Historical day for Indo-Sri Lanka relations
A postal stamp commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was released by the Philatelic Bureau of Sri Lanka. On the occasion the First Day Cover of the stamp was ceremonially handed by the Postmaster General to His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka at Temple Tress on June 7 in the presence of a large and distinguished gathering.
Several Ministers, Members of the Parliament, Diplomats, Senior Government Officials and Community Leaders graced the occasion. Those present included the Acting High Commissioner for India in Sri Lanka Shri P Kumaran, Swami Atmaghanananda from Chennai who was invited by the Government of Sri Lanka to represent the Ramakrishna Mission in India, the members of a special delegation from the India Foundation led by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, a delegation of four swamis and 18 devotees representing the Ramakrishna Mission in Sri Lanka and two sanyasinis from Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, the Principal, Deputy Principal and senior students representing the Vivekananda College, Colombo and representatives of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh including its president Shri R Wijayapalan.
Swami Vivekananda is a universal being and so also stands his universal messages. He is regarded as a modern prophet, patriotic saint, seer etc. He declared: “My ideal is to preach mankind their divinity and how to make it manifest in every moment of life.”
—Bureau Report
