\Samvad

Ashawin Krishna 6 Vik. Samvat 2079, Yugabda 5124 : 16 September, 2022:SM 4012 (For Private Circulation only)


1. FESTIVALS: DUSSEHRA 2. AKHIL BHARATIYA SAMANVAY BAITHAK CONCLUDED IN RAIPUR
3. PM MODI INAUGURATED KARTAVYA PATH,UNVEILED NETAJI STATUE 4. FIRST MADE-IN-BHARAT AIRCRAFT CARRIER INS VIKRANT COMMISSIONED
5. PM MODI UNVEILS THE NEW NAVAL ENSIGN INSPIRED BY CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ 6. BHARAT OVERTAKES U.K. TO BECOME FIFTH LARGEST ECONOMY
7. HSS SOUTH AFRICA CONDUCTED HINDU HERITAGE CAMPS 8. 18TH HINDU UNITY DAY CELEBRATED IN HOUSTON
9. GANESHOTSAV AROUND THE WORLD 10. SURINAME SEWA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BAG DISTRIBUTION
11. VIDYADAAN: BACKPACK DRIVE BY HSS CHICAGO 12. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN & FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Article: AN AGENDA FOR UNITY: AN INTERVIEW WITH RSS SAH-SARKARYAVAH DR. KRISHNA GOPAL JI


1. FESTIVALS: DUSSEHRA: Dussehra or Vijayadashami is the tenth day of the Navratri festival which starts on Ashwin Shukla 1 (September 26 this year). Nine forms of Shakti/Devi like Durga, Kali, Saraswati are worshipped with fervour and devotion during this period. Vijayadashami (October 5 this year) marks the end of Navratri. Navratri is celebrated throughout Bharat in different forms. In Bengal, exquisitely crafted and decorated life-size idols of Maa Durga depicting her slaying the demon Mahishasura are worshipped.

In North Bharat, Vijayadashami is celebrated with Ramlila and effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnath are burnt in huge fairs. In Southern Bharat, this day marks the end of Golu - a festive display of dolls and figurines - celebrated in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Theppotsavam - the boat festival - is also held during this time in the river Krishna. In Kerala, children are introduced to formal education (Vidyarambham) on Dussehra day. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh also marks its foundation day on Vijayadashami. RSS was established in 1925 on Vijayadashami day in Nagpur.  -GoTop


2. AKHIL BHARATIYA SAMANVAY BAITHAK CONCLUDED IN RAIPUR: The Akhil Bharatiya Samanvay baithak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was held at Jainam Manas Bhavan, Raipur from September 10-12. More than 240 representatives from 36 organisations attended the meeting.

While briefing the media after the baithak, RSS Sah Sarkaryavah Dr. Manmohan Vaidya said that Sangh was committed to carve self-reliant Bharat with a Bharatiya economic model that is human centric, labour-intensive and eco-friendly. Besides, the meeting also emphasized decentralization, equitable distribution of benefits, village economy, micro-scale, small-scale, agriculture-based industries and women’s empowerment.
Dr. Vaidya added that on the occasion of Amrit Mahotsav of Bharat’s independence, expanding the work for self-reliance was also discussed. Speaking about the expansion of Sangh, he said that the work is spreading world-wide and there is a huge increment in the number of shakhas.  -GoTop

3. PM MODI INAUGURATED KARTAVYA PATH,UNVEILED NETAJI STATUE: On September 8, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi inaugurated the new-look Central Vista Avenue in the heart of Delhi. He also unveiled a 28-foot statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in the canopy near India Gate which had been empty since the removal of the statue of King George V in 1968. The statue of Netaji has been hand sculpted at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi from a monolithic block of black granite weighing 280 metric tonne by a team of artists led by Arun Yogiraj. The arterial road Rajpath has been renamed Kartavya Path which, according to Narendra Modi’s personal website, “symbolises a shift from erstwhile Rajpath being an icon of power to Kartavya Path being an example of public ownership and empowerment”.
PM Modi also interacted with the ‘shramjeevis’ or workers who worked on the Central Vista project. Speaking on the occasion, he said that ‘another symbol of servitude’, the Rajpath, had been wiped out forever. He also said that by installing Netaji’s statue on Kartavya Path, new life had been infused into the Bharatiya ethos.  -GoTop

4. FIRST MADE-IN-BHARAT AIRCRAFT CARRIER INS VIKRANT COMMISSIONED: On September 2, Bharat joined a select group of nations capable of designing and building indigenous aircraft-carrier as Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi commissioned and dedicated to the nation INS Vikrant - a giant aircraft carrier having a length of 262 metre and a height of 59 metre.
The indigenous aircraft carrier - capable of supporting 30 aircrafts - was designed by the Warship Design Bureau of the Bharatiya Navy and was built at Cochin Shipyard Ltd. Describing INS Vikrant as 'large, grand, distinct and special', PM Modi said that the success of Vikrant substantiates Bharat’s efforts to indigenise the defence forces. Along with other dignitaries, the function was attended by Union Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for shipping Sarbanand Sonowal.  -GoTop

5. PM MODI UNVEILS THE NEW NAVAL ENSIGN INSPIRED BY CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ: Scripting a historical moment for the Bharatiya Navy, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi inaugurated the new naval ensign in Kochi on September 2. The new naval ensign has the national flag on the upper canton and the blue octagonal shape encompassing the national emblem, sitting atop an anchor depicting steadfastness superimposed on a shield with the navy's motto "Sam No Varunah" in Devnagari.
The octagonal shape is inspired by the royal seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj whose visionary maritime outlook established a credible naval fleet consisting of 60 fighting ships and approximately 5,000 men.
Dedicating the flag to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, PM Modi said that with the phasing out of the old flag, Bharat has got rid of the last vestiges of slavery and colonialism.  -GoTop

6. BHARAT OVERTAKES U.K. TO BECOME FIFTH LARGEST ECONOMY: On September 2, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Bharat had surged past the United Kingdom to become the fifth largest economy in the world. The latest change in rankings is based on quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) numbers in current dollars for the period ending December 2021. Bharat is now behind only the US, China, Japan and Germany, according to IMF projections. A decade back, Bharat was ranked 11th among the large economies while the U.K. was at the fifth position. Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi said that Bharat becoming the fifth largest economy in the world is not an ordinary achievement and every Bharatiya is feeling proud of it.  -GoTop

