Bhagavad Gita's Timeless Wisdom Guides Modern India: PM Modi at Historic Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana Programme in Udupi

In a remarkable demonstration of India's enduring spiritual heritage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana programme at Sri Krishna Matha in Udupi, Karnataka on November 28, 2025, where 100,000 participants recited the Srimad Bhagavad Gita in unison. This historic gathering brought together students, monks, scholars, and citizens from diverse walks of life, creating a powerful confluence of ancient wisdom and contemporary aspirations. The event highlighted how the teachings of Bhagavad Gita continue to shape India's policy frameworks and guide individual lives, reinforcing the sacred text's relevance in addressing modern challenges whilst preserving cultural continuity.

The Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana programme represents far more than a religious gathering. It exemplifies India's unique ability to draw upon millennia-old philosophical traditions to inform present-day governance and social welfare initiatives. As the Prime Minister emphasised, the teachings of Bhagwan Shri Krishna have become foundational to several government schemes aimed at uplifting the poor, ensuring women's safety and empowerment, and promoting holistic national development.

The Significance of Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana in Contemporary India

The Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana programme at Sri Krishna Matha in Udupi stands as a testament to India's living spiritual traditions. This special gathering brings together people from different sections of society for a recital of the Gita, with the Matha holding very special significance in India's cultural life. The event's scale—involving one lakh (100,000) participants—demonstrates the enduring appeal of Bhagavad Gita's teachings across generations and social strata.

Sri Krishna Matha, Udupi, was established over 800 years ago by Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita philosophy of Vedanta, making it one of India's most important centres of Vedantic learning and spiritual practice. The choice of this historic venue for such a massive congregation underscores the continuity between India's philosophical past and its vibrant present.

The programme's organisation itself reflects meticulous planning and widespread participation. Devotees, scholars, students, and ordinary citizens came together in a spirit of collective spirituality, transcending barriers of caste, class, and regional identity. This inclusive character mirrors the Gita's universal message, which addresses fundamental questions of duty, righteousness, and the path to liberation that resonate across all human experiences.

The event also highlights a growing trend among India's youth to reconnect with scriptural wisdom. In an age dominated by technology and rapid change, young Indians are increasingly turning to ancient texts like the Bhagavad Gita for guidance on ethical living, stress management, and finding purpose. The Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana provides a platform for this intergenerational transmission of knowledge, ensuring that timeless wisdom remains accessible to future generations.

Gita's Teachings as Foundation for National Policies and Welfare Schemes

During his address at Udupi, Prime Minister Modi drew explicit connections between the Bhagavad Gita's teachings and several flagship government programmes. He noted that Bhagwan Shri Krishna's emphasis on helping the poor, ensuring women's safety, and promoting empowerment has inspired policies like Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana, and the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

Ayushman Bharat, India's national health protection scheme, embodies the Gita's principle of compassionate service to those in need. By providing health insurance coverage to economically vulnerable families, the scheme operationalises the ideal of seva (selfless service) on a massive scale. The Gita's teachings on duty without expectation of reward align perfectly with the scheme's objective of ensuring healthcare access as a fundamental right rather than a commodity.

Similarly, the PM Awas Yojana, which aims to provide affordable housing to all Indians, reflects the Gita's emphasis on meeting basic human needs as a prerequisite for spiritual development. The text acknowledges that whilst material possessions should not become ends in themselves, basic security and dignity are essential for individuals to pursue higher goals. Housing security enables families to focus on education, health, and personal growth rather than merely surviving.

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which reserves seats for women in legislative bodies, draws inspiration from the Gita's recognition of shakti (feminine energy) as fundamental to cosmic balance. Bhagwan Krishna's teachings honour the divine feminine and acknowledge women's essential role in sustaining dharma (righteousness). By ensuring women's political representation, the legislation translates this ancient wisdom into concrete democratic practice.

The Prime Minister's formulation of "Sabka Saath—Sabka Vikas, Sarvajan Hitaya—Sarvajan Sukhaya" (Together with all, development for all; welfare for all, happiness for all) directly echoes the Gita's emphasis on universal welfare and collective wellbeing. This policy framework rejects zero-sum approaches to development, instead embracing the Gita's vision of harmony where individual flourishing contributes to collective prosperity.

