The stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata not only give us the best life lessons but also tell us a lot about the expansion of Indian boundaries. These stories of our epic Hindu literature help us envision a better India, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said during the release of the Global Encyclopedia of Ramayana on Saturday.
Stating that historical facts could not be denied, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "Pakistan was a part of India before 1947 and Maryada Purushottam Lord Shree Ram had extended the boundaries of India during his time by making his brother's son the ruler of Pakistan." He added that still there were some people who raised questions on the existence of Shree Ram in Ayodhya.
On the pious occasion of Janaki Navami on Saturday, Yogi Adityanath released the first edition of the Global Encyclopedia of Ramayana.
Launching the encyclopedia as an e-book prepared by the Ayodhya Research Institute, the chief minister said that the construction of a grand Ram Mandir at Ayodhya made this launch of the Global Encyclopedia of Ramayana more special.
He said, "This encyclopedia will motivate us to visit Ayodhya as it will introduce you all to the untouched aspects of science and spirituality."
The chief minister urged the people who had reverence for Ramayana, Shree Ram and India to actively participate in the launch of the global encyclopedia.
"There are seven holy cities of Sapta Puri which are considered as the holiest Hindu teerths, out of which Ayodhya, Mathura, and Kashi are within Uttar Pradesh. It should be our endeavour to have Ramlila staged all over the world," the chief minister said.
He said that the tradition of Indian saints represented the culture of the nation.
"Even the opponents could not speak anything negative about Prayagraj Kumbh of 2019," the chief minister said, adding that after his government assumed power, Kumbh exhibited a new standard of India's culture, cleanliness, orderliness and security and the entire world including the UNESCO had to say that Kumbh was a intangible heritage of humanity of the world.
"Earlier, people used to ignore taking a holy dip during the Kumbh Mela. However, as soon as our government assumed power, we took every possible measure to ensure the cleanliness of the rivers and made complete arrangements for the convenience of the devotees," he said.
Hitting out at the opposition parties, Yogi Adityanath said people who were misleading the public for their own profit and betraying the country would not be spared. "People who are spreading false propaganda about India for a meager sum of money will face the heat. Bharat ke prati dushprachar karne wale, na ghar ke hain na ghat ke," the chief minister said.
He urged the people to not lose the harmonious spirit of the country by getting involved in petty communal disputes. He asked the people to maintain India's grace internationally which had been enhanced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The first edition of the encyclopedia has been released in English language and has been designed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. The first edition in Hindi and Tamil languages will also be published in the coming month.
Director Information, Shishir Singh, said that there was a plan to publish the Ramayana Encyclopedia in over 200 volumes and for this, the Ayodhya Research Institute had set up a board of editors and advisors across the country and the world.
The publication of Ramayana will also be released in Oriya, Malayalam, Urdu, and Assamese languages along with the first edition of the Global Encyclopedia of Ramayana.
It may be mentioned that Uttar Pradesh's Department of Culture, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, is involved in this mega project by combining the tangible and intangible legacy of the Ramayana from 205 countries of the world. The encyclopedia contains information regarding the evidence of the presence of Lord Ram in different cultures, dating back 5,000 years, in places such as Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Central America, Italy, and a large part of Europe.