\ SAMVAD संवाद

Jyeshtha Shukla 2, Vik. Samvat 2079, Yugabda 5124:1 June, 2022: SM 4005 (For Private Circulation Only)


1. FESTIVALS: PURI RATH YATRA

2. ‘ONE NATION – ONE HEALTH SYSTEM IS THE NEED OF HOUR’: RASHTRAPATI KOVIND

3. ‘KALA YATRA’ INAUGURATED BY DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT

4. PM MODI VISITED NEPAL TO MARK BUDDHA PURNIMA

5. TIME TO PUT HISTORICAL FACTS IN RIGHT PERSPECTIVE: SUNIL AMBEKAR

6. SEVENTH INDIA IDEAS CONCLAVE

7. JORDAN’S KING ABDULLAH II VISITED DARSHANA EXHIBITION

8. SANATAN DHARMA SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH - CAMPS

9. HSS CANADA : HINDU HERITAGE CAMP AT HALIFAX

10. TREWYN SCHOOL BOOK FAIR ORGANIZED BY HSS PEORIA

11. AUSTRALIA RECOGNISES SWASTIKA & BANNED HAKENKREUZ

12. CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY BILL REOCGNISES DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SWASTIKA AND HAKENKREUZ

13. SEWA FELLOWSHIP

14. AUSTRALIAN PM ANNOUNCES $250,000 FOR KARMA KITCHEN

15. WHO HONOURS ASHA VOLUNTEERS

16. CAPT ABHILASHA BARAK BECAME FIRST LADY COMBAT AVIATOR OF INDIAN ARMY

17. JAPANESE PM KISHIDA PRAISES BHARAT’S VACCINE HELP UNDER QUAD VACCINE INITIATIVE

18. BHARAT’S MEN BADMINTON TEAM WIN IN THOMAS CUP

19. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Article: RSS, NEARLY HUNDRED


1. FESTIVALS: PURI RATH YATRA: Ratha Yatra falls on the second day of Shukla Paksha of Aashadha month as per the Oriya Calendar (July 1 this year). During the Rath Yatra, Bhagwan Jagannath, Bhagwan Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra travel from Jagannath Mandir to Shri Gundicha Mandir in huge rathas allowing public to have darshan. The Rathas are huge wheeled wooden structures, which are built anew every year and are pulled by the devotees. After nine days, the deities ride the chariots back to Shri Mandir in ‘bahuda jatra’.

Vivid descriptions of this festival are found in Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Skanda Purana and Kapila Samhita. A 10th-11th century CE drama written during the rule of the Somavamshi dynasty, also talks of the yatra of Bhagwan Purusottama (Jagannatha) near the sea shore. A frieze from a temple at Dhanmandal in north Odisha from the Ganga dynasty era (13th-14th century CE) depicts the three rathas, each drawn by many devotees.
The Ratha Yatra festival has also become a common sight in many major cities of the world including San Francisco, Prague, Brisbane etc. -GoTop

2. ‘ONE NATION – ONE HEALTH SYSTEM IS THE NEED OF HOUR’: RASHTRAPATI KOVIND: On May 28, Rashtrapati Ram Nath Kovind graced and addressed a function on the subject ‘One-Nation – One Health System is the need of Hour’ organized by Arogya Bharati in Bhopal.
Speaking on the occasion, Rashtrapati Kovind said that during the last two decades, Arogya Bharti has been working in an organized manner with a holistic approach of making citizens healthy. Rashtrapati Kovind also said that under the National Health Policy, Government aims to make quality health services accessible to all at an affordable cost and arrange health facilities for all in a comprehensive and holistic manner. He said that to achieve these goals, participation of government and private sector institutions is essential. In this context, Arogya Bharti has made a very positive effort by raising awareness among the people and bringing together people from all medical systems. -GoTop

3. ‘KALA YATRA’ INAUGURATED BY DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT: Shri Kamakhya Kala Peeth - The Centre for Bharatiya Classical Dances (CICD), is a cultural institution founded in 1977 by Padma Vibhushan Dr Sonal Mansingh.  In the 45th year of the institute, a two day ‘Kala Yatra’ festival was organized on April 29-30 at Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi. The colourful event, Ramotsav, was inaugurated with the ceremonial lighting of a lamp by RSS Sarsanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat who was the guest of honour, and Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Labour and Employment and Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
With a scintillating performance titled “Katha Siya-Ram Ki”, Dr. Sonal Mansingh showcased how Prabhu Shri Ram and Sitaji lived their lives and handled extraordinary situations.
Praising the presentation, Dr. Bhagwat said that we were taken to that bygone era by the performance of Didi and her team. Lauding the brilliant theme and festival RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale said that Dr. Sonal Mansingh has been a towering guru and flag bearer of nurturing culture in all its manifestations. -GoTop

