Chandigarh, October 7– Haryana Chief Minister Sh Manohar Lal during both tenures has been taking forward the message of communal harmony, peace and universal brotherhood as taught by the great men in society.
Sh. Manohar Lal believes that the guiding principles and teachings of the great men born in our country are still relevant to the society. To ensure that the teachings of saints and sages reach the entire humanity, the Manohar-lal-led government time and again has organized various state-level programmes to celebrate the birth anniversaries of saints and great men.
Taking yet another such initiative, a state-level programme was organized at Chaudhary Devi Lal Stadium, Gohana today to mark the celebrations of the birth anniversary of Maharishi Valmiki. The Valmiki community thronged to welcome the Chief Minister.
On reaching here, Chief Minister first paid floral tributes to the statue of Adi Kavi at Maharishi Valmiki Ashram. Like a common devotee, Sh. Manohar Lal participated in the bhajan-kirtan with Sangat. Seeing this, the Sangat was impressed with the simplicity of Sh. Manohar Lal.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the Samrasata Bhawan built in the Ashram. Thereafter, he reached the Chaudhary Devi Lal Stadium and gave the message of social harmony and brotherhood to the people of the state.
He said that saints and great men do not belong to any particular caste or society, rather their thoughts and teachings always remain a source of great inspiration for the entire society. Even in today's era, the teachings of saints are as relevant as they used to be in ancient times.
"While upholding the spirit of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s Antyodaya philosophy State Government is making several welfare schemes for those at the bottom of the pyramid. The benefits of these welfare schemes are being ensured while following the basic mantra of Haryana Ek - Haryanvi Ek," added the Chief Minister.
The birth anniversaries of great men are being officially celebrated in Haryana
Notably, the Chief Minister officially started celebrating Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti for the first time in the year 2015. The Chief Minister also announced to set up a Sanskrit University in the name of Maharishi Valmiki at Mundri. On the same day he announced that the birth anniversaries of all the great men including Sant Kabir Das, Guru Ravidas and Babasaheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar will be celebrated at the state level.
By taking such an important decision, Sh. Manohar Lal not only gave the message of social harmony to the entire country but today Haryana is the first state where the birth anniversaries of all the great men are being officially celebrated.
Besides this, the Chief Minister also started the tradition of officially celebrating Prakash Utsav of Sikh Gurus. With the efforts of the Chief Minister, the 400th Prakash Utsav of Hind Ki Chadar Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji was celebrated with great pomp in Haryana, where Gurus of all religions offered prayers and took the blessings of the Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. The Sikh community expressed special gratitude to the Chief Minister.
More recently, after the Supreme Court announced its verdict to uphold the validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014, Sikh society has especially expressed gratitude to Sh. Manohar Lal. After this decision, the Chief Minister paid obeisance at Sri Guru Granth Sahib in Nada Sahib Gurdwara, Panchkula.
'Sant-Mahapurush Samman Vichar Prasar Yojana' spreading the messages of great men to the masses
In a bid to spread the messages of great men to the masses and to make the coming generation aware of the biography and teachings of these great men, the Chief Minister has started a new scheme named Sant Mahapurush Samman and Vichar Prasar Yojana.
The Chief Minister strongly believes that if the State Government organizes such programmes at the grassroots level to mark the birth anniversaries of such great men, then surely the youth will be inspired to inculcate the teachings of these stages in their lives.
The Department of Information, Public Relations and Languages is also giving special emphasis to organize maximum social harmony programmes. Under the Sant Mahapurush Samman and Vichar Prasar Yojana, the department has realised the vision of the Chief Minister for spreading the teachings of these great men at the state level, district level and block level. On one hand, the people of the State are appreciating these efforts of Sh. Manohar Lal, on the other social organizations, religious leaders and intellectuals are also joining the Chief Minister in these efforts.