\ SAMVAD श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Kartik Krishna 3, Vikram Samvat 2076 Yugabda 5121: 16 October 2019
1. FESTIVALS: KATE FESTIVAL OF VIETNAM: Thousands of Vietnam’s ethnic Cham people, descendants of a powerful ancient kingdom, met on September 27 for their annual week-long festival “Kate” that, according to the multi-faith community’s calendar, marks the end of one harvest season and the beginning of another. A rich history of trading and movement across Asia has made the Cham a uniquely multi-faith group, divided into predominantly Hindu and Muslim branches, all of whom come together to celebrate “Kate”. At the Po Klong Garai temple in the southern town of Phan Rang - a Vietnamese rendering of Panduranga, the Cham Kingdom’s ancient capital - dozens of men in bright red and white traditional costume paraded with a sacred garment. The holy dress, which is kept in the nearby commune of Phuoc Ha, is brought to the crumbling, clay-brick 13th Century temple, within which lies a statue of the Bhagwan Shiva. GoTop
2.ABHIJIT BANERJEE GETS 2019 NOBEL IN ECONOMICS:
Bharatiya-American Abhijit Banerjee, French-American Esther Duflo and Michael
Kremer of the US have received Nobel Economics Prize for their work on poverty,
the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. "This year's Laureates have
introduced a new approach to obtaining reliable answers about the best ways to
fight global poverty".
Abhijit Banerjee is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of
Economics at MIT. A graduate from University of Calcutta and post-graduate from
Jawaharlal Nehru University, he completed his PhD from Harvard University in
1988. The trio was honoured "for their experimental approach to alleviating
global poverty," the jury said. Banerjee is the 12th recipient of the
prestigious Nobel prize among the list of prize winning Bharatiyas either by
citizenship, birth or residency and also Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
becomes the sixth pair of husband and wife getting a Nobel Prize. Incidentally,
Kolkata has a deep connection with the Nobel Prize, with at least five winners
out of 12 mentioned above having links — by birth or work — with the West Bengal
capital. GoTop
3. REINVENTING THE SWA- CENTRIC TRANSFORMATION :
RSS Vijayadashmi Utsav, Nagpur: Delivering the annual Vijayadashami speech
on 94th Foundation Day of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Sarsanghachalak Dr
Mohan Bhagwat took stock of the challenges before the nation; provided insights
to understand the issues such as security, economy, education, women
empowerment; and insisted on indigenous and ‘Swa-Centric’ collective approach
for transformation.
Delivering the annual Vijayadashami speech to thousands of swayamsevaks in
uniform and a massive gathering of supporters at the historical Reshimbagh
Grounds at Nagpur on the 94th Foundation Day of RSS, Shri Bhagwat spoke at
length on the threat from within the society. The agents that cause many a
trouble reside in the body,” he said.
Founder Chairman of HCL Technologies Ltd, Shri Shiv Nadar, was the chief guest
at the function. Vidarbha Prant Sanghachalak Shri Ram Harkare, Sahsanghachalak
Shri Shridhar Gadge and Nagpur Mahanagar Sanghachalak Shri Rajesh Loya also
shared the dais.
Union Ministers Shri Nitin Gadkari, Gen. VK Singh (Retd.) and Maharashtra Chief
Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis were among others present at the event.
Shri Bhagwat further said there has been a transformation in the direction of
the thought process of Bharat and “a developed Bharat creates fear in the minds
of vested interests”. Such forces do not want Bharat to be strong and vibrant.
Unfortunately, the prevailing state of social unity, equality and harmony in the
country is not up to the desired level and these forces inimical to Bharat are
seen taking advantage of this situation, he explained.
Diversities of caste, creed, language and region are being used to separate one
from another; widening the fault lines already existing in the society; imposing
fabricated identities on manufactured separations thereby creating diverse and
conflicting streams in the national mainstream, the RSS Sarsanghachalak said
calling for constant alertness to thwart all such attempts.
Taking strong exception to using imported terms like ‘lynching’ or mob violence
to malign the Hindu society, Shri Bhagwat explained how the “incidents of one
community attacking other are deliberately fabricated and published with
distortions”. “These tendencies of violence have somehow or the other crossed
the limits of the law and order and wreaked havoc by eroding the mutual
relations in the society,”
he said clearly stating that “neither this tendency is the tradition of our
country nor does it fit in the spirit of the Constitution.”
While denouncing such violence, Dr Bhagwat firmly said, “The Sangh has never
supported the people who were involved in such incidents and it stands against
each and every such incident. By branding such incidents by the words like
‘lynching”, denoting the traditions which were alien to Bharat and belong
elsewhere, efforts are underway to defame our country and entire Hindu society
and create fear among the so-called minority communities”.
