Mohan Bhagwat's full speech as RSS enters 100th year

New Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said India has become stronger and more respected in the world with enhanced credibility in the last few years but sinister conspiracies are testing the country’s resolve.

In a multi-party democracy, petty selfish interests have become more important than mutual harmony, pride and integrity of the nation. In the competition among parties, these key aspects are considered secondary, he said.

The attempts to create divisiveness in society have become bigger than national interest. Their modus operandi is to stand in support of one party and advance their destructive agenda in the name of “alternative politics”, he said.

He was addressing the annual Vijayadasahmi rally of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur.

Full text of Bhagwat's speech:

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is entering its 100th year on this auspicious occasion of Shri Vijayadashami Yugabda 5126.

Sacred Memories

Last year on this occasion, we remembered the glorious life journey of Maharani Durgavati on her 500th birth anniversary. This year, we are celebrating the 300th birth anniversary of Punyashlok Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar. Devi Ahilya Bai was a skilled state administrator and a dutiful conscientious ruler striving for the welfare of her people.

She was proud of Dharma, Sanskriti and motherland, a great example of outstanding moral values and a ruler with an excellent understanding of war strategy. Even in the most adverse circumstances, the way she displayed incredible ability and managed the family, the state, and due to her national vision, the societal harmony and culture by restoring pilgrimage sites and constructing temples even outside her state boundaries is a role model worth emulating for us all including the Matrushakti to this day. Along with this, she is also a bright symbol of the splendid tradition of the capability and leadership of the woman of Bharat.

This also marks the year of the 200th birth anniversary of the founder of Arya Samaj-Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati. Along with the cause of liberation from foreign rule, he undertook tremendous industrious efforts to get rid of the distortions in the religious conduct and social customs during the course of time and to make the society stand on its original eternal values. His name is prominent among the inspiring forces of the renaissance of Bharat.

It is essential for the people to have noble attributes, character and firmness on Dharma to create an environment as that of Ram Rajya. To instill such values and sense of responsibility in everyone, the most revered Shri Shri Anukulchandra Thakur had initiated the ‘Satsang’ campaign. Born in Pabna, present day Bangladesh and then North Bengal, Shri Shri Anukulchandra Thakurji was a homeopathy doctor and was initiated into spiritual practice by his own mother. The natural process of character building and spirit of Sewa among people who approached him with personal problems became 'Satsang'. It was registered as a charitable institution in 1925 CE. The headquarters of 'Satsang' at Devghar (Jharkhand) will celebrate the centenary of his work from 2024 to 2025. This campaign is moving forward with many initiatives of Sewa, Sanskar and development.

The 150th year of the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda will begin from the coming 15th November. This 150th anniversary will remind us of the inspiration of the Ulgulan movement initiated by Bhagwan Birsa Munda to liberate the tribal brothers from slavery and exploitation, freedom of motherland from foreign domination, protection of existence, identity and Sva-Dharma. It is because of the glorious sacrifice of Bhagwan Birsa Munda that our tribal brethren now have a firm foundation for self-respect, development and contribution towards nation.

Individual and National Character

We remember such heroic personalities who have devoted their lives for the welfare of Bharat, Dharma, Sanskruti and society with utmost honesty and selflessness as they have not just worked for our welfare, but have also presented a model of exemplary conduct for us through their own lives. These people shared some common things though they worked in different fields and varying periods. It was in their nature to be selfless, without animosity and fearless. Whenever the duty of struggle presented itself, they carried it out with full strength and necessary sternness. But they never harboured hatred or enmity. They were known for their splendid character. Therefore their presence was intimidating for the wicked and reassuring for the righteous. Today, the situation is expecting the same kind of conduct from us. Whether the situation is favourable or unfavourable, such firmness of personal and national character becomes the foundation of strength for the victory of auspiciousness and righteousness.

