When I think of the concept of ''Bharat'' as a ''Rashtra'', I am reminded of two lines from the ''Vishnu Puran''-"||उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः||",But when I try to understand ''Bharat'' merely as a ''nation'', controversies arise. The reason for this is that the words “Rashtra” and ''Nation'' have been treated as synonyms, even though their meanings and concepts are different. If we understand the Western concept of the ''nation'', ''nationalism'', and the modern ''nation-state'', it largely belongs to the ''18th century''. In the Western context, a nation was generally understood as a community formed on the basis of common race, language, and religion, and later developed into the modern concept of the nation-state. In contrast, the word “Rashtra” has been mentioned in India since the ''Vedic period''. The most important point is that, in the Indian tradition, ''society itself forms the Rashtra''. The thread that connects Indian society is its spiritual, or spirituality-based, way of life. This way of life has created a ''collective personality among the people of Bharat''. This collective personality has four major features. The first is:''Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti'' — Truth is One, but the wise describe it in different ways.God is one, but there may be different ways of worshipping and understanding Him. That is why Swami Vivekananda, in his famous speech at Chicago, ''We go beyond tolerance and accept all ways to be true" . India does not merely tolerate diversity; it accepts and celebrates it. The second feature is: ''Unity in Diversity''In India, the same underlying reality manifests itself in diverse forms. Therefore, the Indian perspective is to recognize the underlying unity within diversity. Hence, instead of simply saying that ''India is a country of diverse cultures,'' it would be more appropriate to say that ''India has a culture that celebrates diversity''. The third feature is:'' Every soul is potentially divine''. According to the Indian spiritual tradition, the ultimate goal of human life is to manifest the divinity within oneself and attain ''Moksha''. There are four major paths to this: ''Karma Yoga'', ''Bhakti Yoga'', ''gayanYoga'', and ''Dhyan Yoga''. All these ideas together have created a distinct personality of Bharat, which can be described as a personality of '' accommodation.'' This spirit of accommodation can be seen throughout India. People belonging to different linguistic communities, different social groups, and different traditions, and worshipping different forms of God, still connect themselves with a common civilizational identity. This gives them a ''shared identity'', which has historically been known as ''Hindu'' or the '' Hinduness''. Therefore, ''Hindu'' is the identity of the ''Bharat Rashtra''. It is its name as well as an adjective describing its civilizational identity. And those who connect themselfs with this national identity, to feel proud of it, and to take the initiative to remove the defects that may have developed over time — this is what it means to consider oneself ''Rashtriya''. Therefore, the relationship between ''Rashtra and Nation'' is not necessarily the same. The concept of ''Western nationalism cannot simply be applied to ''Bharat''. Hence, in the Indian context, we are not ''Rashtrawadi'' we are ''Rashtriya''