CYNICS MAY not buy my thought provoking experience at the two-day Hemant Shivir of RSS’ Secunderabad Vibhag. The crucial event was organized in Chiriyala village, Keesara Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, A.P, from December 24 to December 25, 2011. The venue is located about 45 km from the IT hub and state capital, Hyderabad.

Enough venom has been spewed against R.S.S by many a politician and self styled intellectuals. At times I feel, is it worth throwing mud at R.S.S and bash it persistently? Why often it is under the media scanner? Why it has been dubbed as a right wing Hindu organization? Why R.S.S has been labelled as a communal organization? Does R.S.S propagate hatred against any religion, community, sect or community? These were some of the questions brewing in my mind since long. And I had a strong desire to explore R.S.S and its ideology and satiate my conscience brewing with questions galore. Before drawing any conclusion on R.S.S, I wanted to delve into it. The thought was to come up with judicious opinion on R.S.S.

The captured article focuses on a speech tendered by Ravi Ayyar on the first day of the Hemant Shivir (December 24, 2011). I would like to share with readers; Ravi heads (Saha Samyojak, Vishwa Vibhag) H.S.S, an affiliate of R.S.S which proliferates R.S.S’ ideology in foreign countries.

Brief Introduction of Ravi:

Ravi was born in the year 1970. He holds a B.Tech degree in Instrument Technology from the prestigious IIT. During his short professional career, he has been part of many a top notch firms, including TATA and L&T.

Inspired by the philosophy of R.S.S and nationalism, Ravi relinquished his professional career in 1975 and plunged into national service. Since then he is working persistently in the interest of the nation, R.S.S and Hinduism.   

Ravi is a name of repute in foreign countries on a wide spectrum of subjects that include Hinduism, Vedic Mathematics, Science and Hinduism, Vedic Astronomy, Yoga, and Hindu Deities. Over the years, he has been delivering insightful, thought provoking lectures in Universities, Institutes on a many subjects like India, the Emerging Giant, India’s Contribution in Science and Technology, Indian Concept of Youth Leadership, Vedic Mathematics, Vedic Sciences, Ancient Indian calendar, Influence of Bhagavad Gita in the West, Indian Influence in South East Asian Countries, India, China, America – yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Inspiring stories from Indian Epics, Inspiring stories from great men, Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The embodiment of Hindu philosophy, Ravi’s contribution towards the proliferation of Hindu philosophy and R.S.S’s ideology across geographies is inexpressible. He is hailed world over for his fathomless insight on Hindu philosophy. He has also penned down books on Hindu philosophy and its contribution in contemporary world, Glimpses of Hindu Genius, Ramayan Around The World – A Living Tradition, and Vedic Mathematics to name a few.   

This shrewd personality was invited to address the Swayamsevaks converged at Secunderabad Vibhag.

The speech was inspiring, insightful and thought provoking. Addressing the Swayamsevaks, Ayyar emphasized on the need of Hindu philosophy and its importance in contemporary World.                           

Addressing the Swayamsevaks, Ravi said: “Hindu philosophy and belief are very strong, nobody can deter them. The Amarnath Yatra is one such example. Terrorists wanted to create fear among the Hindu devotees but failed to do, the number of devotees paying obeisance to Amarnath have never dwindled but surging. Kumbh Mela offers opportunity to Hindus from different parts of the country to converge and worship their deities.”

Ravi was of the opinion that belief in Hindu philosophy is not restricted to any social class or financial status, according to him: “Many rich people from Hindu religion have faith in its rich values and ethos. Influential businessman like Anil Ambani visits famous pilgrimage, Tirupati regularly.”

Ravi pointed out that Parliamentarians also have faith in Hindu Philosophy: “The recent news on Gita ban in Russia rocked the parliament; this shows our politicians have faith in holy book, Gita”, he said.  

The father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi too was inspired by great Hindu philosophy, shared Ravi. “The father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi had a great faith in lord Rama and Hinduism. He imagined Ram Rajiya and on his tomb at Rajghat an epitaph with Hey Ram is embedded, as this is the last word he uttered,” he said.

Ravi highlighted the importance Hindu philosophy in modern science, he said: “Scientists across the world are reaching out to Hinduism to find solutions on a wide spectrum of subjects like environment. They are realizing the value of medicinal values of Indian trees like Neem and Tulsi. It is our resource and their findings are being patented.”

The speech was very engaging and insightful, and also saw humorous side of Ravi. He took swipe at neighbouring, Pakistan comparing India’s IT with Pakistan’s IT. On this the audience burst in laughter: “India has been acknowledged across the world for IT, our neighbour, Pakistan is not far behind, it is also known as IT hub as it is proliferating International Terrorism.”  

Ravi further added: “Some fathers of churches in Europe and U.S have started greeting each other with Namaste as it means respecting god in you and me. U.S encourages its soldiers to recite teachings of Gita, soul is immortal and only body dies. Hinduism has solution to many a world problem, world has recognized it. R.S.S not only means Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh but also means Ready for Selfless Service. When devastating Katrina cyclone struck U.S, H.S.S Swayamsevaks plunged to offer their services. Laura Bush, wife of President Bush showered praise for H.S.S. Tony Blair too has appreciated the role of H.S.S. R.S.S doesn’t believe in casteism and we are working towards the empowerment of weaker sections of the society. We appreciate former chief justice of India, Balakrishnan and former president of Republic of India, K.R Narayanan for their staggering feats though they hailed from weaker sections of Indian society. R.S.S take pride in creating stalwarts for Indian politics, Former PM, Atul Bihari Vajpayee and present CM of Gujarat, Narendra Modi are two of them. Hinduisms will usher in golden era in the days to come with R.S.S.”

The speech from Ravi left many a swayamsevaks spellbound as it triggered the feeling of self pride, nationalism. It gave lucid insight into rich Hindu philosophy, about which all Hindus should take pride and drive inspiration from.

At no juncture, I saw Ravi delivering hatred against any religion or community. He was only offering and sharing rich insight about Hindu philosophy. The experience was great and will linger in my thoughts for long. Cynics and self-styled intellectuals should think twice before spewing venom against great national organization like R.S.S. Salvaging Hindu philosophy and proliferating it, is not a crime.