Ahmedabad:
Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi on Thursday said that violence is sometimes “necessary” to protect the idea of non-violence, underscoring that India has to take everyone along on the path to peace.
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the ‘Hindu Spiritual & Service Fair’, also known as ‘Hindu Adhyatmik Seva Mela’, at the Gujarat University grounds here.
“Hindus are always committed to protecting their religion. To protect our ‘dharma’, we have to do even those things which others will label as ‘adharma’ and such things were done by our ancestors,” he said.
Citing the battle of Mahabharat, he said Pandavas kept aside the rules of the war to eliminate ‘adharma’.
“There is no denying that the Hindu religion has the element of non-violence (embedded in it). However, sometimes we have to resort to violence to protect the idea of non-violence. Otherwise, the idea of non-violence will never be safe. Our great ancestors gave that message to us,” said Mr Joshi.
According to the RSS leader, the people of India have to take everyone along on the path to peace because the one who is capable of taking everyone along is the one who can establish peace.
He said there will be no peace if a religion does not allow others to follow their respective faiths.
“There is no country other than India capable of taking along all other nations. ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family) is our idea of spirituality. If we consider the entire world as a family, there will not be any conflict,” he said.
“When we say that India should become stronger, we are actually giving an assurance to the world that a stronger India and a stronger Hindu community are beneficial for everyone because we will protect the weaker and the downtrodden. This is the ideology attached to the world Hindu,” said Mr Joshi.
The RSS leader said it is a myth across the world that only a few institutions like the church or the missionaries are doing selfless service.
“We have an ancient tradition wherein nearly 1 crore people are given food daily at our temples or gurdwaras. Hindu religious organisations are not just limited to performing rituals, they also run schools, gurukuls and hospitals,” he said.
When people call themselves Hindu, it includes many aspects, he said, adding that it is a religion, spirituality, ideology, service and lifestyle.
Humanity is at the centre of the Hindu religion and it comprises “our duties, cooperation, truth and justice”, said the RSS leader.
Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the event.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)