Forward March

This is the era of rapid material progress of mankind. With the help of science and technology, we have made the life extremely comfortable. But on the other hand, the conflicts of our selfish interests are pushing us towards destruction. Everyone is concerned about how far the conflict between Hamas and Israel in the West Asia (Middle East) will spread. In our country too, along with hopes and aspirations, challenges and problems also exist. Traditionally, both of these are discussed in as much detail as possible in the Vijayadashmi speech of Sangh. But today I will discuss only a few challenges because the pace that the country has gained towards the fulfilment of hopes and aspirations will continue. Everyone feels that Bharat as a nation has become stronger and more respected in the world with an enhanced credibility in the past few years. Naturally, respect for the ideas inherent in our tradition and sentiment has increased in many areas. The world is undoubtedly accepting our sense of universal brotherhood, our views towards the environment, our yoga etc. The sense of self-pride is increasing in the society, especially in the younger generation. We are gradually moving ahead in many areas. All elections including Jammu and Kashmir have been completed peacefully. There is a general confidence that youth, women, entrepreneurs, farmers, workers, soldiers, administration, government, all will remain committed to their respective tasks. It is because of the efforts made by all these people in the last few years, inspired by the national interest, that Bharat's image, power, fame and position on the world stage is constantly improving. But as if to test our resolve, some sinister conspiracies have appeared before us which need to be understood properly. If we take a look at the current scenario of our country, such challenges are clearly visible in front of us. Attempts to disturb and destabilise the country seem to be gaining momentum from all directions.

Malicious machinations

It is on expected lines that certain powers whose vested interests are affected by our country’s rise in the world that they would let Bharat grow only within certain limits. This commitment of the countries that claim to be liberal, democratic and committed to world peace vanishes as soon as the question of their security and self-interest arises. Then they do not hesitate to attack other countries or overthrow their democratically elected governments through illegal and/or violent means. All these things can be understood by observing the sequence of events happening, both inside Bharat and around the world. The deliberate attempt to tarnish Bharat’s image based on lies or half-truths is clearly visible.

Recently, the violent coup that took place in Bangladesh has the immediate and local reasons which are just one dimension of those events. The practice of unprovoked brutal atrocities on the Hindu community residing there was repeated. This time, in protest against those atrocities, the Hindu community there got organised and came out of their homes to defend themselves, hence some defence could be ensured. But as long as this tyrannical fundamentalist nature exists there, the sword of danger will hang over the heads of all the minority communities including the Hindus. That is why the illegal infiltration from Bangladesh into Bharat and the population imbalance caused by it has become a matter of serious concern even among the common people. The mutual harmony and the national security too come under scanner due to this illegal infiltration. The Hindu community which is reduced to a minority in Bangladesh will need the help of all those who are in favour of generosity, humanity and harmony, especially the Bharatiya government and Hindus from all over the world. Hindu community across the world should learn the lesson that being unorganised and weak is like inviting atrocities by the wicked. But the matter does not end here. Now in Bangladesh there are talks of joining Pakistan as a defence against Bharat. There is no need to name the countries trying to pressurise Bharat by creating and establishing such false narratives. It is the government’s job to work on the remedy. But at the societal level, the most worrying thing is that efforts have increased to destroy the existing decency and culture in the society, turn diversity into differences, create distrust towards the system among the groups who are victims of some issues and convert discontent into anarchy.

Words like 'Deep State', 'Wokeism', 'Cultural Marxist' are in discussion these days. In fact, they are the declared enemies of all cultural traditions. Complete destruction of values, traditions and whatever is considered virtuous and auspicious is a part of the modus operandi of this group. The first step of this modus operandi is to bring the mind-shaping systems and institutions of the society under one's influence - for example, the education system and educational institutions, media, intellectual discourse, etc., and to destroy the thoughts, values and belief of the society through them. In a society living together, an identity-based group is motivated to separate on the basis of its actual or artificially created specialty, demand, need or a problem. A feeling of victimhood is created in them. By fanning discontent, that element is pulled apart from the rest of the society, and made aggressive against the system. Direct conflicts are created by finding fault lines in the society. An atmosphere of anarchy and fear is created by intensifying distrust and hatred towards the system, laws, governance, administration etc. This makes it easy to establish one's dominance over that country.

