All the honourable spiritual masters and saints worth remembering in everyday morning and all the ardent devotees present here.
It’s my privilege that today I’ve got the opportunity to unveil the statue of inspirational personality most worshippable Mahant Avaidyanath ji Maharaj as well as to receive the blessings of all of you. This soil of Gorakhpur holds a uniqueness in the sense be it Lord Budhha, Mahavira or Kabir, all of them had an unbreakable bond with this in one or another way. The glorious tradition of Guru Gorakshanath ji (Gorakhnath ji) was started with the great vision of upliftment and advancement of not just the individuals, but also of the society as a whole.
Often, some ills or hurdles start gradually creeping into the traditions prevailing in the society over a long period of time. However, if the ideals and rules of the traditions are fully observed, then it becomes possible to keep the traditions free from the circumstantial pressures. Gujarat boasts plenty of places linked with the brilliant tradition initiated by Gorakhnath ji. While being in Gujarat, once I was sitting with Mahant Avaidyanath ji, as my association with him goes back to the time even when I was not active in the politics.
At that time, I came to know from him how in this time-honoured tradition, the entire system is conducted in an organised way, how its rules and policies are complied with, how the full information of the associated saints is retained, irrespective of the place of the world they stay at, how they are rendered financial support in time of rainy days. Since a long time, The Gorakhnath tradition has been successfully kept alive and the credit goes to the signal contribution of those great personas who have got the good fortune to serve on this seat of monastery.
Be it the freedom struggle of India or the significant task of social reconstruction post-independence, Mahant Avaidyanath ji played an active role in both time phases. He had added an another dimension to his life by his vision to ignite the social consciousness through pilgrimage centre remaining within the democratic purviews and then provide the common people benefits of transformed situation. This vision is being successfully kept up with and carried forward even today by his disciple Yogi Adityanath ji.
All the saint traditions, mathas (monastic establishments) and akharas (religious bodies) of India look sometimes fairly distinct and conflicting from the outside. Despite that, one thing is inherently common among all of them, that is never a poor or starving person returns hungry from their doors. No matter, a saint has something or not in the life, if he is sitting in a hut, his first question from the approaching devotee is “Would you like to take the Prasadam (food offered to the God)?” Such sorts of great traditions spring up out of the deep sensitivity towards the society and for that reason, such traditions inspire us devote our life and systems for the welfare and wellbeing of others. And, it is the success mantra of our age-old Indian traditions to last long proving their relevance in contemporary time periods.
All the traditions in our country have undergone timely changes. They have embraced the science with open arms, whenever they felt its need. Even, they have welcomed the shift in their social outlook. And, I’ve witnessed that how so many saints and seers, who were devoted to religious and spiritual works, have nowadays attached themselves towards furthering social missions like Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. I’ve even heard about the saints running campaign for building toilets and encouraging their devotees to do so. I’ve heard them making a heartfelt plea from the people to uphold the dignity of our mothers and sisters and take up the task to ensure that women live a respectful life.
I’ve even seen so many saints, who run eye surgery camps for rendering whatever support to the poorest of poor that they can. I’ve observed many saints who dedicate their lives for keeping animals healthy. Be it education, health or service, in each spheres of life, our saint tradition is getting involved today in one or other way.
And, it is the need of hour that lakhs of saints, thousands of traditions and hundreds of monasteries come forward to play a pivotal role in making India modern and prosperous, in cultivating good values among its citizens. Many are already doing it. And it is something, which augurs good signs for the future of India.
Each moment of Mahant Avaidyanath ji’s life was dedicated towards the pleasures and pains of the society. He was deeply concerned towards it and used to make all-out efforts for exploring the ways to tackle social problems. Encouraging and rewarding the people engaged in good deeds was his lifelong task. Today, I had the good fortune to unveil the statue and pay floral tribute to such a great persona. Let me end my speech by saluting you all and the land of this Gorakhnath temple, which is the land of severe penance, the land of ever-burning light (Akhand Jyoti), the land of continuous inspiration and the land, which rewards those accomplishing noble tasks.
Thank you very much.
My association with Mahant Avaidyanath ji goes back to the time when I was not in active politics. Heard from him the work done here: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 22, 2016
Our saints and seers, they are very noble and have always been compassionate towards society and the poor: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 22, 2016
I have seen how so many saints and seers have immersed themselves towards furthering cleanliness and building toilets: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 22, 2016
