India must chart its own path to shield itself from problems in future: Bhagwat

New Delhi: India must do whatever is necessary to get out of the situation that has emerged but it should start charting its own path following the ‘sanatan’ view of development and progress to shield itself from such problems in the future, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday in the backdrop of US decisions on tariffs and immigration.

Addressing a book launch event here, Bhagwat said the problem that India and other countries are facing today is the outcome of the system that the world has been following for the last 2000 years based on a fragmented vision of development and happiness.

“We can’t turn our backs on the situation. We must do whatever is necessary to get out of it well. But we can’t proceed blindly,” he said.

“So we need to chart our own path. We will find a way out... But inevitably, we will have to face all these things at some or other point in future again. Because in this fragmented vision, there is an ‘I’ and the rest of the world, or ‘we’ and ‘them’,” he added.

He said India should follow its age-old approach of four goals of life-- ‘artha’ (wealth), ‘kama’ (desire and pleasure) and ‘moksha’ (salvation) bound by dharma that “ensures that no one is left behind”.

Recalling his meeting with “a gentleman from America” three years ago without naming the person, Bhagwat said he talked about the possibilities of Indo-US partnership and cooperation in various domains, including security, counter-terrorism and economy, but every time he repeated “provided American interests are protected”.

“Everyone has different interests... So, conflict will continue. Then again, it’s not just the nation’s interests that matter. I also have an interest. I want everything in my

hands,” Bhagwat said, without naming anyone.

“The one who is at the top of the food chain will eat everybody, and living at the

bottom of the food chain is a crime,” he said.

The RSS chief said it’s only India that has fulfilled all of its commitments on environmental issues. “Who else did? Because there is no authenticity”, he said.

“If we had to fight in every confrontation, we would have been fighting continuously from 1947 to today. But we endured all this. We did not allow war to happen. ...We have even helped those who opposed our policies at times,” he said.

Bhagwat said if India wants to become a ‘vishwaguru and a vishwamitra’, it must consider charting its own path based on its own perspective.

“If we want to manage this, we will have to think from our own perspective. Fortunately, our country’s outlook is traditional... This outlook on life is not old; it is ‘sanatan’ (eternal). It is shaped by the experiences of our ancestors over thousands of years,” he said.

“Our approach hasn’t cancelled artha and kama. On the contrary, it’s compulsory in life. The four goals of life include wealth and work. But it’s bound by Dharma. Dharma doesn’t mean method of worship.

“And the law that oversees all this is natural law, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Follow it. Follow its discipline,” he added. With agency inputs