Development is important but it should be within limits and policies should be framed keeping local traditions in mind, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said.
Speaking at a function to pay homage to those killed in the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, which many perceive happened due to imbalances created in ecology, he said, "Wherever development has to be done, the importance of local traditions should be kept in mind. The importance of 'maryada' should be understood. Development of man is important and should take place, but maryada should be kept in mind."
Bhagwat said, "After Uttarakhand's tragedy, policies should be framed while keeping in mind the limits and while accepting the traditional knowledge and expertise of the past. There should be maryada everywhere."
He stressed that, "There should be restraint even in policies. It should also be there in our behaviour and attitude.
"People in power should keep in mind the sentiments of people before moving forward in a democracy. That is why, there is need for understanding the importance of 'maryada' in society also," he said.
The RSS chief said there should be coordination among 'maryada', science and traditional knowledge and called for viewing development with a new perspective.
"This new perspective is being felt, but the traditional view of Bharat should be kept in mind," he said, adding steps should be taken while keeping repercussions in mind.
He cited the ancient times, when science touched every home in each village as people could find remedies to diseases in their own homes then and said it is important that today's science and knowledge should also reach and touch every person's life.
"Having the potential to do something is not enough, but there should be restraint.
"For everything there has to be maryada. Maryada is a form of 'dharma'. One should move forward while understanding 'maryada' of every issue then all conflicts, between science and environment, science and tradition will not arise.
"The root cause of conflict is that everyone has to work within maryada (limits)," he said, adding that knowledge and spiritualism also have limits and both should be in consonance with 'dharma'.
Bhagwat also cited the difference in reactions of people
in India and other parts of the world to tragedies and calamities, saying it is so due to the country's age old traditions.
"People don't travel during the month of September in America after 9/11. But in our country, they will come forward to help others immediately during any disaster while forgetting about their own safety," he said.
BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said if India is our 'motherland', the Himalayas which are a source of water for the entire Asian region is our 'fatherland'.
He said the Himalayas and the Amazon Valley are the only two ecological sensitive zones in the world and there is need to conserve them.
He expressed concern over the threat posed to river Brahmaputra as it flows from the Tibet region and China was constructing dams on it.
"If China plans to harm the Himalayas, rivers and the ecology, it will create havoc for the Asian region and also for the entire world," he said.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in two years time a complete ecological study of the Himalayas will be completed, after which a proper policy will be framed.
He said encroachments on the river beds have led to destruction and the authorities should take strict action against the guilty and the Centre and States should work together.
Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Uttarakhand is 'dev bhoomi' (land of Gods) and needs to be respected and the Himalayas are the fountainhead of water for the entire Asian region.
"Uttarakhand should not become a place for summer vacation but should assume special importance and be considered as a land for spiritual recharging," she said.
Union Minister V K Singh said today is the day to draw lessons from the tragedy.
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank called for a separate Ministry and policy for the entire Himalayan belt.
Earlier, a book 'Trinetra' by former Bihar Minister and BJP MP Ashwani Chaubey was unveiled by Bhagwat. Chaubey was among those stranded during the Kedarnath floods and survived while he lost many of his family members.
