ISKCON playing key role in serving mankind: Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said ISKCON was playing a significant role in carrying the flag of Sanatan Dharma across the world while serving mankind through relief operations during natural calamities, and social welfare initiatives.
Addressing devotees at the ISKCON temple in Mayapur in West Bengal’s Nadia district during celebrations marking the 152nd birth anniversary of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Shah said he had come to the spiritual centre not in his official capacity but as a devotee of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
“Brothers and sisters, you respectfully referred to me as India’s home minister, but I have not come here in that capacity. I have come here as a devoted follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,” Shah said, adding that he had long wished to visit Mayapur but circumstances had delayed the trip.
The Union Minister said the global spread of the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) movement was the result of the life work of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and credited the organisation with taking spiritual teachings to people across countries and cultures.
Shah said he had witnessed ISKCON’s influence across India during his travels as the BJP president and Union minister, noting that copies of the Bhagavad Gita published by the organisation were accessible to people across age groups and professions. He lauded ISKCON’s contribution in spreading the message of the Bhagavad Gita across the world.
“Whether schoolchildren, college youth, homemakers or young professionals, ISKCON has inspired people to follow the teachings of the Gita,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi often gifts the Gita to visiting world leaders as its message promotes universal welfare.
“I firmly believe that by 2047, we will build a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) and successfully carry the message of Sanatan Dharma to the world,” Shah added.
Highlighting ISKCON’s humanitarian outreach, Shah said the organisation’s role extended far beyond devotional activities, with its food distribution camps often among the first in disaster-hit areas.