Spiritual Experience and Social Unity Through Collective Gita Recitation

The Prime Minister emphasised that when one lakh people recited the shlokas and divine words echo in one place, the energy released gives new strength to minds and bodies, representing the power behind spirituality and social unity. This observation captures a profound truth about collective spiritual practices—they create a shared field of consciousness that transcends individual limitations.

The phenomenon of one hundred thousand voices chanting sacred verses in unison generates a palpable atmosphere of devotion and focus. Neuroscience research has shown that synchronised rhythmic activities like group chanting can induce states of heightened awareness and emotional connectivity. The vibrational quality of Sanskrit verses, when chanted correctly, is believed to have harmonising effects on both individual consciousness and the surrounding environment.

Beyond the immediate spiritual experience, such mass gatherings serve important social functions. They bring together people from diverse backgrounds in a shared sacred space, temporarily dissolving the boundaries that ordinarily separate them. Participants experience themselves as part of something larger than their individual identities—a collective pursuit of truth and righteousness that has persisted for millennia.

The Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana also demonstrates how traditional spiritual practices can adapt to contemporary contexts whilst maintaining their essential character. The use of modern sound systems, organisational infrastructure, and media coverage allows the event to reach far beyond those physically present. People across the world witnessed the living divinity of India's millennia-old spiritual heritage when one lakh people recited the shlokas of the Bhagavad Gita together.

This blending of ancient and modern extends to the programme's educational dimension. By bringing students into direct contact with Vedic chanting traditions, the event ensures that younger generations understand their heritage not as museum pieces but as living practices with contemporary relevance. Many participants, particularly young people, report that such experiences inspire them to study the Gita more deeply and integrate its teachings into their daily lives.

India's Response to Injustice: Gita's Principle of Dharma Yuddha in Modern Context

The Prime Minister highlighted a particularly significant aspect of the Bhagavad Gita's relevance for contemporary India: its teaching that upholding peace and truth may sometimes require confronting and ending forces of injustice. This principle lies at the heart of India's security approach and its commitment to protecting citizens whilst pursuing peaceful development.

The context of the Bhagavad Gita itself illustrates this principle. Arjuna, facing an unjust war imposed by his cousins, experiences profound moral confusion about fighting against his own relatives. Krishna's counsel clarifies that whilst ahimsa (non-violence) represents an ideal, dharma (righteousness) sometimes demands confronting adharma (unrighteousness) through righteous force. The entire text emerges from this tension between the desire for peace and the necessity of just action.

In modern India's context, this teaching informs policies toward internal security challenges, particularly in regions affected by extremism and insurgency. The government's approach combines developmental initiatives with security operations, recognising that lasting peace requires addressing both immediate threats and underlying grievances. This integrated strategy reflects the Gita's holistic vision, which never separates material wellbeing from spiritual and ethical dimensions.

The Prime Minister's assertion that "this is the New India, it neither bows before anyone nor hesitates in fulfilling its duty to protect its citizens" encapsulates this Gita-inspired stance. It affirms India's commitment to peaceful coexistence whilst maintaining the capacity and will to defend national interests and citizen safety. This balanced position avoids both aggressive posturing and naive pacifism, instead pursuing what might be called "peace through strength grounded in righteousness."

The Gita's principle of nishkama karma (action without attachment to results) also informs this approach. Security forces and policymakers are encouraged to perform their duties with full commitment whilst remaining detached from personal gain or glory. This ethical framework helps prevent the corruption and abuse that can accompany the exercise of state power, ensuring that even necessary force serves dharmic ends.

Individual and Collective Resolve: Gita's Call to Duty and National Development

The Prime Minister outlined specific practical commitments inspired by the Gita's teachings, including conserving water, planting trees, upholding Swadeshi (indigenous production), improving at least one poor person's life, promoting natural farming, adopting healthy lifestyles, making yoga part of daily life, helping preserve manuscripts, and visiting 25 heritage sites connected to Indian culture.

These seemingly diverse objectives share a common thread: they represent duties (dharma) at individual and collective levels that contribute to national wellbeing. The Gita emphasises that every person has specific responsibilities based on their position and capabilities. By translating this ancient concept into concrete contemporary actions, the Prime Minister makes dharma accessible and actionable for ordinary citizens.

