RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the Rastroday event in Meerut on Sunday. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav) RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the Rastroday event in Meerut on Sunday. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)

RSS CHIEF Mohan Bhagwat Sunday said Hindus need to unite since India is their responsibility and if the country did not do well, Hindus would be questioned. He said India was home to Hindus from ancient times and they have no other place to go in the world.

“Say with pride that you are a Hindu. As Hindus, we have to unite because the responsibility of this country is upon us. From ancient time it is our home. We have nowhere else to go in this world. If anything wrong happens with this country, we will be responsible,” Bhagwat told a gathering of RSS workers in Meerut.

He was speaking on the occasion of 25th Swayamsevak Samagam, called Rashtryoday. The assembly was touted as the biggest gathering of RSS workers in recent years with close to three lakh registrations.

Bhagwat spoke at length about taking pride in one’s identity and culture and said that a nation that does not do so, does not progress.

“The roadblock to being united is that we are fighting on the lines of caste. We have to say that all Hindus are brothers irrespective of their community. Those who believe in Bharat Mata, her culture, and are progeny of India’s forefathers are Hindus. There are Hindus is this country who do not know they are Hindus,” he said.

Bhagwat emphasised that Hindus always celebrated diversity. “Our ancestors found the ultimate truth. That truth is that all existence is one. When we look at it from a physical perspective, it appears diverse. But inside, it is all one. We don’t just see unity in diversity. We recognise the diversity of this unity. That is why we respect and celebrate diversity,” he said.

RSS workers at the event on Sunday. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav) RSS workers at the event on Sunday. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)

He said hardline Hindutva stands for commitment to truth and commitment to Ahimsa. “When we become hardliners we will celebrate diversity more,” he said, before adding a note of caution: “But the world has a rule that it listens to good things only when there is a power standing behind them.”

Emphasising that it was important to be strong but that the gathering was not a show of strength, Bhagwat said, “Even gods take sacrifice of lambs because it is powerless. Even gods do not respect those without strength. This is not a show of strength. You don’t need to show strength, it is visible when it is there.”

He said India stood for a culture that did not run after wealth but after purpose. “We don’t follow the story of rich kings. We follow the story of kings like Ram who left wealth to honour his father’s words. We follow the story of that king who gave his wealth to Rana Pratap to help India’s freedom struggle,” Bhagwat said.

He said the objective of the Indian nation was most supreme. “All nations are formed with an objective, said Vivekanand. Rome was created for power. Greece came into being to showcase the principle of beauty. France was created with the idea of Art. Their objective is over and so are the respective nations. But India came into being on the idea of life. That objective is never going to be over. And so our nation is immortal.”

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