7. HSS SOUTH AFRICA CONDUCTED HINDU HERITAGE CAMPS: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS South Africa conducted two Hindu Heritage Camps for students in the age group of 6 to 16 years. Both the camps explored various aspects of the Hindu culture through activities like Bharatiya traditional games, cultural quiz, yoga, meditation etc.
On August 28, the camp in Phoenix - Durban was attended by around 112 participants. 18 volunteers consistently planned and worked together to make this camp successful in all aspects. In his concluding address, karyavah of HSS South Africa Priyan Sivanarain highlighted the importance of Hindu cultural values.
On September 4, HSS Verulam Shakha also conducted a Hindu Heritage Camp at Dianthus Primary School, Durban. Around 105 participants attended this camp and 21 volunteers worked together to make it a success. The participants demonstrated yoga and shloka chanting during the concluding session.  -GoTop

8. 18TH HINDU UNITY DAY CELEBRATED IN HOUSTON: The Houston chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS USA held its 18th annual Hindu Unity Day on August 27 at the ISKCON Mandir of Houston. Representatives from more than 50 Hindu organizations attended the conference.
Along with other Dharmic organizations, HSS has been collaborating Hindu Unity Day celebration since 2005. Hindu Unity Day provides an opportunity to share, learn and act from each other’s experiences and learnings. This year’s event focused on raising Hindu Dharma awareness among mainstream American society and to continue leveraging the strength, opportunities and resources collectively to conduct outreach programs with elected officials, opinion makers, first responders, educational institutions, ethnic & interfaith groups, media and others.
Amit Misra (Vice President, HSS Houston Chapter) spoke about the challenges faced by Hindu community in America, initiatives taken by Hindu leaders in raising the awareness and countering the false narrative.
In group sessions, the organizations discussed activities undertaken by them to raise awareness, and shared their learnings. They showed interest in taking up outreach programs to mainstream community members. -GoTop

9. GANESHOTSAV AROUND THE WORLD: Ganesh murti making workshops were conducted by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS New Zealand across Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch. Around 250 people participated in the events. This is an annual event which has been conducted by HSS NZ since last 10 years.
Ganesh murti making workshops were also conducted in Phoenix (Arizona), Columbus (Ohio) and Hartsdale (New York).
HINDU YUVA also celebrated Ganeshotsav at various campuses like University of Texas at Dallas, Arlington and Austin and Iowa State University.
In Thailand, Rangsit University hosted the 4th International Ganesh Festival on August 31 at the Students Centre of Rangsit University Campus.
Bharatiya community in Beijing celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with traditional fervor at the Bharatiya Embassy. Along with hundreds of Bharatiya diaspora, Bharat’s Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat participated in it.  -GoTop

10. SURINAME SEWA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BAG DISTRIBUTION: On September 4, Sewa International Suriname distributed school bags and school kits to underprivileged families on the Rust & Werk plantation in Commewijne.
Sewa International Suriname conducted a fundraising for 150 school kits in August. Due to the overwhelming response, they were able to procure and distribute more than 200 kits. Sewa International Suriname is hopeful that volunteers will be able to distribute more school packages in and around Paramaribo in the future.  -GoTop

11. VIDYADAAN: BACKPACK DRIVE BY HSS CHICAGO: The average back-to-school spending per household in the United States has gradually increased year on year to reach about 865 U.S. dollars in 2022. Many children and families are not able to afford proper school supplies due to the increased price. A new backpack and school supplies can definitely boost children's confidence and self-esteem for a successful school year.
Recognising this need, Chicago branch of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS USA organized a school supplies distribution drive named Vidyadaan in August. Backpacks and back-to-school supplies were distributed to three beneficiaries. HSS Chicago also donated backpacks to local charities involved in donating school supplies to underprivileged families. 15 backpacks were donated to Shelter Inc. in Arlington Heights and 33 to Humanitarian Service Project in Carol Stream. HSS Chicago also participated in School District 54's event "Pack the Bus" - a back-to-school supplies drive - and donated school supplies for low-income students.   -GoTop

12. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Vishwa Vibhag Sah Samyojak Dr. Ram Vaidya will be travelling to Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo and other countries in West Africa.
Visitors: Rajiv Sharma - Ethiopia.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: As a toy fruit or a toy elephant reminds one of the real fruit and the living animal, so do the images that are worshipped remind one of the God who is formless and eternal. - Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa  -GoTop

