Swami Kailashanand Giri, spiritual head of Niranjani Akhada and Chidanand Saraswati who is the spiritual head of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram attended the India Today Conclave 2025 on Friday.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Maharaj Ji, welcome to this stage. Swamiji, welcome to this stage.
00:06Maharaj Ji, is this a new rise of Sanatan Surya?
00:11Is India connected to its roots?
00:16Ganga Taranga Ramaniya Jata Kalapam
00:20Gauri Nirantara Vibhushita Vama Bhagam
00:25Ganga Taranga Ramaniya Jata Kalapam
00:33Gauri Nirantara Vibhushita Vama Bhagam
00:39Narayana Priya Manangamada Paharam
00:45Varanasi Purpatim Bhaja Vishwanatham
00:52Gaurav Ji, today, because of this Mahakumbha,
01:01Sanatan Surya is a rising star in every home.
01:09Those people of India who are Sanatanis,
01:14those who know, understand and believe in Sanatan,
01:18there is a group of people who want to know.
01:21In Bhagwan Shri Krishna Gita, it is said,
01:24Svasva karmaha niratim sa siddhim jayate narah
01:29Those who are steadfast in their own deeds,
01:32they attain Siddhi.
01:34Today, all those people understood and believed in Sanatan,
01:38Those who did not know Sanatan, understood and believed in Sanatan.
01:43Today, because of Mahakumbha, not only India,
01:48but all the people of the world,
01:50connected to Kumbha, connected to Ganga,
01:52connected to culture, connected to values,
01:55and understood the Indian tradition.
01:58This is a glorious and historical topic,
02:01and this is a golden moment, a golden moment.
02:04Because of this Mahakumbha, this story will be written with golden words.
02:09You have explained it very beautifully.
02:13And Swamiji, it was said once upon a time,
02:17and the image that used to arise in the mind about Kumbha,
02:20it used to be that,
02:22bring a gathri on the head, wear a dhoti kurta,
02:25from villages, crowds of lakhs, crowds of devotees,
02:29are reaching Prayagraj.
02:31But this time, people reached in private jets,
02:33people reached in long cars,
02:35thousands of planes came, thousands of special trains came.
02:39In what form do you see this this time?
02:44I think this is an amazing change.
02:47It's an amazing change.
02:48It's an amazing change in the psyche of the people.
02:52Because I was just there on the banks of Sangam,
02:55and witnessed myself,
02:58millions and millions and millions and millions,
03:03coming with faith, no fear of any kind.
03:08And after that, the people came with jets also.
03:15But amazing thing to witness,
03:19which has trashed all the negative narratives,
03:25that India is divided between caste, creed and color.
03:29We could see that there's no division,
03:32only one vision, we are one.
03:34We were one, we are one,
03:36and we will be one and we'll stay one.
03:39Why?
03:40Where the Prime Minister of India,
03:42where he took the dip,
03:44same place, the peon also is taking the dip.
03:47The person who came with small piece of belongings,
03:52he is also taking a dip there,
03:54and the President also, and the country's Ramu also.
03:57The President is also taking a dip there,
03:59Ramu is also taking a dip there.
04:02Can you believe it?
04:04I saw that every valley was filled with crores.
04:08Who says that India was divided?
04:11No division.
04:12And the interesting thing is that,
04:15in Prayagraj,
04:20there are 267 mosques.
04:2422% Muslims live in Prayagraj.
04:2822%, it's not a small number.
04:31And in spite of all of that,
04:37no one,
04:3922% and here,
04:4267,
04:44almost 670 million people came.
04:49Prayagwale are different.
04:51No one threw stones at anyone.
04:53No one made any negative comments on anyone.
04:57No one did anything that
05:00the people in front of them felt,
05:02you came in a group,
05:04what are you doing?
05:06So this thing of living together,
05:09that we have sworn to live together,
05:12this is Sanatan.
05:13Where there was no theft,
05:15thousands of shoes are in front of the temples,
05:18it happens many times.
