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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, while addressing the ‘One World One Humanity’ global conference organized in New York, USA, has given a big ideological message on India’s Sanatan tradition, human unity and inter-religion harmony. Mohan Bhagwat, who is on a tour to America as part of the Sangh’s centenary year global public relations campaign, told the inter-religious forum in clear words that if a person calls himself a Hindu, he must essentially accept that all religious paths ultimately lead to the same supreme goal and the dignity and respect of every human being is absolutely equal. He said that there can be no fundamental difference between human beings and a Hindu who thinks of excluding Muslims from India or denying their existence is no longer a Hindu in reality in accordance with the basic spirit of Hindutva.
Addressing various international religious leaders, scholars and enlightened citizens of the Indian-American community, the RSS chief shared an important incident from his three-day lecture series held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi in the year 2018. He told that at that time some Muslim representatives had asked him a direct question that when the Sangh talks about ‘Hindu Rashtra’, what will happen to crores of Muslims living in India, will they be thrown out of the country? Mohan Bhagwat said, “I had said it with complete clarity then and am repeating it even today that this is not Hindutva. Hindutva is not the idea of excluding or expelling anyone, rather it is the name of taking everyone along and respecting everyone’s existence. If a Hindu believes that Muslims should not live in India, then he goes out of the definition of Hindutva.”
Mohan Bhagwat, citing the basic pillars of Indian philosophy ‘Ekam Sadvipra Bahudha Vadanti’ and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, said that he is not speaking as any religious position or authority, but as a representative of the society whose ancient tradition believes that even though the worship methods and sects may be different, humanity is always one. He said that there is only one truth and the entire humanity has originated from that truth. However, each human being expresses that truth in different ways according to his mental understanding, language and cultural background. He further said that diversity is an essential law of nature and its ornament, which must be preserved, while the underlying unity hidden within that diversity is the universal and real truth of the universe.
Discussing the challenges of democracy and global peace, the Sangh chief bluntly said that permanent solutions to the basic problems of the society cannot be found only through politics or power. He said that in the present era, politics has to a large extent become a game of immediate gains and selfishness. Where there is a feeling of ‘I and mine’, there is never a solution; Real solution is possible only with the collective feeling of ‘we and ours’. Mohan Bhagwat said that when public opinion is awakened and strong in the society, then no political leadership has the courage to go against it. Therefore, positive and long-term change can be initiated only by educating and sensitizing people locally from the lower level of the society.
Speaking on the service work of RSS and the misconceptions spread in the society, Mohan Bhagwat gave the direct example of Balasore train accident in Odisha. He told that when the horrific train accident took place, the Sangh volunteers were the first to reach the spot for relief and rescue operations. The volunteers immediately rushed the injured to the hospital, retrieved the bodies of the dead and provided all possible assistance in arranging the last rites of their families once they arrived. He underlined that at the time of that disaster no volunteer thought about which caste or religion the victim belonged to or whether he was Muslim or Hindu. Bhagwat said that since the Sangh is not in electoral politics, it does not aspire to publicize its service work or get any benefit in return; In contrast to the false narratives created from outside in the society, the real truth can be understood only when one looks inside.
There is huge enthusiasm being seen at the international level and among the Indian diaspora regarding this visit of the RSS chief to America. The messages ‘Resolve, Harmony and Dialogue’ along with photographs of Mohan Bhagwat were displayed on huge billboards in New York’s iconic Times Square. After this interfaith conference organized by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD), Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to address more than 5,000 eminent citizens, entrepreneurs and thinkers of the Indian community at the historic Madison Square Garden. American foreign policy analysts and global think tanks are seeing these peace and inclusive statements of Mohan Bhagwat as an extension of India’s global cultural influence and soft power.