Question: Guru, if there is a difference between the souls of nations, does that mean that the word "patriotism" will have a separate meaning in, say, Australia as opposed to America?

Sri Chinmoy: The citizens of each country may have a different way of looking at their own country, but patriotic feelings are the same everywhere. The way patriotism is expressed in one country may be different from the way it is expressed in another country, but the essence always remains the same. The outer expression may not be the same, but the inner substance is identical. India's main approach was ahimsa, non-violence. The father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi, taught us non-violence. India thought that non-violence was the source-light. In silence India fought against violence, and actually it was this source-light that brought about India's freedom. Again, on the outer plane millions of people sacrificed their precious lives for their country, because their soul's light compelled them to. In the outer life each country may approach patriotism in a different way, or patriotism itself may lead or guide patriots in a different way. But the essence of patriotism will always remain the same in the sense that one always has to depend on and rely on the source, which is the soul of the country.