PUBLIC LIFE AND VOLUNTARY SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

INTRODUCTION

The Voluntary Social Service Organisations play an important role in enriching the public life in general and the socioeconomic development of society in particular. The Akola district has a long tradition of a number of institutions striving for the social good. But their growth in recent times could be attributed to the enlightenment in the social and political life during the days of the national freedom movement in the country. Human life in the past was not so eventful as it is today. What could be regarded as the various aspects of the cultural and civilized life were mostly in a backward and semi-progressive state. Human wants, both material and non-material, were very few and not so variegated as they are now. There was no richness and fullness in human life in those days. Human existence was more akin to Nature. There were no complexities and intricacies in the social life of the individual and the energies of the human beings were more directed towards the satisfaction of their immediate wants rather than towards the search of the unknown. Not that science and increasing knowledge of life did not spurt the imagination of a few in the society. These few did see a full and beautiful life, leading to a more sophisticated existence but the prognostications of the few did not materially affect the even tenor of life which the majority sought for. The life of the individuals was guided by certain norms of behaviour and moral code of conduct with which the individuals were content. The necessity for competitive and complementary associations to supplement the efforts of the society and the State was not felt and if it was felt by some under the pressing urge of advance and progress, their existence would not have been tolerated by the political power which guided the course of social events.

These conditions underwent a radical change during the last hundred years or so. Tremendous progress was visible in, every aspect of human activity—social, economic, political, moral, scientific, literary, artistic and aesthetic. Vistas unknown were opened in keeping with the developed and scientific intellect of the pioneers in the social and scientific fields. Development of transport brought together hitherto separated parts of the world and created a feeling of commonness, fraternity and brotherhood. Scientific advance made life more materialistic and easier than what was in the past. Literature and art developed bringing out forthwith the hidden and unbounded virtues of human life and created an altogether different political philosophy which gave prime importance to the individual in the general scheme of things. These developments were sure to have a profound effect on the life and psychology of the individual. The new knowledge that was fed to the individual through the media of books, newspapers and periodicals that came to be published, widened his horizons, affected his outlook on life and created in him a hankering for a better and rich existence. This process of thinking was accentuated by the developments that were taking place in the socio-economic organization of the society.

Life became more complex with increased needs as also more machine like and rigid. The tired human intellect started finding avenues where it could refresh the mind and mental faculties. The State which was a silent spectator of these phenomenal changes that were taking place in human existence and its environment had to take upon itself the role of satisfying those human needs and help fulfilling those human aspirations which the individual could not do on his own. There was also an awareness among the ruling authorities that they have to help the efforts of individuals and groups of individuals in the advancement of the social good. But even the powers of the State failed to respond to the aspirations and urges that were felt in the inner depths of the human mind. The State could supply the material wants of the individuals and create circumstances to make life worth living but it could never fulfil the higher and spiritual aspirations of the people. These aspirations could be fulfilled only by the Voluntary Social Service Organizations whose very name indicates their voluntary character. These institutions are in a way complementary to the State but they differ from it in that they allow free play of human emotions and volitions and supply the individual with a moral force that the State may be incapable of providing, it should not be misunderstood that their voluntary character and the looseness with which they bind their members implies an inherent weakness in them. As a matter of fact their very voluntary nature provides them with a strength of character which the State may not be able to supply. History has proved time and again that if results are to be judged by the means with which they are achieved then these organizations supply a far more powerful means than the one supplied by the State. That does not mean that the arms and objectives of the State and these Organisations are conflicting. Far from that, these organisations supplement the efforts made by the State towards the development of human personality and by their power and influence over the lives of the individuals make it rich, resourceful and worth living. They are a part and parcel of the public life. Their importance in the social organization cannot be minimised, because they reflect the culture and civilization of the social group of which they form a part. As a matter of fact, they represent the various aspects of the public life in a social organization. They exercise a formative influence on the public opinion which is a conglomeration of distinct social, political and economic views held by the majority of persons in the community.

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