In a multiparty democratic system of governance, there is competition among parties to gain power. If petty selfish interests in society become more important than mutual harmony or the unity and integrity of the nation; or if the harmony of society and the pride and integrity of the nation are considered secondary in the competition among parties, then in such party politics, their modus operandi is to stand in support of one party and advance their destructive agenda in the name of ‘Alternative Politics’. This is not a fictional story but a reality that has happened in many countries of the world. As a result of this revolution, the stability, peace and prosperity of life can be clearly seen to be in danger in the developed countries of the western world. We have seen this system working from the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ to what happened recently in the neighbouring Bangladesh. We are seeing similar evil attempts all around Bharat - especially in the border and tribal areas.

Our national life stands on the strong foundation of cultural unity and glorious civilization. Our social life is inspired and nurtured by noble values. It is crucial to stop the above-mentioned evil designs to harm or destroy our nation before it’s too late. Only an awakened society will be able to do this. For this, a democratic plan should be prepared based on our culturally rooted philosophy and constitutionally provided path. A powerful discourse is the need of the hour to keep the society safe from these conspiracies spreading intellectual and cultural pollution.

Erosion of Values

The distorted propaganda and poor values spread by various systems and institutions are negatively affecting the minds, words and deeds of the younger generation in Bharat. Mobile phones have now reached the hands of children as well. There is little to no control over what is being shown there and what our children are watching. The content is so disgusting that even mentioning it would be a violation of decency. There seems to be an urgent need for legal monitoring over advertisements and perverted visual content in our homes and society. The drug addiction spreading like wildfire among the young generation is also hollowing the society from within. Values that lead to virtuousness will have to be revived.

It is the result of the decay of values that in a country that practices "Maatrivat Paradaareshu", women are facing incidents like rape in many places. The incident in Kolkata's R. G. Kar Hospital is one of the most shameful incident that has tarnished the entire society. The whole society stood with the doctors protesting and demanding prompt and sensitive action. But even after such a heinous crime, the despicable efforts made by some people to protect the criminals show how the nexus of crime, politics and poisonous culture is ruining us.

Our view towards women - "Maatrivat Paradaareshu" - is our value tradition that has been passed on for generations. Not being aware or neglecting or despising such values in families and in the media from which the society is getting entertainment as well as is being automatically educated, is proving very costly. We will have to revive the system of enlightening these traditional values through family, society and media.

Importance of being strong

We can see the erosion of values and the tactics of divisive elements to break the society across Bharat today. There is an attempt to create conflict by creating separation on the basis of caste, language, province etc. Arrangements are being made so that the society, entangled in petty selfishness and small identities, does not understand the all-consuming crisis looming over their heads until it is too late. Due to this, today Punjab, Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh on the north-western border of the country; Kerala, Tamil Nadu on the sea border; and the entire Purvanchal from Bihar to Manipur are disturbed. All the situations mentioned earlier in this speech are present in all these states as well.

There is a sudden increase in the incidents in the country that incite fanaticism without any reason. There may be dissatisfaction in the mind about the situation or policies, but there are democratic ways to express it and oppose them. Instead of following these ways, resorting to violence, attacking a particular section of the society, resorting to violence without reason, trying to create fear, is hooliganism. The attempts to incite this or doing it in a planned manner, has been called as ‘Grammar of Anarchy’ by revered Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Incidents of unprovoked massive stone pelting on the processions of Shri Ganesh Visarjan and the tense situation that followed are examples of the same grammar that happened during the recent Ganeshotsava. It is the job of the administration to prevent such incidents from happening, and to control and punish the culprits immediately. But until they arrive, the society has to protect itself and its property along with the lives of the loved ones. Hence, there is a need for the society to always remain fully alert and prepared and to identify these evil tendencies and those who support them.

