London, Sep 7 (IANS) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has rejected claims that “intense hatred” underpins the organisation’s work, saying instead that ‘Shuddha Saatvika Prem’ — or pure and noble love — is the foundation of its work.
Speaking at a civilisational dialogue in London as part of the RSS’s centenary outreach on Sunday (local time), Bhagwat said that the idea of “apnapan”, or a sense of oneness and belonging, lies at the heart of Hindu thought as well as the RSS’s approach.
He explained that this sense of belonging extends beyond the individual to family, community, society and humanity, while also underlining the Hindu civilisational connection with nature.
“I heard some people say, intense hatred is the basis of our work. It is just the reverse. ‘Shuddha Saatvika Prem’, that is the basis of our work,” Bhagwat said.
Elaborating on the idea, he said that the RSS has long emphasised pure and noble love as the foundation of its activities and that the principle has remained unchanged even after a century of the organisation’s existence.
“The word Hindu, we cannot understand on the basis of any religious practice or a lifestyle. Hindu is a nature. Society which has a nature to accept and respect all diversities because it holds that always leads to the same goal,” he said.
Bhagwat also referred to a song sung in the RSS to underline the organisation’s emphasis on “Shuddha Saatvika Prem”.
“We sing a song in Sangh; we say: ‘Shuddha saatvika prem apne karya ka aadhaar hai.’ (Pure, noble love is the foundation of our work.) I heard some people say intense hatred is the basis of our work. It is just the reverse. Shuddha saatvika prem, that is the basis of our work,” he said.
“And that has not worn out even in 100 years. You will find the same shuddha saatvika love in the behaviour of swayamsevaks, in the atmosphere of the Sangh,” the RSS chief added.
Responding to a question about what Hindu civilisation could offer the world at a time marked by global conflicts and other economic and technological challenges, Bhagwat said Hindu thought is fundamentally rooted in the belief that existence is one, even though it appears in diverse forms.
“Existence is really one. It appears to be diverse. Diversities are natural. So we have to accept them; we have to respect them. But we have to deal with diversities keeping in mind that these are the various decorations of the unity of existence,” he said.
“One has to become many; therefore, many are respected. So deal with many, because it is practical; you have to go through nature. But when dealing with them, you should not look at them as something separate. We are one. All is one,” the RSS chief said.
“When we think in terms of enmity, or competition, or ‘I want this, and he should not get this, I want more, and he should not get it’… If I say, ‘He needs this, I need this, we both should get this. And if I get it, I will give some of it to him,’ if we think like that, we don’t have to conquer nature; we are part of nature,” he added.
Bhagwat also spoke about the Hindu understanding of diversity and coexistence, saying differences in ways of life or beliefs should not necessarily lead to separation. He linked this understanding to the broader concept of Hindu civilisation and its approach to living together.
“Hindu is different… Because your way is different, we need not be separate. We can go together, we can work together, we can live together. And we should live together. That is Hindu,” he said.
He also distinguished between the concepts of “Nation” and “Rashtra”, saying that the two should not be treated as direct equivalents.
“And then Nation. Nation is not a translation of the word Rashtra. Rashtra is a different concept. Nation means nation-state. So, people come together because they have some similarity of language or one type of model of governance or a religion,” Bhagwat said, adding that human beings depend on one another for survival and that societies and nations emerge from this need for collective existence.
The RSS chief also addressed the question of the relationship between Hindus living in Britain and their connection with India, saying that Hindu thought does not demand that individuals abandon their loyalties to the country where they live and work.
“If British Hindus are ‘Achcha Pakka Sachcha Hindus’, there will never be a conflict between British and Bharat interests. If at all that happens, it is obvious that British Hindus will go with Britain. An exception may happen, but Hindutva is clear on this,” he said.
He further explained that a person’s “Karmabhoomi”, or land of work and duty, determines where their primary loyalties lie, and said Hindutva does not call upon people to betray that responsibility.
“Your Karmabhoomi is where your loyalties lie… Hindutva never asks you to betray your Karmabhoomi,” Bhagwat said.
–IANS
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