“It is true that Hinduism emanated from Hindustan and evolved further here but people of the country have never considered it as their fiefdom and have only considered it as their heritage, which is meant for the world” – Mohan Bhagwat
Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said people of India have not treated Hinduism as their fiefdom but as their heritage meant for the world and there is a greater need for people in the country to have knowledge of its roots than those abroad.
Speaking at a function for the launch of the international edition of “Encyclopaedia of Hinduism” at Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital, he said that it is important to give information to children about their roots as this is currently missing from their education and learning system.
“The word Hindu was not there before. The tradition and religion was there but the word itself was not there. It was then known as humanity.
“It is true that Hinduism emanated from Hindustan and evolved further here but people of the country have never considered it as their fiefdom and have only considered it as their heritage, which is meant for the world,” he said.
“There is a greater need for people in the country to have knowledge of Hinduism than those abroad…. We need to provide knowledge about our roots to our children as the same is not made available in education and neither by their parents,” Bhagwat said.
The RSS chief noted that people related religion to rituals and that was the reason why today’s problems have cropped up and asserted that what is right in principle has to be practically correct also as per Hindu religion. – IBN Live, 11 October 2014
“The wisdom, truths, teachings and insights of Indian and Hindu culture are not limited to only Hindus or Indians. Rather they belong to the world and can deeply benefit the world.” – Swami Chidanand
Vice-President Hamid Ansari, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, HRD Minister Smriti Irani, prominent Islamic leaders and a Bollywood actor — they all came under one roof on Friday to launch the international edition of Encyclopedia of Hinduism.
The key message from the function was Hinduism is a global legacy, with Bhagwat saying that it is not an “ancestral property” of Indians, but it is for everyone.
“Religion always unites and what divides people is not religion,” he said. Interpreting the word “dharm”, the RSS chief said it has a wider meaning than “religion”.
According to Bhagwat, the Encyclopedia on Hinduism, a project of India Heritage Research Foundation, would help Hindus as well as Indians answer the questions asked about the religion to the next generation and the outside world.
Swami Chidanand Saraswati, the founder chairman of the IHRF and spiritual head of the Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh, stressed that no one can stake claim on Hindu religion. “The wisdom, truths, teachings and insights of Indian and the Hindu culture are not limited to only Hindus or Indians. Rather they belong to the world and can deeply benefit the world,” he said.
Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, president All India Imams Organisation, and Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan, Ajmer Dargah Sharif, said Hinduism is an “assimilative” religion.
Vice-President Ansari, the chief guest at the function, spoke on the history of encyclopaedias. “Available evidence shows that the encyclopaedia ‘industry’ is now flourishing. One count puts the figure of these in the market at anything between six and ten thousand. At this rate, there may even be a need for an encyclopaedia of encyclopaedias,” Ansari said. – Express News Service, 11 October 2013
Filed under: india | Tagged: chidanand saraswati, dharma, encyclopedia of hinduism, encyclopedias, hinduism, history, india, indian civilisation, mohan bhagwat, religion |
BHARATA BHARATI 
Indeed, although there isn’t such a word as Hindu nowhere in Sanskrit of the Vedas, but the term came about in recent times. It was originally called Bharata-bhumi. Anyhow, India is my second home and from the teachings of these Vedic texts on this link, I appreciated it even more: http://vedabase.com/en Namaste
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It is curious that there were no Christian bigwigs at this function. Usually the Archbishop of Delhi is the first in line to greet the chief guests.
Is the Christian absence related to the RSS Sarsanghchalak’s presence? Christian leaders in India have great antipathy towards the RSS and they are always calling it names in the many forums they attend abroad.
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I am a foreigner living in India and I consider myself with great pride a Hindu, because I follow the Sanatana Dharma.
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Mohan Bhagwat’s statement may not provoke the sikularists but it sure will get the racists in a tizzy. They say only an ethnic Indian born in a Hindu family can be a Hindu. They ignore the fact that Hinduism’s most deadly enemies are alienated ethnic Indians who were born into Hindu houses.
The racists—who present themselves as Hindu nationalists though they may have other agendas—always deny the legitimacy of the many foreigners who have adopted Hinduism as their dharma either formally or informally, often at great personal cost.
Some years ago the Supreme Court declared that the Vedas belonged to all of mankind. Mohan Bhagwat is now confirming this opinion (which will certainly surprise many as the RSS is seen as a very parochial institution).
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