NEW YORK: Delivering a powerful address on universal oneness and interfaith harmony at World Council of Religions · 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10105 · wcorl.org Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat emphasised that while religious practices and rituals may differ across cultures, human identity remains fundamentally one.
- I am not a religious scholar or a religious personality. We live in a society where religions may be different, but humanity is one.
- There are many religions. And in today’s world, religious works are largely defined by rituals. But the discipline of the rituals is also necessary.
- In Bharat, people of all denominations live. By tradition, Bharat has given shelter to everybody. Those who could not find a safe place in the world came to Bharat, where they found their place.
- We as RSS think, because we have this knowledge that world humanity is one, it is our duty to go all over the world and tell everybody that, in spite of diversities, we are one
- Muslim brothers asked me a question: You are a Hindu organisation, you see Hindu Rashtra, what about us Muslims? Would you drive us out? I said, no, that is not Hindutva. If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslims in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu.
- Where there is “me” and “mine,” there is no solution. “We” and “ours” is the solution.
- We (RSS) are serving. While serving, we don’t see discrimination. Whoever is in need, we are serving. One lakh thirty thousand service projects are being run by our Swayamsevaks with the help of society. They served everywhere and served equally.
- Two planes collided in Dadri, Haryana—a state in India. Both planes were from Muslim countries. Most of the passengers were Muslims. After the collision, our Swayamsevaks reached there first. And they served. All passengers were dead. Our Swayamsevaks arranged the funeral, and when their relatives came, helped them in identifying them. We don’t have the thought that they are Muslims.
- Every society has knowledge within its traditions. This includes knowledge of human beings, knowledge of love, and rules of human behaviour. The traditional thought of Bharat is the unity of humanity, and all our leaders have emphasised this. Our Constitution also emphasises this.
- Things cannot be achieved through politics alone. Sorry to say, but the fact is that politics has now become a game of self-interest. Our experience in Bharat is that we have to start with society, and we have started it.
- We have to act in society, and we have to act locally. We need to create pockets of such selfless service and such an atmosphere of unity. Dialogue should continue, and through this dialogue, we will connect people. Then we should grow. When people see and experience this, they will change. We should create, in our own place, the model of the world we want
- We started the dialogue after 2018, mainly with Muslims and Christians of Bharat. Dialogue is the first step, and service is another step.
- I thank you all because you have educated me in a great way. The very important takeaway for me is that all of you are thinking in the same way, and that thinking is going on in my mind also. Everything you have said is perfectly true. I see that if we together start working, we will change the situation everywhere. But it will take a long time
- I am diabetic, so sugar is taboo for me. But whenever some sweets come, I find an excuse to eat them. In the same way, people know that these are the right things and that religious people are the right people, but for their own petty likes and dislikes, they go with that.
- In our tradition, there is Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the teacher of Swami Vivekananda. He practised different religions. He practised the Bharatiya religions as well as Islam and Christianity. After experiencing all these paths, he said, “Don’t worry. As many ways, as many thoughts. All lead to one way.”
- There is another person, Gurudev Shri Ranade, who was the Head of the Department of Philosophy at Allahabad University. He studied mystic experiences across different traditions. He tells us about the experiences people get through different paths. These experiences are similar. There are documented experiences, and he studied all of them.
- We have to make a society that can stand this attraction. They can remain firm on this path, so it will take time. Work is eternal, and it should continue for some time. It has to be done from time to time by religious leaders to give this wisdom to humanity. But for the present condition of humanity, it will take time.
- We should continue this work eternally so that human society will never fall into the evils of quarrelling with each other and destroying the Earth and ourselves.
Addressing key questions on pluralism, Dr Bhagwat stated that Hindutva inherently respects all faiths, noting that any notion of excluding Muslims contradicts the essence of being a Hindu. Pointing out that modern politics has increasingly become a game of self-interest, Dr Bhagwat called for sustained grassroots dialogue and selfless community service to build enduring global peace and social cohesion.
