“Those who are open-minded and knowledgeable embrace the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — the belief that the entire earth is one family. While individuals in the material world may differ in body, shape, and complexion, in essence, we are all one. Therefore, serving others is our duty. We have gained this wisdom, which brings us enduring happiness and lasting contentment,” said RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat while addressing a massive gathering at the ‘Hindu Vishwa Bandhu — Embrace the World in Friendship’ event in Toronto, Canada on August 31.
Dr Bhagwat emphasised Bharat’s intrinsic sanskriti of global helpfulness and unity, saying that Bharat’s tradition has always viewed diversity as a natural form of unity. The event, organised by CHORD, began with cultural performances, including traditional folk songs rendered by members of the Bharatiya diaspora. The event was organised with the support of more than 175 organisations.
Reflecting on Bharat’s core ethos, Dr Bhagwat highlighted the universal nature of the Hindu worldview. “Whenever Bharat has been asked for help anywhere in the world, it has never refused, and it extends a helping hand even without being asked. This is our tradition, the DNA of Bharat. That is why you may have heard the saying — ‘If Hindus awaken, the world awakens,’” he said.
“India’s spiritual values and unity in diversity show the way to the world”
Former Canadian Defence Minister and former Premier of Alberta Jason Kenney, while addressing a massive gathering at the ‘Hindu Vishwa Bandhu – Embrace the World in Friendship’ event in Toronto, Canada, recalled his close association with India and said that RSS Sarsangchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat had nicknamed him the “Minister for Curry in a Hurry” because, on a typical weekend, he might visit 12 different mandirs, banquet halls and weddings. Kenney said it was wonderful to see many old friends and recalled that he was considered one of the closest friends of India in the Government of Canada at the time.
Recalling a period when various powerful countries did not want to have anything to do with Gujarat. He recalled telling then Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2006 that Gujarat was the fastest-growing part of India as well as the fastest-growing part of the Indian diaspora in Canada. He added that he also told Harper about the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “they have this Chief Minister who I think will be the next Prime Minister of India, a man named Narendra Modi”.
Kenney said he had told the Canadian Prime Minister that the country needed to end the diplomatic and commercial blockade of Gujarat and adopt a whole-of-India strategy. “Prime Minister, we have to end this diplomatic and commercial blockade of Gujarat, and we have to take a whole-of-India strategy as a country. No longer can Canada’s Asia policy simply be a China policy. It must be centred on the world’s largest democracy, an English-speaking parliamentary Commonwealth democracy”, he said.
Speaking about the CHORD event, Kenney said he was touched to see the event hosted by Canadian Hindus. He said, “This is a very diverse country, perhaps not as diverse as India with its hundreds of languages and 1.4 billion people and all of the different regional cultures. But we are deeply diverse”.
However, Kenney cautioned against viewing diversity alone as the greatest strength. “I often hear politicians in this country say, ‘Diversity is our greatest strength.’ I think that’s a mistake. If all we have is diversity, we end up talking to people in our own communities alone, and we end up with a series of cultural silos,” he said. He added, “What we need, and I believe your vision, Dr Bhagwat, is unity in our diversity”.
Kenney further said there was a need to recognise “higher truths about the human person”. “We are not merely consumers. I’m a Christian. It says in my holy book that man liveth not by bread alone,” he said.
Highlighting India’s economic rise, Kenney said one of the most “astonishing, beautiful, inspiring” aspects of India’s emergence as a major economic and global power was that it was the fastest-growing economy in the world. “You can do that through good economic policy. But life is not just about GDP or consumption or trade or investment, as important as those things can be to human fulfilment”, he said.
He added that India at its best remains rooted in its eternal spiritual values even amidst its striving, innovation and growth. “India, at its best, stays rooted in its ancient spiritual values that understand that the spiritual comes before all,” Kenney said.
Sharing an example from his visit to the Reliance refinery in Jamnagar, the largest oil refinery in the world, Kenney recalled seeing a highly sophisticated control room with huge screens and hundreds of workers. He said, “And I noticed that the most important thing in that high-tech operation, one of the most impressive in the world, wasn’t the computers. It wasn’t the technology. It was that right in the middle of the room was a pandit saying puja to Ganesha”.
According to Kenney, this was “India’s most important lesson to the world”. He said, “In all of our busy-ness, in all of our striving for prosperity, to stay rooted in spiritual values and the primacy of the spiritual.” He added that this was also the message Dr Bhagwat brings, along with the importance of unity in diversity.
Recalling Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to Canada 11 years ago, Kenney said he had welcomed him at the airport in Ottawa and taken him to Parliament, where he introduced him to Prime Minister Harper. He recalled that Modi gave Harper a beautiful portrait of Guru Gobind Singh Ji as his official gift, recognising “the historic importance of the Sikh community in Canadian society”.
