NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Lord Ram’s teachings infuse energy and inspiration for undertaking initiatives to empower socially and economically disadvantaged groups.
“It is Lord Ram who through every aspect of his life gave inspiration for Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas and the outcome of his mantra is now evident. About 25 crore people have been pulled out of poverty,” PM Modi said in a letter to President Droupadi Murmu on his return from Ayodhya, where he presided over the consecration of the deity at the Ram temple.
PM Modi said Lord Ram’s teachings are the basis of India’s glorious future. “The strength of these teachings will show the way for a Viksit Bharat by 2047,” he said in the letter in Hindi. “The grand temple of Lord Ram will inspire us to create new milestones of success.”
PM Modi said he has returned from the consecration with a version of Ayodhya in his heart which will never be far from him. Presiding over the ceremony, he said, was a matter of fortune and responsibility.
He described it as an unforgettable experience and said he went to Ayodhya as a pilgrim. “I felt a confluence of emotions in the holy place of Ayodhya, where history and belief converge,” he said.
The letter was in response to President Murmu’s letter to him ahead of the consecration ceremony on Monday.
“As you prepare yourself to go for the pran pratishtha of Prabhu Shri Ram’s murti at the new temple built in His birthplace, Ayodhya Dham, I can only contemplate the unique civilisational journey that will be accomplished with each step taken by you in the hallowed precincts,” the President said in the January 21 letter.
Referring to the penance he undertook 11 days ahead of the ceremony, which included not eating grains and sleeping on a hard floor, PM Modi said numerous people kept fasts and made pledges for decades for the cause of the temple.
These fasts that concluded with the ceremony were both an emotional and fortunate occasion for him. “To have the darshan of Ram Lalla, to welcome him and see him in person along with 140 crore countrymen was amazing,” he wrote. “This was made possible by the blessings of Lord Rama and the people of this country and for that I will remain forever grateful.”