JAI SHRI RAM
---
AN AGENDA FOR UNITY: AN INTERVIEW WITH RSS SAH-SARKARYAVAH DR. KRISHNA GOPAL JI

Swadesh Singh : Despite suffering repeated invasions for more than a thousand years, and also suffering the brunt of partition, India has still retained its essential core unity and its civilisational heritage. What factors do you think have contributed to this outcome?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : When we look into the Indian history, despite the fact that there were numerous states which were ruled by different kings, yet the idea that each kingdom was a part of a larger Bharat was deeply ingrained in the consciousness of the rulers as well as the people. That is why India has remained united. It is an ideological, cultural and philosophical construct, which for thousands of years encompassed the land mass stretching from the Himalayas in the North to Kanya Kumari in the South and from the coastal areas of Gujarat and Pakistan in the West, to Parshuram Kund in Arunachal Pradesh in the East. This is a fundamental unity that goes far beyond political unity. That is why over 560 princely states merged with India, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel exhorted them to do so.
Swadesh Singh : In the above context, to promote unity, when slogans such as “Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Christian are all brothers,” were propagated, was it done because there was an assumption that there was difference within which needed to be bridged?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : Linguistic and geographic diversity is visible to anyone who travels across the country. The food, the festivals, the very colours of India change as we travel. But these are outward differences; internally, there is a common and similar fundamental philosophy of oneness. Despite differences in language, each language, in its core, ​​propounds the same fundamental philosophy. The values of life, be it in the sense of devotion, reverence for the earth, the concept of karma, birth and rebirth, Nirvana, the idea of salvation etc., all find resonance, whether spoken in Bengali, Oriya, or any other Indian language. This is because there is a unity of philosophy, which is propounded by all languages. The slogans you mentioned were brought in later. They are political slogans.
Swadesh Singh : How is this fundamental unity you speak of to be understood and brought to the masses in the context of present-day society?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : The fundamental unity is already existing.We simply have to look beneath the diversity that we see all around us. If people from Assam and West Bengal go to North India, they will observe the same devotion to Krishna as is practised by them. In Kerala, the language is Malayalam, but the poetry of devotion is the same. The plays and articles that have been written by the poets and writers of Assam and Bengal convey the same sentiment. This is the fundamental unity. We need people to travel more, study more and look beneath the superficiality. You see the similarity in the works of Thiruvalluvar in Tamil Nadu and of Guru Nanak Dev ji in Punjab. This is the fundamental unity.
Swadesh Singh : Over the centuries, we have had great seers who have propagated this spirit and unity of India such as the great scholar poet Sankaradev of Assam in the 15th century and Adi Shankara of Kerala who established the Shardapeeth in the eighth century. In the sixteenth century we had Raskhan, a Muslim who became a Krishna devotee as also Tajbibi, which showed an intermingling and an assimilation of culture. India was a great melting pot of culture, so why did the country have to bear the trauma of partition? What happened to that fundamental unity?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : When the invasion of Islam took place about 1000 years ago, it came to spread a particular ideology. The inhabitants of this land had never experienced in life a situation that the invaders after winning, to spread their ideology, would attack our original religion, destroy our temples, our ideology and our places of worship. However, despite the fact that India’s intellectual class was under the rule of Islam for seven to eight hundred years, even under the rule of Islam, they fought a long struggle to keep their ideas and their society safe. And they succeeded. In other parts of the world, subjected to Islamic conquest, the local population was subdued and consumed by the invading ideology. But India was the only exception. So, the first thing that has to be recognised is that the people of India fought continuously to save their religion, culture, thoughts and their society. But when the Britishers came, over a period of two hundred years, they cleverly attacked this fundamental unity of India. The cultural unity of India could not be broken by Islamic invasions because the basis of this unity was not political. Hindus were not kings, but pilgrimages continued. Hindus did not have an army and their temples were broken, but the people had the Bhagwad Gita and the Ramayana, and their faith could not be broken. So, the British created rifts within communities, which led to deep divisions and eventually to partition.
Swadesh Singh : Today, the need is about promoting communal harmony and unity within communities, which really means talking about Hindu-Muslim unity. If we consider the two communities to be separate, then will not unity also be very superficial, or are we looking at unity at the political level only?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : The Sanatan society that has been living in India has a big basis for its unity. There are hundreds of sects in India, of different types and having different rituals, worship practises and traditions, and yet everyone is united. The basis of this unity must first be understood. Its basis is that in the eternal thought of India, we have accepted some things which are all embracing such as the thought behind the words, ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’. It is a prayer for happiness, not just for people who believe in our idea, but for all the people of the world, regardless of their belief system. This philosophy thus also seeks happiness for the people of Pakistan and China and all other parts of the globe. It is a philosophy for universal good. There is thus a pervasive unity in Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah. We have to understand this. Secondly, India’s Sanatan Samaj has accepted another principle for thousands of years, from Vedic tradition till today. The underlying principle with this thought is that there will be people who say something other than what we believe, there will be people who believe in another idea. So, a theory was established from the tradition of Rigveda that the believers of a second idea can be nice people too. When the Vedic sage said Ekam Sadvipra Bahudha Vadanti, he gave a certificate of approval to an alternate viewpoint. Any idea, said the sage, can be good. It must not be rejected outright. This then is the mantra to unite infinite diversity—in other words, this is unity in diversity. Hence, we have two basic principles: One, a comprehensive imagination of happiness for all, and two, to have a big mind to accept any idea with respect. This is essentially the formula for harmony and unity which overcomes the diversity of languages, dialects, climate, food, clothing and ideologies.
Swadesh Singh : You have done a lot of work on Dara Shikoh as also on a number of Muslim saints who were trying to understand Indian philosophy and thought. But let us talk of the last two hundred years before independence where we see the emergence of a new kind of politics by the British. In 1905, the British government partitioned Bengal on the basis of religion and in 1906, the Muslim League was formed. In 1909, the Muslims were given a separate electorate, which paved the way for them to claim a separate identity and nationality. Now, all these people were also part of the Indian cultural tradition, and in the villages, they followed the customs and traditions of the other communities. Thereafter, it took just a few decades before the country was partitioned. Today, these issues keep cropping up and talks of majority and minority have separated the communities. How do we deal with this issue?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : The British understood one thing and that was that their reign would end quickly if India remained united. Thus started British attempts to create a cleavage between Hindus and Muslims. During the Muslim invasions, a lot of cross-cultural confluence had taken place in many spheres. Muslims got engrossed in Indian music, Muslim Qawwalis became popular, Muslims started worshiping the tombs, we see the emergence of the Tajiya procession and the like. We also see many Muslims translating Hindu sacred texts to Persian and Arabic. This continued for five to six hundred years. Britain realised that to continue ruling the country, it was essential to break this unity. Thus started the attempts to isolate the Muslim society and set it apart by giving various kinds of inducements. The Muslim League was formed by the British as was the conspiracy to divide Bengal into Muslim Bengal and Hindu Bengal. Gradually, the Muslim community in India distanced itself from its roots and the draft of the partition of the country was prepared. But with the partition of the country, the problem remained unsolved as a large number of Muslims remained in India. Earlier, Jinnah would say, how can minority Muslims be safe in a majority Hindu state. That fear still remains. So, to bring unity, it has to be done by a change of mind and heart and feelings. This is what needs to be fixed.