4. PM MODI VISITED NEPAL TO MARK BUDDHA PURNIMA: On May 16, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi, along with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba offered their prayers at the sacred Maya Devi temple, the main site of birthplace of Bhagwan Buddha in Lumbini. The leaders paid their respects at the Marker Stone inside the temple premises which pinpoints the exact birth spot of Bhagwan Buddha, lit lamps near the Ashoka Pillar located adjacent to the temple and watered the Bodhi tree sapling from Bodh Gaya which was gifted by PM Modi to Lumbini in 2014.
They also performed the shilanyaas ceremony for the construction of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone. The shilanyaas ceremony was performed by monks belonging to three major Buddhist traditions - Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Once completed, the Centre will be a world-class facility welcoming pilgrims and tourists from all over the world to enjoy the essence of the spiritual aspects of Buddhism. -GoTop

5. TIME TO PUT HISTORICAL FACTS IN RIGHT PERSPECTIVE: SUNIL AMBEKAR: RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Shri Sunil Ambekar was the main speaker at the Devrishi Narad Patrakar Samman Samaroh organized by Vishwa Samvad Kendra in Jaipur on May 16. Speaking on the occasion, he said that awareness of the national perspective builds and sustains a nation and media has to fulfill its role in building this national perspective.
He opined that the media should bring forward the positive, constructive efforts happening in the country to encourage them and restrain from publicizing any news before ascertaining its truthfulness. He also said that the time has come for historical facts to be put in the right perspective before society. Chief Guest - veteran journalist Pravinchandra Chhabda – also addressed the gathering. On the occasion, three journalists were felicitated and a dance-drama on the life of Sage Narada was also presented. -GoTop

6. SEVENTH INDIA IDEAS CONCLAVE: India Foundation organized the Seventh India Ideas Conclave in Bengaluru from May 20 to 22. The theme of the conclave was “India 2.0: Rebooting to Meta Era”. Around 400 delegates attended the event in which an illustrious list of speakers shared their detailed thoughts on a varied set of fields – economy, industry, science, religion, politics, commerce, connectivity, history, spirituality – in which Bharat has to focus to leapfrog into the Meta Era. The speakers included many Union ministers, leaders from various companies like TCS, Infosys, Facebook, BioCON, General Atomic Global etc, environment specialists, spiritual leaders and historians. They spoke on various topics like making Bharat a preferred destination for semiconductor manufacturing, achieving energy efficiency goals, capacity building of the population, enabling climate change etc. There was a poignant session by Vijay Kumar of the India Pride Project. His presentation showed us how our gods end up being smuggled and sold, the relentless efforts to bring back these back home and how the villages welcomed back their idols.
Speaking at the conclave, RSS joint general secretary CR Mukunda said that a sense of balance or dharma that Bharat has followed since the ancient times added to technology can play a role in the coming decades. He added that in this Meta era, as a society, we have a responsibility to bring intelligent people into the system where they can become a force and their creativity can be used. -GoTop

7. JORDAN’S KING ABDULLAH II VISITED DARSHANA EXHIBITION: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA (HSS), in conjunction with a group of American Hindu organizations representing Indic religions and philosophies held an exhibition titled “Darshana – A Glimpse into the Hindu Civilization” on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on May 10 and 11. It was visited and appreciated by thirty-two Congressional offices, two U.S. Senators, and seven Members of the House of Representatives.
His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan paid a surprise visit to the Darshana exhibition. Joined by Darshana Exhibition volunteers, His Majesty walked around and viewed the exhibition with great interest and appreciation. His reactions to the content of the posters were very encouraging. After learning details about the presence of the exhibition at the Capitol, the king was presented the coffee table book of Darshana Exhibition. -GoTop

