New Delhi: Indians have travelled far and wide across the world but they have never conquered any country or converted anyone, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said in Toronto.
Bhagwat also hailed India’s rise over the years as ‘Vishwaguru’, a title often used by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to describe the country.
Stressing that the Hindus respect and accept all religions, Bhagwat pointed out that even those who came to Bharat from outside as aggressors thrive today, with all their specialties intact. “They are now Bharatiya citizens’.
“Our ancestors have gone in the regions from Mexico to Siberia, giving them all knowledge,” he said Monday in his keynote speech addressing the ‘Hindu Vishwa Bandhu – Embrace the World in Friendship’.
The event brought together more than 2,000 participants from all 10 provinces across Canada. It was organised by CHORD (Canadian Hindus for Outreach, Relations and Dialogue) with the support of more than 175 organisations.
Bhagwat said while one may call Bharat a ‘superpower’ at that time, it was not one. “It served the world and by its own character, it became Vishwaguru not Mahashakti. So the rise of Bharat means a more united, more emancipated humanity. We did it long back when there were no roads, no boats, no airplanes, no motor vehicles. Only bullock carts and horses,” he said.
The Sangh chief said on foot, the Indians crossed the Himalayas, went to China, went to Siberia, Mongolia and even by small boats to Southeast Asia—the known world at that time was reached by them.
“And what did they do? They conquered no country. They converted nobody. Wherever they went, they gave knowledge, they gave mathematics, they gave astrology, they gave Ayurveda, they imparted civilisational values.”
He said that even today a common Bharatiya (a person of Bharatiya origin) going into any country, the common people will offer him Namaskar.
Bhagwat cited the example of senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi who went to China to see a Shinto Mandir.
“There was one. So, he went there, and a natural tendency for Bharatiya is he may go to any place of worship be it a Bharatiya sampradaya, religion, or be it Islam, Christianity, Parsi, anything; when he goes to any sacred place, he will offer namaskar. So Dr Joshi offered Namaskar to the sanctum sanctorum. An old Chinese lady was observing it. She came in front and asked him, ‘Are you a Hindu?’ and he said, ‘Yes.’ She offered namaskar.”
Bhagwat, who recently visited the US and spoke at a “One World, One Humanity” event and a Raksha Bandhan gathering, is currently touring Canada and is expected to visit the UK. The Toronto event was organised by local Canadian Hindus.
Jason Kenney, former premier of Alberta and former federal Cabinet Minister, was the Chief Guest in the Toronto event. Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal, representing the Khalsa Diwan Society and the historic Ross Street Gurdwara, was the Guest of Honour.
The RSS chief asserted that Hindus respect and accept all and highlighted how the country has always given asylum to the persecuted and provided guidance to the world including those who came to India as aggressors but are not Bharatiya citizens.
“When I say Hindu, the word Hindu cannot be defined by any specific language, through any specific worship, or through any living style. All these are there. These are the diversities of human beings. Hindus respect and accept all… Anywhere in the world, if someone was persecuted, he got asylum in Bharat only,” he added.
“Many came to Bharat from outside as aggressors, but they still thrive there, with all their specialties intact. They are now Bharatiya citizens. Muslims, Christians, and Jews are there… Many people come to Bharat for asylum.”
He explained that Bharat never says no whenever there is a crisis in the world as helping others is in “our tradition and DNA”.
“Whenever Bharat has been asked for help anywhere in the world, it has never refused and it extends a helping hand even without even being asked. This is our tradition, the DNA of Bharat. That is why you may have heard the saying—’If Hindus awaken, the world awakens’…They regard both the animate and the inanimate as their own. They have been taught to see unity in diversity,” he said.
“That is why diversity never poses a problem for unity in India; our tradition teaches us that not only is there unity in diversity, but diversity itself is a form of unity.”
He also stressed on the unity in diversity that is part of Indian tradition and highlighted that the word Hindu cannot be defined by any specific language, through any specific worship, or through any living style.
“This happened in Bharat. And this is not the one isolated instance. During the Second World War, residents of Poland, many of them became refugees. They ran away from their country, traveled the seas, and came to Bharat. Bharat was not independent then.
“There were Britishers. And they refused asylum. But at that time, Jamnagar—it was an independent, what we call sansthan, princely state. The prince of Jamnagar called them, ‘Come here. Settle here. I will protect you till your country is again free for you to live’.”
Bhagwat also shared an anecdote of three Nalanda students sacrificing themselves so that Chinese scholar Hiuen Tsang could carry books to his homeland.
“Long ago, a great world traveler, namely Hiuen Tsang, came to Bharat. He learned many things in Nalanda, gained knowledge… So, he had to cross the great River Ganges. And while he was crossing it in a boat with three Bharatiya companions, young students of Nalanda, there was a storm. And it became obvious that the boat will sink if the load is not lessened. The boatman told them, ‘You know, let go of your luggage.’ So, there were tears in the eyes of Hiuen Tsang,” the Sangh chief said.
“Lifelong work, and such great knowledge to be carried to his own country for the betterment of his people. And now it is going west. But the three students from Nalanda assured him, ‘Don’t worry. The boatman wants to lessen the weight. We will lessen it without harming your books.’ And one after another, jumped into Ganges, gave their life so that China will get the knowledge,” he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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