Swadesh Singh : Articles 25 to 30 of India’s Constitution guarantees that the rights of minorities will be protected. However, politics that developed in India over the last 75 years has veered from protecting the rights of minorities to the appeasement of minorities. Has this disrupted Indian unity?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : With independence, every citizen got the right to vote and the vote became an object of great value. Some political parties then started looking into collecting bulk votes and created new terminology to get such votes. One such terminology was the word minority. This word is a foreign construct, which came from Europe. It meant a small group that is not from that country, having migrated from somewhere, for some reason. It referred to a people who did not belong to that country or that race. But in India, Muslim society was a big society. Post-independence, it was about 12 to 13 percent of Indian society. On that basis alone, they should not have been referred to as a minority. Most of these Muslims were converts from here. How could they be called minorities, simply because they changed their religion? But once formed into a block to get their votes, they were given something or the other to ensure that they always remained separate. What should have ended with the British departure unfortunately did not happen, because the majority-minority concept was created. We are facing the consequences now.
Swadesh Singh : How much effort is required now to see that assimilation takes place?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : The Indian state gives citizenship, which confers all the rights to an individual as given in the Constitution. But to be a national you have to change your mindset. Citizenship gives you certain rights constitutionally. Nationality determines your duties. As soon as you become a national, you feel connected with the nation through the tradition of thousands of years. So, you feel the happiness and sorrow of the nation as yours. You feel the history and geography of the nation as yours. Nationality hence should be equal for all. The feelings of happiness and sorrow of the nation, the feelings of those who are enemies and friends for the nation are the same. All citizens must share this nationalist sentiment. As an example, our former President, Dr. Abdul Kalam, who was a great scientist, developed various missiles for India. He named them Akash, Nag, Trishul, etc. These names are symbols of the nationalist sentiment. Our Muslim brothers and sisters must associate themselves with the history of the country and not with the history of the invaders who destroyed the temples, tormented the people, levied the jizya tax and caused great pain and suffering. If they associate themselves with the invaders, then how will they be called national?
Swadesh Singh : The debate on communal harmony for the last 75 years in India, that is, has centred on secularism. Hindu society by its very nature is secular. But the practise of secularism has not been uniform, both within the polity as well as within certain communities. The Honourable Prime Minister in his Independence Day address spoke about a ‘nectar period’, where India has to move forward for the next 25 years. We imagine a prosperous Bharat – a ‘Samarth’ Bharat. How should we now debate the idea of communal harmony? What should be its form? And how should society take it forward?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : There are two things which need to be discussed. The first is providing financial and other assistance to minorities. It is done in the name of their welfare, but the results can never be good. For example, we give scholarships to the children of minority communities to study. It is okay, as it is given to poor children. But suppose, in a class of 40 children, there are five children from the minority communities who are poor and are being given a scholarship. But there are 10 other children in that class who are also poor, but they are not given a scholarship because they do not belong to the minority community. This creates discord, because in the minds of those ten children, the question arises: Why have we not been given help, when the condition of our house is even worse than theirs? Such one-sided assistance only creates greater differences in society instead of harmony. So, financial and other assistance must be uniformly given to all, rather than on a segregation basis. The recent example of the government providing toilets and cooking gas to all poor households regardless of their religion is the way forward. Help should be given to those who need it. If there is greater poverty in the minority community, then automatically they will get more. Banks should be opened where there is a need for a bank. Training should be given to those artisans who need them. This country is ours—we should not divide it in the name of minority-majority as has happened thus far. We need to look at all citizens with the same eye and not from a religious viewpoint. This was so stated in the Constituent Assembly but this could not happen. The people who were in the Constituent Assembly, the people who were our architects of the Constitution, had this vision. We need to realise this vision, which can be done by looking at the whole of society as one. To end poverty, we have to look at all the poor in the whole society and not at just one particular religious group.
Swadesh Singh : For the last 50 years, your work has focused on keeping the whole of society at centre-stage. Since Independence, a lot of work has also been done on equality too. I will now take up the issue of fraternity. How should India move in this direction, as a society?
Dr. Krishna Gopal : The Constitution has given equal rights, equal freedom to all. You can go anywhere in the country, live anywhere, get education, get justice, do a job, do business, buy land, vote, contest elections—this is the right of everyone. The Courts are the same for all as is the Constitution, but this, by itself, will not lead to fraternity. Constitution can give rights. But the Constitution is not capable of bringing about a change of mind. For that, something else has to be done. We must remember that the history of the last 700 to 900 years has also deeply ingrained certain memories in people’s minds. The invaders cannot be considered as role models, and so this is a mind-set change which is required. If some people continue to consider those that vandalised and destroyed our temples, imposed Jizya tax and tyrannised and brutalised the people as their leaders, then the rest of the society will associate these people with the invaders, and fraternity will not come about. The first thing then that needs to be done is that the people living in India should be separated from the people who wrote the history of the ruin of this country. Secondly, as I stated earlier, there can be any number of faiths, creeds, sects in the world; the feeling of respect for everyone is the ‘Sanatan‘ ideology of India. This is what it means to be an Indian—respecting every faith and creed of the world and imagining everyone’s happiness. These two attributes define being an Indian. We have to wait till these two conditions come about, but how this will happen is a difficult question to answer. In Indian tradition, it is a big condition to respect everyone’s views. And imagining everyone’s happiness is the second big condition. When an Indian goes abroad, he takes these two ideas with him and respects the views of the people in that land, whether it is the United States, Canada, UK, Germany or any other part of the globe. He imagines the happiness of the people there. In his prayer, he always says ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhin‘: If these two things will come to all people, then it will be easy to bring a sense of fraternity. Yes, we have had hundreds of years of turmoil, struggles, ups and downs and suffering, but today we are free. An Independent India means India remembering its ancient glorious form, keeping its philosophy in mind, moving forward in the light of that philosophy which portrays unity in diversity. Many a time, this diversity is understood in the form of a bundle of hundreds of different types of wood, tied with a rope. This is true, but it is only a half-truth. Let us understand it in terms of a tree, which has multiple branches that proliferate and extend all around. The root is however the same. The diversity that India envisions is vastly expanded from one branch of this tree to the other. The unity is in the root, diversity is seen only in the branches. Conflicts can arise in that diversity, but if fundamental unity is seen then these struggles and differences cease. This is the fundamental philosophy of India. To see ‘One’ in many. And this vision of ‘Oneness’ has the power to end all discrimination, jealousy and conflict. There is great power in unity. The vision of unity is capable of quelling all conflicts and disputes. Courtesy – India Foundation (1 September 2022) https://vskbharat.com/an-agenda-for-unity/?lang=en   -GoTop



