Puja at Shankaracharya Hill in Srinagar in the presence of senior saints and over 2000 devotees on Shankaracharya Jayanti is seen as a step towards restoring peace in Valley
Srinagar: In order to strengthen unity and integrity of the country and also to promote the spirit of ‘One India Strong India’ as well as peaceful Kashmir Shankaracharya Jayanti was celebrated at Shankaracharya Hill in Srinagar, J&K, on April 30.
Mahamandaleshwar Swami Vishwatmanand Saraswati from Sunderbani Ashram of Rajouri District in J&K specially reached Shankaracharya Hill and offered prayers along with other saints assembled from across the country. Kanchi Mutt team was also present on the occasion. RSS Sahsarkaryavah Shri Suresh Soni, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Sah Sampark Pramukh Shri Arun Kumar and Shri Jaidev from Sewa Bharati J&K also offered prayers.
DD News and ETV Urdu provided extensive coverage to the event. Proper arrangements for langar were made for over 2000 devotees who visited the
temple. However, the number has come down this year due to disturbed situation in Srinagar. Kashmiri Hindus from
distant parts of the country also joined the programme, as it provided them an opportunity to cherish their past
memories of a vibrant festive Kashmir.
The volunteers of ‘One India Strong India’ worked hard to make the
programme a big hit. Shri Vidhu Sharma from Udhampur and Shri Bellur Laxminarayana from Bangalore were the two main organisers. Local volunteers from Srinagar also joined. Security forces located in Shankaracharya Hill also helped a lot in the langar.
Shankaracharya Hill temple was built in 371 BC by King Gopaditya, founder of Gopkar dynasty. It is maintained by Jammu & Kashmir Dharmarth Trust headed by Dr Karan Singh. The temple is located at a height of 6095 feet above the sea level. It is a protected monument and is controlled by the ASI.
In continuation of the morning
programme, satsang was held in the evening at Shri Sanatana Dharam Pratap Sabha at Lal Chowk of Srinagar. During satsang, Swami Vishwatmanand Saraswati and many other saints
enlightened the devotees. Chanting of all the four Vedas was done by Kanchi Muttt team. Swami Vishwatmanand Saraswati said soon the problems in Kashmir would be solved with divine intervention. India cannot be strong as long as Kashmir is not peaceful. Kashmir can become peaceful again only if the ignorance is removed and knowledge is restored among the youth there. Due to the ignorance only that a few local youth are involved in
terrorism directly or indirectly. Due to this, there is violence and loss of human lives in the state, Swamiji added. n
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