The above description of the situation is not meant to scare, intimidate or incite fighting. We all are experiencing the existence of such a situation. It is everyone's wish and duty to make this country united, happy, peaceful, prosperous and strong. The Hindu society has a greater responsibility in this. Therefore, a specific type of situation of the society, alertness and collective efforts in a particular direction are required. When the society wakes up on its own, writes its destiny with its own efforts, then great men, organizations, institutions, administration, government etc. all help. In a healthy state of the body, deterioration arrives first, then diseases surround it. There is a famous saying that even God does not care about the weak.

"Ashwam Naiva Gajam Naiva, Vyaaghram Naiva cha Naiva cha
Ajaaputram Balim Dadyaat, Devo Durbala Ghaatakah."

Even Gods punish the weak - Neither horse nor elephant and never the tiger, but a goat is sacrificed.

That is why by the completion of the centenary year, the Swayamsevaks are thinking of galvanising the society by taking up some initiatives to the society.

Harmony and Goodwill

The first condition for a healthy and able society is social harmony and mutual goodwill among different sections of society. This task cannot be accomplished by merely organizing some symbolic programs. There should be amicability between individuals and families in all sections and levels of society. We all have to take this initiative at personal and family level. Everyone should participate in mutual festivals and they should become festivals of the entire society. There should be an environment for participation of all sections of society in places of public use and worship such as temples, drinking water, crematoriums etc. All sections should understand the needs of weaker sections of society which arise from to the circumstances they face. Just as the strong members of a family make more provisions for the weaker members, sometimes even at the cost of their own loss, similarly such needs should be considered with the feeling of belongingness to each other.

Our social groups have their own organizations and mechanisms which independently look after them. The development, improvement and enlightenment of the interests of their respective caste groups is thought about through the leadership of these organizations. If the people leading the different caste communities sit together and think about two issues regularly, then a congenial atmosphere will be created everywhere in the society. Any conspiracy to divide the society will not be successful. The first point is what can we - all different caste groups, do together for the benefit of the country, the entire local society. We can make plans and take them to fruition. Secondly, what can we all do together for the benefit of the weaker sections amongst us? If such thoughts and actions keep happening regularly, then the society will become healthy and a harmonious environment will also be created.

Environmental issues

A global problem in the environment around us which is also being experienced in our country in recent years is the bad condition of the environment. The seasonal cycle has become irregular and violent. The so-called developmental journey of man, based on the incomplete ideological basis of consumerism and materialism, has almost become a journey of destruction of the entire creation including humans. We should have made our developmental path on the basis of the complete, holistic and integrated vision based on our Bharatiya tradition, but we did not do so. At present, such thoughts are being heard a little bit, some things have been accepted superficially and a few have been changed. Much more needs to be done. We are also suffering the consequences of blindly following the incomplete developmental path that leads to destruction in the name of development. The summer season scorches, the rain takes away everything and the winter freezes life like a dead body. We are experiencing this cruel intensity of the seasons. Due to deforestation, greenery got destroyed, rivers dried up, chemicals poisoned our food, water, air and even the earth, mountains started collapsing, earth started cracking, we have been having all these experiences in the last few years. There is no alternative than to build a path on our own ideological basis which will compensate for all these losses and will give us sustainable, holistic and integrated development. This is possible only when there is a unanimous ideological consensus for this in the entire country and a decentralized method of implementation keeping in mind the diversity of the country. We, in our capacity as individuals can start by practicing three small and simple things from our homes. The first thing is to use water as minimally as possible and conserve rain water. The second thing is not to use plastic items, completely abstain from using what is called single use plastic. The third thing is to increase greenery in our homes and outside, plant trees and participating in afforestation and preservation of traditionally planted trees everywhere. It will take time to resolve policy issues related to the environment, but we can start this simple action with immediate effect from our homes.

