PM Modi Releases Special Commemorative Coin On Srila Prabhupada’s 125th Birth Anniversary

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi mentioned the happy coincidence of Janmashtami day before and the 125th birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during 125th anniversary of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in New Delhi (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday released a special commemorative coin on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada via video conference.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi mentioned the happy coincidence of Janmashtami day before and the 125th birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada.

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“It is like achieving happiness and contentment of ‘sadhana’ together. This is how millions of followers of Srila Prabhupada Swami and millions of Krishna devotees all over the world are experiencing today,” he said and noted that the occasion is taking place amidst the celebration of ‘Azadi ka Amrit mahotsav’. 

Prime Minister Modi noted the supernatural devotion of Prabhupada Swami for Lord Krishna and said that he was also a great devotee of ‘Bharat’.

“He fought in the freedom struggle of the country. He had refused to take his diploma from Scottish College in support of the non-cooperation movement,” he added.

Throwing light on the sustainable lifestyle of India, Prime Minister Modi said “our knowledge of yoga is spread all over the world”.

“Science like Ayurveda is spread all over the world. It is our resolve that the whole world should benefit from it,” he added.

Prime Minister Modi said whenever we go to any other country, and when people meet there saying 'Hare Krishna', we feel a sense of belonging and pride.

“The same feeling will be there when ‘Make in India’ products get the same affinity. We can learn a lot from ISKCON in this regard,” he added.

Asserting ‘bhakti’ kept the spirit of India alive in the times of slavery, Prime Minister Modi said today scholars assess that if there was no social revolution of the Bhakti period, it would have been difficult to imagine the status and form of India.

“Bhakti connected the creature with God by removing the discrimination of faith, social hierarchies and privileges. Even in those difficult times, saints like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who tied the society with the spirit of devotion and gave the mantra of 'Faith to Confidence',” he added.

Prime Minister Modi further said there are today hundreds of ISKCON temples in different countries of the world and many ‘gurukuls’ are keeping Indian culture alive.

“ISKCON has disseminated to the world that for India, faith means zeal, enthusiasm, and gaiety and faith in humanity,” he added while highlighting the service work of ISKCON during earthquake in Kutch, Uttarakhand tragedy, cyclones in Odisha and Bengal.

Prime Minister Modi also praised the efforts of ISKCON during the pandemic.