Mangalore: Mohan Bhagwat exhorts RSS members to follow Swami Vivekananda's ideals
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Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (BG)
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Mangalore, Feb 3: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday February 3 addressed a massive gathering of RSS members at Kenjar grounds, Bajpe and urged them to work towards making India a great nation and realize the vision Swami Vivekananda had for the country.
Speaking at Mangalore Vibhag Sanghik, Bhagwat laid down the principles with which RSS members are expected to work, and said that this programme is being held to make people understand the vision and mission of RSS.
"Today's programme is being held to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. There is innate relation between Swami Vivekananda's ideology and that of RSS. People will understand more about how RSS works, its discipline, and how it takes realizes its goals through this programme," he said.
"A newspaper termed this convention as a 'show of strength'. I want to make it clear that an RSS worker does not need to show his strength. RSS has become stronger by rendering selfless service, its strength manifests itself through its social work. We do not need a programme to show that strength. This is a programme for RSS members to introspect. We have done a lot, but a lot more needs to be done. I am happy to see such a large gathering assembled here," he said.
Speaking on the ideals set down by Swami Vivekananda, Bhagwat said, "Swami Vivekananda had toured the entire country on foot, understood its culture and way of life, experienced its essence through meditation and pondered over how it could restore its lost glory."
He further added, "Swami Vivekananda preached three important things about life. First, do not consider yourself lesser to others. The world needs India. Earlier people used to criticize India and say bad things about it, but India never endorsed it. India is the only country in the world to spread the message of peace. At Chicago, Swami Vivekananda told the world about India's greatness and even inspired foreigners to look at India with respect. He enabled Indians hold their heads high with pride over their motherland. He won the world with his preachings."
"Secondly, Swami Vivek said one should be fearless and not get bogged down by any situation. He said one should face the situation, problems cannot be solved by escaping but by confronting them. When he was on the way to Kashi, he noticed some monkeys behind him. Frightened that they may attack him, Swami Vivek ran for his life. When at last he was tired of running he stopped, and at that moment he saw another Swami, who told him to turn around and face the monkeys. When he did so and took a step towards the monkeys they ran away. This particular incident taught Swami Vivekananda that one should face problems boldly and not be defeated by them," he said, adding that similarly RSS members too should stand up and fight any problem.
"But to do that, we have to remove greed and other evils and have trust. We have to unite India, and for this we have to sacrifice ourselves and mobilize all our strength towards this goal. Indians are our god, lord Shiva present in Indians. We have to sacrifice our lives for them. This is Swami Vivekananda's message too. Where there is service there is no arrogance," he said.
"Thirdly, Swami said strength is important for truth to prevail. Without strength no work can be done. Character is equally important. We need people who have the power to bring change. Vivekananda wanted to do this work through education, not just by introducing the egoistic English education, but by spreading knowledge about India, its richness and tradtions, and enable people to mould themselves in strength and character. However, he did not get enough time to realize his mission. As RSS workers, we should ponder over it and ask whether RSS has not been doing the same work. All these many years since its inception, RSS has been engaged in fulfilling this task," he said.
"Swami Vivek said keep aside all gods and consider only Bharat Mata (Mother India) as the supreme. This is what RSS does too. Before every programme the RSS prayer song first pays respects to Bharat Mata. We pledge to sacrifice our lives for the nation every day. Our life is spent in serving our Hindu nation. We pray to god to bless the country with virtues of selflessness, knowlegde and much more. We ask god to give us strength to serve the nation all our life. RSS prayer is a summary of the vision of Vivekananda for this country.
"We are not against anybody. We think of universal welfare just like Swami Vivekananda," he added.
"For all these reasons, we have to follow Swami Vivekananda's teachings. It is not enough to have a programme in his honour, we have to even learn and gain from it. We should not fear any problem but face it boldly and find its solution. We have to build a dynamic world without fearing the consequences. We have to make a united effort and take India forward," he said,
"RSS has worked to realize Swami Vivekananda's dream. We should make sure that we get the results too. Just organizing a programm is not enough. It is important to imbibe selflessness and sacrifice and work towards achieving our goals. There is not a single problem that can obstruct one's path. We have to fight, and we have to unite. RSS is a Ganga flowing since so many years. It started as a stream and today has become a river, now we should take it forward towards the sea. By doing this, in the next 10-20 years India can become the greatest nation on earth and a symbol of peace. India can rule the world, but for this we have start our work right now. I request all Swayamsevaks to actively engage themselves in this task," he said.
The speech was translated from Hindi to Kannada by Sudheer. Prakash of Hosadiganta welcomed the gathering.
Suresh Joshi, Venkataramu Mysore, Karnataka Dakshina Pranta Sangachalak, and Dr Vaman Shenoy, Mangalore Vibhag Sangachalak shared the dais.
Suryanarayana Rao, Jayadev, Krishnappa, K C Kannan, Ajith Mahapatra, Mangesh Bhenge, Ramakrishna Rao, Sudheer Gadlil, V Nagaraj, Ravindra, Dr Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, Kajampady Subramanya Bhat and Rammanna were present.