the policies for which it had fought the imperialist power.
In one of these election meetings after his lecture was over, a few young persons asked him to take out his saintly dress if he was so much in love for the Congress. Other persons also joined in this demand and the atmosphere became tense, as there was a chorus of cries for change of his saintly clothes. This momentarily upset Santbal, who never lost his balance on, such occasions, He retorted asking his hecklers first to understand what the clothes he had put on meant for, and then ask him to take them out. Soon he regained his balance and peacefully continued his talk.
At midnight during the night which followed Manubhai saw that instead of sleeping, Santbalji was meditating in the sitting posture and he continued meditating till late hours of the night.
In the next morning Manubhai asked the Saint why he was not sleeping during the night as usual. Santbalji explained that he had retorted the hecklers in angar and whatever was said in anger never carried conviction. So in atonement he was doing "Pratikraman" (A Spiritual process of looking back, and resolving not to commit the acts which were detrimental to soul's progress). He explained that anger is fire which takes no time in burning but takes much time in extinguishing.
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