Devotion and patriotism can seamlessly coexist, highlighting spirituality, unity, and service as the foundations of a corruption-free, stress-free and harmonious India where youth empowerment, village development and pride in diversity strengthen the nation's collective consciousness
If a person is honest, they are sincere at home and work. Whether as a husband or a wife, they are honest towards their spouse. Wherever they go, this trait just shines through their character naturally. The same goes for devotion as well. A devotee of God is also devoted to the nation and the creation. Their love and devotion are reflected in every sphere of life.
Often, people debate whether devotion and patriotism can co-exist. I tell you, for sure, they can..Those who are devoted to the Vishwatma (Universal soul) feel no conflict between their dedication to God and towards the well-being of their country. Devotion is such that no matter where it is, it spreads its fragrance all around, like a flower. Whether you keep a jasmine flower in the kitchen or in your bathroom, it will leave its fragrance there. A flower will not discriminate, saying that I shall spread fragrance here, but not there. It colors every aspect of your existence.
Devotion and Patriotism Go Hand in Hand in Our Tradition
Wherever you place or direct your devotion, it will grow there; it will bear fruit and blossom. A renowned Kannada saint once said, ‘Kayakave Kailasa’, which means that one who does his action well, finds the abode of bliss. This has also been said in Sanskrit in many scriptures. So, true worship is the service of the people, the service of the nation. There is no distinction between worship and service. This is said so because the basis or sources of both are devotion, and the end result is also devotion. This is mentioned in the Yoga Vidhya (principles of Yoga) as ‘Tasya bhumishu viniyogah’, which means the Yoga-siddhis (extraordinary miraculous abilities gained as a result of Yoga), and the heightened awareness or consciousness that one acquires through regular practice of Yoga and devotion should be channeled towards activities that benefit the land.
If someone says, I love God wholeheartedly, but I do not love this Creation, this Earth, this society, this country that He has created, then that would be a dishonest thing to say. It would be like saying that you love the gardener (God) but not his garden. One who truly believes in God will want the best for society also. So, we all must work for the betterment of our society. Moksha is not just liberation from the body. Freedom from poverty, disease, stress, negativity, misery, sadness, and a divided mind is also moksha.
We Have to Take the Responsibility for a Strong, Self-Reliant India
It is our divine duty to serve this beautiful country. I would urge you all to take out one hour every day for your country, for one entire year. We have to create a better planet and a better society for our children and future generations. We must leave this planet with more prosperity and peace than there is right now. We should not leave behind a fragmented society that is suffering from fear, injustice, and corruption.
Building a Corruption-Free, Stress-Free, and Happy India
If you see from my eyes, there is no evil person. It is only a handful of people who have not gotten the opportunity to develop the divine qualities within them. They have not had a chance to explore the beauty that lies within them. Corruption begins where belongingness ends. One will never behave in a corrupt and dishonest way with those who belong to them. No one gives or takes a bribe from their close relative. The knowledge of spirituality is the only way to expand one’s sense of belongingness with everyone. Spirituality teaches you the art of accepting everyone else with a sense of belongingness.
We need to work together for a corruption-free, violence-free, stress-free society, where every person feels safe and secure. Such a society can be established only by raising a wave of spirituality. By spirituality, I am not referring to any one particular tradition, or specific rites and rituals. Spirituality means having a sense of oneness with everyone.
It means having purity in the heart, clarity in the mind, and sincerity in your actions. There should be transparency in our actions. We have to achieve all three qualities. And, we already have them within us; we just need to awaken and enhance them.
Mental Wellbeing and Belongingness Are Key
In working towards creating a prosperous and divine society, we need to pay attention to the mental health of our people. If people are not happy, how can they contribute to the prosperity of the nation? It begins with listening to people carefully.
We conducted something called the Happiness Survey in many places across the country, going door to door and asking people whether they were happy or not, and if they were not, what was the reason. What we found was that, often, just by sitting together and talking their heart out with our volunteers, people felt much better. Many of them said, ‘Nobody ever asked me if I was happy.’
We have been reading and listening about the growing number of suicides and suicidal tendencies among our youth, and this should concern everyone. We need to assure our youth that they are not alone, that there is enough humaneness around them, and that many people in the world are ready to help. They are the foundation of this country, and they will shape its future. We need to awaken the valor within them. A sign of youth is undying enthusiasm. It just needs some rekindling.
Youth often do not openly speak about their battles with mental health, whether it is depression or anxiety, or the stress of silently dealing with the pressure to succeed in various walks of life. It is very important today that we get rid of the taboo around mental health and talk as openly about it as we might discuss a physical ailment. An antidote to loneliness is a sense of belongingness.
We also need to encourage them to get into some type of service activity. Every time someone feels low, have them step out of the house and ask someone ‘What can I do for you?’ They will find an immediate shift in the state of mind.
Building Happy Villages
It is said India resides in its villages, and yet the urban-rural divide persists. So, we had people make small volunteering groups and they reached out to nearby villages and rural areas in each state, talked to the people there, and tried to understand their problems. Even people who were hesitant to speak and do service, I nudged them to think — can we not speak a few nice things with them? Can we not provide some comfort and relief to another person with our speech? Can we help resolve a fight by talking to both parties? If yes, then why do we not do this? If you think you are not good at making conversation with them, that is not a problem either. Sit with them, have Satsang with them. Mahatma Gandhi brought this country together and unified it for the cause of freedom, through the power of satsang. They brought entire communities together through spirituality, through singing, chanting and raising waves of devotion.
My Dream for India
Do you know what my dream is? My dream is to raise waves of spirituality all over the country, like we witnessed in times of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Tukaram, Meera Bai and the other saints. I want to see satsangs happening in every village, big or small, and I want to see the people in the cities dancing with joy and celebrating. I want the country to be completely free of alcoholism and drug addiction. If we want our youth to stay away from addiction and alcohol, then spirituality is the only answer. It gives them an intoxication that all other forms of addiction simply fall away.
The Vedas say, Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma — Here, everything is filled with divinity. Think about it. India is one-third the size of America, yet she is home to diverse cultures, languages, cuisines, practices, and beliefs. Though the culture, food, and languages change every few kilometres within the country, she has prospered and moved ahead, taking along this diversity, while many other erstwhile nations were not able to sustain such diversity, and they disintegrated. What holds India together? There is a bond underlying this diversity that ties India into one consciousness — and that is India’s spirituality. The soul of this civilisation is ancient and needs to be taken pride in.
