Bhagwat Maps RSS’ Global Outreach Agenda at New York Interfaith Gathering

NEW YORK — Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat has outlined a long-term approach to the organisation’s global outreach, emphasizing interfaith dialogue, non-discriminatory service and grassroots cooperation while arguing that social movements must first shape public opinion before they can influence political decisions.

Speaking at the “One World, One Humanity” gathering in New York, Bhagwat presented religious harmony not simply as an ideal but as a process that begins within society. He called for dialogue to be paired with practical service, community-level models of cooperation and sustained engagement even when progress is slow.

The gathering brought together more than 180 religious leaders and participants from 30 countries. Speakers representing Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other faith traditions called for greater cooperation against war, hatred, poverty and religious persecution.

Bhagwat positioned the RSS as a partner in those efforts.

“RSS with all its might is always with you because we are on the same page,” he said.

Diversity and unity

A central theme of Bhagwat’s address was the idea that religious traditions may differ while humanity remains fundamentally one.

He said people may understand and describe the same ultimate truth differently because their experiences and perceptions vary.

“I am working in a society which traditionally says that religions might be different but humanity is one,” Bhagwat said.

He distinguished between the destination of religion and the different rituals and practices used to reach it. Religious practices, he said, can provide spiritual discipline, but followers should not lose sight of the larger purpose.

“What for religion is there? It is leading us to truth,” he said.

Bhagwat compared religious traditions to a finger pointing toward a light, arguing that people should focus on the truth being indicated rather than becoming consumed by differences in religious practice.

“Paths are bound to be there and they are bound to be many because there is a difference between our perception,” he said.

That understanding, he argued, provides the philosophical basis for protecting religious pluralism.

“Diversity is a decoration for our innate unity,” Bhagwat said. “It has to be accepted. It has to be respected. It has to be protected.”

He added: “Because diversity is the rule of nature. Unity is the truth behind it.”

Dialogue must be accompanied by service

Bhagwat’s second major theme was service.

Interfaith dialogue, he said, cannot remain limited to conferences, speeches or declarations. It must be accompanied by practical efforts to help people regardless of their religious identity.

“Dialogue is the first step. Service is another. Not one step after that. It had to start simultaneously,” he said.

Bhagwat said RSS volunteers, supported by members of the wider community, operate approximately 130,000 service projects of different sizes.

The organisation’s stated approach, he said, is to assist people based on need rather than religious identity.

“Whoever is needing, we are serving,” Bhagwat said. “And they serve everywhere, they serve equally.”

He cited the response of RSS volunteers following an aircraft collision in Haryana as an example. According to Bhagwat, most of those involved were Muslim, but volunteers responding at the scene did not distinguish between victims on the basis of religion.

“We never thought at that time that these are Muslims,” he said.

Bhagwat linked that approach to the RSS’ position outside electoral politics.

“We could do this because we are not in politics,” he said. “We do it. We only give. We don’t want anything.”

Building public opinion before influencing policy

While emphasizing the importance of social organisations, Bhagwat argued that they should not necessarily remain detached from public policy.

He said organisations and religious leaders ultimately need to contribute to efforts to influence governments, including on issues such as preventing wars. His emphasis, however, was on building public consensus first.

“These things do not happen through politics. Sorry to say, but the fact is, politics has now become a game of self-interest,” Bhagwat said.

Drawing on what he described as India’s experience, he argued that lasting change must begin with society.

“We and ours is the solution. So our experience in Bharat is that we have to start with the society,” he said.

Bhagwat said democratic governments ultimately respond to public opinion. Building a broad social consensus, therefore, could create pressure for political leaders to act.

“If there is public opinion, then no politician will dare to go against it,” he said.

From global forums to local communities

Bhagwat also stressed decentralization, urging religious leaders to take the principles discussed at international gatherings into their own communities.

“Whatever we decide to do today, we should start in our own country and create pockets of such selfless service, such atmosphere of unity,” he said.

“We should create at our own place the models of the world we want,” he added.

He suggested that successful local initiatives could then be connected through continuing dialogue, eventually extending from national and provincial levels down to districts and smaller communities.

The goal, he said, should be to build relationships between communities from the grassroots upward rather than relying solely on international conferences or senior religious leaders.

A long-term approach

Bhagwat acknowledged that such efforts may not produce immediate results.

He referred to continuing engagement with Muslim and Christian communities in India following a speech he delivered in Delhi in 2018.

“So we started that dialogue. Mainly with Muslims and Christians of Bharat,” he said. “And step by step we are going ahead.”

For Bhagwat, the challenge is not simply to establish agreement in principle but to turn religious teachings about love, goodness and humanity into everyday behavior.

Knowledge of those values, he said, already exists within religious traditions. The harder task is developing habits capable of resisting the attractions of wealth, influence and superiority.

“We have to instill the practice,” he said.

“If we together start working, we can change the situation of the world,” Bhagwat added. “But it will take long time.”

RSS and its global outreach

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded by K.B. Hedgewar in Nagpur in 1925 and completed its centenary in 2025. The organisation describes itself as a volunteer-based cultural organisation with a nationwide network of local branches and affiliated organisations involved in areas including social service, education and labour.

Bhagwat, a graduate of veterinary sciences, became the RSS’ sixth Sarsanghchalak, or chief, in 2009.

In recent years, he has increasingly participated in outreach and dialogue with representatives of different religious communities.

His New York address placed that engagement in a broader international context, presenting dialogue, service and grassroots cooperation as the principal tools through which the RSS believes communities can contribute to a more peaceful and cohesive world.

Source: IANS