05:19But there so many people came wearing shoes,
05:22they left,
05:23but no one committed theft,
05:25no crime, no conflict,
05:27and no chaos.
05:28Can you imagine?
05:30No chaos.
05:31And people were not fighting with each other,
05:34people were not having any,
05:36any kind of,
05:37small even,
05:38and second thing what I noticed,
05:40faith was one thing,
05:42where everybody became one.
05:44Then the economic system,
05:46economic system also was amazing.
05:48Then the system,
05:49we'll talk in the coming questions,
05:51but it was amazing confluence of all these three.
06:21Some foreigners wanted to come to you,
06:24what does this show?
06:26What is attracting foreigners to Sanatan?
06:32Asmabhi charitam manaha
06:34There is a sutra of Vedanta,
06:36that when India,
06:38talks about oneness,
06:41Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati,
06:45on that bank,
06:47whoever will come,
06:49whoever will drink its water,
06:52whoever will dive into it,
06:54whoever will worship it,
06:56he will attain peace,
06:57knowledge,
06:58and salvation.
06:59These three things will be attained.
07:01Whether foreigners are young or old,
07:05when they came to know about this,
07:07that lakhs and lakhs of sadhus of India,
07:09crores and crores of people of India,
07:12by diving into this faith,
07:15are making themselves pure and pure.
07:18In all of them,
07:19some sadhus,
07:21some great men,
07:22wanted to join.
07:24And those,
07:25who made it possible for them,
07:27who got their mind,
07:29they joined them.
07:30I believe,
07:31I believe,
07:33that Ganga,
07:34doesn't just give salvation,
07:36first of all,
07:37Ganga gives knowledge.
07:38First of all,
07:39Ganga gives knowledge.
07:41Then Ganga,
07:42gives detachment.
07:43Then Ganga,
07:44gives devotion.
07:45And in the end,
07:46Ganga gives salvation.
07:47The water of Ganga,
07:49is the best water of Yamuna.
07:52The water of Ganga,
07:53is not water.
07:54The water of Ganga,
07:55is nectar.
07:56The water of Ganga,
07:57is nectar.
07:58And just by drinking a drop of water of Saraswati,
08:01our intellect,
08:02becomes pure and pure.
08:04So all of them,
08:05when they came to the camp,
08:07when they came to the Kumbh area,
08:09they got an unprecedented,
08:11and unprecedented,
08:12experience of peace.
08:14I believe,
08:15crores and crores of people,
08:17came to the Kumbh area,
08:19and from some camp,
08:21they were nourished.
08:23From some camp,
08:24they were organized.
08:26And meditation,
08:27worship,
08:28Karmakand,
08:29Yajna,
08:30and other areas,
08:31were conducted in different camps.
08:33Today,
08:34the result of that is,
08:36that even after the Kumbh area,
08:38all the people of the world,
08:40want to connect with India and those Maths,
08:42who have no connection with the Maths,
08:44or with the tradition.
08:46So that is why,
08:47I believe,
08:48that in this Kaalkhand,
08:50in this Kaalkhand,
08:51and in this moment,
08:53the joy,
08:54through the Mahakumbh,
08:56through the saints,
08:57through the traditions,
08:58and through the people,
09:00through the media,
09:01the message that has reached the whole world,
09:03is unique,
09:05is rare,
09:06is rare,
09:07is worth receiving.
09:10And the foreigners,
09:11who reached,
09:12and who wanted to reach,
09:13you have received many letters,
09:15who all wanted to come there,
09:17and still want to come.
09:19So,
09:20the people who have gone from here,
09:2155 lakh foreign tourists,
09:23and devotees came,
09:24what message did they bring?
09:26What kind of letters are you receiving?
09:29Gauravji,
09:30when Steve Jobs' message,
09:32Kamla,
09:33we gave his name,
09:34we initiated him,
09:35immediately after that,
09:36Elon Musk's message came,
09:37that I want to come.
09:39And in America,
09:40Doge's chief,
09:41Elon Musk's chief,
09:42Tesla's chief.
