We should not change dharma due to greed: Bhagwat

 

 

 

ONE may encounter greed, temptation and enticement in everyday life, and they may take people away from their religion, but dharma alone can lead everyone to happiness, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Saturday. People should not change (religion) under the influence of greed or fear, said Bhagwat at Sadgurudham in Barumal of Gujarat’s Valsad district, where he participated in the silver jubilee celebrations of the Shree Bhav Bhaveshwar Mahadev Temple. “We know how to unite and want to unite. We do not want to fight. But we will have to save ourselves. For this, there have been arrangements since ancient times, because there are forces today that want us to change (convert). “But even when there is no such force in our daily life, incidents of greed, temptation and enticement come up,” said the top RSS leader.

 

At the time of the Mahabharata, he said, there was no one to convert, but what Duryodhan did in greed to take the kingdom of the Pandavas was ‘adharma’. “Religious conduct should be observed regularly. We should not act under the influence of attachment and allure, nor should we get trapped in selfish greed. Greed or fear should not turn us away from our faith. That is why such centers have been established here,” he said. Bhagwat was referring to Sadgurudham, which conducts social activities in remote tribal areas to uplift Adivasis. He said that when such centres did not operate in these areas, ascetics would go from village to village, making people listen to satsang and keeping them firm on the path of dharma. Later, as the population increased, arrangements were made to set up these centers where people would visit and get the benefit of dharma, he said. “Such centres were called temples, which have always been a place where the entire society gathers, where they reap the benefit of worship, spirituality, and also get the opportunity to practise art,” he said.