Respected shri Mohan Bhagwat ji,
all the esteemed guests and students,
and everyone watching virtually,
my heartfelt pranams to you.
When I was young, I did not have the good fortune to do what you are doing today.
In my Gurukul (school) too, this physical education was provided.
There were two sections -
one was for physical education and the second was for music.
I chose the second category as I could not do physical exercise.
But there are other side-effects today in terms of health because of that.
In spite of being physically weak, I should have exercised. I realise this today
and there is so much more that I understand today.
Today is the second day of my stay here.
I had a lot of misconceptions.
Along with me, a few of my associates, Heartfulness practitioners are also present here.
They too had a lot of concern and confusion about what RSS is.
After coming here I observed that there is love here as well.
Many of the RSS leaders and functionaries have visited our Kanha ashram
including Sunil Joshi ji and Shridhar ji.
And even before them, respected Mohan Bhagwat ji had visited twice.
During his previous visit we had a very engaging discussion.
He invited me to visit here along with my family.
I am staying here with my associates.
Since the time we are here, there is so much bliss.
There is no confusion. We all listened to what he said.
“Unity and dedication.” Towards whom? For our own people.
Who are these ‘our own people’? My country,
my countrymen! Unity for our country.
We have been seeing in news that there is so much unity among terrorists.
In one region someone does a research on a bomb that can impact a lot of people or enemies.
That technology easily diseeminates among all the terrorists quickly, say within five minutes.
That is the level of cooperation among them. For them everyone is their own.
But there are so many people with good intentions, and those from various religious organisations,
and spiritual organisations, those with great thinking, those who have scaled heights of greatness;
However, if you ask such elevated people to sit together, they will not sit together.
Unity! Without unity how can we expect to listen to the victory chants about mother India?
There are more than three thousand different caste levels in India.
Each one of them asks for benefits for their caste.
Abraham Lincoln used to say -
“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
The country is here because of all of us.
If we were not there, the country would not have existed.
Jains, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists etc. are all there.
All are doing their own forms of worship which is very good.
The objective of all our prayers is the same that
India should prosper and its victory should be global.
We want India to be number one both in global power and as a world leader.
How can India become vishwa guru, a world leader?
The meaning of leader is one who shows the right direction to the whole world.
If we cannot be strong in the material world, it will not matter how spiritual we are.
No one would listen to us. So, we must acquire both kinds of strengths -
material and spiritual.
These are like two wings of a bird - one material and another spiritual
We should not get engrossed so much materially
that it stops us from becoming a global leader.
Becoming a global leader cannot happen without spirituality.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t become extremely spiritual
and end up becoming paupers materially. We need to balance and integrate both.
This is the essence of Yoga. Yoga means union.
It can be any kind of union -
lower self with higher Self,
atma with Paramatma, drop with an ocean and the union of material and spiritual existence.
This is not just for us as individuals. It is not enough at an individual level.
For example, when we visit a hospital, the environment over there makes us depressed.
Some people fall sick as the atmosphere over there is heavy. Similarly when we visit a cemetery,
we experience a sense of detachment. At a birthday party, the atmosphere is different.
In a temple, the atmosphere is different. The atmosphere is not created by an individual
but only when many people come together and see and listen to things -
it creates an atmosphere that impacts us. It can elevate us or bring us down.
When I used to live in a village, we used to travel in bullock carts.
There were two street dogs who used to accompany us.
When we reached the border of the village, the dogs used to return to the village from there.
I used to wonder why they would return. I really wanted to take them along,
but they never used to go beyond that border.
Every village has a different atmosphere and the dogs perhaps recognize
that if they cross the border and enter another village, they may get beaten up.
Or as another example, when we go from France to England
by train and we cross the tunnel,
the environment changes.
I am not talking about changes in the weather. There is a feeling of heaviness.
When we travel from one place to another, we feel heaviness in some of the places.
While in some, there is a feeling of bliss.
When we return to India from abroad,
we feel very emotional and cry out of happiness.
Why?
Because the atmosphere of this land is such. A fish which lives in water
does not realise the value of water. But when it is taken out of the water for some time,
it suffers. When it is put back into the ocean, it feels happy. We are also like that fish.
When we are out of the country,
we feel like a fish out of water and want to return to our homeland.
And whenever we return, we feel good. Why?
Because this land is such, because of its saints and their prayers. Not just one saint,
but millions of saints have emerged here.
Many of you are saints as well.
Our prayers and our penances will build the nation.
We need to be healthy, play all sorts of sports. We need to study as well as perform social service.
But I can only render proper service only when I have progressed.
I cannot help others if I am a pauper. I cannot help others if I am sick.
Hence, we have to be healthy both spiritually and materially - success in both fields.
Individually, as a family, and as a community. Only then India will move ahead.
When the country is strong both materially and spiritually,
then only it can become a world leader.
Hence, we should focus on both material and spiritual work,
in coordination with everyone, in the remembrance of and in surrender to the Divine.
We need to wake up for our country.
All organisations, irrespective of their religious background,
be it Sunni or Shia, Islamia or Sulaymaniyah, or Chisti or Kapuri,
Noor Bakshi or Swaminarayan, or Brahma Kumaris or Patanjali family or Gayatri family must come together.
We have several other organisations.
Let us unite to build a new India together. Let us all unite to eradicate poverty.
Let us create that energy that our great sages and kings dreamt of. If we want to be a world leader -
we have to teach others. In order to teach others, we need to have it within us.
We have to prepare for that. We must do regular sadhana,
sleep 4 to 5 hours and when it’s time to study, do it properly.
Every task we do, let it be done with perfection and thoroughness.
Only then we can do great things like uniting the country and dedicating ourselves to the country.
Our country is home to people of various religions and spiritual backgrounds.
No one has any enmity with our Sangha either. There is love and respect towards everyone.
We all are living in the same country and we will all serve the same country.
It does not matter which religion or spiritual path one follows,
we choose the path or practice we’d like to follow.
But never forget that if the country becomes helpless then such worship will not happen.
If bad elements overpower us and hold us at gunpoint to force us to follow their instruction,
we would be helpless.
Our forefathers were threatened and forced into religious conversion.
3000 - 4000 years ago, atrocities were committed against our sisters.
We should never forget that and need to ensure that such instances never happen into our country again.
We must be strong.
Today when I have come here, I see a ray of hope
that the future of this country is bright.
So many people are taking an oath to take our country forward.
Others can also take an oath that even if they don’t do anything at least they will not destroy it.
Even though we can pick up the garbage on the street, let us not throw garbage on the street at the least.
All of you are wise and can understand. With this, I conclude my talk.
Thank you very much. One oath we ought to take is
that we start working diligently to achieve the dream of glory to India from all over the world.
Hearty congrats to all graduates here today and I pray that you all become spiritual giants.
Thank you