President Ram Nath Kovind, who is on a two-day visit to Puri, said that service to mankind is the source of devotion and prayed for a world free of COVID-19. Kovind inaugurated the three-year celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Srimad Bhakti Sidhant Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada, the founder of Gaudiya Mission in the pilgrim town today.
Addressing the gathering during the inaugural ceremony, the First Citizen of the country invoked Lord Chaitanya and said, “Service to mankind is the source of devotion. Great saints of the country have widened the path to devotion. After reaching Puri last evening, I visited Srimandir and prayed Lord Jagannath to free the world and humanity from the clutches of Covid-19 pandemic,” the President said.
“I have been very fortunate to visit the 12th-century shrine several times and seek the blessing of the Holy Trinity. By god’s grace, I got many opportunities to visit different religious institutions across the country and offer puja. What I observed is, despite diversity, all these institutions have one thing in common – devotion towards God and treating humanity as a family,” added Kovind.
“Serving the needy has been given top priority in our culture. Humanity and truth are supreme, which cannot be divided. The ultimate goal is the welfare of the society,” the president said. Hailing doctors, nurses and health workers, Kovind said they displayed this spirit of service during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite many of them contracting the virus.
Among others, First Lady Savita Kovind, Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were present during the 150th birth anniversary celebration of Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupad.
“The world is a tiny part of the cosmos. The beauty, light and peace are hovering in the sky. And, that can only be brought down to Earth with the efforts and endeavours of the Gaudiya Mission. The world then can only become beautiful and a better place to live in,” said Professor Ganeshi Lal, Governor of Odisha.