People globally demand RSS help to train youth: Bhagwat

Nagpur: Highlighting the growing global recognition of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said people from several countries have been approaching the sangh to understand its working model.Speaking at an event to honour the lives and contributions of RSS pracharaks, Bhagwat said, “People from across the globe visit the sangh to understand how it functions. Many of them say that they want to train youths in their countries on the line of RSS.”Emphasising the Sangh’s vision of nation-building, Bhagwat said all who consider themselves a part of the Hindu Rashtra share the responsibility of protecting the nation’s dharma through collective strength and dedicated work. “Safeguarding dharma is not merely protecting it from external threats but also about practising its values in one’s own life,” he said.The sarsanghchalak asserted that India must first become a living example of the values it wants the world to follow. “The world believes India can show the way, but that will be possible only if India itself lives by those ideals,” he said.Commenting on the social mindset that prevailed before and after Independence, Bhagwat said many people came to believe that India’s ancient knowledge systems and philosophies, though once great, were impractical and irrelevant in the modern era.

“Instead, Western ideas and lifestyles came to be viewed as the only path to progress. This led to a gradual erosion of confidence in India’s own cultural traditions,” he said.He said rebuilding such a society requires restoring faith in its civilisational roots by demonstrating that Indian values remain relevant and successful in contemporary times.Recalling the example of RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, Bhagwat said he never expected others to do what he himself was unwilling to undertake.

“He believed in setting an example rather than merely giving ‘upadesh’,” he said. Bhagwat credited generations of swayamsevaks for sustaining the organisation’s work over the past 100 years by following Dr Hedgewar’s ideals.

He added that the sangh’s culture encourages volunteers to support, rather than criticise, those who falter. “If someone stumbles, others help him. Together, they move forward. Nation-building begins with transforming one’s own life,” he said.Bhagwat said the sangh’s journey is far from complete despite completing a century. “There are still miles to go. Much more work remains to be done,” he said.