Hundreds recite excerpts from Bhagavad Gita in Shivamogga

Hundreds of people and schoolchildren read out shlokas from Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita at Allama Prabhu Park in Shivamogga on November 30 to mark the valedictory function of Bhagavad Gita Abhiyana this year.

As part of the campaign, conducted by Sonda Swarnavalli Mutt, hundreds of schoolchildren and volunteers were trained to recite excerpts from the Gita. They took about 25 minutes to present the shlokas, which described the ‘Vishwararoopa Darshan’ of Lord Krishna. Seers, elected representatives, and dignitaries joined the crowd to present the Gita.

Rajendra Arlekar, Kerala governor, who inaugurated the programme, appreciated the campaign to spread the message of the Bhagavad Gita and stressed the need for expanding the campaign across the nation. “The Gita has a solution for every problem. I am glad that a campaign to spread its message has been going on in Karnataka for the last 18 years. I wish the same is extended across the country,” he stated.

The governor said that Lord Krishna will take birth whenever dharma is in crisis, to guide humanity. The birth of Shankaracharya in Kerala was one such example, where he was the incarnation of Lord Krishna. Similarly, Lord Krishna took birth as Basaveshwara in Karnataka, and in the present day, the seers who presented the Bhagavad Gita represent Lord Krishna, he stated.

Gita in education

H.D. Kumaraswamy, Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries, stressed the need for the Bhagavad Gita campaign in every school to ensure peace and harmony. “Earlier, when we were children, we used to listen to excerpts from the Ramayana and Mahabharata every day. Now there is no such tradition and people are forgetting it all. I am glad the seers are leading the Bhagavad Gita campaign. Only because of Swamis, the Hindu religion has survived,” he opined.

Sonda Swarnavalli Mutt seer Gangadharendra Saraswathi Swami said the campaign had been going on for the last 18 years, with the objective of achieving social harmony, national integration, and personality development.

Spreading the Gita’s message can bring down crimes, which have been increasing in society. “We have examples of prison inmates being reformed during the campaign after they were introduced to the path of the Bhagavad Gita,” he said.

Stressing the need for including the Gita in curricula, the seer said that in recent years, there have been incidents of well-educated people treading the path of terrorism. “There is a lack of sanskara among the educated. The Bhagavad Gita can fulfil that need,” he said.

Swayamprakasha Sachidananda Saraswathi Swami of Hariharapura, Mallikarjun Murugharajendra Swami of Murughamutt, Nadamayanandanatha Swamy of Adichunchanagiri Mutt, B.S. Yediyurappa, former Chief Minister, B.Y. Raghavendra, Lok Sabha member, K.S. Eshwarappa, former Minister, D.S. Arun, MLC, and others were present.