Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of BJP’s ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said on Monday that Bharat attained the status of “Vishwaguru” – meaning the world’s teacher – not by becoming a “Mahashakti” (superpower), but through its “character” and tradition of serving the world. Bhagwat said that India’s rise should mean a “more united and emancipated humanity”.

“Whenever it became big, it never became a superpower. It became a glorious country… one might call it a superpower then. But it served the world. By its character, it became vishwaguru, not mahashakti,” Bhagwat told members of the Indian community in Canada.

He said India’s civilisational tradition is to share knowledge, not to “conquer” or “convert”, and cited the journeys of Indians across regions from Mexico to Siberia and Southeast Asia. “They conquered no country. They converted nobody. Wherever they went, they gave knowledge, mathematics, ayurveda, civilisational values,” he said.

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The RSS chief said this tradition of service and acceptance is rooted in the Hindu understanding of the unity underlying diversity. “The inanimate and animate, both are ours. That is what a Hindu feels. They have been trained to see the unity underlying the diversity,” he said.

He cited instances of India providing refuge to persecuted communities and helping people caught in crises abroad, including the evacuation of citizens of other countries from conflict zones in the Middle East. “Whenever there was a crisis anywhere in the world and help was sought, Bharat provided help. It provided help even when it was not asked. This is the DNA of Bharat,” he said.

Bhagwat’s remarks came a day after his address at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he described Bharat’s “destiny” as making the world realise that unity could coexist with diversity, and that this had to be demonstrated “not by preaching, but by practice”. His Canada speech similarly sought to define India’s global role in terms of its civilisational values rather than its economic or military power.

He said India’s ancient understanding of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam was based on seeing everyone as a brother rather than as an owner or possessor. “Thinking that this is mine, that is his is narrowness. Those who are broad-minded believe in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” he said.

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India, he said, has always been diverse, with multiple castes, creeds, languages and religions. “Because we know diversity is natural. And unity is the reality,” he said.

Bhagwat also sought to define “Hindu” in civilisational rather than religious terms. “When I say Hindu, the word cannot be defined by any specific language, through any specific worship or living style. Hindus accept all, Hindus respect all. They don’t mind,” he said.

Referring to the history of persecuted communities coming to India, he said, “Whenever any community was persecuted, it came to India, and we gave shelter. Parsis came, Jews came.” He said people connected with Bharat, irrespective of where they lived, had a responsibility to contribute to their countries while also sharing this worldview.

The RSS chief also turned to contemporary global challenges, including climate change, environmental degradation and the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction. He questioned a model of development in which the prosperity of one group came at the expense of another.

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“If an individual has to be happy, society has to suffer. If we try to create a happy society, individuals have to be curbed. What is the way? There has to be a third way. That way is the ancient way of Hindustan,” he said.

He said Dharma, in the Indian understanding, is not merely about worship but about “sustenance”, “balance” and treating everyone as one’s own. Such a balance, he argued, could allow individuals, society and the environment to progress without harming one another.

“It is high time that Hindus pay attention to this, because the world needs it,” Bhagwat said, while stressing that this worldview should not be imposed. “But not be forced. We are leaders who lead from within and by example.”