Odisha: Purpose of all religions is welfare of humanity in its entirety, says President Kovind

Various religious traditions and practices are prevalent in different parts of our country but their only belief is to work for the welfare of all considering the entire humanity as one family, said President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday. 

He was speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the three-year-long celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupad, the founder of Gaudiya Math and Mission in Odisha's Puri. 

The President said that God is worshipped in all its forms. But the tradition of worshipping God with Bhakti-Bhav (devotion) has been significant in India. "Here many great saints have practised selfless worship. Even among such great saints, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has a special place. 

Inspired by his extraordinary devotion, a large number of people chose the path of Bhakti", said the President. According to President Kovind, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to say that people should remember God with a humble attitude considering themselves to be smaller than grass. "One must be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of any sense of ego and must give respect to others. One should always remember God. 

He noted that this feeling is found in all the followers of the Bhakti-Marg. He said that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's constant love for God and his drive to connect the society with the thread of equality gives him a unique reputation in Indian culture and history." Speaking on equality in the society, the President said, "Saints of Bhakti-Marg were above the prevailing discrimination of that time based on religion, caste, gender and rituals. Therefore, people of all classes were not only inspired by them but also took refuge in this path. 

Guru Nanak Dev tried to build an egalitarian society while walking on the Bhakti-Marg." The President said that the Bhakti-Marg's speciality of complete devotion to God is witnessed not only in the spiritual side of life but also in the day-to-day life too of every individual. "Serving the needy has been given a top priority in our culture. Our doctors, nurses and health workers displayed this spirit of service during the COVID pandemic. 

They were also infected with the coronavirus, but even in such extreme circumstances, they did not lose courage and were engaged in the treatment of people", said Ram Nath Kovind adding that the whole country would always be indebted to such warriors. Speaking about Swami Vivekananda, he said, "Swami Vivekananda, while presenting the spiritual message of India to the world community in his speech in 1893 in Chicago, said that just as the rivers originating from different places eventually join the sea, in the same way, man chooses different paths of his own will, these paths may seem different, but in the end all reach God. This principle of India's spiritual unity was propagated by Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekananda which was also adopted by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi."