Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday emphasized the need for an India that is ‘free from social evils like casteism and corruption’ and ‘takes pride in its rich cultural and spiritual heritage.’
The youth should strive to build a stronger, happier, and prosperous India, Mr. Naidu said while delivering the first P. Parameswaran memorial lecture organised by the Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram here.
India’s intellectual tradition in the cultural and civilisational contexts had survived over 5,000 years, and this tradition, interwoven with India’s social texture, helped sustain India’s fundamental unity despite diversities, he said.
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Paying rich tributes to Parameswaran, Mr. Naidu called him a ‘Tapasvi’ and humanist par excellence and said his life inspired all to keep the nation above everything. He was instrumental in reviving the tradition of observing Ramayana month in Kerala and through his writings and speeches could change the tenor of intellectual discourse in Kerala.
In modern times, Advaita was made an inspiration both in intellectual and social reformation strata by Sree Narayana Guru. “But for Guru, Kerala would have drowned in the darkness of social and intellectual decline,” he said.
Epics’ impactADVERTISEMENT
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Referring to the epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as the fountainhead of Hindu thought and philosophy, Mr. Naidu said the religious and cultural life of India and much of Asia had been deeply influenced by them.
He termed Parameswaran a great institution builder and a role model. Parameswaran was a multi-faceted personality, great writer, orator, a poet and social philosopher who worked relentlessly to carry forward his nationalistic mission which he had taken as his life mission, he said.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said Parameswaran was a seer who gave the world valuable insights into social, religious and cultural aspects of human lives, through his writings and oratory. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan also spoke.