\Samvad

Bhadrapad Shukla 5 Vik. Samvat 2079, Yugabda 5124 : 1 September, 2022:SM 4011 (For Private Circulation only)


1. FESTIVALS: PITRU PAKSHA 2. PROGRAMS OF SARSANGHACHALAK DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT
3. 'HAR GHAR TIRANGA' CREATED NATIONWIDE MOVEMENT OF INTENSE PATRIOTISM: DATTATREYA HOSABALE 4. BHARAT INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS AT A GLANCE
5. HSS AND PIOS ORGANISED INDIA DAY PARADE 6. 400 STUDENTS WELCOMED AT NORTH CAROLINA AIRPORT
7. CENTRAL PACIFIC SAMBHAG: SEVIKA SANGH SHIKSHA VARG 8. CANADA: SANGH SHIKSHA VARG
9. HSS MOZAMBIQUE: GURU VANDANA 10. RAKSHABANDHAN EVENTS IN ENGLAND, IRELAND & SCOTLAND
11. SNEH-MILAN WITH BHARATIYAS FROM MYANMAR 12. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN & FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Article: TIME TO ALIGN WITH UNTAINTED BHARATIYA PHILOSOPHY


1. FESTIVALS: PITRU PAKSHA: Pitru Paksha (Sanskrit: पितृ पक्ष, Pitu paksha; lit. "fortnight of the ancestors") is a 16–lunar day period in Hindu calendar (September 10-25 this year) when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors (Pitrs).

This period is also known as Pitri Pokkho, Sorah Shraddha, Kanagat, Jitiya, Mahalaya Paksha and Apara Paksha. In Bengal, Mahalaya usually marks the beginning of Durga Puja festivities. Mahalaya is the day when Devi Durga is believed to have descended to earth. Hindus propitiate their ancestors in this period as according to sacred Hindu epics, the spirits leave Pitriloka and reside in their descendants' homes during this period. Pitru Paksha emphasises the fact that the ancestors, the current generation and their next unborn generation are connected. -GoTop

2. PROGRAMS OF SARSANGHACHALAK DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT: On August 27, RSS Sarsanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat participated in a yajna organized to mark the auspicious inauguration of the Shanti Kali mandir at Shanti Dham in Gomati district of Tripura.
The head of the temple, Maharaj Chittaranjan Maharaj was also present. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Bhagwat said that Bharat teaches the world the sanatan way of life through manifestation of empathy and affinity. He added that Bharat should grow as a nation to promote sanatan way of life to the whole world.
On August 21, Dr. Bhagwat participated in an event organized by RSS Delhi Prant. It was attended by workers carrying out various welfare activities. Addressing the gathering, he said that RSS is working to awaken and unify the society so that Bharat can emerge as a model society for the entire world. He stressed on the collective effort needed to bring about this unifying change and said that people should come forward to serve the society as a community and not as an individual.
While releasing the book ‘Akhil Bharatiya Mahila Charitra Kosh First Volume – Ancient India’ in Nagpur on August 17, Dr. Bhagwat underlined the importance of women’s role in realising the vision of Bharat to become a ‘vishwa guru’ once again and said that men and women are equal in every respect and have equal potential and capabilities.
-GoTop

3. 'HAR GHAR TIRANGA' CREATED NATIONWIDE MOVEMENT OF INTENSE PATRIOTISM: DATTATREYA HOSABALE: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale said that the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' call has created a nationwide movement of intense patriotism. He was speaking after hoisting the national flag at an Independence Day celebration held at East Tambaram in Chennai.
Shri Hosabale elaborated on the freedom struggle and said that today we are all independent citizens after one thousand years of struggle against invaders who had come from various parts of the world. He also said that the freedom struggle was not just limited to any part or region, but people belonging to various regions and professions participated in it. “Today is the occasion to respectfully remember all people who participated in the freedom struggle and express our heartfelt gratitude to them.” he added.
-GoTop

4. BHARAT INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS AT A GLANCE: A Bharatiya-designed-and-manufactured howitzer was used for the first time for the customary 21-gun salute at Red Fort before Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi commenced his address to the nation. So far, British guns had been used for the ceremonial salute. Also for the first time, MI-17 helicopters showered flowers at the Red Fort during Independence Day celebrations.
The Bharatiya tricolour was unfurled at the edge of space at an altitude of nearly 30 km by a Balloon SAT launched by an organisation promoting awareness about space sciences in the country. SpaceKidz, the Chennai-based organisation, shared a video on its social media platforms of the tricolour fluttering away to glory attached to a helium balloon that reached the edge of space.
The longest national flag in Asia was displayed with the help of more than 15 thousand school and college students during the 76th Independence Day program organized by the district administration at the Sir M Visvesvaraya Stadium in Kolar district. The Bharatiya flag with an area of ​​1 lakh 30 thousand square meters was constructed in Narasapura Industrial Area. In addition, the Ashoka Chakra with an area of 3600 square meters was drawn by hand.
-GoTop

5. HSS AND PIOS ORGANISED INDIA DAY PARADE: On the occasion of the celebration of 75 years of Bharatiya Independence, volunteers of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, New Jersey participated in the India Day Parade hosted by Indian Business Association in Edison, NJ. The volunteers played ghosh and carried a 75 feet long flag which was the highlight of the parade.
Federation of Indian Associations, Chicago, organized a parade on Devon Avenue to celebrate Bharat’s Independence Day. Mohan Kaka, an 86-year-old Chicago resident and Khushi Patel, Miss India Worldwide 2022 led the colorful parade. The parade featured twenty two decorative floats, four marching groups and three marching bands that were greeted by thousands of people lining the Devon Avenue.
A 220-feet US-Bharat flag flying high in the sky over Boston attracted everyone’s attention during the first-ever India Day Parade in the historic American city. Bands of veterans, scores of floats reflecting the diversity of both Bharat and the United States and songs added a patriotic atmosphere to the parade.
-GoTop

6. 400 STUDENTS WELCOMED AT NORTH CAROLINA AIRPORT: Hindu YUVA and Maitri - Bharatiya students association in North Carolina State University (NCSU) - jointly organized an airport pickup initiative for Bharatiya students. The volunteers of these organizations offered free rides to around 400 incoming Bharatiya students from Raleigh-Durham international airport to their respective residences near NCSU campus, Raleigh. The initiative was a month-long process from July 19 to August 20.
The volunteers started preparation for this initiative many weeks in advance by coordinating with the incoming students through Whatsapp groups. Although many flights got delayed beyond midnight due to unforeseen circumstances, volunteers took the effort to ensure that students reached home safely.
-GoTop

