Vivekananda rock still inspires nation: Kovind

Addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of Vivekananda Rock Memorial here, he said the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and the Vivekananda Kendra continuously emits highly positive vibes and it was among those few spots which are naturally endowed with an ambience of extraordinary serenity. They bring the unquiet mind to rest and lead it to ponder perennial questions.

The President recalled that Kanniyakumari held a special place in the life of Swami Vivekananda and said it was this spiritual power of the rock at the very feet of Bharat Mata that drew Swamiji to Kanniyakumari in his quest for inner peace.

He said 127 years ago on December 25, 1892, Swamiji began deep meditation at the rock here. In three days and three nights, a simple monk transformed himself into an enlightened being and a global messenger of Bharatiya Sanskriti.  Less than a year after his Kanniyakumari experience, on the historic day of September 11, 1893, Swamiji made his epoch-making speech in the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago.

Swamiji attained enlightenment in this region here and sparked a unique spiritual revolution. “It was not for an individual’s own salvation and it was for the rejuvenation of the spiritual values of the motherland and service of its people,” he said.

The President hoped that the ‘Ek Bharat Vijayi Bharat’ Sampark Karyakram programme launched on September 2 this year will make more and more people realise the true significance of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial as a confluence of diversities, unifying them into a spiritual power.

Kovind later visited the special audio-visual exhibition on India’s epics the Ramayana and Mahabharatha being held in the Vivekananda Kendra.