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RSS Sarsangchalak Shri K. S. Sudarshan made a fortnight-long tour to Canada and the US recently. During the course of his pravas he addressed a number of social and cultural functions besides meeting a large number of Hindu religious leaders living in those countries. In the first leg of the tour, he reached Toronto, Canada, where he participated at a workshop “Listening to the voices of our lands”, organised by Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS), a UN initiative, and World Council of Elders of Ancient Traditions, an undertaking by the international Center of Cultural Studies (ICCS). The function was held at the Canadian Native Center of Toronto.
Speaking as the chief guest in the workshop, where about 40 native Canadian participated Shri Sudarshan asked Native Indian Community to come closer to Hindus to restore the spirit of dharma in the world.
“Hindu and Native American cultures have many things in common and probably have the same root”, said the Sarsanghchalak. In a vibrant and touching speech on Hindu efforts to revive indigenous traditions of the world, he described two important Hindu concepts-the sacred wheel and the sacred tree. Native Americans including Ojibwe, Hopi and Incas believe in the spiritual power of sacred wheel and sacred tree. The native spirituality believes that the creator has planted a sacred tree under which all the living being can find peace wisdom and can live in complete harmony with nature. The belief is closer to the concept of sacred tree Kalpavriksha, which supports and sustains the earth. Shri Sudarshan said that it is high time that all the indigenous spiritual forces joined hands in order to work for a better world.
Shri Sudarshan chose the occasion to inform the audience about the continuous and relentless efforts of the RSS to generate the spirit of Hindutva throughout the world. He considered Hindutva a human spiritual movement and appealed the native community of Canada and the entire American continent to interact more with Hindus to regenerate the ancient wisdom.
Besides Shri Sudarshan, prominent Ojibwe leaders, Shri Basil Johnston and Shri Rodney Bobiwash also delivered speeches in the workshop. They emphasized the Importance of regenerating the indigenous native spirituality in the world.
Shri Basil Johnston, the renowned scholar who has worked on the native culture said that the native Canadian has age-old oral traditions that teaches the humanity to share the land with animal and plant kingdom. He emphasised the need to unite all the indigenous culture to protect the mother earth from the modem industrial appetite and greed. He regretted that modem consumer culture has polluted the cultural environment. Shri Johnston also took a £g at the Christian Missionaries who came with the Holy Book to convert the natives. “God may have given you that Book, but He has given us the entire earth and we are here to protect her from your greed”, said the Ojibwe scholar while emphasising the need to foil the Missionaries' attempt to Christianise the world.
Shri Rodney Bobiwash, the renowned scholar, also spoke on the closer cultural ties with India and said, “All the tribes of America share a legend that a giant divine turtle is carrying this earth on his back and this is why we call the America the Turtle Island. Hindus also believe that Lord Vishnu incarnated as a Turtle to protect the earth. In many Hindu temples of Indonesia, a symbolic turtle is placed at the foundation of the temple to symbolize the divine presence of Vishnu to protect the temple land.”
Shri Bobiwash also asked Hindus to organise cultural shows, group discussions and religious praying to generate a tremendous amount of interaction between Hindus and Native Indians.
In his concluding remarks RSS Videsh Vibhag Pramukh Shri Shankar Rao Tatvawadi stressed the continuous efforts to bring Hindus closer to the Native Indian spirituality. He said that the RSS had been working to regenerate all the tribal Hindu cultures in India. He asked the ICCS volunteers to work together with the Native Indian people to revive the ancient spiritual traditions of Canada and the greater America.
Later Shri Sudarshan visited Ontario. At a Hindu temple there Shri Sudarshan exhorted the Hindus to unite and work together for the cause of peace.
Ontario is home for several hundred thousand Hindus. There are hundreds of temples and gurdwaras in Ontario. However, there is hardly any unity amongst these temple communities. The RSS took the initiative of inviting the representatives of various temples and gurdwaras to the Brampton temple to celebrate the Hindu Sangathan Divas. The two-hour long celebration began with swayamsevaks performing exercises in their ganavesh.
Speaking on the occasion Dr Dubey, a Hindu leader of Toronto, urged the Hindus of North America to unite under one flag and on one platform. He said that Hindus have emerged as a strong force in the world and it is high time that Canadian Hindus started identifying themselves with this great Hindu awakening. Dr Dubey, who hails from Guyana, said that he is very proud of being a Hindu for it was the Hindu culture that gave this world the knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and Vedanta philosophy. He said that many Hindus living in Canada feel shy to identify themselves as Hindu, which is nothing but self-derogative. “Thousands of years ago, Hindus declared this world one family and that let everybody be happy and prosperous. Such a great humanistic philosophy is now very essential for the modem world”, said Dr Dubey.