7. CENTRAL PACIFIC SAMBHAG: SEVIKA SANGH SHIKSHA VARG: Central Pacific Sambhag of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS USA conducted the Sevika Sangh Shiksha Varg from August 3 to 7. The varg had 15 shiksharthis (4 sevikas, 2 yuvaties and 9 kishories) from Santa Clara and Almeda vibhag who were trained by 4 full time and 1 part time shikshaks. Smt. Sujata Joshi was the vargadhikari. National Sevika Pramukh Smt. Sabitha Hebbar also stayed in the varg for two days and guided in various activities. The samarop of the varg was attended by 52 people.-GoTop

8. CANADA: SANGH SHIKSHA VARG: The prathamik, pravesh and praveen varg of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Canada was conducted from August 21 - 28 at Ganaraska Forest area in Toronto. 66 shiksharthies - 47 in prathamik, 9 in pravesh and 10 in praveen - participated in the varg. These included 42 swayamsevaks and 24 sevikas from Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta provinces. 16 shikshaks and prabandhaks ensured the smooth functioning of the varg. One of the highlights of the varg was Matru Hasta Bhojan on August 24, during which 20 families brought food for all the 82 participants of the varg.
Shri Chandra Arya, Member of Parliament from Nepean, Ottawa was the chief guest for the samarop which was attended by around 150 people
. -GoTop

9. HSS MOZAMBIQUE: GURU VANDANA: On August 6, Maputo chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Mozambique organized the first ever Guru Vandana program in Maputo, Mozambique. Around 50 swayamsevaks-sevikas and 60 parents participated in the one hour program.
One Bharatiya teacher and five local Mozambican teachers were honoured during the program. The program had an auspicious beginning with the chanting of shlokas by all swayamsevaks and sevikas. A few of them also spoke on the ancient Guru-Shishya tradition. In his concluding speech, karyavah of HSS Mozambique Mayur Manchu highlighted the ancient Guru-Shishya tradition of Bharat and said that Bharatiyas looked towards modern system of teacher and students with the same essence and reverence.
-GoTop

10. RAKSHABANDHAN EVENTS IN ENGLAND, IRELAND & SCOTLAND: Rugby nagar chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS UK celebrated Rakshabandhan in the Mayor’s parlour by tying rakhi to the mayor and emergency service personnel. They also presented a cheque of £1001 from Sewa-Walkathon to a local charity.
On August 14, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Ireland celebrated the Rakshabandhan utsav in Dublin. The utsav for adults included a speech highlighting the importance of Rakshabandhan and a rakhi making workshop was conducted for children. Earlier, HSS Dublin conducted a backpack drive from July 1 - 31. During this drive HSS volunteers (kids/teens) approached their family and friends to raise funds and collected 50 backpacks. These backpacks were donated to Dublin Unified School District superintendent Chris Funk. Dublin city Council member Sherry Xin Hu also participated in the event.
Rakshabandhan was also celebrated in Scotland by tying rakhis to the personnel of the fire department.
-GoTop

11. SNEH-MILAN WITH BHARATIYAS FROM MYANMAR: On August 28, sneh-milans with Bharatiyas from Myanmar were held in Delhi and Chennai.
The sneh-milan in Delhi was held at the Arya Samaj Mandir in Janakpuri D block. After a geet, Dakshin Vibhag pracharak of Myanmar Shri Kiran Pal presented a brief overview of the current sangh work in Myanmar. Some of the participants also shared their experiences. In his concluding address, senior pracharak from Myanmar Shri Subhash Ahuja recalled the work done in adverse conditions in Myanmar. Around 80 people attended the event.
Around 60 people attended the event in Chennai. Myanmar based Hindu Boudh Samanvay pramukh of South East Asia Shri Ramnivas interacted with them. Shri Radhakrishnan, pracharak for South East Asia, was also present on the occasion.
-GoTop

 

12. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Vishwa Vibhag samyojak Shri Saumitra Gokhale will be travelling to USA.  Visitors: Dinesh Mani Dubey - Thailand, Bhushan Mocherla -USA, Vikas Deshmukh - Germany, Shivraj Pasunuri, Pradeep and Aparna Jain - UK
 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: “Do what is right at a given moment and leave it behind” ― Ramana Maharshi -GoTop

JAI SHRI RAM
---
TIME TO ALIGN WITH UNTAINTED BHARATIYA PHILOSOPHY
Dr Manmohan Vaidya

As per a social philosopher, ‘Unless we decide who we are as a people we cannot decide what our priorities can be.’
In the entire world, perhaps there is not a single country, except Bharat, where society is in confusion or the difference of opinion is so prevalent over who we are, who our ancestors were and what our history is. Bharat, despite being the cradle of human settlement, the richest and the mightiest of all human civilizations, there is no consensus over this fundamental question. This lack of consensus shows that we are not willing to identify and actualize our real identity, our “swa” as a unified society and one nation.
Following the devastation of World War II in 1945, Britain, Germany and Japan turned a new leaf. An unceasing struggle of hundreds of years culminated in Israel reclaiming its nationhood in 1948. Having suffered at the hands of invaders and exploiters for many centuries and over a 100-year-long freedom struggle, Bharat too attained independence in 1947. All five of these countries began anew at almost the same point in time, yet today, the socio-economic progress made by the aforementioned four countries is incomparable to that of Bharat. What might be the cause of the same?
As per a social philosopher, “Unless we decide who we are as a people we cannot decide what our priorities can be.” The absence of such an agreement is the underlying difference between the economic progress of Bharat and those countries that marched with freedom simultaneously.
In his monumental essay, “Swadeshi Samaj”, Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur opined, “First we have to be what we are.” This is an amazing coincidence that the buzz of the country’s 75th Independence anniversary celebrations is juxtaposed with an emergent identity search, where Bharat is attempting to redefine itself with its “swa” as the focal point. However, why there is an aversion to this tenable search is yet another question worth pondering over.

Modern history of Bharat is replete with incidents and anecdotes of the suppression and negation of that “swa” of Bharat, which is famed, immortal and pre-eminent. Doing so is famously(falsely) referred to as being “liberal-intellectual and progressive”. It is evident that having failed to define its developmental goals in the light of its “swa”, Bharat’s potential does not reflect in the progress made by the country thus far. Unfortunately, the many opportunities for the blossoming of this “swa” were repeatedly stubbed up early on. It is common knowledge that “Vande Mataram” became the slogan of the people’s movement of 1905 in opposition to the Bengal partition. “Vande Mataram” inspired innumerable youth and freedom fighters to take up the freedom struggle and sacrifice themselves for the cause. “Vande Mataram” was the spontaneous eruption of the “swa” of Bharat. All national-level sessions of Congress were witness to proud renditions of the song. Stalwarts like Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, and Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar lent their musical acumen to such renditions in countless meetings of the Congress. It was equally a source of inspiration to both Hindus and Muslims. Then all of sudden, in the year 1921 it became a communal, Hindu song. But how? The mindset behind this thinking needs to be understood. The fifteen-year-long natural expression of patriotism since 1905 was abruptly stalled and labelled “communal”. Investigating the “what” and “why” of these series of events is crucial.
In another incident, Swami Vivekananda’s disciple, Sister Nivedita, put together the first-ever model of the flag of independent Bharat in the year 1905. The symbol of Vajra made from the bones of Rishi Dadhichi was inscribed on it. Thereafter, she wrote, “Unfortunately, we had a Chinese war flag as a model in front of us, so we made it black on red. But it doesn’t appeal to Indians. So, the next one will be yellow on saffron.”. In the 1906 annual meeting of Congress, a saffron-coloured flag with a yellow Vajra symbol was displayed.
Thereafter, several samples of various flags were proposed. In 1921, a tricolour flag with a (Charakha) spoked wheel symbol was declared the representative embodiment of all the communities of Bharat. A group of Sikh representatives led by their leader Master Tara Singh met with Mahatma Gandhi in 1929 and opposed the idea of representation of different communities through different colours in the flag and insisted on the need for one national flag that conveys the unity among the many communities. He added if they were stuck on the idea of representation of different communities through varied colours then the yellow colour, representing the Sikh community, must be added to the flag. A Flag Committee was constituted by the Congress Executive Committee comprising Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Master Tara Singh, Pattabhi Sitaramaiah, Kaka Kalelkar and Dr Hardikar. The Flag Committee in turn solicited comments (over the objections raised against the proposed flag and suggestions) from the State Congress Committees and common people.
After considering all objections and suggestions the Flag Committee submitted its report that said: “We feel the flag must be distinctive, artistic, rectangular and non-communal. It was decided unanimously that it should be of one single colour except for the colour of the device. If there is one colour. And if there is a colour that is more distinct than others, one that is more acceptable to the Indians as a whole, even as it is more distinctive than another, and the one that is associated with this ancient country by long tradition, it is the Kesari or—saffron colour. Accordingly it is felt that the flag should be of the Kesari colour except for the colour of the device.
That the device should be the Charkha. The committee have come to the conclusion that the Charkha should be in blue. Accordingly we recommend that the National Flag should be of Kesari or saffron colour having on it at the left top quarter the Charkha in blue with the wheel towards the flagstaff.”
Therefore, the committee unanimously recommended a rectangular saffron-coloured flag with a device Charakha in blue on it. Why then was this decision reversed? What is that underlying mentality that denied Bharat its intelligible, organic “swa”? These factual queries are worthy of consideration.
After Independence in 1947, the Tricolour representing prosperity, peace and valour with the dharmachakra or the wheel of dharma at the centre was accepted as our national flag. It is now our national flag. It is undisputedly the rightful duty of all Bharatiya people to respect and protect it and to glorify it with our responsible actions. On similar lines, the educational reforms that were anticipated following Independence were also denied. Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, in the capacity of the Chairman of the University Education Commission, wrote unambiguously about the un-Indian character of education as follows: “One of the serious complaints against the system of education which has prevailed in this country for over a century is that it neglected India’s past, that it did not provide the Indian students with a knowledge of their own culture. It has produced in some cases the feeling that we are without roots, in others, what is worse, that our roots bind us to a world very different from that which surrounds us.”
“The chief source of spiritual nourishment for any people must be its own past perpetually rediscovered and renewed. A society without a knowledge of the past which has made it would be lacking in depth and dignity.”
“It was assumed that education should not stop with the development of intellectual powers but must provide the student, for the regulation of his personal and social life, a code of behaviour based on fundamental principles of ethics and religion. Where conscious purpose is lacking, personal integrity and consistent behaviour are not possible.”
These words are evidence that spirituality is the cornerstone of Bharatiya philosophy or view of life and our education system should have evolved in the same light. However, recommendations made by education commissions appointed by Congress-ruled governments itself were not implemented during Congress rule. When the people constituting those commissions and investigating the issues were their own party workers then who were the people who impeded the implementation of those recommendations? What thought process was at play then? Even to this day attempts to amend the prevalent education system are ridiculed and dubbed as saffronisation of education. What hidden motives fuel those oppositions need serious deliberation.
It is an undisputed fact that Sanskrit is the mother of all languages and is comprehensible for all Bharatiya people. Malaysia is home to a large Bharatiya diaspora. Shri Ramchandran, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak in Malaysia, speaks Tamil. During his Sangh training, he attended two (20 days duration) camps in two different years in Tamil Nadu. For his third year of training, he spent 25 days in Nagpur where most lectures were delivered in Hindi and were incomprehensible to him. Later when those lectures were translated into Tamil for Tamil-speaking trainees, only then was he able to understand the content. He later shared with me that out of the twenty-five lectures delivered he could fully comprehend one lecture without translation and that lecture was delivered in Sanskrit. This is glowing evidence of the fact that Sanskrit is closer to all the Bharatiya languages. Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and his contemporaries (ministers) were aligned on the opinion that each student in Bharat must undergo Sanskrit education. The wealth of Bharatiya knowledge is encoded in Sanskrit and all the languages spoken in the Bharatiya subcontinent have emanated from Sanskrit or have much in common with Sanskrit. The suggestion is pertinent even from the point of view of realising the Bharatiya view of unity and integrity (ekatmata). (which is the essential part of the Bharatiya worldview).
However, which ideology deemed it right to overlook an invaluable suggestion as this must be ascertained. Most modern-day academicians are of the view that primary education must be imparted in the pupil’s mother tongue. Education in one’s mother tongue is crucial as it enables conceptual clarity when learning new subjects and fluent expression of one’s own ideas and knowledge.
If the aim is to make fluent English speakers out of every student then imparting all subject lessons in English is not necessary. In any case, only a minuscule 9% of humans across the globe obtain education in a foreign language or a language other than their mother tongue. Bharat is a key contributor to that 9% figure. Education in the English language has been so hyped here that the students pursuing education in their mother tongue develop a sense of inferiority in comparison to their English-educated peers. This is contrary to the “swa” of Bharat. Despite innumerable thinkers, including Mahatma Gandhi emphasising the need for introducing the mother-tongue, especially in primary education, the outcome is contrary to the expectations. Why is that so?
With a maximum share in global business, Bharat flourished prosperously for an indefinite period of history. Ours was not an “agrarian economy”. We were known for the trade of leather products, metals, timber, statues and stone sculptures, textiles, spices, diamonds and precious jewels across the world. Bharatiya merchants have been trading across oceans for millennia. Therefore, it is more appropriate to call ourselves an industry-centric economy instead of an agrarian economy. Home-based cottage industries were the originators of those goods and the families running those units resided in the villages of Bharat. Villages of Bharat were opulent. But influenced by the European mindset, post-Independence Bharat adopted an urban-centred economic development model. Consequently, cities became overcrowded and over-competitive, crimes rose and familial ties weakened, leaving the villages neglected and backward, lacking basic amenities for living. Urban living came to be interpreted as progressive and rural dwelling was deemed regressive. Industrial Revolution-induced profit-maximising mentality trapped man in the cobweb of greed.
The unique feature of the Bharatiya view of life is that it equally emphasised the importance of both material progress and spiritual growth and not just one at the exclusion of the other. A verse from Isavasya Upanishad elucidates one who relentlessly pursues material prosperity only enters into deep darkness. In the same verse, it is said, one who single-handedly pursues spiritual progress only enters even greater darkness. The Upanishad coveys pursuing material prosperity and spiritual progress simultaneously as the true purpose of life. The village life is the ideal setting for the same. In a village, one earns less, but expenditures too are limited. Therefore, one needn’t hustle to afford himself a good quality of life and a decent income. The rural environment provides for both means of livelihood as well as ample time for one’s spiritual meditation (sadhana). It is for this reason that Mahatma Gandhiji also advocated for a village-centric economic model for independent Bharat. His book, “Hind Swaraj” revolves around the same theme. The Constituent Assembly, while deliberating on the ratification of the Constitution between November 19 and 22, 1948 also expressed their hopes to embark on our journey of Gram Swaraj. However, embroiled in the socialism-capitalism duel of the West, our inclusive, eco-centric model of progress was forgotten. Past President Dr Abdul Kalam also appealed for the remodelling of Bharatiya villages and bringing them up to speed with the urban centres. The eminent thought espoused by Bharat is that to live a prosperous, joyous, healthy and spiritually bountiful life is the essence of life. It was also the hallmark of Bharatiya life—an optimal expression of the “swa” of Bharat. How did we fail to adopt this approach?
Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur, in his essay, “Swadeshi Samaj,” writes, “Welfare state is a western construct, it is not Bharatiya. Traditionally, Bharatiya society was never state-dependent. By the very definition swadeshi samaj is that society which is least state-dependent.” Traditionally, only justice, foreign relations and defence were under state jurisdiction.
Other concerns like education, healthcare, trade and finance, arts and culture, temples, fairs and the lore were all channelised by the societal arrangement directly. Swami Vivekananda’s disciple, Sister Nivedita said, “The society whose members instead of withholding their remuneration with themselves share it with the larger society with the accumulated wealth of remunerations, in turn, build a wealthy and prosperous society, which in turn makes each individual of the society wealthy and prosperous. But in a society where people hoard their remuneration with themselves, instead of sharing it with the rest of the members of the society, only a few individuals become wealthy and prosperous, while the larger society remains poor.” To give to the society with a sense of belongingness and that all this belongs to the commonwealth and to return it to the society is akin to absolute fulfilment. Therefore, the Vivekananda Kendra prayer goes like:

