More than a century after Swami Vivekananda used his historic Chicago address to champion religious tolerance and India’s tradition of welcoming persecuted communities, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has delivered a strikingly similar message to the Indian diaspora in the US.
Addressing more than 6,000 people at Madison Square Garden’s Infosys Theatre in New York, Bhagwat stressed the unity of humanity, respect for different faiths and the need to celebrate diversity, themes that echoed Vivekananda’s celebrated speech at the World’s Parliament of Religions in 1893.
Vivekananda famously told the gathering that he was proud to belong to a religion that had taught the world “tolerance and universal acceptance”. He also highlighted India’s history of providing refuge to persecuted communities, including Jews and Zoroastrians.
Bhagwat similarly emphasised India’s tradition of accepting people of different faiths and cultures.
“If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslims in India, then he’s not a Hindu,” Bhagwat said during his address, adding that every human being has dignity and that there is no fundamental difference between people.
He said religions may follow different paths and rituals, but humanity and truth remain one.
“Diversity has to be protected as it is the rule of nature and unity is universal truth,” he said.
The RSS chief described unity and diversity as being in the “DNA” of both Bharat and the United States, comparing India’s philosophy of “unity in diversity” with America’s tradition of pluralism.
The message was delivered at the ‘Universal Oneness Celebration’, organised by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD), under the theme ‘One World, One Humanity’. The programme centred on the Hindu philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: the world is one family.
Bhagwat’s wider US visit has included meetings with members of the Indian diaspora, Indian-American business leaders and community representatives. His presence was also prominently displayed in New York ahead of his Madison Square Garden address, with images of the RSS chief projected on Times Square billboards carrying the words “Resolve, Harmony and Dialogue”.
He also visited the Bhakti Centre and the ISKCON temple in New York, where he paid tribute to Indian spiritual leader Srila A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON.
During his visit to the temple, Bhagwat took part in a food distribution initiative for homeless people and spoke about the potential of Krishna consciousness in addressing conflict and divisions in society.
Bhagwat also urged members of the Indian diaspora to fulfil their responsibilities towards the countries in which they live. “What is our duty? We are in America. We live in America. We earn in America and we should behave true to America,” he said.
He described America as their karmabhoomi, their place of work and duty, while referring to Bharat as their janmabhoomi, or birthplace. “They should be loyal to their karmabhoomi, because Bharat is their janmabhoomi,” he said, adding that those who wished to contribute to India could do so after fulfilling their responsibilities to the country where they live.
Bhagwat’s message of pluralism was reinforced during his first visit to Canada as well, where he said Hindus have traditionally welcomed and protected people from outside India, including those seeking refuge from persecution.
“Anywhere in the world, if someone was persecuted, he got asylum in Bharat only,” he told a gathering in Toronto, while pointing to the presence of Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities in India.
He also argued that diversity should not be seen as a threat to unity, saying India’s traditions teach that diversity itself can be a form of unity.
Bhagwat’s three-nation tour of the US, Canada and the UK is part of the RSS’s centenary-year global outreach. British Hindu and Indian organisations, community groups and civil society representatives have welcomed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat ahead of his visit to the United Kingdom.
His visit, however, has also sparked political controversy, particularly in New York, where critics have accused the RSS of promoting an exclusionary ideology. Protests were reported outside the Madison Square Garden event, while New York lawmaker Zohran Mamdani publicly criticised the programme.
Against that backdrop, Bhagwat’s repeated emphasis on acceptance, pluralism and shared humanity has placed his speeches firmly within a much older tradition of Indian spiritual thought.
In Chicago in 1893, Vivekananda told the world that different religious paths could ultimately lead to the same truth and celebrated India’s record of giving shelter to persecuted peoples.
Bhagwat’s message in New York carried a similar emphasis: India’s diversity, he argued, is not an obstacle to unity but an expression of it.
