1) The document discusses ways for citizens to fulfill their civic duties toward their nation on Republic Day, such as reducing food waste, composting, and reducing plastic use. 2) It encourages listening to news to stay informed about issues like pollution and suggests small actions people can take, such as gifting plant pots made from cow dung or donating books to children. 3) The author shares a personal story about being inspired by a colleague's practice of keeping a silver Ganesh statue and using the water to feed plants, and how her own actions to follow this inspired others in turn.

1. Guruma RepublicDay Greetings2020
Greetingstoall gatheredpatrioticfollowers.Today,we are hailingIndia.TodayisRepublicDay.A
republiciswhenourelectedrepresentativesworkinfavorof the state.While theydoso,itis alsoworth
rememberingthatwe toohave some dutiestowardsthe state too.Sometimeswe upholdthemwhile at
othertimeswe neglectthem.Bricksmake ahome while cellsformabody.If we lackany of these cells,
some bodyfunctionsmaynotwork properly. Suchoccasionsare remindersforthismuchlike howour
Samarpaneventsare remindersforpeople totake the time tomeditate.Thisdoesn’tmeanyouhave to
be a politicianorbe unique.Itcouldbe doingtaskswhichdon’tinconvenience others.E.g.doctorsdoing
theirjobas theyare supposedtoor a carpentermakingstable homes.Ittakesthe rightratioof brick and
cementtomake these homessowhentheydoit right,thistoo isa civicduty.
A nationisnot a person.We all comprise a nation.We shouldworkinthe interestof it.Asstudentswe
shouldstudy well. We shouldfeel prideinwhere we are.It’smuchlike how Ifeltpride inwhere Iwas
born andgrewup. I feltpride inthe purityof the beautiful windsandmysurroundingsandIfeltpride in
the nationwhichgave me birth.What can we dofor it?Today’sleadingissue ispollutionof anykind.
Let’s,forinstance,focusonthe tracesof foodwhichare set aside aftera meal inour home oredible
waste.We can make fertilizeroutof that. Youngsterscanlookup how to compostonline.Theylookup
thingslike dressesandgadgetssowhynothow to compost?
There’sevenasmall compostbinyoucan get that doesn’tsmell andcanevenbe keptunderyourbedas
it isso compact.Can we lessenedible orfoodwaste?Surely,we cantake 1 or 2 stepstowardsthis.Last
yearon RepublicDay,we made a resolutionof takingasteel glasswhereverwe wentwhichcouldbe
keptina purse as we can lessenthe use of disposables.(Lookingatthe audience tosee how manydid
thisGuruma saidthe followingwithasmile).SoIsee maybe 2% of the people here didthis.Maybe this
yearwe can do more or more of uscan resolve todothis.It’snevertoolate. Doctorsrecommend
people drinkatleast2-3litresof watereveryday.Peoplenowadaysdrinklesswaterbecausetheyare not
drinkingfroma glass. We make room forcell phonessowhynot a glass?You can get nice pursesto
accommodate this.Somany bagsare available.
Thinkwhatwe can do aboutedible orfoodwaste inourhomesforthisyear. Andfor those fortunate to
have a home and garden,thinkaboutthe leaveswhichaddupinyour garden.Eveninthe newsone
hearsso much aboutthese things.Howmanypeople hearlistentothe news?Isee manyblankfaces.
Hear the news.There are manyapps whichyoucan downloadonyour phone forthis.Ihear the news
while doingworkincontrastwithwatchingthe newswhere theykeeppushingyoutokeepwatching.
(Gurumais beingtongue incheekaboutthe sensationalisticnature of newsontelevisionwhichkeeps
repeatedlytellingviewerstokeepwatchingthe same newsoverandoveruntil ridiculouslevelsof
irritationare drummedintothe personbecause muchof the newstendstobe toxicin how theycover
it).
From watchingnews,we come toknowaboutthingslike pollutionorfoginDelhi.Citiesnearushave it
too.We are a cell of our nation.We expectournationshouldgive usgoodroads,trains ontime or make
thingsmore affordable orcheaper.ThinkwhatshouldI give of myself vswhatshouldIget? Todaythink
whathave I done for the nation?Give a kida book or an eraserto a poor kidratherthan money.Evenif
we cleana pathway,we are still doingsomethingforsociety.Evenwhenwe breathe,how muchcarbon
dioxide isbeingemittedinexchangeforthe oxygenwe take on?Do we boostoxygenlevels?Whenyou
go to visitsomeone,yougive themsweetsandsavoryitems.These thingscanaddto people’s

2. cholesterol level if one isnotcareful.Giftourashram’scow dungbasedplantpotsinstead.Thisprevents
radiationandharmful effectsof mobilewavelengths.Trynotto use plasticbottles.
