The RSS Chief’s Visit

By Moorthy Muthuswamy, May 2000

The Chief of RSS, Mr. Sudarshan is scheduled to visit America shortly. Before him, there has been a steady stream of RSS/VHP executives visiting the US. The constant theme one hears from these folks regarding India’s social problems is the need for the majority (Hindus) to learn from Vedas. There is also a push to apply "swadeshi" principles of self-reliance to governing India. The Swadeshi principle consists of recycling Indian philosophies and technologies.

It seems, an opportunity to learn what has made America so successful is not utilized in such visits.

A modern day example of taking past seriously is Afghan Taliban, an unmitigated disaster. If one asks the question, how many successful people who are Hindu by birth read Vedas in America, my safe guess would be a very very few. The reasons are not hard to understand. The Vedas, Koran or Bible for that matter does not teach the skills needed to excel in commerce, science, engineering or medicine. Modern training and textbooks do.

The Hindu leadership back home and their hosts here in the US need to realize from Taliban example that the future lies in forward looking steps. Being the leading inventor of modern technology, America is by far the dominant creator of new (social) ideas that shape the world. These ideas are a natural consequence of commercialization of the new technologies.

India’s impressive growth in information technology wouldn’t be there today but for the willingness of many brave Indians to reach out and learn from the Western world. Let me end by quoting an appropriate Chinese proverb: "Learn from the Master".