Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada Kota Srinivasa Poojary said here on Sunday that the Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa will be requested to sanction ₹ 1 crore to complete the work on a building to house the Brahmasri Narayana Guru Study Chair on the Mangalagangotri campus of Mangalore University.
Addressing a gathering at a function after laying the foundation stone for constructing the building, the Minister hoped that MLAs, MLCs and MPs from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi too would contribute their share to complete the work on the building which required a minimum of ₹ 3.5 crore. At present, ₹ 50 lakh is available for taking up the construction work.
Mr. Poojary said that the values upheld by social reformer Narayana Guru were relevant to all the times.
B.K. Hariprasad, Member of Rajya Sabha, who released ₹ 50 lakh to the building work from his Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme Funds, said that Narayana Guru tried to reform society within the framework of Vaidika Dharma.
He propagated that there was only one caste and only one dharma and religion. Society remembered those who made sincere efforts to reform it (society) or serve people. Indian society with many religions, about 3,500 castes, 22 recognised languages and about 800 dialects is very complex. Notwithstanding it, secularism is the strength of the country, he said.
Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader said that he would sanction ₹ 10 lakh to the chair. He suggested that the university bring all its study chairs under one building. If the country followed the preachings of Narayana Guru, it will emerge stronger, he said.
Vice-Chancellor of the university P.S. Yadapadithaya said that the building will be constructed in phases. To start with, the university will construct a part of the ground floor out of the ₹ 50 lakh available now. The remaining work will be taken up with further grant of funds.
The Vice-Chancellor said that the ground floor will have the reformer’s statue which will be placed in such a way that sunlight will fall on his face.
The ground floor will have a courtyard, a meditation hall, two meeting rooms, a library and an administrative office. On the first floor, the university proposed to have four classrooms, a museum, a library and two rooms for lecturers.
Swami Vikhyananda, seer of Shivagiri Mutt, Varkala, who spoke, said that Narayana Guru did not oppose Vaidika traditions.