09:43And you see,
09:44he came to Seville,
09:45and wanted to stay,
09:47his mail came,
09:48so a mail came from our ashram,
09:51why do you want to come?
09:52So he said,
09:53Lauren Jobs told me about you,
09:55I want to come.
09:57I think,
09:58that time,
09:59who is that person,
10:01who does not need peace,
10:04who is that person,
10:05who does not need spirituality,
10:07who is that person,
10:08who does not want to turn towards peace,
10:10who does not want to move towards peace,
10:12who does not want to understand peace,
10:14because only one religion is peace,
10:16where there is a message of peace,
10:18there is a gathering of peace,
10:20and there is a process of peace.
10:22That is why,
10:23in this Indian tradition,
10:25peace is above all,
10:26peace is the best,
10:28peace is the greatest,
10:30that is why,
10:31all the people of the world want to join peace,
10:34who have not done anything about peace,
10:36neither did they criticize, nor did they praise.
10:39Neither did they criticize, nor did they praise,
10:41and now they want to join,
10:42but Swamiji,
10:44there is another aspect,
10:45I want to raise with you,
10:48is this temporary,
10:49especially when they say,
10:50the youth are now very interested,
10:52are the youth interested,
10:54just because everybody is going,
10:56so it is fashionable,
10:58to go for the Kumbh,
10:59is it a selfie moment,
11:01to post on Instagram,
11:02or this change,
11:04this is far deeper.
11:07It was deeper,
11:08because,
11:09I had people from so many countries,
11:12especially the young ones,
11:14and the CEOs of many companies also,
11:17my experiences with them,
11:21it was not a selfie moment,
11:23it was a self moment.
11:25They realized,
11:27yes,
11:29after,
11:30in spite of everything,
11:34they realized,
11:35life is not a collection,
11:37life is a connection.
11:39They realized,
11:40life is not only to have more,
11:42having more is great,
11:43super,
11:44have it,
11:45God bless you,
11:46but life is not only to have more,
11:48life is to be more,
11:50and being more,
11:52is sharing more,
11:53giving more,
11:54caring more,
11:55and they learned,
11:57when they were there,
11:58my God,
11:59amazing,
12:00they kept learning also,
12:02about the whole stories of the Kumbh,
12:04you know what they said,
12:05they said,
12:07these many people,
12:09nobody slept hungry,
12:11no one slept hungry,
12:13in front of our camp,
12:15we closed all the big programs,
12:17we closed all the big programs,
12:19you were there,
12:20you have seen it,
12:21and we closed all the programs,
12:23because so many people were coming,
12:25where will they sleep,
12:26if 15,000 people can sleep,
12:28then let 15,000 people sleep,
12:29rest of the people eat food,
12:31people eat food while walking,
12:33when they saw all this,
12:34they felt,
12:35there is something,
12:36which is in people's hearts,
12:38there is so much,
12:39so seeing this,
12:40something started happening in their hearts,
12:42that there is some power of Sanatan,
12:44which keeps them together,
12:46there are no narratives,
12:47no negativities,
12:48all of them,
12:49in fact,
12:50this happened,
12:51many times,
12:52many narratives were created,
12:53negativity was given,
12:54but,
12:55the more negativity was given,
12:57the more narratives were created,
12:58all the negatives were created,
13:00and people kept on increasing,
13:02and so many people came,
13:04so many people came,
13:05that you all saw,
13:06in the beginning,
13:07people were thinking,
13:08may be 40 crore people,
13:11what nonsense,
13:1240 crore people come,
13:13in such a small place,
13:14and people saw,
13:15not 40 crore,
13:16almost 67 crore,
13:18means 670 million people came,
13:21and everyone saw,
13:22so,
13:23it was not a selfie,
13:26moment of selfie,
13:27they came to selfie,
13:28and took selfie,
13:29gone,
13:30I will tell you,
13:31end of the day,
13:32when I was coming,
13:33I said,
13:34I will also go by the train,
13:35not by plane,
13:36let me experience,
13:37how people are coming,