जीवने यावदादानं स्यात्
प्रदानं ततोSधिकम् |
इत्येषा प्रार्थनास्माकं भगवन् परिपूर्यताम् ||

Meaning: “Whatever we receive in life let us give far more than that. Oh Almighty! Almighty! Grant our wish.”
We receive much from society. To give back is the essence of Dharma. Religion or worship is not the same as Dharma. Worship is a means to attain Dharmic attitude. But Dharma is to conduct oneself in the spirit of giving back to society. To offer alms is charity, but to give back to society is Dharma. As per Bhagini Nivedita, enriching common social wealth is Dharma. Dharma is indiscriminate, it weaves the society into a whole, beholds, protects and sustains it. It is the foundation on which Swadeshi Samaj is built.
The essence of Dharma sat in the eye of the mind of the architects of Bharat at the time of Independence, which must be why “dharmachakra pravartanaya” (for the propagation of the timeless cycle of Dharma) and “satyam vad, dharmam char” (speak the truth and act in dharma) are inscribed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha of Bharat respectively. The wheel in the centre of the national flag is that very “dharmachakra” (wheel of dharma) and the Supreme Court upholds the directive “Yato Dharmastato Jayah” (where there is Dharma, there will be victory). Wheels are designed to turn. Every act of giving back to the society is an act of Dharma and that gives a push to the wheel of Dharma and keeps it rotating, gaining momentum.
The Dharma that was the premise of the imagination of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, the Supreme Court and the national flag is absent in all social dialogue. In fact, discussing dharma is now considered “communal”. While the term secularism, which was considered unnecessary after detailed discussions and a mutual consensus was in great connivance, discreetly and forcibly added to the unamendable Preamble of the Constitution. That non-Bharatiya (un-Indian) word is being indiscriminately pushed around everywhere.
Which ideology breeds the current scenario? This question must be probed. The only way to realise the long-subdued “swa” of Bharat is to extricate ourselves out of the shackles of this non-Bharatiya (un-Indian) thinking and recalibrate our thought process in alignment with the untainted Bharatiya philosophy. And when with our efforts it proudly blossoms in all its glory Bharat will confidently march to fulfil its promise to the world. https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/time-align-untainted-bharatiya-philosophy August 13, 2022 (Writer is RSS Sahsarkaryavah)
-GoTop