Kenney further recalled taking Prime Minister Modi to Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal’s gurdwara, the Ross Street Temple, the first gurdwara in North America. He said he spoke about “the importance of the Sikh community in Canada and the importance of unity in diversity”. “I think he has shown us the way,” Kenney said.
Concluding his remarks, Kenney thanked Dr Bhagwat and said it was wonderful to see renewed momentum in the Canada-India relationship, which he said would be represented by Prime Minister Modi’s second visit to Canada later this year. “Thank you, Dr Bhagwat for paving the way and reminding us all about the beauty and the spiritual truths in the ancient Hindu civilisation of India”, he said.
He explained how Bharat’s spiritual heritage fosters a sense of oneness across humanity and nature. “They regard both the animate and the inanimate as their own. They have been taught to see unity in diversity. That is why diversity never poses a problem for unity in Bharat; our tradition teaches us that not only is there unity in diversity, but diversity itself is a form of unity,” Dr Bhagwat added. He called on the global community to embrace the ancient philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which holds that the entire world is one interconnected family.
Dr Bhagwat stressed that true enlightenment lies in looking beyond external differences to recognise the underlying spiritual unity of humanity. He also noted how Bharat, “by the nature of its character, became a Vishwa Guru and not a Mahashakti”. “One may call Bharat a superpower at that time, but it was not a superpower. It served the world. By its own character, it became Vishwa Guru, not Mahashakti. So the rise of Bharat means more united, more emancipated humanity,” he said.
Dr Bhagwat recalled historical and modern examples of Bharat stepping up during international humanitarian crises.
Referring to the plight of Polish refugees during the Second World War, he noted how the Maharaja of Jamnagar offered them refuge and protection until they could safely return home. “There are so many instances; it is still continuing,” Dr Bhagwat said, referring to Bharat’s tradition of extending assistance during crises. Underscoring this civilisational tradition, he said Bharat had never refused assistance to people in distress and had often extended help without being asked. “This is the tradition. This is the DNA of Bharat,” he said.
“Hindus and Sikhs may follow different religions, but we share same values and spirit”
“It is a privilege to speak today on behalf of USAHA, the United Sikh and Hindu Association of North America. Hindus and Sikhs may follow different religions and traditions, but we share something very precious. We share languages, food, music, family traditions, festivals, values and, above all, a spirit of community and service,” said Sikh leader Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal, General Secretary of Vancouver’s Khalsa Diwan Society (KDS) and chairs the core committee of the United Sikhs and Hindus Association of North America (USAHA).
He said, “When our ancestors came to Canada, they came not only as Hindus or Sikhs, but as Indians, Punjabis and South Asians. Canada has given us the freedom to practise our faith and raise our children with pride in our heritage. Today, Hindu and Sikh communities are among the most contributing communities to Canada’s multicultural society,” he said.
“We are really proud that we were born in the world’s oldest multicultural country, India, and we are living in the world’s youngest multicultural country, Canada,” Dhaliwal said.
“Our first Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, said with the significant utterance that there is no Hindu, no Muslim. A man is a man first, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian afterwards,” he said and added, “He strictly condemned caste, colour, creed and gender, and we are really proud of our youth in Canada. They will break those barriers of caste, colour, creed and gender, and they will make new bridges between the communities. We are really proud of our youth.”
Switching to Punjabi, Dhaliwal said, “Whatever I have learned about Hindu and Sikh dharma, I have learned from the walls of my school. Written there were Sabhe Sanjhiwal Sadaein, Koi Na Disai Bahra Jio, Manas Ki Jaat Sabhai Ekai Pehchanbo and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” saying that all of them convey the same message of equality.
Dhaliwal said, “If the newborn child is taught first of all that you are a human being, then the conflicts that are going on today in the name of religions, castes and languages can end. We are very fortunate that we were born in India. India is our motherland and the world’s largest democracy.” He added that today they were living in Canada, which he described as one of the world’s largest democracies in terms of area, and said, “We should be proud of our relations with both countries.”
Dhaliwal said, “We should teach our children the message of equality, so that in the future, we can bring down those people who defame religion by talking in its name.” He added that this would be possible only if people followed the teachings given by our Gurus.
He then appealed to the gathering to once again extend their heartfelt respect to Dr Mohan Bhagwat. “Dr Mohan Bhagwat has brought bundles of love from India, and we should give him twice as many bundles of love in return. This will be his true respect,” Dhaliwal said.
Pointing to modern conflict evacuations in the West Asia, Dr Bhagwat highlighted how Bharatiya military transport aircraft rescued not only Bharatiya citizens but also nationals of seven other countries trapped in the war zone. “When, some years back in the West Asia war, people were trapped, the military planes of Bharat went there and rescued not only Bharatiya citizens; citizens of seven countries were rescued from there by Bharat,” he said.
He noted that Muslims, Christians, Jews and Parsis had historically found peaceful refuge and knowledge in Bharat without fear of persecution. “Anywhere in the world, if someone was persecuted, he got asylum in Bharat only,” he said.