8. SANATAN DHARMA SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH - CAMPS: In the month of April and May, Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh (SDSS) Myanmar organised one-day Sadhana Vargs at various places. The aim of these vargs was to increase knowledge about Hindu Dharma and Sangh work among participants and encourage them to practice the teaching of Dharma and Hindu Sangathan karya in their daily lives.
1116 participants attended the vargs conducted in 21 places. These included 205 Taruns, 556 Baals and 355 Balikas. Khel, stories, Yog, physical exercises, Suryanamakars, Samta and introduction of SDSS were the highlights of the activities in the varg. -GoTop

9. HSS CANADA : HINDU HERITAGE CAMP AT HALIFAX: A half day Hindu Heritage Camp was conducted by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 28. 41 Balas of the age group 5 to 15 participated in activities which included Khel, Yoga, Story, Shloka, Geet and Vedic Mathematics.
It was planned by the Halifax Shakha team to increase the Bala Gana sankhya in the shakha. Registration had to be closed few days prior to the scheduled date because of the overwhelming response and capacity limit of the venue. -GoTop

10. TREWYN SCHOOL BOOK FAIR ORGANIZED BY HSS PEORIA: On the occasion of the Hindu New Year, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Peoria chapter, organized the second annual book fair at Trewyn School in Peoria, IL, from May 11 to May 13. The purpose of the book fair was to get children excited about books and provide an opportunity for every child to buy at least one affordable book of their choice. The book fair was first conceptualized in April 2019 after the cancellation of the regular Scholastic book fair which sold books that were either not affordable for the students or were not appropriate for the reading levels of Trewyn children.
At the book fair, books were made available at affordable prices ranging from 25 cents to 5 dollars. From a book collection and fundraising drive, more than 700 new books - including all the popular children's series, as well as award-winners and books on inclusion and diversity - were made available. Trewyn children bought more than 600 books at the book fair. A reading volunteer family celebrated their children’s birthday by giving vouchers to each of the 88 kindergartners and first graders at Trewyn which enabled them to buy up to 8 books for themselves and their families. 17 volunteers worked very hard to make the book fair a success.  -GoTop

11. AUSTRALIA RECOGNISES SWASTIKA & BANNED HAKENKREUZ: In a significant victory for Hindu organizations, the Australian state of Victoria has recognized the cultural and historical significance of the Hindu Swastika symbol.
The Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Symbol Prohibition) Bill 2022 was introduced by the Victorian Government which makes it a criminal offense to intentionally display the Nazi symbol Hakenkreuz in public. At the same time, recognizing the significance it holds for Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and other Dharmic communities, the Bill allows the Swastika symbol to be used and displayed . It identifies Swastika as an ancient and sacred symbol of peace and good fortune for Hindus and other sister religions.
Attorney general Jaclyn Symes differentiated between the Nazi Hakenkreuz symbol and the Hindu Swastika symbol. She said that legislation will come into effect a year after passing to allow for a community education campaign to raise awareness of the origins of the religious and cultural swastika, its importance to the Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain communities and its distinction from the Nazi symbol. -GoTop

12. CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY BILL REOCGNISES DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SWASTIKA AND HAKENKREUZ: On May 26, the California State Assembly passed the bill AB.2282, taking a historic step and leading the nation as the first state legislative body to legally recognize the difference between the swastika and the Nazi emblem, the hakenkreuz. The amended passage of the bill states – “This bill would state the intent of the Legislature is to criminalize, for the purpose of terrorizing a person, the display or placement of the Nazi swastika and not swastikas associated with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.”  Hindu American Foundation’s Managing Director, Samir Kalra, based in CA, stated “HAF and Assemblywoman Bauer-Kahan both recognize that the passage of AB.2282, as amended, is a significant change that is the first step in reform. We still need to educate the public, media, and law enforcement about the differences between the hateful Nazi hakenkreuz and the peaceful meaning and sacred use of the swastika as has been done for thousands of years in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain communities.” -GoTop

13. SEWA FELLOWSHIP: Sewa International (SI) announced the launch of a new initiative - Sewa Fellowship. Driven by a spirit of service or 'sewa', the program bridges curriculum-style learning, experiential work at the grassroots, and one-on-one mentorship by master practitioners.
Sewa Fellowship is a strategic investment in human capacity and grassroots organizations to build solutions for Bharat's complex socio-economic-cultural matrix. It is a 100-week experiential learning program for future grassroots leaders. As an intensive journey, SI intends to nurture future nation-builders with expert mentorship, extensive training, and working with some of the leading non-profits of Bharat. Anyone in the age group of 21-30 years with some volunteering experience can apply for the fellowship. -GoTop

