He was speaking after inaugurating Madhav Srishti Arogya Kendra set up by philanthropic organisation ‘Guruji Seva Nyas’ in Indore.

“They say it’s the age of knowledge, so education is important. If you want to acquire knowledge, then the instrument is the body. A healthy body can do everything. An unhealthy body can’t do anything; it can only desire… Unfortunately, both these are today out of reach of a normal person’s financial capacity.”

Bhagwat said that while there was no dearth of hospitals and schools, these were earlier considered a service and were thus within the reach of ordinary people. “Today, this has been made commercial. Human thought has created this. I heard from a minister some years ago that Indian education is a trillion-dollar business. This is beyond the reach of a common man who has a salary… Earlier, giving education was seen as their duty… Now, you have to estimate how much it will cost,” Bhagwat said.

He also said that in the age of corporates, education and healthcare have become centralised, because of which students and ordinary people have to travel far distances to access them. “In the past, education was the duty of teachers who would worry about their students, as it was with doctors who would reach the house of the sick without being called to provide treatment as their duty. But now, both have become a profession,” he said.

Citing personal experience, Bhagwat recalled, “When I was a child, I had malaria and missed school for three days. My teacher came home and brought jungle herbs for my treatment. He was concerned about his student and thought he should stay healthy. Society needs accessible and affordable healthcare.”