Awakening the values

As far as the erosion of values is concerned, the system of imparting values at three places - from where values are obtained - will have to be restored and strengthened. The education system, along with providing education to satisfy the hunger, also works for personality development of students. There is a proverb which summarizes the values of our country,

"Maatrivat Paradaareshu Paradravyeshu Loshthavat
Aatmavat Sarvabhuteshu Yah Pashyati Sah Panditah"

The one who sees women as mother, considers other's wealth as dirt, earns money through own hard work and follows the right path and avoids action that causes pain and suffering to others, is considered educated. In the national education policy, there has been an attempt to include such value education and formulate curriculum accordingly, but this education will not be effective without the examples of teachers being present in front of students from primary to higher education. Therefore, a new system of teacher orientation will have to be created. The second place is social environment. All these things should reflect in the conduct of the prominent and popular personalities of the society who influence many other people. These things should also be vindicated by those prominent people and these values should be inculcated through various awareness activities going on in the society which they influence. All those who use social media should be careful that it should be used to unite the society and not to break it, for imparting values and not for spreading obscenity and indecency.

But the foundation of education and the character that results from it are formed at home between the ages of 3 to 12 years. This education is accomplished through the behaviour of the elders at home, the atmosphere of the home and the friendly conversations that take place at home. Each one of us will have to take care of our home, if not spontaneously possible, then by organizing a weekly event and begin this dialogue. Many qualities like self-esteem, patriotism, morality, sense of purpose, sense of duty etc. are formed during this period. We need to understand this and start this work from our own home.

Civic discipline

The other aspect of the expression of Sanskars is our social behaviour. We live together in the society. Some rules are made so that we can happily coexist. The rules may keep changing according to the time and place. But it is essential to follow those rules with dedication so that we can live together joyously. When we live together, some duties and disciplines of our behaviour towards each other are also formed. Law and the Constitution too are a social discipline. Philosophical foundations and rules are made so that all people in the society live together harmoniously, keep progressing and do not disintegrate. We the people of Bharat have given ourselves this commitment to the constitution. Keeping in mind the meaning of this sentence of the preamble, everyone has to discharge the duties given by the constitution and the law properly. We should follow this system in all matters, big or small. There are traffic rules; different types of taxes to be paid on time; and there is also the discipline of clean and transparent financial transactions, personal or public. All such rules should be fully and wisely followed. Rules and regulations should be followed both in letter and spirit. To ensure that this is done properly, especially the knowledge of four aspects of our constitution, such as the preamble, the guiding principles, fundamental duties and fundamental rights, should be made known to general public. The discipline of mutual conduct passed on by the family; piety, cordiality and decency in mutual behaviour; devotion towards motherland and affinity towards the society in social behaviours, along with flawless observance of law and constitution, all these together form the personal and national character. It is very important for these two aspects of character to be impeccable and thorough for the security, unity, integrity and development of the country. We all will have to remain engaged in this practice of personal and national character with alertness and consistency.

Self Esteem

The inspiration required to ensure that all these things are followed uninterrupted is the inspiration of 'self-esteem'. Who are we? What is our tradition and our purpose ? Is the idea clear and exact in our minds about the nature of a larger, all-inclusive, humane identity that has been passed down since ancient times to us Bharatiyas? It is necessary for everyone to know this. By adopting the shining qualities of that identity, its pride is established in the mind and intellect, and on its basis, self-respect is achieved. The power of the inspiration of self-esteem produces the behaviour that becomes the reason for our progress and self-reliance in the world. Its expression in the national policy depends to a great extent on the Swadeshi behaviour of the people in the society in their daily lives. That is called the conduct of Swadeshi. Do not import from outside what can be made at home. Bring in as much employment as possible in the country. Do not import from outside what is made in the country. Manage without what is not made in the country. Only essential life items that do not have substitutes should be bought from abroad. Keep in mind that the language, attire, worship, and food inside our home and keep up of our home and our tours should be our own tradition. This in short is Swadeshi behaviour. When the country becomes self-reliant in all fields, it becomes easy to adopt Swadeshi behaviour. Therefore, the policy of an independent country should include a policy that can achieve the result of becoming self-reliant. Along with this, the society should make efforts to make Swadeshi behaviour a part of its life and nature.

