New Delhi
The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu said that Indian civilisation stands for the universal values of unity, peace and social harmony, and called for a spiritual renaissance to preserve and propagate these age-old values. Addressing a gathering after releasing the book, Sing, Dance and Pray – the inspirational story of Srila Prabhupada at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas, the Vice President asked youngsters to take inspiration from great saints and spiritual masters like Swami Prabhupada and imbibe qualities of discipline, hard work, patience and empathy to become better human beings. “You must always rise above narrow considerations of caste, gender, religion and region and work for bringing unity, harmony and peace in society,” he added. The book authored by Dr. Hindol Sengupta is the biography of Srila Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON. Crediting Srila Prabhupada with popularisation of The Bhagavad Gita’s message across the world, the Vice President called him as one of the greatest ambassadors of India’s cultural heritage in the modern era. Terming spirituality our greatest strength, he said that spirituality has been the soul of our nation and the foundation of our civilisation since ancient times. Praising our ancient scriptures for their transcendental spiritual value, Shri Naidu said that for millennia, they have been manuals directing people to lead an ideal life based on ethics and values. Our scripture The Bhagavad Gita provides insightful solutions to all the problems of human existence, ranging from approaches to liberation from suffering, to self-realisation and attaining moksha or salvation, to the nature and significance of dharma to the overriding importance of action, devotion and a wide array of other philosophical questions, he added. Calling India as the land of devotion, Shri Naidu said that bhakti runs through the veins of Indians and is the lifeline of India’s collective civilizational consciousness.