Water conservation exemplifies how traditional wisdom addresses modern challenges. Ancient Indian texts emphasised water's sacred nature and the duty to preserve water bodies. Today, as India faces water stress due to climate change and urbanisation, this traditional reverence translates into practical conservation measures. When undertaken as dharmic duty rather than mere environmental compliance, such actions carry deeper motivation and commitment.

Similarly, the emphasis on Swadeshi connects to the Gita's teaching about working within one's own context and supporting one's community. In economic terms, this means preferring locally produced goods, supporting indigenous industries, and building self-reliance. This approach doesn't advocate autarky or xenophobia but rather balanced development that preserves cultural identity whilst engaging with global markets.

The commitment to improving at least one poor person's life directly implements the Gita's teaching on compassionate action. Rather than leaving welfare entirely to government programmes, this call encourages individual initiative in service to others. Small acts of assistance—funding a child's education, providing healthcare support, or creating livelihood opportunities—accumulate into significant social impact when undertaken by millions of citizens.

Natural farming represents another area where Gita wisdom addresses contemporary needs. The text's respect for nature and emphasis on living in harmony with cosmic principles finds expression in agricultural practices that work with natural processes rather than against them. As India seeks to balance food security with environmental sustainability, such approaches offer viable alternatives to chemical-intensive industrial agriculture.

Kalyug and Spiritual Liberation Through Kirtan and Devotional Practice

The Prime Minister's observation about Kalyug (the current age in Hindu cosmology) and the supreme importance of kirtan (devotional singing and chanting) touches on deep theological concepts with practical implications. According to Hindu tradition, Kalyug is characterised by spiritual decline, moral confusion, and widespread suffering. Yet the same tradition teaches that devotional practices, particularly naam-sankirtan (collective chanting of divine names), offer the most accessible path to liberation in this age.

This teaching democratises spiritual attainment. In earlier yugas (ages), liberation reportedly required intense austerities, elaborate rituals, or profound meditative practice accessible only to dedicated renunciants. In Kalyug, however, simple devotional practices available to all—regardless of caste, class, education, or lifestyle—become supremely effective. This makes spirituality inclusive rather than exclusive, a quality particularly relevant in democratic India.

The practice of chanting divine names and verses carries multiple benefits. At the individual level, it provides a focal point for attention that can quiet mental turbulence and generate inner peace. The repetitive nature of chanting induces meditative states even in those who find silent meditation difficult. The emotional quality of devotion softens the ego's hardness, making practitioners more receptive to higher truths.

At the collective level, kirtan creates bonds of shared devotion that transcend social divisions. When people from all backgrounds join in singing praise of the divine, the usual markers of social hierarchy temporarily dissolve. This experiential equality, even if momentary, plants seeds of genuine recognition that all beings share the same spiritual essence. Regular participation in such gatherings can gradually erode prejudice and foster social cohesion.

The Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana itself represents kirtan on a massive scale. The collective recitation of sacred verses generates what might be called a "spiritual atmosphere" that benefits not only direct participants but potentially extends to the wider environment. Traditional teachings suggest that powerful sound vibrations, especially when infused with devotional intention, purify spaces and uplift consciousness.

Heritage Preservation and Youth Connection to Scriptural Wisdom

The Prime Minister noted with appreciation how India's youth is increasingly connecting with the Bhagavad Gita's teachings. This trend represents a significant cultural development, as younger generations who might have appeared distanced from traditional texts rediscover their relevance. Several factors contribute to this renewed interest, including growing awareness of India's philosophical heritage, practical application of Gita teachings to modern life challenges, and efforts to make ancient wisdom accessible through contemporary media.

Many young Indians report finding in the Gita answers to questions about purpose, success, relationships, and ethical conduct that feel more satisfying than those offered by purely materialistic worldviews. The text's emphasis on duty, detachment, and self-knowledge provides a framework for navigating modern complexity whilst maintaining inner stability. Gita study groups on university campuses, online discussion forums, and youth-oriented commentary have made the text more accessible to this demographic.

The Koti Gita Lekhana Yajna, initiated by Swamiji Sugunendra Tirtha, exemplifies innovative approaches to heritage transmission. By inspiring people worldwide to hand-write the Gita, this initiative creates intimate engagement with the text. The act of writing—slower and more deliberate than reading—allows for deeper absorption of meaning. Participants report that writing the verses by hand generates a meditative quality and personal connection with the words that passive reading cannot match.

