Lalit Garg
lalitgarg11@gmail.com
At the heart of India’s civilizational consciousness lies the life system of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and space. The Indian term “Bhagwan” symbolically encodes these principles, revealing that in our worldview divinity is not an external authority but an integrated harmony of nature and culture. This living perspective is called Sanatan—eternal, self-renewing, ever-flowing and indestructible. When India’s life and polity operated through this elemental balance, she was not only economically prosperous but also culturally revered as Vishva-Guru. In the centenary year of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, this truth gains renewed relevance, for the very existence of the Sangh is an effort to recall, reconstruct and re-establish this eternal way of life.
The vision of Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat becomes a contemporary expression of this philosophy. He asserts that India’s identity lies in Dharma—not merely ritual or sect, but a life system balancing nature, society, culture and the soul. This thought situates India’s Vedic consciousness within today’s global realities. The Sangh’s centenary is therefore not simply an organizational celebration but a moment of civilizational reawakening. Mohan Bhagwat maintains that India’s existence is not rooted in political structures but in the inseparable union of nature and culture. The Indian worldview recognises the five elements as the foundations of creation, whose rhythmic order is regarded as divine. Bhagwat’s interpretation clarifies that Sanatan is not a religion in doctrinal terms but a life mechanism sustained by human–nature harmony, for Indian life reveres nature and builds culture upon its rhythm.
Today the world faces war, terror, competition and ecological collapse. Human hunger has shrunk to consumption and possession, turning life into a synonym for disorder, pollution and stress. The Western paradigm glorified control over nature as progress, while India’s vision emphasized nourishment, reverence and coexistence. Bhagwat reiterates that India’s path is welfare for all and harmony with all, because her society saw nature as mother and culture as her manifestation. Here Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha represent four dimensions of life, where Moksha means liberation from greed into bliss, and where culture aims at holistic well-being. The Sangh embodies this principle, asserting that humanity, society, nation and world can thrive only when man lives in consonance with nature. At a time when nationalism is measured only through material might, Bhagwat explains its spiritual dimension. For him, the nation is not territory alone; it is living memory, vows, values and collective personality. India’s strength lies in unity through diversity, and Sanatan endures precisely because it is regenerative and rooted in nature. Thus, RSS has emphasized rural uplift, ecological care, healthy lifestyles, character-building and balanced conduct. Organic farming, river revival, cow welfare, sanitation, crafts, village development and local self-reliance are all modern manifestations of India’s geo-cultural renewal.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s civilizational philosophy entered governance. International Yoga Day, revival of Ayurveda, My Life My Yoga, Panch-Amrit, Local to Global, Vocal for Local, G-20’s theme Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, natural farming, life mission, traditional medicine ministry, temple revitalisation and rising cultural confidence are expressions of a worldview nurtured by the Sangh. India’s diplomatic posture has gained spiritual language, replacing conflict with cooperation and competition with coexistence. Bhagwat affirms that India will lead the world not through dominance but through Dharma—where nature and culture together govern life and philosophy precedes might.
The world today is breaking under climate change, pandemics, loneliness, psychological distress and wars. Western science seeks solutions in robotics, genetic control and artificial life. Indian spirituality answers differently: solutions lie within, through nature, through harmony. Hence the Sangh’s declaration that nation-building begins by making human beings humane. Every Sangh prayer—“Namaste Sada Vatsale Matrubhoomi”—reminds us that Mother India is not a symbol but a union of nature and culture, and to live that integration is Sanatan Dharma. For the Sangh, Sanatan is not a nostalgic idea; it is ethical discipline, social energy and the spiritual architecture required for modern humanity. When swayamsevaks practise pranayama, surya namaskar, yoga and collective discipline, they enact the nature–culture union at the core of Indian civilisation.
Bhagwat clarifies that India’s mission is not to impose but to demonstrate how peace, prosperity and contentment can be achieved. One paradigm exploits and controls—weaponising science. The other harmonises—uniting science and spirituality and allowing matter to be guided by consciousness. He emphasises that India’s future lies in transforming education so that learning becomes life wisdom, not mechanical knowledge. Revival of nature-centric culture, he argues, will generate health, joy and liberation—not only for India but for humanity, whose crisis arises from separation between man and nature.
The RSS centenary marks a civilizational turning point. The Sangh embodies a lifestyle rooted in simplicity, restraint, discipline, service, self-purification and social duty—an evolved form of nature-based culture. Modi’s governance elevates this culture to global diplomacy. India’s message to a violent and troubled world is thus clear: solutions will come not from weapons but from wisdom; development will emerge not from consumption but from cultural harmony; and the future belongs to the civilisation that sees nature as mother and culture as the Dharma of creation.
Sanatan is not merely a belief but a living proposition for humanity. Bhagwat urges India to regain confidence in its inexhaustible knowledge, for it alone can guide a distressed world. When nature and culture together shape human life, individuals become healthy, societies prosperous and nations liberation-orientated. This is Sanatan abundance; this is India’s global contribution. And in the Sangh’s centenary year, its proclamation becomes clearer than ever: universal brotherhood, reverence for nature and liberation-centred life constitute the civilisation of the future.