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?THE Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh not only recognises the importance of Sikh identity but also considers it necessary for the national perspective. The British had spread the canard that the Hindu culture had overwhelmed all the minorities and would swallow up the Sikh community too one day. This was blatant falsehood. The fact is that the Hindu society is the only tolerant and adaptable society in the world where the identity of all religions is secure. We emphasise on cultural harmony and support the freedom for all,? said RSS Sarsanghchalak, K.S. Sudarshan. He was addressing the concluding ceremony of a three-day meeting of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat held in Jaipur from February 14-16. About 108 representatives from 15 states participated in the meeting. A book titled Gurumanya Granth was also released on the occasion.
Shri Sudarshan added, ?This is not a coincidence but a great honour for us that in this era of kaliyug, an excellent treatise like the Shri Guru Granth Sahib came to be written and in which the highlights of all the four yugas, the importance of bhakti and the essence of the entire Vedic culture are available for sharing the path of enlightenment with the entire world. The RSS will participate wholeheartedly in the programmes to be organised to celebrate the completion of 400 years of the creation of the Shri Guru Granth Sahib.? Rajasthan Governor, Madan Lal Khurana, was the chief guest at the function. He said, ?I come from that common culture of western Punjab where every Hindu mother gave away her eldest son to Sikh tradition.? He added that as he was younger he became Madan Lal; had he been the eldest he would have become Madan Singh. He explained how marriages were taking place between the Hindus and Sikhs and ?hence, any rift between the Hindus and Sikhs is redundant.? Shri Khurana spoke of the greatness of the Shri Guru Granth Sahib whose each and every word provides enlightenment to humanity and he expressed the conviction that the Rajasthan government would be able to fulfill each and every aspiration of the Sikh Sangat in making the celebration a success.
Sardar Gurcharan Singh, National President of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, expounded on the programmes to be organised and explained that 400 committees had been set up all over the country to oversee the successful organisation of the programmes. He pointed out that as many as 15 yatras would be organised from the birth places of all the saints and gurus whose views are part of Shri Guru Granth Sahib. The yatras would congregate in New Delhi on 15-16 August 2004 and from Delhi a mammoth yatra would reach Amritsar-Ramsar, on August 31, the birthplace of Shri Guru Granth Sahib. The yatra will reach Hari Mandir where the preaching of the gurus and saints, mentioned in the treatise, were formulated. Seminars and symposia on Shri Guru Granth Sahib will also be organised at the birthplace of the gurus and saints whose preachings are included in the holy book of the Sikhs. (VSK)
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