How RSS shaped PM Modi’s life? Insights from Lex Fridman Podcast: ‘Constantly guiding me at every step’

Lex Fridman Podcast: Prime Minister Narendra Modi explained on Sunday how RSS shaped his life since his childhood days. During the Lex Fridman Podcast, Modi said the teachings of Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Vivekananda, and the service-driven philosophy of the RSS played a crucial role in shaping him.

“More than anything, the RSS provides you with a clear direction toward what can truly be called a purpose in life. Secondly, the nation is everything, and serving the people is akin to serving God,” Modi told Lex Fridman in the podcast released on Sunday.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Modi was introduced to the RSS at the age of eight and became a full-time worker for the RSS in Gujarat in 1971 when he was 21.

“Through the RSS, I found a life of purpose. Then I was fortunate to spend some time among the saints, which gave me a strong spiritual foundation. I found discipline and a life of purpose,” Modi said in the Lex Fridman podcast.

Fridman, one of the most popular faces on the American podcasting front, has been a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2015.

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Before Modi, global leaders like US President Donald Trump, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Argentinian Prime Minister Javier Milei, tech moguls Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman and public intellectuals like Yuval Noah Harari have appeared in the Lex Fridman podcast.

“And through the guidance of saints, I gained spiritual grounding. Swami Atmasthananda and others like him have held my hand throughout my journey, constantly guiding me at every step. The teachings of Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Vivekananda, and the service-driven philosophy of the RSS have played a crucial role in shaping me,” Modi said.

While continuing to shoulder different responsibilities within the Sangh during the 1980s Modi emerged as an Organizer exemplar with his organising skills, according his profile on PM India website. In 1987 Modi started working as the general secretary of the BJP in Gujarat. In 2001, Modi was appointed chief minister of Gujarat and later Prime Minister of India, now in his third term.

“One of the core values that were instilled in us at RSS was, whatever you do, do it with a purpose. Even while studying, study with the goal of learning enough to contribute to the nation. Even when you exercise, do it with the purpose of strengthening your body to serve the nation. This is what we were taught,” Modi said during the Lex Fridman podcast.

Modi said that in terms of membership size RSS is like “the Indian Labour Union.”

Huge ideological transformation

“It has around 50,000 unions with millions of members across the country. Perhaps in terms of scale, there is no bigger labour union in the world,” he told Lex Fridman in the podcast.

But what’s interesting, the Prime Minister said, is the approach RSS takes. “Historically, leftist ideologies have fueled labour movements worldwide. And what has been their slogan? “Workers of the world unite.” The message was clear. Unite first and then we’ll deal with everything else," Modi said. 

"But what do the labour unions run by RSS-trained volunteers believe in? They say, “Workers unite the world.” Others say, “Workers of the world unite.” And we say, “Workers unite the world.” It may seem like just a small shift in words, but it represents a huge ideological transformation,” Modi said in Lex Fridman podcast