Time draws nigh for the second freedom struggle--freedom from poverty, freedom from corruption, freedom from prejudices. The first served its purpose well but now half a century later, we must hurry on to the second without a moment to spare. Gandhiji envisaged this emancipation but his mortal body could not endure to oversee it but he lives on in us as the flame of Ahimsa and compassion, the tools that he wielded well, which can act as the catalysts for the alleviation and eradication of poverty and achievement of social and economic parity. Let our love for the country pour over us, binding us together, so that while acknowledging and encouraging every diversity, we must simultaneously work towards its advancement and unity.
This soil has witnessed philosophies and movements as varied as Shaiva Siddantha, Kartabhaja movement, Advaita Vedanta to name a few. Dazed by our variety and unable to compare with their singular model, it was the British Protestant missionaries who for their convenience categorized this multifaceted way of life into a sweeping generalization called Hinduism to contrast with Islam and Judaism that they were already familiar with. In reality, all faiths including Islam, Christianity to Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta as it exists in India are assimilated and indigenized versions and are not really competing entities but complementary and make India complete. This unparalleled conglomeration of assorted ever-transforming beliefs that we call Bharat has to now act as a coherent unit and walk the straight path of progress.
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