poorest nations on earth and how could such a nation be called the greatest! Similarly, Maharashtra might have given birth to many great souls but so have many other States; they all had their own heroes. If he were born in some other State, he would have been equally proud of that State. Then came his pride in having been born as a Hindu. How could the religion confined to only one nation be called the greatest? Religions like Islam or Buddhism had many more followers. Same was true with caste. Just as many great souls were born as Brahmins, there had been some sinners too. And even in other castes, many great souls had been born. He decided that he would never be proud of anything that came his way by the accident of birth. He would ruthlessly question every claim to greatness and would only accept that much can be proved conclusively. That attitude sharpened his analytical skill and he kept on challenging his own views again and again till he was convinced of their correctness. Rational thinking became the hallmark of his subsequent years. The second quality that is visible from his childhood is his strong self-will. Once he had a fight with his elder brother and though Sharad felt he was not at fault, his mother severely scolded and beat him. Joshi was furious and in protest left home. When he did not return by night the family got very worried. All started desperately searching for him. They looked up all known places but in vain. After about ten days, with the help of a police inspector who happened to be a relative, someone spotted Sharad far away in Igatpuri, almost a hundred miles away. On getting that news Anantrao rushed there and brought his son back. With no money in his pocket, nowhere specific to go and just a hurt ego to accompany him, Sharad had literally wandered here and there and ended up in Igatpuri. His sister Sindhu says, ‘Even today my heart sinks when I recall that incident.’ His strong sense of self was also reflected in later years in Early Years
Q
31
