A third the land of America, almost four times the population, a history of almost a thousand years of slavery, a multiplicity of religions, a variety of cultures, hundreds of language --- in spite of all that, this country still exists --- that is a miracle. What accounts for India’s continued strength in the midst of such religious and cultural diversity? The spiritual strength, human values, the heart and the love that you find in the people, that’s what sustains us, that has made us endure all difficulties and problems. In recent times, China has been held together by force while India has been held together by cultural and spiritual bonding. Despite religious fundamentalism, caste violence, naxalism, natural disasters and other issues that have rocked India in recent decades, the country’s resilience that is anchored in her spiritual values has become far more visible in the world. It is very difficult to judge India. There is no midway --- either people have a high opinion or low opinion about India because it is full of opposites. On one hand, India has touched pinnacles of justice and equality, while on the other there has been a lot of oppression. India is a country of non-aggressive, humane people, yet practices such as sati have prevailed. For centuries, India’s negative aspects have been projected over the good ones. Fortunately, that’s changing. Like an elephant that can uproot trees but is scared of the mahout’s small stick, India can be timid at times. Even the West has called it a sleeping giant. With one sixth of the world’s population, she could have already played a bigger role on the world stage. She now needs to take her rightful place on the world stage. For this to happen, her people need to become more confident and take greater pride in their cultural and spiritual roots. We have to harness our spiritual values to fight terrorism and other social evils and to prevent our young minds from turning to violence. We have to remain open to learning and innovation, rather than simply imitating Western consumer and material values. We should work for an India where there is no place for violence and terror, the poor have both relief and justice, the middle class is free from fear and frustration and is able to dream and to dare, and the affluent take social responsibility and uphold human values.
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