Let's Walk Together

‘Indian psyche is not divisive. Bharat is united, let’s not break it in any way,’ SRI M tells MONA MEHTA, on the sidelines of the screening of a documentary ‘Walking with M’ in Delhi recently

Sang Gachattavam, may we walk together, that is a line from the Rig Ved which spiritual master and educationist Sri M recited at the start of his daunting 7,500 kilometres-long padyatra — Walk of Hope — from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, as part of his Manav Ekta Mission in the year 2015-2016.

Apolitical in nature, his walk, arguably the longest peace march in history, attempted to ‘restore the idea of humanity, and re-kindle the ancient values of compassion, acceptance and human understanding amidst a violent socio-political atmosphere.’

A special screening of a documentary on this walk, titled Walking With M, directed by Akash Sagar Chopra and produced by Mount Avenue Studios, Sagar Pictures Entertainment, was held in Delhi recently. It was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and several followers who walked with Sri M on a yatra that spanned 16 month.

Sri M began his walk from Kanyakumari, the sangam, confluence, of three oceans, the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea. “I have derived that there is but one Divinity in all human hearts. They are all temples, mosques, and churches of divinity. So, it is with this great hope that everyone deserves, asks, and desires for peace, harmony, and tranquillity, that we embark upon the walk, holding hands with all,” said Sri M at the start of the walk that passed through 11 states and several communal fault lines.

Talking about his experience, Sri M said that he began the walk with a simple hope. “We all have differences that cannot be overcome, but deep down we should feel that we are human beings, therefore, we are one; and nothing is so important as to create pain, riots and suffering for others. If only we can remember this and live together without causing injury to each other!”

But in a country like ours, with frequent elections, mobilisation of support takes place along caste and religious lines, sometimes resulting in violence. “That is when we need to prevent discord. I am in touch with people from all walks of life and different political parties. I don’t belong to any party, but try to influence them so that this does not happen. I don’t know whether this is going to work, but we cannot stop working. It is my life’s mission. Whether a political party wins or loses, if the human values still remain in their hearts, there is scope for improvement,” he says.

His advice to politicians is: “Political leaders should not stoop to calling their opponents names. Blaming others is not going to work, either. Opposition leaders need to talk about what they will do to for the benefit of people, how they will do it. The elected party, too, should understand that since they are in majority and powerful, they don’t have to harm small parties. Every party indulges in divisive politics to come to power. So, we cannot in the present political situation, deal with this politically. It requires a long-term effort to change the human mind; then it will also reflect in politics. Walk of Hope has helped in this,” he believes.

The Walk of Hope revealed that the average citizen in India does not want to fight or create disunity; they want to live together in peace. “Bharat jura hua hai, Bharat is united, and what is united, let us not break it in any way. This is our learning. During the walk, many people came up to me to say, ‘you are doing a good job, I wish everyone thinks this way.’ At the grassroot level, the Indian psyche is definitely not divisive. Every human being should keep this in mind and change. That is the way to go. Political parties are also made of human beings, right,” says Sri M. ■