13:38how people are going,
13:39I went in the train,
13:40at the station,
13:41so many young people,
13:42a boy tells me,
13:44I kept on thinking,
13:46when should I go,
13:47but I was preparing for the exam,
13:49I also want to become the IAS of this country,
13:51so, I was preparing,
13:52but I also wanted to bathe in the Kumbh,
13:54so, I did everything,
13:56I did not even get the ticket,
13:58how we drove,
13:59we were pushed,
14:00but still,
14:01I wanted to bathe in the Kumbh,
14:02so, he tells,
14:03in the mind of young children,
14:05how excited he was,
14:06to bathe in the Kumbh,
14:08and to see the Kumbh Sangam,
14:10and to see the Sanatan Sangam of this country,
14:13because he was listening daily,
14:14that people of India are divided,
14:16I don't know,
14:17what were the narratives,
14:18so, when he realized all those things,
14:20when he realized,
14:21who says that India is divided,
14:24see this,
14:25this is the vision of India,
14:26this is the vision of Sanatan,
14:28where everyone was one,
14:30there was no discrimination,
14:32no caste system,
14:33no creed,
14:34no color,
14:35nothing,
14:36everything was with drowning,
14:37even if it was there,
14:38it drowned,
14:39when it came out,
14:40not only people were dancing and happy,
14:43the Sanatan was dancing.
14:45This is a big thing,
14:46usually,
14:47Maharaj Ji,
14:48Maharaj Ji,
14:49you also felt this,
14:51that Sanatan has come together,
14:54it was said that,
14:55people are different in North and South,
14:58languages are different,
15:00the debate about languages,
15:02which is still going on in our country,
15:04that why should we read Hindi,
15:05we are from South,
15:07does our Sanatan religion,
15:09differentiate,
15:11who is North,
15:12who is South,
15:13who is East,
15:14who is West?
15:16Gaurav Ji,
15:17there is a shloka of Shrimad Bhagwat Ji,
15:19that,
15:30the manifestation of Bhakti,
15:31happened in Dravida,
15:33in Udupi,
15:34after coming to Karnataka,
15:35Bhakti got a lot of strength,
15:37Bhakti got a lot of strength,
15:38in Maharashtra,
15:39Bhakti got a lot of respect,
15:41after coming to Gujarat,
15:42Bhakti became strong,
15:43and after coming to Brindavan,
15:44Bhakti became young,
15:46Bhakti became young,
15:58when Bhakti comes to Brindavan,
16:00Bhakti came to Brindavan,
16:01and became young,
16:03for the first time,
16:04I think,
16:05we have been working in Kumbh for 27 years,
16:09and in Kumbh,
16:12I have been in all the positions,
16:14there was no such position,
16:16the smallest or the biggest position,
16:17on which I have not been,
16:19I have been the secretary of Kumbh,
16:20I have been the secretary,
16:21I have been the general secretary,
16:22I have been the Kosa Dhyaksh,
16:23I have been the Kothari,
16:24I have been the Bhandari,
16:25this Kothwal who is standing with us,
16:27I have been Kothwal also,
16:29being on the smallest position,
16:32today,
16:33I have been established on the biggest position in India,
16:37I think,
16:38we have seen Kumbh very closely,
16:41but till date,
16:42in history,
16:43since I have been seeing Kumbh,
16:46all the four Sankaracharyas,
16:47have never come to Kumbh,
16:49for the first time in history,
16:50all the four Sankaracharyas were in Kumbh,
16:52for the first time in history,
16:54all the four Sankaracharyas were in Kumbh,
16:56in our camp,
16:57we had decided to feed 1 crore people,
17:01that I will feed 1 crore people,
17:03and more than 2 crore people,
17:04ate in our camp,
17:06more than 2 crore people ate,
17:09and out of those 2 crore people,
17:1210,000 people will be the big people of the country,
17:14the big people of the world,
17:16and the remaining 1 crore 90 lakh,
17:18were poor people,
17:20were poor people,
17:21but they were fed the same food,
17:23which was fed to the rich people,
17:25that is why they were fed,
17:26that out of those poor people,
17:29one person will come,
17:30and will lift the Kumbh,
17:32will lift the Sanatan Dharma,
17:35and the same happened,
17:38the same happened,
17:39that out of that Kumbh,