Speaking on the occasion Shri Sudarshan asked Hindus to prepare for a, cultural and spiritual war to save the world from the greed and destruction imposed by the modern consumer culture. Frequently, quoting from Vedas and Upanishads he explained the core philosophy and vision behind the great awakening of Hindutva. “Although the world is now united physically by technology and economy, humanity is still divided between have and have-nots. Today's economy and culture propagate the great myth of natural selection and the survival of the fittest resulting in the rapid destruction of our mother nature and the fast disappearance of moral and ethics amongst the nations of the world. Today, the world needs a philosophy that can create a universal human consciousness amongst human beings, so that people can live in both physical and spiritual harmony with nature. Only Hindu philosophy and Hindu vision is capable of challenging the present crisis and bringing proper balance in our society. As the torchbearers of the ancient heritage of Vedas and Upanishads, Hindus all over the world should take the responsibility to change the world for good and therefore, should join the great awakening of Hindutva”, exhorted the Sarsanghchalak in an illuminating speech. He said that when Doctorji started the Sangh in 1925, with a noble cause to unite Hindus, people laughed at him saying that it is impossible like weighing a handful of frogs. “Now, because of enormous dedication of thousands of swayamsevaks and their strong determination, it is becoming possible to unite Hindus not only in India but throughout the world. Sakhas are being held in more than 80 countries in the world, spreading the message of great awakening of Hindutva, and Canadian Hindus should join this massive awakening and “contribute to the shaping of. Hindutva movement”, mentioned Shri Sudarshan.
Shri Sudarshan also met sevikas and discussed ways to give the proper values, culture to children growing up outside India so that they can imbibe on the Hindu values and feel spirituality connected to India.
Shri Sudarshan also addressed El gathering at the Vedic Cultural Centre consisting also of Hindus from India and Caribbean/ Guyana. Speaking at a presentation with Buddhists of Canada, organized by Sangh Council of Ontario Buddhist Ministry (SCOBM), an organization representing 20 Buddhist groups, Shri Sudarshan narrated the Vedic meaning of Vishwadharma and the need to revive the spirit of Vishwadharma to relieve the world from consumer greed and pollution. He said that modem Western civilization with its scientific temper is fast becoming a confused mass of greed and impulses without any control or guidance of the spirit. People have come to believe that it is possible to create a universal human community by economic interdependence. Which is why human society has evolved a society that rapidly destroys the environmental harmony of nature. Harmful doctrines like struggle for existence and survival of the fittest are fast becoming principal driving force of human life resulting in ever-rising conflicts, war and rapid destruction of the natural resources. Such a civilization is a threat to the human existence and all the Eastern philosophies should make every effort to educate people about the danger of following the rapaciuos Western philosophy that encourages unsustainable consumption of the natural resources.
Shri Sudarshan narrated the effort of the RSS to revive the spirit of integral humanism in India and in the world and said that the sole aim of integral humanism is to create a human society that lives in both physical and spiritual harmony as suggested by ancient Indian rishis including Buddha. He asked the Buddhist community of Canada to join hands with Hindus to work together to make the effort of the RSS a grand success.
The workshop was also graced by venerable Husim Yangil Sunil, Chairman of (SCOBM) and President of the Korean Buddhist group. Shri Sunil suggested to organise an inter-faith effort to work for restoring the dharma. He asked Hindus and Buddhists to come together to revive the spirituality of Vishwadharma so that people learn to live in harmony with nature.
On July 16, Shri Sudarshan participated in a celebration with prominent Hindu leaders in Montreal. There he talked about the common features linking all the different Hindu traditions and detailed on how the Hindu principles as an Eastern paradigm will provide for a holistic basis for a peaceful and prosperous humanity.
Later addressing a gathering at Vancouver on the occasion of of Hindu Sangathan Divas on behalf of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh of Canada, Shri Sudarshan explained some of the basic principles, values, and distinguishing features of Hinduism. The Canada Pravas concluded on July 19.
July 21 would be a memorable day for the people of Milpitas (USA) and Hindus of Bay Area for it hosted a wonderful Hindu cultural evening ever organised in this part of the world. Thirty-five temples and organizations of the area worked together to make this function a resounding success in his address the RSS Sarsanghchalak said that we should aspire to imbibe the virtues of Rama, the hero of the Ramayana. By practising these Hindu values in our life not only we will make our life happy and meaningful. It will also post an example to Americans, thereby enriching American culture.
Under the banenr of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, more than 600 prominent Hindu leaders, representing more than 20 cultural and religious organizations gathered at Royal Albert's Palace, New Jersey, to welcome and honour the Sarsanghchalak and seek his guidance on how to expand the Sangh work in that country.
Tracing the medieval period of Indian history, Shri Sudarshan said that the lack of discipline and self-confidence, absence of nationalistic outlook, and ignorance of the glorious period of Hindu history has greatly contributed to the subjugation and domination of Hindu society for 500 years by a handful of Muslims and for about a couple of centuries by the Christians.
Elucidating the Sangh philosophy and mission, Shri Sudarshan said that the RSS is endeavouring to invoke and nurture the noblest ethos of our nation. “The RSS is a force for national integration. It is the biggest volunteer organization in the world. All our shakha activities are designed to instill discipline and pride in swayamsevaks. We try to create indomitable spirit and unshakeable faith in our volunteers”, said Shri Sudarshan. Later the Hindus from the Caribbeans residing in New York area organized a programme. Swami Aksarnandjo, who is working in this community for a long time, was the chief guest in the programme.
The main programme during the pravas on East Coast was the Hindu Sangam. More than 1300 persons participated in this programme. While addressing the function, Shri Sudarshan emphasized the need for family values to give samaskar in that country. There were Yoga and other demonstrations by the young swayamsevaks. An exhibition on the contribution to science by India was also organised.
(With inputs from Shambhoo Gupta,
Narain Kataria, Chetan Merani and Yoginder P. Gupta)
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