14. AUSTRALIAN PM ANNOUNCES $250,000 FOR KARMA KITCHEN: Prime Minister Mr. Scott Morrison announced a grant of $250,000 to Hindu Council of Australia for its Karma Kitchen program.  The announcement was made by him during a Hindu Council's Meet and Greet Political Parties event at Park Royal, Parramatta.
“KARMA KITCHEN” is an initiative by Hindu Council Australia to distribute free food to homeless and needy people and is supported by local community organizations. This grant will help Karma Kitchen to expand its kitchen and its services to more needy people. -GoTop

15. WHO HONOURS ASHA VOLUNTEERS: Bharat’s one million all-women ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers were awarded and honoured by WHO for their outstanding contribution to advancing global health, demonstrating leadership and commitment to regional health issues. They were honoured for their crucial role in linking the community with the health system and ensuring those living in rural areas could access primary health care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its official statement, WHO said that ASHAs worked to provide maternal care and immunization for children against vaccine-preventable diseases; community health care; treatment for hypertension and tuberculosis; and core areas of health promotion for nutrition, sanitation, and healthy living.
The ceremony for the awards, which was established in 2019, was part of the live-streamed high-level opening session of the 75th World Health Assembly. -GoTop

16. CAPT ABHILASHA BARAK BECAME FIRST LADY COMBAT AVIATOR OF INDIAN ARMY: On May 25, Captain Abhilasha Barak became the first woman combat aviator in the Army Aviation Corps. She passed out with flying colors along with 36 Indian Army Pilots, during the passing out ceremony of the Army Aviation Corps at Combat Army Aviation School (CATS), Nashik. 
Capt Abhilasha hails from Haryana's Panchkula. She joined the Officers Training Academy (OTA) Chennai for her training and got commissioned into AAD (Army Air Defence). Further, she opted for Army Aviation Corps and became the first woman combat aviator of the Indian Army.
The Indian Air Force flies attack helicopters which are under the operational control of the army. Helicopters such as the HAL Chetak, HAL Cheetah and HAL Dhruv provide logistical support for the Indian Army.
The Army Aviation Corps also perform combat search and rescue (CSAR), artillery lift, combat transportation, logistics relief, military prisoner transportation and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) in wartime and during natural disasters. -GoTop

17. JAPANESE PM KISHIDA PRAISES BHARAT’S VACCINE HELP UNDER QUAD VACCINE INITIATIVE: On May 24, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida praised Bharat’s contribution to the Quad Vaccine Initiative while recalling the country’s help to Thailand and Cambodia. PM Kishida said that Bharatiya-made vaccines delivered under the Quad Vaccine Initiative were recently received with gratitude in Thailand and Cambodia. In a ceremony, Kishida also noted that Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen himself attended the handing over ceremony of the vaccines.
On May 10, Bharat handed over to Cambodia 325,000 doses of Made in Bharat Covishield vaccines under the Quad Vaccine Partnership scheme.
Under the Quad Vaccine Partnership, Bharat presented about 200,000 doses of Made in Bharat Covovax vaccines to Thailand in April. Bharat also extended its support to Thailand to help the country fight the war against the pandemic by supplying medicines and oxygen concentrators, read the official statement.
The Quad Leaders announced the Quad Vaccine Partnership at their first Summit on March 12, 2021. It aims to leverage Quad’s collective strength to ensure the global availability of safe and effective vaccines by expanding manufacturing and assisting countries in the Indo-Pacific with vaccination. -GoTop

18. BHARAT’S MEN BADMINTON TEAM WIN IN THOMAS CUP: Dishing out a performance for the ages, Bharat’s men’s badminton team lifted the Thomas Cup title with a commanding 3-0 win over powerhouse Indonesia on May 15, a historic triumph that will enhance country’s status in the sport. World Championships medalist Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and doubles players Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy stunned the 14-time champions to win the prestigious team championship for first time ever. The Bharatiya side had not even reached the last-four stage since 1979 and ended up upsetting formidable Malaysia and Denmark en route the summit clash.
In a tweet, Pradhan Mantri Shri Narendra Modi congratulated the Bharatiya team and said that the entire nation is elated by Bharat winning the Thomas Cup. -GoTop

19. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Saumitra Gokhale, Vishwa Vibhag Samyojak would travel to Canada. Visitors: Vineet and Vyom Goel, Raejndra Kelkar: USA; Shekhar Deeptiman: Australia. -GoTop

