‘Vande Mataram is worship of ‘Bharat Mata’, not of Hindu goddesses: Baba Ramdev

Haridwar, Aug 23 (IANS) Amid a controversy over rendition of the full version of ‘Vande Mataram’, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Sunday asserted that the lyrics of the national song signifies “worship of Bharat Mata” and not of the Hindu goddesses.

Speaking to reporters during an event in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, Ramdev said: “We regard Bharat Mata as Durga, as Lakshmi; she is our faith, our knowledge, our temple, and the one who protects and empowers us. She is supreme for us, and she is our ultimate object of devotion and aspiration.”

“Those who see references to goddesses, deities, monasteries or temples in ‘Vande Mataram’ seem, in my view, to be disconnected from our culture. They should study Sanskrit a little more and develop a better understanding of its meaning. ‘Bharat Mata’ is our knowledge, our faith, our temple, our worship, our duty, our purpose, our destination, our religion and everything to us, this is the meaning of Vande Mataram,” he added.

Maintaining that the national song is not a direct worship of Hindu goddesses, the Yoga guru said: “Relating the worship of ‘Bharat Mata’, as defined in Vande Mataram, to deities and temples and then terming it against a particular religion, is ‘intellectual bankruptcy’.”

Responding to questions over student protests, Ramdev opined that while the Union government is working to bring reforms in the education and healthcare system, economy, agriculture and various aspects of democracy, “some people seem to believe that nothing good is happening in the country”.

“They are even involving five, seven, and ten-year-old children in protests, asking them to surround police stations, gherao Superintendents of Police and District Magistrates, and stand on the streets,” he said.

He asserted that minors should not be pushed into protests.

However, Ramdev said that if those aged above 18 years feel that any kind of injustice is taking place, they should definitely come forward.

“They should come forward against injustice with anyone, whether students, patients, farmers, even SC/STs or Brahmins,” he added.

The Yoga guru said that if insult to a person from a Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste is against the Constitution, so is the insult to Brahmins, while saying: “Some people abuse Brahmins…doing so is also against democracy. No one should be abused on the basis of their caste.”

Baba Ramdev added that he won’t allow the walls of hatred to exist in the country, while praising Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.

“People across the country should get the same healthcare, education and same constitutional rights,” he said.

Days after BJP MP Kangana Ranaut advised Baba Ramdev not to speculate about her youth or private life, the Yoga guru hit back, saying: “The people of this country know who Swami Ramdev is and what his contribution has been. Therefore, I do not want to make any remarks about people of such stature.”

–IANS

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