Recalling the efforts of the forefathers to impart knowledge and civilisational values to the world, Dr Bhagwat said, “We did it. Long back, when there were no roads, no boats, no aeroplanes, no motor vehicles, only bullock carts and horses — our ancestors have gone to the regions from Mexico to Siberia, giving them all knowledge. On foot they crossed the Himalayas, went to China, went to Siberia, Mongolia. By small boats they went to far East. What did they do? They conquered no country; they converted nobody. Wherever they went, they gave knowledge — astrology, Ayurveda. They imparted the civilisational values.”
Defining the essence of Hindu philosophy, Dr Bhagwat said that the identity of a Hindu transcends narrow linguistic or religious boundaries. “When I say Hindu, the word Hindu cannot be defined by any specific language, through any specific worship, or through any living style,” he said, adding that Hindus “respect all” and “accept all”.
Dr Bhagwat then spoke about the larger Hindu ideal of contributing to the progress of humanity and the creation. “All the nations will thrive, prosper, cooperate, and contribute to human progress and progress of the creation. That is the dream Hindus have in mind. We have to develop ourselves. We have to become like a flower and spread its fragrance to the whole world. So we get developed and we get devoted, dedicated to the human cause. That is the life of a Hindu.”
He explained that individual success was linked to responsibility towards the family, while the family’s prosperity was linked to its contribution to the village. “Howsoever successful a person is, if he is not benefiting his family, he is not thought to be a good person. A family, howsoever prosperous, if it doesn’t benefit its village, is not considered a good family. The villages which give many brave jawans in the army and reformers for society, are considered ideal villages.”
Describing how the sense of belonging expands, he continued, “This circumference of belonging that expands, and the ideal is those who say that universe is my home. I am the universe. Universe is me. He is the best honoured person in Bharat.”
Dr Bhagwat also referred to the stories of Bharatiya kings and the value attached to keeping one’s word. “We have kings and we have their stories, but we value the story of a king who, for the sake of keeping his word, went for 14 years in the forest.” He said that people could not become like Bhagwan Ram or their ancestors overnight, but could make gradual improvements in their lives. “You cannot become Bhagwan Ram. You cannot become like our ancestors overnight. You cannot do that. But two small steps you can take a month, a week, or per year, whatever time you want to take. Do some small improvements so that you become a more enlightened human being. You become a more serving being. There are many people enlightening the society doing this,” he said.
Dr Bhagwat also called for embracing diversity while recognising the underlying unity of humanity. “We have to serve, accept, respect this diversity because it is an expression of unity. It beautifies it. It is the decoration. We celebrate it,” he said.
He said Bharat’s ancient ethos recognises diversity as natural while regarding unity as the fundamental reality. “Nature, expression of reality, is diverse. Diversity is natural. Unity is the reality. That is the eternal ethos of Bharat,” he added.
He further said that prayers originating in Bharat were not meant only for the country but for the entire universe. “We say all our prayers that originated in the land of Bharat, but they never were only for Bharat. They were for the whole of the universe that we know,” he further said.
The event also featured prominent Canadian leaders, including former Canadian Defence Minister and former Premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney. Addressing the gathering, Kenney welcomed the renewed momentum in bilateral relations between Canada and Bharat. “It is so wonderful to see renewed momentum in the Canada-India relationship that will be represented by the second visit of Prime Minister Modi to Canada later this year,” he said.
Ahead of Dr Bhagwat’s visit, members of the Hindu diaspora across Canada gathered in Toronto to welcome him, with organisers describing the visit as a landmark moment to promote peace, sanskritik values and global harmony. According to CHORD organiser Naresh Chavda, the gathering drew more than 2,500 attendees representing eight provinces across Canada.
Rajinder Parsad of Hindu Sabha Temple, Greater Toronto Area (GTA), said Dr Bhagwat’s visit carried the message of the world is one family. “Dr Mohan Bhagwat’s visit has carried the message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. We should bring the message of values of our culture to the world. We welcome Mohan Bhagwat ji,” Parsad said.
Organised around the timeless Hindu civilisational ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — the world is one family,” the event celebrated Hindu identity and heritage while emphasising the importance of meaningful engagement, mutual respect and contribution to the wider Canadian society.
The Chief Guest was Honourable Jason Kenney, former Premier of Alberta and former federal Cabinet Minister. The Guest of Honour was Kashmir Singh Dhaliwal, representing the Khalsa Diwan Society and the historic Ross Street Gurdwara, reflecting the longstanding bonds between Hindu and Sikh communities in Canada.
About CHORD
CHORD convened the gathering with the objective of strengthening dialogue, fostering constructive relationships and creating greater dialogue between Canadian Hindus and the broader Canadian society. CHORD seeks to bring the diversity and contributions of Canada’s Hindu community into mainstream conversations while encouraging greater understanding between communities, faiths, institutions and generations.