In the present context it is “absolutely important” to work for the goodwill,
harmony and cooperation among all sections of the society and “follow the
discipline” by keeping ourselves within the “limits of Constitution”, he said
adding that the Sangh swayamsevaks have been making efforts to enhance this type
of dialogues and cooperation.
During the course of his hour-long speech Shri Bhagwat touched upon a variety of
issues like 2019 election and positive voting by the electorate in endorsement
of the government’s policies; abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, developing
Swadeshi consciousness as envisaged by the late Dattopant Thengdi; formulating
‘our own’ economic vision commensurate with our requirements, profile and
condition of our people and our resources and potential to realize our national
aspirations; introducing a relevant, logical, truthful, dutiful education system
that gives comprehensive knowledge and about our language (Swa Bhasha), our
attire (Swa Bhoosha) and our culture (Swa Sanskriti); restoring respect to
women; strengthening family system to build character and end financial and
character corruption; and to save the environment.
Dr Bhagwat also lashed at the forces maligning the RSS projecting it as
‘anti-Muslims or anti-Christians ignoring the organization's efforts to create
unity, goodwill, good conduct and good behaviour and a clear vision and devotion
towards the nation. The Sangh is organizing the Hindu society but that does not
mean that it is against any other religious groups or communities, he explained.
“There is an orchestrated effort to malign the Hindu society and Hindutva
through a number of baseless and slanderous allegations, he alleged stating that
behind such nefarious designs there is a thought process, which is relentlessly
working to keep our society divided and make use of it for its self-interests.
Explaining the concept of Hindu Rashtra, he said, “Bharat is Hindustan, Hindu
Rashtra. The word Hindu is not confined to just those who call them Hindus.
Those who belong to Bharat, those of who are descendants of Bharatiya ancestors,
those who are working for the ultimate glory of the nation and joining hands in
enhancing peace by mingling with each other and accepting, respecting and
welcoming diversities; all such Bharatiyas are Hindus irrespective of their mode
of worship, language, food habits, lifestyle and native place. Those who use
words like Bharatiya, Indic etc are also included in the wider canvass of Hindu
and are acceptable to the Sangh, he said.
Earlier, the RSS swayamsevaks performed various physical drills, band
performance, yogasanas, dand vyayamyoga and niyuddha etc.
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4. CYCLE 4 SEWA – WHEELY WHEELY GREAT TIME!: Sewa UK
has been organizing Cycle4Sewa, an annual cycling fundraiser at Redbridge
Cycling Centre in East London for the past 8 years. This year's event on 1st
Sept was attended by over 200 cyclists and 400 people in total, with the aim to
raise money for Sewa UK's most recent project Cochlea Pune. Through the
determination of all of the cyclists, a total of 3,250km were cycled throughout
the day. With the cameras in position, a drone in the air and cyclists on the
start line, a determined group of 165 cyclists took on the Main Event, a two
hour cycle to complete as many laps as possible individually. Things got more
competitive when the Team Challenge began. Thirteen teams consisting of five
cyclists each had an hour to complete the most laps as a team. The top teams
from last year battled it out once again this year, with team Shivaji Elders
from Woolwich winning with 115 laps amongst the teams.
The money generated through such events has helped Sewa UKs projects to build 2
residential schools in Jawhar (Maharashtra) and Gadag (Karnataka) to help
children with a disability to get an education tailored to their needs. It has
also been able to fund a treatment centre for children with cerebral palsy.
Please visit www.sewauk.org for more details.
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5. RAKSHABANDHAN IN UK SHAKHAS: Many shakhas in UK
including Maya Shakha and Shree Balagokulam in Amersham, Shakti Shakha Solihull
Birmingham, shakhas at Cheltenham, Gillingham and Newbury celebrated Raksha
Bandhan Utsav during the month of September at Shakha as well as by visiting
Police and Fire stations. Young swayamsevaks and sevikas tied Rakhi to the
officials and fire fighters who appreciated the spirit behind this utsav. At
places, they also demonstrated Ni-Yuddh , Kho Kho, and Suryanamaskars etc.
“It is the first time I was approached by a group like this” and that “it was
very well received by all Fire Fighters at Solihull Station”.—Crew manager Dean
Yates of Solihull Fire Station
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6. BENCH RESTORATION EARNS GOODWILL FOR SEWA: Sewa International’s Chesterfield, New Jersey team recently restored 115 benches in city parks and other public places. They cleaned and polished the benches by sanding and staining them. It took an average of five hours to make each bench look like new, and 52 Sewa volunteers worked over a month to complete fixing all 115 benches. The Sewa team logged over 650 hours in this effort and earned a lot of praise for their work by the local community and the county administration. GoTop
7. BLINDNESS IN BHARAT DROPS BY 47%: The prevalence
of blindness in Bharat has come down by around 47 per cent since 2007, according
to the National Blindness and Visually Impaired Survey (2019) released on 10th
October, indicating that the country is close to achieving the WHO's goal of
reducing it to 0.3 per cent of the total population by 2020.
