- The responsibilities of a Bharatiya citizen extend far beyond obeying laws or enjoying rights. You are the temporary steward of a civilisational inheritance preserved for the benefit of humanity.
- Every Bharatiya citizen has three core responsibilities— Learn. Earn. Serve. Seek Truth and Knowledge continuously. Contemplate deeply the wisdom you receive until its understanding becomes clear.
- Use this lifetime as a Bharatiya citizen to serve humanity selflessly. This is the highest use of human birth. This body is meant to serve others in every possible way.
- For you are not the owner of Bharat but its generational caretaker. Your responsibilities are to strengthen its reputation, safeguard its wisdom and contribute to humanity’s collective well-being by sharing its knowledge through your actions.
Living in Bharat is neither a coincidence nor a matter of chance.
To be born in Bharat, to reside in Bharat, to work in Bharat, or even to be permitted to visit Bharat means you’ve done something very positive in your past lifetime—previous deeds have earned you this rare assignment.
Countless Souls await a human birth. Far fewer are assigned as Bharatiya citizens. The energy of your past actions, expressed through destiny and traditionally understood as karma, direct the Soul’s journey to Nation Bharat.
Life places every soul within a body, family, circumstances, and geographical location best suited for teaching its remaining lessons. While human birth enables the Soul to further evolve, living in Bharat accelerates that journey because transformational knowledge has been safeguarded here for thousands of years and remains accessible to every sincere seeker.
Physical birth may take place in any country. Yet, at the appropriate time, when the Soul receives an inner calling, the body is compelled to move to Bharat in search of Self.
What may appear to be a personal decision to travel to or settle in Bharat is actually, from a spiritual perspective, the unfolding of accumulated past life karma, Divine grace and the Soul’s own determination to evolve, all of which guide the journey. Circumstances unfold, opportunities appear, and obstacles dissolve in ways that often seem beyond ordinary planning.
If, through the unfolding of destiny—or by your present steadfastness and determination to connect—you, Soul, are accepted by a true enlightened Guru, they will guide you to evolve at the fastest pace possible. Such guidance helps you understand the purpose of your Bharatiya citizenship, correctly apply Vedic knowledge and avoid time-intensive detours in Life School.
Now, having received this opportunity, treasure every moment. Do not waste the blessing of being a Bharatiya citizen by choosing fear, complaint, anger, judgement or by creating discord in society.
Instead, ask yourself each day—
“What is the most positive use of this limited time and temporary life entrusted to me?”
The responsibilities of a Bharatiya citizen extend far beyond obeying laws or enjoying rights. You are the temporary steward of a civilisational inheritance preserved for the benefit of humanity.
Bharat stands apart from other nations because it exists solely to preserve and impart Vedic knowledge for the evolution and purification of all Souls.
Inheriting this legacy carries with it the responsibility to transform yourself through its wisdom, preserve it through your conduct and pass it forward through selfless acts of service, illuminating the path for seekers of truth through your living example.
The purpose of Vedic knowledge is not to produce scholars, intellectuals or admired personalities. It is to train Souls to choose positivity in all circumstances, even when negativity promises a quick high or immediate gratification.
External circumstances never excuse personal responsibility. The more truth is placed within your reach, the greater the accountability for your actions becomes. When greater knowledge becomes accessible, excuses for choosing negativity disappear. Your choices thereafter face greater scrutiny.
Every Bharatiya citizen has three core responsibilities—
Learn. Earn. Serve.
Seek Truth and Knowledge continuously. Contemplate deeply the wisdom you receive until its understanding becomes clear. Apply it when it feels inconvenient and positive choices demand greater effort. Earn good deeds through your positive actions. Serve humanity without expectation of reward or recognition.
Bharatiya civilisation is ultimately measured by the character of those who represent it. The image of Bharat is therefore shaped every day through the behaviour of its citizens, both within its borders and beyond.
Use this lifetime as a Bharatiya citizen to serve humanity selflessly. This is the highest use of human birth. This body is meant to serve others in every possible way. This positive action cleanses the Soul and multiplies happiness over and over for both you and those you serve.
