Acharya Prashant begins by explaining that one cannot love someone or something they know very little of. A nation, at its root, represents a community of people united through certain values. For someone to truly love the nation, it is important that they first know what those values are, that those values are worth loving, and fundamentally, that such values exist. These values cannot be just theoretical ideals on paper. A nation does not become admirable, respectable, or lovable just by the dint of being a nation. He points out that some nations are founded on hatred or dislike towards a group of people, while others have existed just to obliterate other nations. Some nations are held together by fragile threads like a shared language, ethnicity, or food habits. Therefore, a nation is not necessarily lovable on its own. The speaker questions what connects and unites people who call themselves Indian. He notes that most people are far more eager to talk of "Diversity" than the underlying "Oneness." While each person is different, he asks what it is that enables them to be called an Indian. When people say they love India, and are asked what exactly they love, they often have no answer. For most, India is just a bit of land, a boundary on the global map, or a political entity, which are not things one can fall in love with. To fall in love with something, it must have a sacredness, be sublime, and be worth worshipping. He asserts that India has been a nation because of its "Vedantic foundation," and the values that constitute India are the values that come from Vedanta. He acknowledges that this may be a risky thing for most people to acknowledge, but it is what lies at the base of the Indian nation. Acharya Prashant explains that youngsters today have only a shallow relationship with the nation because they are not familiar with the underlying values of Vedanta. This is a horrifying situation. When asked what they love about India, people might mention superficial things like Masala Dosa, Bollywood, Bhangra, or Mahatma Gandhi, but these are just vibrant images of the Indian landscape, not things to truly fall in love with. The core issue is that we do not know what India stands for. He states it is a sad thing that what is worth worshipping does exist in India but is often not deliberately introduced to people. The present generation has been deliberately starved of the essence of India. Consequently, they have no real feeling towards the nation and are Indians only by name or passport, with many not even wanting to remain so. This is not a passing fad but points to a deeper issue of being ashamed of one's identity because one does not know it. The identity and root of the Indian nation are essentially spiritual. If you devoid Indians of spirituality, they will remain Indians only in name. The Indian nation is founded on a very expansive, uplifting, and enriching ground. Therefore, nationalism must flourish in India, but not the shallow kind that led to world wars. It must be a nationalism founded on truly Indian values, which he specifies as the values enshrined in Vedanta. As long as the youth remain in touch with the essence of the nation, the nation will stay safe. When the youth start losing touch with Vedanta, the nation starts losing its inner security. While external measures like the army and technology can keep the political entity safe, inwardly the nation will decay.