In absolute numbers, people suffering from blindness have reduced from 12
million in 2006-07 to 4.8 million in 2019. However, cataract still remains to be
the most common cause of blindness (66.2 per cent) followed by corneal blindness
(7.4 per cent). The current survey, done after 2006, was conducted between
2015—2018 by Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences of the AIIMS in
collaboration with the Union Health ministry.
GoTop
8. ‘THE RSS: A ROADMAP FOR THE 21ST CENTURY’ BY SUNIL
AMBEKAR: “Merely a change in the system is not the guarantee of the desired
change in the society. It requires a change in the mindset and conduct of the
individuals. ” said RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat while releasing a
book, ‘The RSS: A Roadmaps for the 21st Century’, on October 1, 2019 at New
Delhi. The book, published by Rupa Publications has been written by national
organizing secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP Shri Sunil
Ambekar.
Former Chief Justice of Bharat Shri KG Balakrishnan and chairman of FICCI Shri
Sandip Somany were also present. Besides many senior RSS functionaries and Union
ministers , several prominent citizens attended the event.
The Sarsanghachalak called upon the people to join any of the Sangh activity for
two years to know the RSS. “The Sangh cannot be limited to any book or ideology.
” he said. He said every karyakarta of the RSS is free to express his own
thoughts on any issue. It is only when such diverse ideas come together into the
melting pot that a consensus emerges.
Justice Shri K.G. Balakrishnan specifically mentioned Chapter 5 of the book,
which talks about caste inequality. “Many former Sarsanghchalaks have made
eradication of caste-based discrimination their life mission. I hope the Sangh
continues that remarkable legacy,” he said.
Earlier, Shri Sunil Ambekar, while introducing the book said the book is an
effort to answer the queries that normally come from the youngsters and faculty
members in the Universities.
GoTop
9.RESTORING THE GLORY OF VEDAS NEEDED—DR MOHAN BHAGWAT:
RSS Sarsanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat said that the daily lives of every person
of Bharat is connected to the Vedas. What we call science knows the outwardly
things but Vedas have science in them and knowledge too along with that which is
not perceived by our intellect. Dr Bhagwat was invited by the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad and Ashok Singhal Foundation at the six-day Chaturveda Swahakaar
Mahayagya event organised at the Lakshmi Narayan Temple (Birla Temple) in New
Delhi.
All the four Vedas were being recited by 60 Acharyas under the guidance of
Ramanujacharya Chinmaya Swamiji. This Mahayagya started on the 9th of October
and concluded on 14th morning with 'Poornahuti'. During the earlier sessions,
Shri Dinesh Chandra, member of VHP Governing Council, informed that there were
separate Yagya Kundas for each Veda and over the period of Yagya , Veda mantras
from each of the four Vedas were chanted in a perfect way and after each mantra
is recited, the offering was made to the Yagya Kunda dedicated to that
particular Veda. GoTop
10. JAIPUR, JODHPUR, DURGAPURA CLEANEST STATIONS IN
BHARAT: Three railway stations in Rajasthan bagged top honours in the
railways' cleanliness survey unveiled on 2nd October.
Jaipur, Jodhpur and Durgapura were the top three ranking railway stations among
720. Andheri, Virar and Naigaon railway stations were the top three among 109
suburban stations. North Western Railway followed by South East Central Railway
and East Central Railway are the top three railway zones.
Railways have been conducting third party audit and cleanliness ranking of 407
major stations annually since 2016. This year the survey was expanded to include
720 stations and suburban stations were also included.
GoTop
11. ARMY INDUCTS ‘TANK KILLER’ SPIKE MISSILES: With
the purchase of over 200 Spike missiles, the Bharatiya infantry is now better
prepared to counter military threats at the Line of Control. The Spike missile
integrates a top attack capability which means it is able to fly over its target
and knock it out from above. This is a particularly important feature,
especially when dealing with tanks. Instead of striking the body of a tank, the
missile is able to guide itself onto the roof of the tank, widely known to be
its least protected part.
The long-range Spike missile has a range of 4km and unlike its medium-range
counterpart, can be guided by an operator mid-flight, in case course correction
is required. GoTop
12. PM MODI PICKS UP WASTE AT THE BEACH: Walking
barefoot along the seashore, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi signified true example
of 'practice as you preach'. Without any hesitation exhibiting core values of
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Pradhan Mantri collected plastic bottles, plates and
other garbage or waste 'collection' thrown on the beach at Mamallapuram where he
was staying during the summit with Chinese premier Xi Jinping. Clad in a black
kurta-pajama, Modi was seen with a large plastic bag in hand during his early
morning walk as he picked out plastic litter, water bottles strewn on the sands.
PM Modi, in his tweet, giving priority to cleanliness said that plogging at a
beach in Mamallapuram this morning. It lasted for over 30 minutes. Also handed
over my ‘collection’ to Jeyaraj, who is a part of the hotel staff. Let us ensure
our public places are clean and tidy! Let us also ensure we remain fit and
healthy. GoTop
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Pravas: Dr Ram Vaidya, sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will travel to
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Kenya.
Visitors: Dr Mukesh Mohania, Tejpal - Australia, Dr Pralay Kanugo—Germany
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Science gives us knowledge but only philosophy can
gives us wisdom—Will Durant - Noted historian
GoTop
JAI SHREE RAM
EMULATE THE MAHATMA’S VISION IN OUR LIVES
Dr Mohan Bhagwat
Poojya Mahatma Gandhi is prominent among luminaries whose names were etched
in the history of modern and the rising Independent Bharat, a glorious chapter
in its eternal and epochal journey. Bharat is the land of spirituality, and its
progress is rested on the same. Mahatma Gandhi laid the foundation and built a
polity based on this.
Gandhiji’s efforts were not limited to power politics. His focus was more on
creating righteous behaviour (Satwika Acharan) in society and its leadership.
Mahatma Gandhi outrightly discarded the egoistic and corrupt global and domestic
politics driven by selfish pursuits. It was his dream for the country and
humanity that public life should be based on truth, non-violence, self-reliance,
and real freedom. Gandhiji realised this vision in his life.
Following the arrest of Gandhiji, Congress organised a rally in Nagpur in 1922.
Addressing the rally, Dr Hedgewar said that there was no disparity between his
words and deeds, terming him as a sacred soul (Punya Purush) and added Gandhiji
was a man who was always ready to sacrifice everything for principles and
ideals. Doctorji said that mere verbal glorification of Gandhiji would not take
his mission forward. Emulating the Gandhian values in our lives is the only
forward to further the vision of the Mahatma.
Gandhiji was well aware of the detrimental impact of the slavish mentality,
which was born out of dependency. In his Hind Swaraj, he envisioned a dream
picture of Bharat’s progress and performance based on the pure Swadeshi vision,
which was free from this slave mindset. At that time, the victorious West had
dominated the entire world with its dazzling materialism and tried to promote
its systems and lifestyle through distorting the education and making others
financially dependent through political power.
In such a situation, Gandhiji’s endeavour to give a new thought based on our own
identity to all spheres of human life was a successful experiment.
However, without understanding this, the people with a slavish mindset accepted
the western set of values as a model, denouncing our forefathers, pride and
culture as inferior and disgraceful and engaged themselves in imitating and
flattering the West. Its massive influence is visible in the country’s direction
and condition even today.
Drawing ideas from Gandhiji’s Bharat-centric thoughts, many contemporary world
leaders had contributed to their nations’ thought process. On Gandhiji’s demise,
Albert Einstein said: “Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe
that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.”
Gandhiji had placed his life before us as an example through his pure conduct
and thought.
Gandhiji visited a Sangh camp held near Wardha in 1936. Next day, Dr Hedgewar
met him at his Ashram. The contents of the long question-answer session and
discussion are now in the public domain. Gandhiji also visited a shakha near to
his place of residence in Delhi during the tragic days of Partition. He spoke to
the swayamsevaks in the shakha. Its report was published in the Harijan, dated
September 27, 1947.
Gandhiji expressed his joy over the discipline of the Sangh swayamsevaks and
complete
absence of the divisive feelings of caste and creed in them.
Gandhiji, who believed in the Swa-based reorganisation of Bharat, firmly stood
for social equality and harmony and translated his vision into action, had set
an example for all through his life. We must perceive, understand and manifest
it in our life. On account of this, even those who had minor differences of
opinion with him also viewed with reverence.
Every morning, right from its very inception, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
remembers the great personalities of our nation through a practice of reciting a
stotra. In 1963, this stotra was revised by adding some new names. By the time,
Poojya Gandhiji was no more and his name was also added. Now, it is known as
Ekatmata Stotra. The Sangh swayamsevaks recite it every morning and recall
Gandhiji’s life of the above-mentioned values.
Remembering the Mahatma on his 150th birth anniversary, we shall take a pledge
that we will emulate his sacred, dedicated and transparent life and Swa-centric
life vision, and through which we must inculcate the qualities of dedication and
renunciation in our lives to make Bharat the Vishwa Guru.
( The author is Param Poojaniya Sarsanghachalak of RSS, Dr Mohan Bhagwat.
Organiser Weekly, 6th October 2019 )
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