Restraint and Discretion in thought, speech and action

Another important aspect of the behaviour of national character is to keep oneself away from any kind of extremism and illegal practices. Our country is full of diversities. We do not consider them as differences, nor should we consider them so. Our diversity is the natural uniqueness of the universe. In a country with such an ancient history, vast area and huge population, all these specialties are natural. Pride in one's own distinctiveness and sensitivity towards them is also natural. Due to this diversity, it is not always the case that everything happening in social life and in the functioning of the country will always be favourable or pleasing to everyone. It is not that all these things are done by a single community. In response to these, defying the law and order and creating disturbances through illegal or violent means, holding an entire section of the society responsible for them, violating decorum in thought, word and deed, these are neither prescribed nor beneficial for the country or for anyone in the country. Tolerance and harmony are Bharatiya traditions. Intolerance and malice are anti-Bharatiya and anti-human vices. Therefore, no matter how much anger there is, we should avoid such unrestrained behaviour and prevent our people from doing so. One should be alert in one's own conduct that one's thoughts, words or deeds do not insult anyone's faith, revered places, great personalities, books, incarnations, saints etc. Even if unfortunately someone else does something like this, we should control ourselves. Above and beyond all things, unity, harmony and decent behaviour of the society is important. This is the ultimate truth for any nation, in any time, and is the only way for the blissful life and co-existence of human beings.
 
Organised strength and spotless character as the basis of peace and progress
 But as is the way of the modern world, the world does not accept truth on its own value. The world accepts strength. All nations of the world know that as Bharat grows, harmony and balance will be generated in international dealings and the world will move towards peace and brotherhood. Yet we all experience the efforts of powerful nations to keep Bharat bound within limits due to their narrow self-interest, ego or hatred. The more Bharat's power increases, the more Bharat will be accepted.

‘Bala Heenon Ko Nahi Puchhata, Balavanon Ko Vishwa Poojata’

World worships the strong, weak person is ignored. This is the way of today's world. Therefore, to establish the above mentioned environment of harmony and restraint, good people will have to be strong. When strength comes with good conduct, it forms the basis of peace. Evil forces gang up together for selfish reasons and stay alert. Only the strong can control them. Good people have good conduct towards everyone but do not know how to unite. That is why they appear weak. They will have to learn the art of building this organized strength. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh signifies this creation of peerless, character based strength of Hindu society. Sangh Swayamsevaks are thinking of connecting individuals in the society by taking the five points of good conduct mentioned earlier in this speech. The country has to move ahead by staying secure from such forces who do not want Bharat to progress, who join hands with such anti-national people for their own selfish interests and who by nature find happiness in hatred and animosity. Hence, along with good conduct, practicing strength is also important. Therefore, in Sangh Prarthana, Bhagwan is asked for invincible strength and flawless character before which all the world will bow down. No work for the welfare of the world and humanity can be accomplished without these two qualities even in favourable circumstances. All the deities integrated their strengths while doing Jagran for nine nights. With that collective power full of virtue, the universal energy in the form of Jagadamba awoke, the wicked were destroyed, the noble were saved and the world was blessed. The Sangh is engaged as a silent piligrim in this Sadhana of world welfare. This Sadhana will give all of us the power and success to make our holy motherland resplendent with glory. Having achieved the similar progress by means of this Sadhana all the nations in the world will contribute in making this world full of happiness, peace and benevolence. All of you are cordially invited in this Sadhana.