Sadhguru: Namaskaram!
This is seventy-two years after independence.
This great civilization which went through throes of various invasions and occupations,
after much struggle and sacrifice, we attained our independence seventy-two years ago.
Many remarkable things have been done in this seventy-two years, but still,
there are many things that we need to settle in our country.
Well, our space-research institutes have done phenomenal work,
our business institutions have done wonderful things,
our education systems have grown, infrastructure has grown,
Indian people have gone all over the world and achieved many things
and found success in various dimensions of life, but at the same time,
some of the things that are really eating into the vitals of this nation
is something that every citizen in this country should take interest in and sort it out in whichever way they can.
Three most important things that we need to address in the coming decade is,
one thing is divisions of caste and creed which has eaten into the vitals of this nation.
This we must settle!
Our identity should move beyond caste, beyond creed, beyond communities.
And one single identification –
it doesn’t matter what we practice at home, but our identity should be with our nationhood.
This is very necessary for us to move forward as a successful nation.
When I say successful nation, I’m talking about those half-a-billion people who are youthful.
We are the most youthful nation on the planet.
If this youth has to find a life for themselves, make a difference for the country,
and make a significant mark in the well-being of the world, the most important thing is,
we must bind ourselves as one nation together,
irrespective of our beliefs, castes and creeds and whatever else we have as smaller identities.
If this one thing we do, and we get our youth into a state of exuberance and focus,
we can make a miracle in this country.
We have a demographic dividend right now,
this advantage will be there only in the next ten to twenty years, maximum.
Within this ten to fifteen years, if we make this happen that we come together as a nation
without working against each other, without talking against each other, without fighting with each other,
if we come together as a nation, this whole population, we will be a miraculous nation.
We have the potential, we have the intellect and we have the capability,
and the world is looking up to us to show the way, in many ways.
In the sense, today everybody in the world is looking at India as the future success of this world,
one of the greatest successes of the world in the coming twenty years is going to be India,
but we have to make this happen.
This is not a prediction, this should be our plan.
The next thing is, corruption has eaten into the systemic vitals of our nation.
Well, many things are being done right now,
one of the most important thing is, we must bring technologies into every aspects of transaction.
Every aspect of transaction – from a birth certificate to death certificate to banking to everything,
if it comes under technology, the room for corruption will be gone.
The efforts are being made,
the people should cooperate, and we should go ahead of the government and make this happen,
because this is in our interest, in what kind of clean atmosphere we live in,
because corruption is not just about money, it takes away the basic human dignity of existing in a nation.
The next thing is, there are dangers of terror and external aggressions,
which I request the government and the agencies
and the people to be alert that we never let these things happen to our country once again.
We should not forget the atrocities that have happened to us throughout the last thousand years,
particularly last two-hundred-and-fifty years, but it is very, very important that
we are not resentful about what has happened to us in the past.
It is very important that the experience of pain that a culture has gone through
should transform itself into a wisdom, not into a wound in our lives.
When something hurts us, we can either become wise or wounded.
We must become wise, and see that this experience leaves us in a mature state,
that we will create a nation and a world that will be worthy of future generations.
On this Independence day, I want every one of you, every Indian citizen, to take this upon ourselves
that these three evils which are eating the vitals of this nation, we will address it in whichever way we can,
and we will not work against each other, we will not speak against each other,
but rather speak for the country, work for the country and make this happen, because still,
nearly four-hundred-million people in our country have not eaten well,
they are not well-nourished, this must happen.
If this has to happen, a collective action of togetherness and nation-building needs to happen.
I beseech every one of you, that on this 72nd Independence Day,
we must commit ourselves to ensure
that those unfortunate people who are not even getting the basic nourishment in this country,
we must ensure in the next five to ten years, this situation must change.