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अगर आज होते भगत सिंह || आचार्य प्रशांत (2020)
102K views
5 years ago
Bhagat Singh
Freedom (Azaadi)
Revolutionaries
Sacrifice
Youth
Spirituality
Atheism
Description

Acharya Prashant clarifies the meaning behind Bhagat Singh's claim of being an atheist. He explains that when Bhagat Singh said he was an atheist, he was, in fact, rejecting traditional, rotten, and institutionalized religion. The speaker posits that sacrificing one's body for a higher ideal is the greatest religious act, and in that sense, if any young person was truly religious, it was Bhagat Singh himself. He argues that the act of sacrificing one's life, and thereby all materiality, presupposes a belief in something higher than the material world. For Bhagat Singh, this supreme goal was 'freedom' (Azaadi). The speaker emphasizes that it is the belief in something more valuable than one's physical existence that truly matters, regardless of the name given to that ideal. Bhagat Singh's life serves as a testament to this principle. At the young age of 22 or 23, he was ready to give up the rest of his life, viewing the body as insignificant compared to the greater cause of freedom, a sentiment that echoes the words of saints. This act was not a result of blind emotion but stemmed from deep knowledge and study of world literature, especially contemporary revolutionary texts on socialism and communism. Acharya Prashant contrasts the decisiveness and sacrifice of revolutionaries with the mindset of today's youth. He highlights that youth is not for seeking personal gain but for carving one's own path, like a lion, alone. He lists numerous other young revolutionaries, such as Khudiram Bose, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Binoy Basu, Badal Gupta, Dinesh Gupta, and Jatindranath Das, who made immense sacrifices at very young ages. He also mentions young female revolutionaries like Shanti Ghosh, Suniti Choudhury, Kanaklata Barua, Kalpana Datta, Bina Das, and Pritilata Waddedar, questioning why today's youth is unaware of these inspirational figures. The speaker asserts that the struggle for freedom was not merely a social or political movement but fundamentally a spiritual campaign for liberation. He explains that freedom cannot be attained individually. When Bhagat Singh's mother mentioned marriage, he replied that he was already married to freedom, signifying a spiritual surrender to liberation. This, the speaker notes, is the essence of yoga. He concludes that youth is meant for dedication to a higher purpose, to be offered as a sacrifice for a great mission, and that is the only way to truly live.