17:40one such great man came,
17:42who lifted the Kumbh to every house,
17:45who lifted the Kumbh to every house,
17:48I feel,
17:49that all the prominent people of South India,
17:53all of them came to Kumbh this time,
17:55all the prominent people,
17:56be it Kerala,
17:57be it Andhra,
17:58be it Madras,
17:59be it Tamil Nadu,
18:00be it Chennai,
18:01all the states,
18:03there was no such state in South India,
18:06where the prominent people of the state,
18:08or the common people,
18:09did not come to Kumbh,
18:11in all the provinces,
18:13in our province,
18:14there were about 40 scholars from Kerala,
18:17there were about 40 people from Kathakali in Karnataka,
18:20who had their daily cultural activities,
18:24for the first time,
18:25South India was connected to North India,
18:28South India was connected to North India,
18:30and this is not for India,
18:32this is a matter of pride for the world,
18:35South India and North India,
18:37by connecting them,
18:38gave this Kumbh,
18:39a huge and magnificent form,
18:42a magnificent form,
18:43I feel,
18:44that this tradition was from the ancient times,
18:47for some time,
18:48there were some distances between the two,
18:51between us and them,
18:52we did not meet each other,
18:54but this time,
18:55both,
18:58direction, North and South,
18:59met together.
19:01It is said that,
19:02Dharma,
19:03increases,
19:04flourishes,
19:05when it,
19:06in a way,
19:07gets the king's credit,
19:09when the great people,
19:11the powerful,
19:12the powerful people,
19:13they take it forward,
19:15so like Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
19:17worships in the temples,
19:18Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister,
19:19Yogi Adityanath,
19:20the way he wears the garb,
19:22does it affect him,
19:24or does it create hatred,
19:25in some people?
19:27No.
19:28Sanskrit verse
19:58Sanskrit verse
20:08Sanskrit verse
20:17Sanskrit verse
20:19The Acharya never praises or criticizes anyone, but I think this is the best channel in the world.
20:30Today we are sitting in it and talking. I think we should definitely keep our word.
20:35That's why we should keep it, that today if the Prime Minister of India, SSV Narendra Modi ji was not there,
20:40then this Kumbh would not have been so grand, powerful and grand.
20:44If Yogi Adityanath ji was not there, then this Kumbh would not have been so grand, powerful and grand.
20:49Swamiji, do you have this opinion that if all the people who try to divide our country into castes,
21:00or our people, if all of them come together in one Kumbh and take a bath,
21:09is this only limited to Kumbh, Swamiji, or is this a constant change that is taking place in the country?
21:16This is a wave of change, but it is not a storm that came down like a storm.
21:22This is not a storm, this is a blaze. People felt the blaze within.
21:28The misfortune of this country was that what was supposed to be published was hidden.
21:34And what was supposed to be hidden was told abroad.
21:38So this happened, we were deprived of knowing our own culture.
21:42This means, the children asked me, is what we are seeing, is this temporary?
21:49They also asked, is this temporary?
21:52I said, what do you think?
21:53They said, you know, something is happening in my heart.
21:56I feel that I have changed a lot after coming here.
21:59But he asked another question, do you think if I have changed, then should I change my clothes too?
22:05I said, what do you mean?
22:06He said, I am wearing jeans.
22:08I saw that too, it was torn jeans.
22:11He said, so should I stop wearing jeans?
22:14This is the question of the modern world.
22:17I said to him, son, I am not worrying about what are you wearing.
22:23Wear jeans, but I am concerned you should not forget your jeans.
22:28You should not forget your jeans.
22:32You, big models of cars, you sit in cars, new models are coming every day.
22:39But don't forget, bring a car home, but don't forget the culture.
22:44End of the day, that culture will matter.
22:46That will matter.
