Republic Day is just around the corner. A day honouring the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935). It is a day where every Indian’s chest swells with pride and every heart is filled with patriotism.But what is Patriotism? Is it linked to spirituality?Is patriotism spiritual? Does it bring you closer to your soul’s destination? Well, lets try to answer some of these questions.The dictionary defines patriotism as love for or devotion to one’s country. In the contemporary world when the whole world is shrinking into one global village, can we just be devoted to our country or should we be devoted to the entire human race, the entire world. In the light of Indian spiritual thought that the world is one family, patriotism takes an all encampssive form, patriotism would not just mean just love for your own country. Patriotism would now mean love for the entire humanity and living in the world and contributing towards the welfare of all and not only our countrymen.Spiritualism essentially means being one with the spirit. Our spiritual journey is all about unraveling our identity. So can patriotism be a spiritual path? Yes! As long as it is in support of the humanitarian cause – to not simply support our countries blindly, but to lead them to more expansive values, and to help make this a better planet. After all, we’re all children of the world. That’s our first identity before all else.

MY dear readers, on this Republic day, I wish that you become a world citizen, a member of mankind with a global consciousness. In the words of Suzy Kassem, “The world citizen is a small leaf on the giant tree of life. They do not see a difference between the branch they were born on and the remaining branches on the tree, because they understand well that we are are all connected to the same roots.” After all, we’re all children of Creation. That’s our first identity before all else.