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When one is neither attached to sense objects nor to actions, such a person is said to be elevated in the science of Yog, having renounced all desires for the fruits of actions.– Srimad Bhagwat Gita (6.4). -GoTop

JAI SHRI RAM
----
RSS, NEARLY HUNDRED
DR MANMOHAN VAIDYA

On Vijayadashami 2022, the organisation will complete 97 years of its existence.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded in Nagpur in 1925 and on the Vijayadashami of 2022, the organisation will complete 97 years of its existence. As it approaches its centenary, the Sangh’s reach and influence is growing manifold, despite opposition and obstacles. Consistent hard work, penance, sacrificial spirit of the Sangh workers, accrescent support of the society and blessings of the Almighty have made this possible. This achievement fascinates many, the world over. Lately, people are also curious to learn how RSS would celebrate its centenary.
RSS founder, Dr Hedgewar was very clear in his vision, in that he saw Sangh not as an organisation operating within the society, but as the organisation of the entire society. One of Sangh’s luminaries, Shri Dattopant Thengadi remarked, “conceptually RSS and Hindu society are co-terminus and psychologically they are one.”
Therefore, the centenary of RSS cannot be confined to the organisational level. Since Sangh is synonymous with society, and Dr Hedgewar opined that our mission to unify the entire society under Sangh’s vision should be fulfilled even before the celebration of the silver jubilee, accomplishing the Sangh’s mission before the centenary would be the ideal centenary celebration.
A Sangh song goes like Karyamagnata Jeevan ho aur Karyapurti hi Vishranti) “to live is to be absorbed in work and only its completion is to rest.”
The journey of the monumental expansion of Sangh operations has seen four major phases. The period spanning the foundation of RSS up to the nation’s independence should be considered the first phase, wherein the focus was on “organisation” since it was necessary to make people believe that Hindu society can be united and speak about Bharat and Hindutva as a unified chorus. While swayamsevaks participated in the ongoing freedom movement and other social reform movements, Sangh as an organisation completely absorbed itself in organising the collective.
The second phase of Sangh’s expansion is from Bharat’s independence to the year 1990. A thousand-year-long struggle followed by the inspiration of the freedom movement called for a need to envision a social and national blueprint based on our real identity or self (“Swa”). Rooted in the traditions of Bharat, initiatives were propelled by swayamsevaks in several segments like education, student development, politics, labour, tribals and farmers. While the organisation carried on with its core activities, many people’s initiatives addressing the needs of the entire spectrum of human lifespan also shaped up alongside.
Today, Sangh’s shakhas are conducted in over 90% of the development blocks and more than 35 community-driven initiatives are addressing different needs of the society. The third phase commenced following Dr Hedgewar’s birth centenary in the year 1990. The mission to weave the society as one with affection and affinity resulted in the outreach to the deprived, weak and the backward within our society. Sewa Vibhag (social service initiative) was established to work towards their uplift.

