Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said it is ironic and painful that references to Hindu and Sanatan are evoking baffling reactions in the country.

Delivering the inaugural address at the 27th International Congress of Vedanta at Convention Centre in Jawaharlal Nehru University, he said, “We are one of the oldest civilizations, in several ways unique and unparalleled. Ironically and painfully, in this country, reference to Sanatan and Hindu evokes baffling reactions beyond comprehension, rather than understanding the depth of these words, the deep meaning, people tend to be in reaction mode at the drop of a hat.

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“Can ignorance be more in extremity? Can the enormity of their lapse be countenanced. These are souls that have misguided themselves, driven by a dangerous ecosystem that is a threat not only to this society but to themselves.”

Using very strong words, he said, “Some in our country, some in this land of spirituality, dismiss Vedanta and Sanatani texts as regressive. And they are doing it without knowing it, not even physically seeing them. Much less go through them.

“This dismissal often stems from perverted colonial mindsets, inefficient understanding of our intellectual heritage. These elements act in a structured manner, in a sinister fashion. Their design is pernicious. They camouflage their destructive thought process by perverting the concept of secularism. This is very dangerous. Secularism has been used as a shield to protect such heinous acts. Exposing these elements is the duty of every Indian.”

Stressing the need to stay attached to cultural roots, the Vice-President underlined, “We have to get back to our cultural roots. We have to be alive to our philosophical heritage because the world is getting increasingly interconnected. Sublimity, quintessential values of Vedanta philosophy remind us of inclusivity and which country can define inclusivity more than our Bharat. Our values define it, our actions define it, our individual life defines it, our social life defines it.”

Emphasizing the need to increase access to Vedantic wisdom, Dhankhar said, “Let us bring Vedantic wisdom from ivory towers to classrooms, ensuring its reach to every corner of society. Vedanta is not a relic of the past, but a blueprint for the future. As we face unprecedented global challenges, it offers practical solutions for sustainable development, ethical innovation, and harmonious coexistence”.

Highlighting the vedantic wisdom of dialogue and discussion, he said everyone on the planet must have the right of expression. The right of expression is a divine gift. Its curtailment, its dilution by any mechanism is not wholesome.

”And this brings into picture another aspect, dialogue. If you have the right of expression but you don’t engage in dialogue. Then things can’t work out. And therefore, both these must go hand in hand. Expression and dialogue are quintessential to civility.”

He observed that dialogue, debate, discussion, deliberation have exited under the onslaught of disruption and disturbance, even in the theatres of democracy.

Referring to the disturbances and disruptions in Parliament, the vice-president said, “I try my utmost as Chairman Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha is the House of Elders, Council of States, the upper house. And there we are never in dialogue. I am sure if the Members of Parliament are led to study Vedanta philosophy, they would surely be more receptive. And I would hold people at large also responsible in some way. They should generate pressure on people who fail to perform their duty.

“People do it when a doctor is not performing duty, when a lawyer is not performing duty, when a public servant is not performing duty. But why don’t you be in high decibel agitation to deal when your representatives don’t do their duty? Their actions are not in conformity with a sense of Vedanta philosophy.”