This hand-writing initiative has become a global mass movement, with participants from numerous countries contributing their handwritten copies. The project demonstrates how digital-age interest in manuscript preservation and calligraphy can serve spiritual purposes. Each handwritten Gita becomes both a devotional offering and a cultural artefact, bridging individual spiritual practice with collective heritage preservation.

The Prime Minister's call to visit 25 heritage sites connected to Indian culture similarly encourages active engagement with living traditions rather than passive consumption of historical information. When young people visit temples, pilgrimage sites, and cultural centres, they encounter their heritage in embodied, experiential ways. Such visits often spark curiosity about the philosophical and spiritual traditions these places represent, leading to deeper study.

Sri Krishna Matha's Historical Significance and Madhvacharya's Legacy

Sri Krishna Matha in Udupi was established over 800 years ago by Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita philosophy of Vedanta, making it a cornerstone of Indian philosophical tradition. Madhvacharya's Dvaita (dualistic) interpretation of Vedanta presents reality as characterised by eternal distinction between the individual soul, the material world, and the Supreme Being. This contrasts with Advaita (non-dualistic) interpretations that emphasise ultimate unity.

The establishment of the Krishna Matha wasn't merely an institutional development but represented a philosophical revolution. Madhvacharya challenged prevailing Advaita interpretations, arguing that individual souls retain their distinct identity even in liberation. His emphasis on bhakti (devotion) as the primary path to salvation made spiritual attainment accessible to ordinary householders, not just renunciants. This democratising impulse shaped South Indian religious life profoundly.

The Matha's unique Paryaya system, where leadership rotates among eight mathas in a biennial cycle, ensures institutional continuity whilst preventing concentration of power. This administrative innovation has allowed the institution to survive for eight centuries, adapting to changing circumstances whilst maintaining core traditions. The system exemplifies principles of shared governance and collective responsibility that resonate with democratic values.

The idol of Lord Krishna at Udupi carries its own fascinating history. According to tradition, Madhvacharya discovered the idol in a lump of clay that served as ballast on a trading ship. The idol had originally been worshipped at Dwarka, Lord Krishna's legendary capital, before being lost at sea. This connection between Udupi and Dwarka creates a spiritual bridge between Karnataka and Gujarat, two regions otherwise geographically distant.

The Prime Minister's reference to this connection highlights how sacred geography creates cultural bonds across India. His own visit to the submerged Dwarka structures and subsequent darshan of the Udupi idol demonstrates how pilgrimage practices maintain living relationships with spiritual heritage. These connections aren't merely historical curiosities but active elements in India's cultural consciousness.

From Ancient Philosophy to Modern Governance: Practical Applications of Gita Wisdom

The relationship between the Bhagavad Gita and contemporary Indian governance extends beyond rhetoric to substantive policy frameworks. The text's emphasis on dharma (righteous duty) provides ethical foundations for administrative practice. Officials who understand their roles as sacred duties rather than mere jobs approach governance with different motivations—seeking to serve rather than to extract, to build rather than to exploit.

The Gita's teaching on nishkama karma (desireless action) addresses one of governance's persistent challenges: corruption. When public servants perform duties without attachment to personal gain, they become less susceptible to bribes and favouritism. While individual human weakness remains a challenge, cultivating this attitude through training and cultural reinforcement can improve administrative integrity.

The text's counsel on decision-making amid complexity also proves relevant for modern administrators. Arjuna's paralysis in the face of morally ambiguous choices mirrors situations policymakers regularly confront, where all options involve some harm and no purely righteous path appears obvious. Krishna's guidance—to carefully analyse one's duty, consider consequences, act decisively whilst remaining mentally detached, and trust that righteous intention mitigates unavoidable harm—provides a framework for navigating such dilemmas.

The Gita's ecological wisdom also informs environmental policies. The text's vision of an interconnected cosmos where human wellbeing depends on harmony with nature challenges purely exploitative development models. Policies promoting renewable energy, forest conservation, and sustainable agriculture can be framed not merely as environmental necessity but as dharmic duty, potentially generating deeper commitment among both officials and citizens.

In social policy, the Gita's teaching that divinity resides equally in all beings provides philosophical grounding for inclusive development. Programmes aimed at uplifting marginalised communities aren't just political expedients or economic investments but expressions of fundamental spiritual truth. When understood in this light, such initiatives carry moral weight beyond their immediate practical benefits.

