New Delhi: Amid the ongoing debate on intolerance in the country, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that people with petty minds divide the society through language, colour or creed.
Bhagwat, while calling for making the world one family, said that the diversity of India was its strength and 'we consider it as an issue of celebration rather than a problem that the outsiders consider'.
"People with petty minds divide the world through colour, language... Those with liberal minds consider the entire world their own. But those even with petty minds ...They will develop and start thinking big," he said yesterday.
Bhagwat was delivering a lecture on National Building Through Inter-Faith Harmony in the Spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam at the birth centenary celebrations of Swami Chinmayananda of Chinmay Mission at Siri Fort here.
He said whatever one has to be distributed to all and India has to show the path forward in achieving that the world is one family.
"Bharat has to spread the message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the world is one family) and if it forgets this, then there is no nation. Nation building is for 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'. If 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' is not there, this nation need to be built. It need not exist," he said.
Bhagwat said while foreigners wonder how India runs with such diversity, even the British were apprehensive of giving independence and thought they would fight among themselves.
He noted that while India's diversity is its strength, "the foreigners consider it as a problem. But, we don't consider this. For us, diversity is an issue of celebration."
The RSS chief all should be empowered to ensure equality and co-existence and there should be no concentration of power, money or education.
He said only if the powerful will win, then there will be no limits of using power.
"The truth is that you have to accept all and this acceptance of all is Bharat's identity, irrespective of anyone's faith," he said, adding that "we should struggle to make the world as one family".
He hoped that all the "dreams of our saints and eminent persons will be achieved in the next 20-25 years" by making each one realise not to fight with anyone and only use power to protect oneself from the ills.
The occasion that came in the backdrop of a debate on "growing climate of intolerance" was used to spread the message of unity by Chinmay Mission as religious leaders of all faiths including Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Persian, Jains, Christians and various sects within the country were united on one platform.
Bhagwat, however, did not make a direct reference to the "growing climate of intolerance" in the country.
