Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam on Thursday exhorted Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to adopt at least one dilapidated village temple and also fund the education of at least one poor student from their motherland.
Quoting a sloka from the Ramayana, the Sankaracharya said one should realise that “mother and motherland are superior to heaven”.
They should chip in with their contributions either individually or collectively through organisations like Telugu Association of North America (TANA) or Amercian Telugu Association (ATA) to reconstruct “grama devalayams” and sponsor the educational expenses of at least one poor student, the pontiff said after performing an elaborate ‘Trikala pooja’ here. “It is imperative to protect the existing temples than constructing new ones,” he added.
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The seer wanted the TTD to appoint at least 1,000 ‘gram purohits’ to revive the past glory of village temples, which, he said, had been the nerve-centre of all socio-economic and cultural activities in the past.
“The Shankara mutt plans to start Shankara schools in all major towns and villages to impart ‘dharmic education’ along with secular education,” he added.