Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of Acharya Srila Prabhupada ji who played a pivotal role in preserving and spreading the fundamental tenets of the Vaishnava faith and founded the Gaudiya Mission.

Modi paid floral tribute at the statue of Acharya Srila Prabhupada and released a commemorative stamp and a coin in his honour.

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He said that Bharat Mandapam’s magnificence had grown manifold with the presence of so many great saints. The concept of Bharat Mandapam is based on the Anubhav Mandap of Lord Basweshwara, a center of spiritual discussions in ancient India, he said.

On the 150th birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada ji, a similar energy can be witnessed inside Bharat Mandapam, he said. The celebrations have come in the wake of consecration of the Shri Ram Temple at the Ayodhya Dham. Happiness on the faces of people can be seen on the completion of the project due to blessings of the saints, he said.

The Prime Minister lauded the contributions of spiritual leaders towards India’s cultural and societal fabric. They played a pivotal role in India’s freedom struggle and the shaping of its national ethos. “Our Bhakti Margi saints have played an invaluable role, not only in the freedom movement but also in guiding the nation through every challenging phase,” he said.

Throughout India’s tumultuous history, eminent saints and spiritual leaders have emerged to provide direction to the nation in various capacities, he said. He underlined the role of Saints in the difficult medieval times.

Amid centuries of adversity, they upheld the virtues of sacrifice and perseverance, safeguarding the nation’s cultural values. “Their teachings reinstilled in us the belief that when everything is sacrificed in the pursuit of truth, falsehood inevitably fades away, and truth prevails. Hence, the victory of truth is inevitable – as we say, Satyamev Jayate,” the Prime Minister said.

PM Modi recalled that during the struggle for Independence, spiritual luminaries such as Swami Vivekananda and Srila Prabhupada infused boundless energy into the masses, guiding them towards the path of righteousness. Personalities like Netaji Subhas and Mahamana Malviya sought guidance from Srila Prabhupada.

He said Srila Prabhupada Ji’s life was an example of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. The saint was born in Puri, took initiation in the tradition of Ramanujacharya Ji of the South and carried on the tradition of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu while establishing the center of his spiritual journey, his monastery in Bengal.

“Bengal is a source of constant energy from spirituality and intellectuality,” PM Modi said. The land of Bengal gave the nation saints like Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Guru Rabindranath Tagore and Raja Rammohan Roy, he said.

He said “Bhakti is a grand philosophy given by our sages. It is not despair but hope and self-confidence. Bhakti is not fear, it is enthusiasm.” Devotion is not despair, it is hope and confidence, he said.

Bhakti is not defeat but a resolution for impact; it involves victory over oneself and working for humanity, he said. This spirit was behind India never attacking other nations for the expansion of its borders.

Modi paid tributes to the saints for reintroducing people to the glories of Bhakti. “Today, in the Amrit Kaal of independence, the country is taking forward the resolve of the saints by taking the pledge of freedom from the mentality of slavery,” the Prime Minister said.