KOLLAM, Kerala: In a veiled dig at Congress for harping on the concept of “inclusive growth”, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today said this was not a new slogan for the country.
Using the platform of the 60th birth anniversary of spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi here to offer some ideological perception of his party’s campaign for next year’s Lok Sabha polls, Modi said traditional values and philosophical principles could be the foundation for the country to emerge as a super power.
“Now there is a talk of inclusive growth… But this is nothing new for India… This has been the message given by our sages since ages,” he said here addressing a big gathering including devotees of Amritanandamayi.
Recalling that ancient Indian sages had given messages like “loka samathsa sukhino bhavanthu” (let the whole world be happy) and taught rulers to conduct affairs of the state with this concept, Modi said, “I firmly believe that if we stick to these ideals, India could march forward and become a super power.”
There had been many instances in the nation’s history how the “rishis” inculcated this principle in the minds of illustrious kings while shaping themselves as future rulers.
In more recent times, these ideals had been re-emphasized by spiritual leaders and reformers like Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo, the Gujarat Chief Minister said.
Skipping over political references, the BJP leader said although the present situation in the country is dismal, he would not give into despondency because he was confident that a bright future awaits. “Seeing the current situation in the country, many people feel unhappy. But I am not. I have full faith that India will become a world leader in near future with its strong base of spiritual and traditional values.
“I strongly believe the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Aurobindo will come true as they have foreseen a bright future for the country,” Modi said.
Condemning recent terrorist attacks in a shopping mall in Nairobi, a church in Pakistan’s Peshawar and today’s strike in Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said in sharp contrast Indian civilization had always stressed on love and compassion.
“We have two scenarios before us… On one side, blood of innocent human beings are shed while on the other flows the Ganga preaching the message of love and compassion,” he said.
Lauding the humanitarian initiatives of Amrita Mutt inspired by Amritanandamayi, Modi said the institutions built by her had been following the deal of “manav seva is madhav seva” (serving humanity is serving God).
He said it was also important that a spiritual organization like the Amrita Mutt tapped the potential of modern science and technology as part of its service initiatives in diverse fields ranging from education to healthcare.
The BJP leader prefaced his speech by saying a few sentences in Malayalam, which was greeted with applause by the audience.
Some of the new technologies developed by the research and development institutions of the Amrita Mutt were unveiled on the occasion. -PTI
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