Bhagwat says humans are part of nature, not its owners, at Ramtek memorial event with Fadnavis present

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said that humans are not the masters of nature but a part of it. He said this in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and the remark is being seen as advice to the government. Bhagwat was speaking at an event in Nagpur district.

A memorial to the late people's leader Datta Meghe is being unveiled at Ramtek in Nagpur district. Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Minister of State Ashish Jaiswal and Dr Pankaj Bhoyar were present. The Nandkishor Jaiswal Agriculture College and the Shalinitai Datta Meghe Veterinary Hospital are also being dedicated to the public.

Bhagwat said people once believed they were the lords of nature, but in reality they are part of one world with it, and so depend on it and on one another. He said humans will be happy only if biodiversity and ecology remain healthy, and that for their own well-being people should place some restrictions on themselves.

Referring to his veterinary training, he said people sometimes remind him that he is a veterinary doctor, and that he is one. A few years ago many people hesitated to say they were veterinary doctors, he said, but the situation is no longer like that. Veterinary students now get modern facilities.

According to Bhagwat, the modern world has only now discovered the "One Health" idea, but in India it has come down through tradition. Everyone knows from experience that people cannot stay healthy if the environment is not healthy. Poor animal health does not only hurt incomes, he said; their diseases also reach humans. The world is learning this from experience today, he said, while India's experience is ancient. He said our ancestors built a way of life by stumbling and learning from experience.

Referring to Diwali, he said it begins with Vasubaras and that cow dung is used to make Govardhan. The world now accepts that cow dung has uses, he said. Some years ago the whole world mocked India for believing this, but that has stopped.

Bhagwat said knowledge has come down to us through tradition. We should reflect on it and, on that basis, show the world a new path of development. It is our responsibility to offer a new way of life based on the whole of this knowledge, he said.

He said Nitin ji had spoken of the Gir cow. India had a cow whose capacity it could have improved, but did not. Instead, it brought in Jersey and foreign cows, he said, even though 300 years ago cows from India were taken to the world to improve the milk of cattle elsewhere. Horses were used for farming, he said, but cows for milk and for human needs. According to Bhagwat, Holstein cows are called Brahman cattle; they improved the breed, while India neglected it.

He said that if a country develops on the basis of what it has, it does not have to depend on the world. Self-reliance makes a person independent, whereas one has to serve those who depend on oneself. Others are also our own, he said, so every nation should think that its development must lead to the world's development. Our scriptures hold many kinds of knowledge for becoming self-reliant, he said.