22:48If there is no development, what will happen?
22:50Today we are living in the age of the internet, we are living in the age of AI.
22:54I was just listening to what respected Arun Puri ji was talking about AI age.
22:58I was very happy that he mentioned that.
23:00And let me tell you, being in AI age, we should not forget RI age.
23:05RI is Artificial Intelligence to Rishi's Intelligence.
23:09And what is Rishi's Intelligence?
23:11It's AI, say NI, Nature Intelligence.
23:16The future of our nature is the nature of our future.
23:21There can be plan A and plan B and plan C, but there is no planet B.
23:28Only one planet we have.
23:30We should worship the creator, but we should not forget the creation.
23:34That was the message, being in the Kumbh Mela.
23:36I said, son, when you go back, even myself, when we left, before we left,
23:41I said, I bathed in Sangam every day.
23:43Now before going, bathe in Sangam.
23:46So that the banks of the Sangam are clean.
23:48Similarly, we keep the banks of the rivers clean.
23:51No use of single-use plastic.
23:54And the more trees we can plant, we keep the rivers clean.
23:59Because the Yamuna of Delhi, the CM of Delhi had come.
24:02The Yamuna of Delhi, I think, is the face of Delhi.
24:05If we look at Connaught Place, if we look at Lal Qila, Chandni Chowk,
24:10but if we look at more than that, along with all this, that is also there,
24:14but along with that, the Yamuna, because our rivers are rivers, then the world is there.
24:19If there are rivers, then we are there.
24:22The message of that too, from the environment of Kumbh,
24:25to the whole world, from the banks of the rivers, the message of the rivers,
24:28and secondly, so that the Sangam of this country does not break,
24:31so that the Sangam of this country does not divide,
24:34the last message was given,
24:36neither will we divide, nor will we divide,
24:39neither will we cut, nor will we cut,
24:41neither will we frighten, nor will we frighten,
24:43and neither will we destroy, nor will we destroy.
24:45This is Sanatan, which does not frighten, does not destroy,
24:48it takes everyone along,
24:50and that is why India is always,
24:52if Sanatan is there, then there is security,
24:54if Sanatan is there, then there is culture,
24:56there is nature, there is future,
24:57and if Sanatan is there, then there is humanity,
24:59there is stability,
25:00there is peace and world peace.
25:02That is why, and the meaning of Sanatan is this,
25:04worship your own, but respect all,
25:07practice your own, but respect all,
25:09let all the noble thoughts come from all directions,
25:12we believe this,
25:14that is why it takes everyone along,
25:16because India is not a piece of land,
25:20India is a land of peace,
25:21that is what Sanatan believes,
25:23let us maintain that peace amongst everyone,
25:25let us work together, walk together,
25:27and practice together,
25:29what we learn from our scriptures.
25:32And very beautifully you said,
25:34and the saint society is also giving this direction,
25:37and is also showing this direction.
25:39You just spoke to Delhi's Chief Minister,
25:41Rekha Gupta,
25:43that how the saint society will also join,
25:45to clean the Yamuna river,
25:47that is also a new yajna,
25:50you were telling.
25:52She was sitting with us in our house at night,
25:56I told her to clean the Yamuna,
25:58see, the best water in the water is Yamuna's water,
26:01if there is water,
26:02because without water,
26:04we take water in our hands,
26:05and make a resolution,
26:11without water,
26:12neither is our life,
26:14without water,
26:15neither is our culture,
26:16without water,
26:17neither is our culture,
26:18and without water,
26:19neither is our progress,
26:20without water,
26:21our progress,
26:22she made a resolution,
26:24made a resolution in her mind,
26:26that Pujya Guruji,
26:27in your direction,
26:28according to your order,
26:30we will try to make Yamuna river clean,
26:32pure and pure,
26:34and you will want the blessings of all the saints,
26:38to make Yamuna river pure,
26:40clean,
26:41and clean.
26:42Maharaj Ji,
26:43Swamiji,
26:44you have joined us on this stage of India Today,
26:47thank you very much.