Govt, People Were Complacent, Says Bhagwat, Talks of Reincarnation

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat addressing the Positivity Unlimited campaign also urged people to practice yoga & Ayurveda.

File image of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat.

(Image: Erum Gour/The Quint)

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday, 15 May, said that the people and the government became complacent after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and urged citizens to help the society and practice yoga and Ayurveda.

In his address on the last day of the ‘Positivity Unlimited’ campaign organised by the RSS, Bhagwat also made a claim suggesting that the people of “Bharat” know the concept of reincarnation.

“We all lost track after the first wave. The people, the governments, the administrations, everybody knew... The doctors too were warning but everybody still lost track. That’s why we are facing this situation today. Now, discussions are underway about a third wave. But do we get scared? We cannot,” he said.

“We have to work together forgetting all differences. We have to halt the discussions on the shortcomings for now, we will get time for that later. Currently, we need to work as a team,” Bhagwat said.

‘Death is Like Changing Clothes’

While urging people to practice yoga and Ayurveda, Bhagwat said: “We know we are the people of Bharat. We know that the cycle of ‘Jeevan Jara Maran’ keeps going on. The way we change old, soiled clothes, the same way, humans leave the old, unusable body and attain a new body in order to move on. We know these things and the situation cannot scare or upset us,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bhagwat also urged people to not fall for unscientific remedies being spread in the name of Ayurveda.

“Ayurveda is a proven science in itself. There are several remedies that are suggested in Ayurveda traditionally. There is no harm in resorting to Ayurveda. But in the name of Ayurveda, several baseless claims go around. No such claims should be paid heed to till they are experienced by the masses, are scientifically proven and vetted by shastras,” he said.

Bhagwat said that society does not need negation of the existing situation and entertaining thoughts like “nothing has happened, everything is alright,” adding that one needs to keep the body negative of the virus and the mind positive.

‘India Staring at Economic Crisis’

Bhagwat said that the country is staring at a severe economic and financial crisis and the citizens need to start uplifting poorer and unorganised sectors to prepare for the same.

“In the future, a crisis of employment, economy, and financial backwardness is going to arise. We will have to start preparing for it,” he said.

Bhagwat said that while several evils of the society came to the fore amid the pandemic, several positives also emerged where people came to each others’ help and rescue.

Bhagwat’s address comes amid the RSS’ ‘positivity drive,’ even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government faces massive backlash over the failure to handle the pandemic with acute vaccine shortage and stretched medical infrastructure.

Bhagwat’s address was the last in the 5-day lecture series organised in coordination with the COVID Response Team (CRT), an outfit formed to provide aid to the sick and the vulnerable.

The event saw a lineup of several speakers including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, business tycoon Azim Premji, and social worker Nivedita Bhide among others.

In the five days, most speakers have urged people to help the society and humanity in need and to practice yoga and Ayurveda while keeping a “positive attitude.” However, several speakers including Sri Sri and Bhide also resorted to several unscientific claims like reincarnation.