The 84th Sivagiri Pilgrimage festival began at the Sivagiri Madhom in Varkala on Friday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the three-day festival. Pilgrims from across the State, clad in yellow costumes, started flocking in large numbers to the pilgrimage centre right from the morning.
The Chief Minister said the teachings and ideals of Sree Narayana Guru had a greater importance now, not just in the country, but across a world torn by terror, violence, and migration.
“Rivers of blood are flowing due to the violent conflicts arising out of religious and racial differences. The feeling of humanism is being drained out of us. It is in thinking about ways to revive such ideas that we understand the importance of the Guru’s teachings,” said the Chief Minister.
He said that the success of the pilgrimage was not in thousands of people attending it, but in them returning to their homes imbibing the Guru’s ideals and practising them in their personal and public lives.
Vishudhananda Swami, president of the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust, who presided over the function, said the pilgrimage which began decades ago with a handful of people now brought together lakhs of people. He said that moves were being made to twist the Guru’s teachings, shorn of their real ideals.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala; A. Sampath, MP; MLAs V. Joy and O. Rajagopal; and others took part in the inaugural function. In the afternoon, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated a meet on education. A meet on spirituality held in the evening was presided over by Local Self Government Minister K.T. Jaleel.