In the same spirit every volunteer takes an oath, “I have become a constituent (volunteer) of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh for the all-round progress of the nation.” It is irrational to assume that the volunteers alone can bring about all-round progress. Many influential and well-intended people want to contribute toward society’s betterment. In 1994, the Sampark Vibhag (societal outreach initiative) was set up for connecting and gathering information about the activities and contributions of such social achievers, making them aware of the Sangh’s vision and cooperating in areas of mutual interest.
Take for example the matter of conversion that has been debated since the freedom movement. In 1967, under Congress governments, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha passed a bill to stop Christian conversion. Since then this issue has single-handedly been taken up by the Bharatiya Janata Party only and most of the bills to stop conversion were passed during the BJP reign in various states with an exception of Himachal Pradesh.
In 2006, the Congress government led by Shri Virbhadra Singh passed a bill against conversion there. Just a few years ago, some officials of the Sangh Sampark Vibhag had met with Shri Virbhadra Singh-ji, who narrated the first-hand accounts of the passing of the bill and told them that if he could be instrumental in stopping conversion anywhere in India outside Himachal Pradesh, then he would readily contribute.
Similarly, in 2008-09, when Gau-Gram Rath Yatra was organised, “Sarvodaya” workers participated in this yatra at many locations. In this way, issue-based cooperation with those who might not entirely share the Sangh’s worldview has been enabled by the Sampark Vibhag.
RSS has been and still continues to be at the receiving end of spiteful, organised efforts to malign its image through misinformation. To tackle this the Prachar Vibhag (media relations initiative) of RSS was formed in 1994. Its aim is to disseminate what Sangh really stands for and does for society. It emphasises RSS’ national outlook using different media and also counters the malicious, false propaganda built around RSS by providing accurate information.
Additionally, during the third phase, alarmed by certain burning social problems, key social reform projects were instituted. It was through the intervention of “Dharmajagaran Vibhag” efforts to stop organised mass Hindu conversion operations and the project of helping those proselytised and desirous of connecting back with their roots were initiated.
Along similar lines, it was felt that village folk could be mobilized to enable village development, independent of state intervention. With a motto to usher in extensive rural development by empowering villagers in a way that they can accrue adequate benefit of the government schemes, “gram vikas” work was started.
Since antiquity our Hindu society has had members that identified with varied caste nomenclatures but those elements that have vested interests in dividing the society have consistently tried to instigate caste-oriented animosity. To create a consortium for all concerned to discuss common challenges and contemplate collective action, a series of meetings have been organised, known as “Samajik Sadbhav” (social harmony) meetings. Similarly, to eradicate untouchability and malpractices associated with it, by commemorating our common heritage, efforts have been made through “Samajik Samarasata” (Social Equality and Brotherhood).
The work of “Gauseva—Gausamvardhan” has flourished with thousands of new gaushalas coming up all over Bharat. Creating mass awareness about the medicinal value of products obtained from cows of indigenous breeds, conservation and promotion and breed improvement of these cows along with education programs to train farmers in cow dung based natural farming are some of the programs undertaken.
While Western thought sees the individual as the smallest unit of the society, Indian culture believes that it is the family. According to the Bharatiya spiritual worldview, family is the first step of the journey from “Me to We.” In the present scenario, urbanization and the fast pace of life have shrunk families and created a lack of opportunities to come together and celebrate our heritage, traditions, relationships, and festivals. Therefore, “Kutumb Prabodhan” (familial awakening through dialogue) was started wherein family members gather weekly to analyze our civilizational heritage, traditions, culture and the prevailing social scenario from the nationalistic point of view and also discuss their duties in the light of the same.
In the last 500 years, growth based on a western paradigm of development has wrecked the ecological balance of our precious earth. With the ambition to restore this equilibrium, “environmental protection” work was started. It strives to bring in awareness and propel activism around the issue of “environment,” by encouraging public participation.
Now we are in the fourth phase of our evolution wherein we expect every “earning young swayamsevak” to actively participate in and cooperate for social awakening and social change by choosing any one area for social transformation according to his interest and ability.
The founder of the Sangh, Dr Hedgewar in his address during a 1940 RSS training camp said, “Sangh work and values should not be confined to the shakha but must be extended and established in the entire society.” Earning the necessary income for our families, nurturing our families and attending shakha regularly would not suffice. To invest one’s time in actively working towards social change and social awakening is the definition of a Sangh worker.
Sangh expects that its swayamsevaks, 1. will develop themselves to effectively execute Sangh’s mission in the society. 2. Will uphold the holistic Akhil Bharatiya (All-India) perspective, that this entire nation from (Ram) Setu to the Himalayas is one and is my own. 3. Will realise the feeling that all members of the society are equal. 4. Will regularly attend shakha so that the practice of putting the nation above oneself and leading the movement while remaining in the backdrop could be perfected. 5. Will actively channel the character traits built through the shakha in one of the many areas of social transformation.
Simultaneously, swayamsevaks should be more active in society, meet new people so that newer sections of society can come into contact with the Sangh, understand the Sangh and know the national ideals of the RSS. Being an integral part of society, they can also connect and contribute to protect Hindu Dharma, the Hindu culture and the Hindu society and remain devoted to the cause of all-round progress of the nation.
Along with this, the fundamental work of societal organisation and character building will go on. Social awakening is also a perennial task. With a view to bring about systemic changes, swayamsevaks are actively contributing in different areas through various organisations. It is time that each swayamsevak goes out with a renewed vigour for social change and through all these initiatives towards the fulfilment of Sangh work would be the best way to celebrate the centenary.
(Writer is Sahsarkaryavah of RSS) https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/rss-nearly-hundred  -GoTop


SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN shrivishwaniketan@gmail.com http://svn.epapers.in

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