A Hindu is an automatic patriot and can never be anti-national, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Friday. Bhagwat said this in the context of how Mahatma Gandhi found religion as the source of his patriotism.
Addressing a meeting during the launch of a book, Making of a Hindu Patriot: Background to Gandhiji’s Hind Swaraj, Bhagwat said: “All Indians worship the homeland. But Gandhiji said that my patriotism comes from my religion. So if you are Hindu, you will be an automatic patriot. You may be an unconscious Hindu, you may need to wake up, but a Hindu will never be anti-India. “
Describing how the Indian culture and the Hindu religion inspired Gandhi, Bhagwat said: “Gandhiji said that my religion is the religion of all religions. Gandhiji wanted to say ‘Dharm’ but there is no parallel in English. Gandhiji started the Swaraj (self-government) movement … But until you understand ‘Swadharm’, you cannot understand Swaraj. “
“The launch of a book dealing with the rise of a Hindu patriot in the context of Gandhi and the presence of the RSS chief can mean many things to people. People will say that we are trying to appropriate Gandhiji. No one can appropriate a great personality. The objective of this book is not that. It is a fully researched book on the life of Gandhiji, ”said Bhagwat.
The book, published by the Center for Political Studies and written by Dr. JK Bajaj and Dr. Srinivas, focuses on Gandhi’s journey from Porbandar to England and South Africa and back to India.
Bhagwat said that Gandhi’s understanding of religion was one of tolerance. “Unity in diversity is our sentiment and not just a matter of politics. Gandhiji said that I will follow my religion strictly but I will also respect other religions. This is the foundation of Indian thought. The difference does not mean separatism, ”Bhagwat said.
The RSS chief said that Gandhi understood that the fight for freedom was not just an effort to transform those in power, but to transform ourselves. “Gandhiji clearly said that Western civilization has ruined our own culture and we have become ‘Dharmbhrasht.’ … Dr. Hedgewar also used to say don’t blame others. They enslaved you because you were ready to be enslaved. You were missing something. I saw a parallel of such thinking in Gandhiji, ”said Bhagwat.
Bhagwat’s published book focuses on Gandhi’s life in three different stages of his struggle.
The book claims that during 1893-94, Gandhi was pressured by his Muslim employer and his Christian colleagues in South Africa to convert, but he refused. And by 1905, he had become a devout Hindu, the book says.
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