After centuries of unprecedented patience, countless sacrifices and penance, our Lord Ram has arrived. Many congratulations to all of you and all the countrymen on this auspicious occasion. Our Ramlalla will no longer live in a tent. Our Ramlalla will now live in this divine temple. January 22, 2024, is not a date on a calendar. This is the origin of a new time cycle. A nation rising up after breaking the mentality of slavery, a nation taking courage from every bit of the past, creates history in this way. A thousand years from now, people will talk about this date, this moment. These are indelible memory lines being inscribed on the wheel of time.
Today I apologise to Lord Shri Ram. There must have been something lacking in our efforts, our sacrifices and penance, that we could not do this work for several centuries. That deficiency has been filled. I believe that Lord Ram will definitely forgive us today.
My dear countrymen, on the arrival of Ram in Treta, Tulsidas ji wrote, “Prabhu biloki harshe purbasi”. That is, after seeing the arrival of the Lord, all the people of Ayodhya, and the entire country, were filled with joy. Lord Ram is present in the Constitution of India, in its first copy. Even after the Constitution came into existence, a legal battle continued for decades over the existence of Lord Shri Ram. I express my gratitude to the Indian judiciary, which preserved the dignity of justice. The temple of Lord Ram, synonymous with justice, was also built in a fair manner.
The whole country is celebrating Diwali today. This evening, preparations are being made to light Ram jyoti in every house. Yesterday, with the blessings of Shri Ram, I was at Arichal Munai, the starting point of Ram Setu in Dhanushkodi. The moment when Lord Ram set out to cross the ocean was one which changed the cycle of time. This was my humble attempt to feel that emotional moment.
While defining Ram, the sages have said, Ramante Yasmin Iti Ram — the one in whom one becomes engrossed is Ram. Ram is everywhere — in the memories of the people, from festivals to traditions. In every era, people have expressed Ram in their own words and their own ways. This Ramrasa keeps flowing continuously like the flow of life.
Dear countrymen, today, in this historic time, the country is also remembering those personalities, because of whose work and dedication we are seeing these auspicious days. We are all indebted to those countless Ram devotees, those countless karsevaks and those countless saints and mahatmas.
Today’s occasion is not only a moment of celebration, it is also a moment of realisation of the maturity of Indian society. This is not only an opportunity of victory but also of humility. The history of the world is witness to the fact that many nations get entangled in their own history. Whenever these countries tried to untie the tangled knots of their history, they faced great difficulty in achieving success. Several times, the situation became more difficult than before. But the seriousness and emotion with which our country has opened this knot of history shows that our future is going to be much more beautiful than our past.
There was also a time when some people used to say that if the Ram temple is built, it will catch fire. Such people could not understand the purity of India’s social spirit. The construction of this temple of Ramlalla is also a symbol of peace, patience, mutual harmony and coordination of Indian society. We are seeing that this construction is not giving birth to any fire, but to energy. The Ram mandir has inspired every section of society to move forward on the path of a bright future. I would appeal to those people today, reconsider your thinking. Ram is not fire, Ram is energy. Ram is not a dispute, Ram is a solution. Ram is not just ours, Ram belongs to everyone. Ram is not only present, Ram is eternal. Today, this festival of Ayodhya has also become a celebration of the global traditions of Ramayan. This prestige of Ramlalla is also the prestige of the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
Today in Ayodhya, it’s just the idol form of Shri Ram that’s been consecrated. This is also the lifeblood of unwavering faith in Indian culture as manifested in the form of Shri Ram. It is also the embodiment of human values and highest ideals. This temple is not just a temple to a god. This is a temple of India’s vision, India’s philosophy, India’s direction. This is a temple of national consciousness. Ram is the faith of India, Ram is the foundation of India. Ram is the idea of India, Ram is the law of India. Ram is the consciousness of India, Ram is the thinking of India. Ram is the prestige of India, Ram is the glory of India. Ram is flow, Ram is effect. There is Ram neti, there is also Ram neeti. Ram is eternal, Ram is also continuity. Ram is vibhu — vivid. Ram is all-pervasive, the world, the universal soul. Hence, when Ram is revered, its impact does not last for years or even centuries. It lasts for thousands of years.
Today, the land of Ayodhya is asking some questions to every Ram devotee, to every Indian. The grand temple of Shri Ram has been built, what next? Today, I feel that the cycle of time is changing. From this sacred time, we have to lay the foundation of the India of the next thousand years… take an oath to build a strong, capable, grand and divine India from this very moment.
Come, let us take a pledge that we will dedicate every moment of our lives to nation building. Our worship of Lord Shri Ram should be special. It should rise above the self. We have to offer our daily bravery, efforts and dedication to Lord Ram. With these we will have to worship Lord Ram daily, only then we will be able to make India prosperous and developed.
This is the golden age of India’s development. Today, India is full of youth and energy. I will tell the youth of our country — before you is the inspiration of thousands of years of tradition. You represent that generation of India which is hoisting the tricolour on the moon, making Mission Aditya successful by travelling 15 lakh km to observe the Sun, waving the flag of Tejas in the sky and Vikrant in the ocean. You have to write the new dawn of India while being proud of your heritage.
My friends, the time to come is now for success, for accomplishment. This grand Ram temple will become a witness to the rise of a grand India, a developed India. This temple teaches that if the goal is justified, if the goal is born of collective and organised power, then it is not impossible to achieve that goal. This is India’s time and India is going to move forward.
Ram is not a dispute, Ram is a solution. Ram is not just ours, Ram belongs to everyone
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23.01.2024
After centuries of unprecedented patience, countless sacrifices and penance, our Lord Ram has arrived. Many congratulations to all of you and all the countrymen on this auspicious occasion. Our Ramlalla will no longer live in a tent. Our Ramlalla will now live in this divine temple. January 22, 2024, is not a date on a calendar. This is the origin of a new time cycle. A nation rising up after breaking the mentality of slavery, a nation taking courage from every bit of the past, creates history in this way. A thousand years from now, people will talk about this date, this moment. These are indelible memory lines being inscribed on the wheel of time.
Today I apologise to Lord Shri Ram. There must have been something lacking in our efforts, our sacrifices and penance, that we could not do this work for several centuries. That deficiency has been filled. I believe that Lord Ram will definitely forgive us today.
My dear countrymen, on the arrival of Ram in Treta, Tulsidas ji wrote, “Prabhu biloki harshe purbasi”. That is, after seeing the arrival of the Lord, all the people of Ayodhya, and the entire country, were filled with joy. Lord Ram is present in the Constitution of India, in its first copy. Even after the Constitution came into existence, a legal battle continued for decades over the existence of Lord Shri Ram. I express my gratitude to the Indian judiciary, which preserved the dignity of justice. The temple of Lord Ram, synonymous with justice, was also built in a fair manner.
The whole country is celebrating Diwali today. This evening, preparations are being made to light Ram jyoti in every house. Yesterday, with the........
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