Caring for friends, family, or a life partner is an assigned duty. Genuine Seva takes place beyond the circle of familiarity.
Become the person always looking for an opportunity to serve others. It begins with the random man or woman on the road, in the market or wherever life brings your paths together. You are gifting your time to that person when you are serving. It is not a duty. We should think, “Why not another minute for me to do more service to them?”, presuming that as service to the Almighty and Nation Bharat.
Acts of selfless service extend far beyond sharing food or money. They begin with offering your time, attention, care, encouragement, compassion and empathy. It is a helping hand, a caring word, a loving smile, or a kind gesture without expectation.
Whenever your choices make another person’s life better, your own journey of learning moves closer to completion.
Lasting solutions to human suffering arise through collective responsibility, dialogue and constructive action, not hatred and destruction.
Complaining has sadly become one of humanity’s favourite pastimes. Yet criticism without a positive contribution towards resolving the problem changes nothing. Every complaint we make is therefore an invitation to become part of the solution.
Before leaving a problem for someone else to address, first ask how you can make a constructive contribution towards resolving it.
Hon’ble President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Ji would often refer to this as enlightened citizenship—encouraging citizens to stop asking what Bharat should do for them and begin questioning what they can do for Bharat.
Nation building begins with seemingly simple decisions that benefit one’s fellow citizens—carrying your garbage until you find a dustbin rather than throwing it on the ground for someone else to clean up, leaving a washroom cleaner than you found it instead of adding to its filth, offering encouragement instead of criticism when challenges arise, contributing positively towards resolving public concerns instead of merely complaining, and bringing people together through words of unity rather than spreading angry rhetoric through negative speech.
For you are not the owner of Bharat but its generational caretaker. Your responsibilities are to strengthen its reputation, safeguard its wisdom and contribute to humanity’s collective well-being by sharing its knowledge through your actions.
Yuj-Yoga, Ayurveda-medicine, Dhyāna-meditation, Darśana-philosophy, Gaṇitá-mathematics, Jyotisha-astronomy and astrology, Dharma-ethics, Kṛṣi-agriculture and Vijñāna-science, along with countless observations of nature together form the Vedic science of existence. They reveal universal principles for joyful, positive and service-oriented living, guiding you, Soul, towards completing your journey through Life School.
Today you find Bharatiya citizens in every corner of the world. Bharat continues to move closer to becoming Vishwa Guru, the universal teacher, when more of its children consistently embody its altruistic Vedic principles and spread Ananda-happiness and joy wherever they go.
For most people of the world, their first encounter with Vedic knowledge will rarely come from literature. It will be through observing the conduct of a Bharatiya citizen. If your past lifetime’s choices have brought you to Bharat, honour this responsibility through every choice you make. Use your time constructively to represent the nation positively and share the knowledge entrusted to your generation.
Leave every place better than you found it, and every person happier because your path crossed theirs.
The moment you truly appreciate the blessing of being connected to Bharat in this lifetime and the obligations you have as its ambassador, honouring the nation through your deeds is no longer a lofty ideal—but a continuous expression of gratitude for your opportunities.
At the conclusion of this birth, Life will ask how wisely you utilised what has been placed in your care and how faithfully you fulfilled the purpose for which you have been sent to Bharat. Once positive choices become natural and selfless service effortless, Life School’s lessons within Bharat’s classroom approach their completion.
Every sunrise asks the same question to every Bharatiya citizen—
Will you merely pass time in Bharat—or will you utilise it in service of humanity?
Look beyond the door of your home and workplace—there are problems everywhere. So, too, are there numerous opportunities to care for your fellow citizens.
Who will you serve today?
Ananda Mathews, known professionally as Matthew David DOP, is a Mumbai-based cinematographer and author currently residing in Goa. He engages in psycho-spiritual counselling and social service throughout Bharat alongside his Guru Ji, Divine Colonel – Ashok Kini Ji. His first book In Quest of Guru and forthcoming Living Science explore the journey of human transformation. Views expressed are the author’s own.