Only India helped Sri Lanka, Maldives during crisis: RSS Chief Bhagwat

It was only India which helped Sri Lanka and Maldives when these countries were in distress while other countries were interested in finding business opportunities, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said here on Thursday.

Spirituality is the "soul of India", he said, addressing a program organized by Bharat Vikas Manch, an organization associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). "Spirituality is the soul of India. What does India need to do? It is to tell everyone how to live life on the basis of this spirituality through our own example," he said. "Living life without ego" was the soul of India, he added. Countries like China, United States and Pakistan turned their attention to Sri Lanka when they saw business opportunities there, he said. "But now when Sri Lanka is in trouble, who is extending help? It is only India. Who sent water to the Maldives when it was facing a water crisis? It was India which did. This is the spiritual India," he said.

Talking about all-round development of personality, he said one should not eat the wrong kind of food. "If you eat the wrong (kind of) food, it will lead you on the wrong path. One should not eat 'tamasik' food. One should not eat food that involves too much violence," Bhagwat said. There are people in India who eat meat as elsewhere in the world, but in our country even those who are non-vegetarian observe restraint and follow certain rules, he said. "People who eat non-vegetarian food here do not eat it during the entire month of Shravan. They do not eat it on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays. They impose some rules on themselves," Bhagwat noted.