Conclusion: Eternal Wisdom for Contemporary Challenges

The Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana programme at Udupi demonstrates that ancient scriptural wisdom remains vibrantly relevant to contemporary India. When one lakh people recited the shlokas of the Bhagavad Gita together, people across the world witnessed the living divinity of India's millennia-old spiritual heritage. This wasn't a nostalgic exercise in cultural preservation but an active demonstration of how timeless teachings address present challenges.

The Bhagavad Gita's influence on India's policy landscape—from healthcare to housing, from women's empowerment to national security—shows how philosophical principles can translate into practical governance. The text's emphasis on duty, righteousness, compassion, and self-knowledge provides ethical foundations that purely pragmatic approaches lack. By explicitly grounding policy in these values, India's leadership invites citizens to see their participation in national development as spiritual practice, not merely civic obligation.

The massive participation in the Udupi event, particularly the strong presence of youth, suggests that this vision resonates broadly. Young Indians seeking meaning in a rapidly changing world are finding in their own tradition resources comparable to any modern philosophy. The Gita's sophisticated psychology, its practical approach to ethics, and its ultimate promise of liberation through right action and devotion offer a complete worldview that need not defer to any other.

The Prime Minister's emphasis that when one lakh people recited the shlokas together, the energy released gives new strength to minds and bodies, representing the power behind spirituality and social unity, captures the programme's essential significance. In an era of fragmentation—social, political, ideological—such gatherings create experiences of unity grounded in shared values. They remind participants that beneath surface differences lies common spiritual heritage and shared aspirations.

The path forward for India, as articulated through this event, involves neither wholesale embrace of modernity at tradition's expense nor rigid adherence to the past whilst ignoring present realities. Instead, it suggests a creative synthesis where ancient wisdom illuminates contemporary choices, and modern challenges deepen understanding of timeless truths. The Bhagavad Gita, as both spiritual guide and policy framework, exemplifies this synthesis.

As India continues its journey toward development and global influence, the values embodied in texts like the Bhagavad Gita offer moral anchoring that purely material progress cannot provide. The commitment to righteousness even in the face of difficulty, the emphasis on collective welfare over individual gain, and the vision of spiritual liberation as life's ultimate goal—these principles, when genuinely practiced, can guide India toward a distinctive model of development that honours both material and spiritual dimensions of human existence.

The Laksha Kantha Gita Parayana thus represents more than a single event, however magnificent its scale. It symbolises an ongoing cultural conversation about how India's civilisational wisdom can inform its modern trajectory. By bringing together one hundred thousand voices in sacred recitation, by connecting ancient verses with contemporary policies, and by inspiring individuals to undertake dharmic commitments in their daily lives, the programme demonstrates that the Bhagavad Gita remains what it has always been: a living guide for right action in an imperfect world, equally relevant whether that world dates to 3000 BCE or 2025 CE.

The energy generated at Udupi—spiritual, social, and civic—will ripple outward through participants' lives and communities. Some will study the Gita more deeply; others will undertake the practical commitments the Prime Minister outlined; still others will simply carry in memory the experience of collective devotion and the sense that their individual lives connect to something vast and sacred. In all these ways, the ancient wisdom continues its work of guiding individuals and shaping civilisations, proving that what is genuinely timeless remains forever contemporary.

______________________________________________

"This Content Sponsored by SBO Digital Marketing.

Mobile-Based Part-Time Job Opportunity by SBO!

Earn money online by doing simple content publishing and sharing tasks. Here's how:

• Job Type: Mobile-based part-time work
• Work Involves:
• • Content publishing
  • Content sharing on social media
• Time Required: As little as 1 hour a day
• Earnings: ₹300 or more daily
• Requirements:
• • Active Facebook and Instagram account
  • Basic knowledge of using mobile and social media

For more details:

WhatsApp your Name and Qualification to 9994104160

a.Online Part Time Jobs from Home

b.Work from Home Jobs Without Investment

c.Freelance Jobs Online for Students

d.Mobile Based Online Jobs

e.Daily Payment Online Jobs

Keyword & Tag: #OnlinePartTimeJob #WorkFromHome #EarnMoneyOnline #PartTimeJob #jobs #jobalerts #withoutinvestmentjob"