Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Aug 30: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has urged the Indian diaspora in the United States to remain loyal to the country where they live and work, while upholding the civilisational values inherited from India.
“We are in America. We live in America. We earn in America. So we are America. And we should behave true to America,” Bhagwat said while addressing the Universal Oneness Celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“The diaspora, Bharatiya diaspora, they have a duty to their karma bhumi. They must fulfil that. They should be loyal to their karma bhumi,” he said.
Bhagwat said members of the Indian diaspora could contribute to India after fulfilling their responsibilities in the US, but stressed that India did not demand such assistance from them.
“Because Bharat is their Janmabhoomi, if they have urge to do something and they can do that, after fulfilling their duty to their Karmabhoomi, it is not prohibited,” he said.
“Okay. But it is not obligatory. Your Janmabhoomi expects you to live the values it has imparted on you,” Bhagwat added.
‘Unity in diversity is in Bharat’s DNA’
Bhagwat’s address focused on pluralism, unity in diversity, human responsibility and sustainable living. The gathering brought together people from different faiths, cultures and professions.
“When we say America, United States of America, one word is often discussed frequently. That is pluralism. And when we say Bharat, another phrase is discussed, unity in diversity,” he said.
“For Bharat, this unity and this diversity both are in their DNA,” he added.
Bhagwat said nations were more than geographical territories and each had a larger purpose.
“Nations are not merely geographical entities. Every nation has a message to deliver. Every nation has a mission to accomplish. Every nation has a destiny to fulfil,” he said.
He said India’s role was to help the world recognise unity amid its many differences.
“We are one and due to diversity that oneness is decorated. So diversity has to be celebrated, has to be respected, has to be accepted,” Bhagwat said.
“We appear different. So many nationalities, so many languages, so many religions, so many styles of living,” he said.
Despite these differences, Bhagwat said people possess an innate feeling of solidarity. He also said human beings have a special responsibility because they have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
“Human beings are responsible for the world because they have been given special quality of thinking. They have been also given the understanding of right and wrong,” he said.
‘How much we distribute is important’
Bhagwat said economic success should not become the sole measure of a person's life.
He pointed out that people depend on farmers, workers, families and society for their survival and therefore have an obligation to give something back.
“How much we earn is not important. How much we distribute is important,” he said.
“You think of career. Is career only money? Is career only material happiness?” Bhagwat asked.
He called for a way of life that protects both people and the environment.
“We have to care for each other. We have to care so that my life is sustaining life. I sustain others. I live and not merely let live. Make others live. That is the message,” he said.
Bhagwat concluded by urging people to recognise both unity and difference.
“United in oneness and decorated by the diversity,” he said. “Because diversity is natural and unity is truth.”
RSS centenary
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded in Nagpur in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. The organisation marked its centenary in 2025 after completing 100 years.
Bhagwat became the RSS’s sixth Sarsanghchalak in 2009. A graduate in veterinary science, he became a full-time RSS pracharak in 1975 and subsequently held several senior responsibilities in the organisation.