Appreciating the Jain Mutt of Shravanabelagola for setting up a general hospital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, here on Monday, said many religious persons are responsible for works involving social welfare. The Union government’s Ayushman Bharat, a health insurance scheme, was also a result of the influence of saints and monks of the land, he said.
He was speaking after inaugurating a new set of 630 steps carved for Vindhyagiri and also inaugurating a 200-bed general hospital built by Jain Mutt at Shravanabelagola on Monday. The programme was organised as part of Mahamastakabhisheka, the grand anointing of Lord Bahubali.
“There has been a perception among a section of people that more religious events take place in the country than works of social welfare. But, the fact is, many swamijis have been engaged in numerous social welfare activities. The hospital built here is one such example,” the PM said.
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Referring to the health insurance scheme announced in the budget, Mr. Modi said, “The Ayushaman Bharat Scheme has been announced to provide health insurance to the people of the country. No country has announced a scheme of this scale so far. Many saints of the country have taught Sarve Jano Sukhino Bhavantu and that is what influenced a scheme of this kind,” he said. He also expressed happiness over the opportunity to take part in the Mahamastakabhisheka in Shravanabelagola.
Charukeerti Bhattaraka Swamy of Jain Mutt felicitated the Prime Minister with a shawl, a silver kalsha (holy vessel), a pencil-sketch of the PM, and two special volumes – including the Summit of Peace brought out by The Hindu . The seer also presented a Jina Bimba, an idol of a meditating Jain monk and prasadam to the PM and requested him to take them to his mother.
Charukeerti Bhattaraka Swamy, in his speech, said he and people of Shravanabelagola were happy for the PM’s participation in the programme. Calling Mr. Modi ‘Adarsha Putra’, the seer said, he (the PM) could succeed in his career because of ‘sanskar’, inculcated by his mother. The seer also recalled Chavundaraya, who commissioned the Lord Bahubali’s statue in Shravanabelagola, to fulfil his mother’s dream.
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Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R. Vala; Union Ministers D.V. Sadananda Gowa, Piyush Goel, Ananth Kumar; Minister in-charge of Hassan A. Manju; Sarita Jain and Jitendra Kumar of Mahamastakabhisheka committee; legislators C.N. Balakrishna, M.A. Gopalaswamy, Chief Secretary Ratna Prabha, Principal Secretary Rakesh Singh and Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri were present.
Confusion on the dias
Confusion prevailed for a few minutes on the dais when Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swamy of Jain Mutt was invited to make his speech. The seer normally addresses the gathering seated in his place. But, there was no microphone for him to deliver the speech. As there was silence for a few minutes, officers including Principal Secretary Rakesh Singh and Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri were seen looking for the microphone. The seer proceeded to deliver his speech from the lectern.
For the first time recently, the seer stood in front of a lectern and delivered his speech. Interestingly, the officers had done rehearsals three times to ensure a confusion-free handling of the programme.
The seer was allotted only three minutes for his speech. When he continued beyond the allotted time, Union Minister Ananth Kumar asked one of the representatives of the mutt to request the seer to stop twice.
Finally, Rakesh Singh also placed a chit in front of the seer requesting him to end the speech. The PM was scheduled to return to Mysuru.
Summit of Peace
Charukeerti Bhattaraka Swamy of Jain Mutt presented a copy of Summit of Peace, a special book published by The Hindu, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The book, brought out to commemorate Mahamastakabhisheka, includes articles about Shravanabelagola and its historical significance. It is a collectors’ copy as it carries many rare pictures related to Shravanabelagola, the pilgrimage centre.