Years ago at a youthseminar,Itoldthe youngstersaboutastudyI heardabout whichwasdone in
America. Biological markersforphysical maturitywhichwere normallyfoundin15 yearold girlswere
beingfoundin8-9 yearold girls.Itwas attributedto consumingfoodinplastics.E.g. whenfoodiskeptin
a plasticbox for a longtime,itproduceshormonal changesinthe personeatingthe food.Thistherein
speedsgrowthandcausescancer andother illnesses. We toospreadwaste.Letusvow to carry our vow
fromlast yearto use steel orglassbottles.The secondisa pleato our sistershere especiallybecause
theyare oftenincharge of the house andcan implementthingsfasterhere.Trycompostinginyour
homes.If youwonderwhatcan you dowiththe fertilizeryouhave developed,youcantry puttingiton
nearbytreesor plantsinyourneighborhoods.Enoughaboutthisyear.Jai babaswami.
(Aftersome time) Ijustrememberedsomethingand thoughttoshare here.Don’tthinkintermsof what
are otherpeople doingthatIshouldbother. Thinkof whatyoucan do.People canbecome inspiredby
your actions.Iwill share a storyof whathappenedwithme.
I had a colleague friendwhomInoticed wasnotusinga clay statue of Ganesh(elephantheadedGod) for
immersinginthe water(It’saHindupractice to immerse claystatuesof Godsand Goddessesinthe
waterlike a harborduringcertainoccasions). Instead,she toldme how she keepsa silverstatue of
Ganeshand immersesitinabucketof water.Once she’sfinishedimmersingshe putsthe statue away
for nextyearandusesthe water to feedherplants.Ithoughthow nice and sharedthiswithSwamiji.
Swamiji likedthe ideasomuchthat he insistedIgoto a jewelleratonce and geta similarstatue that
veryinstant.Itoldhim whydon’twe waitto go to the bank andget itlateras itis notgoingto be open
nowand otherthingsare goingon.But he keptinsisting. Now Ididn’tkeepmuchmoneyinthe house in
those daysbecause Swamiji wouldoftenbe travellingtodifferentplaces andcountries soIwouldoften
be on my ownwiththe kids. SoI rummagedthe house to findwhateveroddamountsof moneyIcould
findinthe secretplaceswhichmostwomenhere mustknow andjustdashedoff.WhenI wenttothe
jeweler,he showedme verytinystatues.Iaskedhimtoshow me a bigone but thenhe was dismissive
and sayingthatthe biggerstatueswere inalockerand he didn’thave the keysforit andit wouldcosta
lotmore andcouldgo up to 6000 rs. I saidto him, listenIam toolazy to countthe moneyI have butI
thinkit’sabout3500 to 4000 rs. Can youcount it forme?And forany remainingamount,Ican payyou
afterwardswhenthe bankopens.
It turnedoutthe jewellerhadthe keystothe lockerandthenwenton tocount what I had.I thenlooked
inthe mirrorthere and realizedwhyhe wasbeingawkwardwithme.Iwasdressedinmycasual house
clotheswithmessyhairandslantedbindi (stickeron forehead).He musthave thoughtIwasa poor
housekeeper.Afterlookingata statue thatI likedhe toldme the price was 5000 rs as there wasa
discountonit.I askedif I can give the restof the moneylaterandif he neededme toleave avaluable
bangle Ihad on withhim.He saidno. I toldhimI was a teacherand gave the remainingmoneylater.
Truly,nowI understandhowpeople treatyoudifferentlybasedonhow messyyoulook. ButI was
inspiredbythe teachercolleagueandotherswere laterinspiredbythistoo.While the seasonof Makar
Sankranti reignsinMaharashtra,the Haldi Kumkum(turmericandholyredpowder) ceremonialactof
giftgivingisgoingstrong.Plantpotscan be giftedwiththisgiftgiving.Aswe learnmuchfromournation,
I pray at the hands of the divine thatyouall can implementthisandcaninspire inthe act of givingof
yourselves.