Kanyakumari August 9: Top RSS functionary Shri Sitaram Kedilaya today launched a campaign “Bharath Parikrama” at Kanyakumari, aimed to uplift the rural Indian Life. The Yatra has a scheduled duration of 5 years, covering 15000km, reaching almost all districts of India. Sri Sitaram Kedilaya, held the position of Akhil Bharatiya Seva Pramukh last year. Hailing from Puttur of Karnataka, Shri. Sitaram Kedilaya has rendered his service as an RSS Pracharak since 5 decades.
SITARAM KEDILAYA, Senior RSS Functionary
Bharat Parikrama: An Endeavour on Foot to Inculcate Well-being in Villages
The imperial British who ruled over India were asked by the native Indians to leave the country on 9 August 1942. However, the British left only after a span of 5 years. Now, after 65 years of Indian independence, on this very day, senior Pracharak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Shri. Sitaram Kedilaya has embarked on a Bharat Yatra, by foot. The expedition has a focused vision: weeding out hunger, fear and corruption out of the country and linking village to village, thereby connecting the entire land to the larger world scenario.
Bharat Parikrama- launching
The yatra will begin from Kanyakumari and will span over 15000 kms. It will culminate after 5 years at the same village where the auspicious beginning for the yatra was made. The expedition was blessed by Swami Chaitanyanand Maharaj of Vallimalai Ashram, Kanyakumari in the early morning hours of 7.00 am. Swami Chaitanyanand is a seer, who has been involved in the selfless endeavour of social harmony and cild welfare.
Bharat Parikrama-
Before embarking on the endeavour, Shri. Sitaramji visited the Vivekananda Smarak at kanyakumari on 7 August and the Devi temple of kanyakumari on 8 August in supplication. A Ganapathi Homa was also conducted for the smooth progress of the yatra, without any obstructive hurdles. The yagna was conducted by acharyas from Veda Vignjan Gurukul, Bangalore. Co-incidentally, it was the birthday of Shri. Sitaramji on 8 August.
Bharat Parikrama-2
Elaborating on the yatra, Shri. Sitaramji said that a span of 10 kilometres will be covered on a daily basis by foot, after which he will take rest in the village that falls in the vicinity. The primary task he has to undertake will be to get in touch with the youth and the prominent members of the village and discuss important issues like care of sick. This will include the handicapped, blind etc. Other activities like taking a round of the entire village and engaging in a collective session of prayer at the village temple. This will help create a bond of great depth with the people, which will help the villagers realize that villages were, once upon a time, a single encompassing family. However, this feeling has taken a back seat now, which has led to a whole lot of problems everywhere. This has now escalated to national and international levels. The feeling of unity, along with creation of family bonds, if brought back to villages will ensure restoration of harmony to a great extent. This could be instrumental in the rekindling of the concept of ‘Vasudha Eva Kudumbakam’. And then, the journey will resume to the next village.
Bharat Parikrama-3
Shri. Sitaramji has been, for a long time, strictly adhered to having a single meal a day. During the course of the journey, he will have no possessions or belongings with him. Accompanying him for a few days will be 3 sisters: two of them hail from Karanataka and one from Tamil Nadu. When asked what inspired him to undertake the endeavour at this age, that too all alone, he replied, “What makes you feel that I am alone? I have the thoughts and ideas of as many as 121 crore people with me. After all the very deed is for an all encompassing nation.”
There is yet another reason for undertaking the endeavour, that too on 9 August. Janmashttami (birth of Lord Krishna) is being celebrated in certain parts of India. Shri.Sitaramji. who had undertaken the successful Viswa Mangal Gau Gram Yatra of 2009 said, “Lord Krishna, as soon as he was born, was part of the village, where he took upon himself the safety of cattle, faremrs and the entire village upon his shoulders. Today we need to do the same thing.”
Shri. Sitaramji has dedicated a slogan for the purpose. “Know Bharat, become Bharat, Make Bharat the World’s Teacher”. The reason for the yatra is clear. The current trends that prevail are businesslike and commercial , where life is being seen only in terms of trade and profit. This unfortunately has given rise to poverty, unemployment and corruption everywhere. Another trend that prevails is that the world is now a battlefield, with life being nothing but constant strife. This thought stream has led to violence, terrorism and an existence hand with deadly weapons everywhere. This has led to deep turbulence and instability, with people all over the world making a mad scramble for any straw that will provide them with peace. And then this makes them realize that the road to solitude, ultimately happens to be Bharat. It is here that the relevance of the third and most important trend comes into being: “The world is a family and life is a revelation”.
Bharat has gifted this very concept to the entire world. This perception has no violence or strife. All it has is the message to live life filled with universal love, spirituality and compassion. Only this is required to pervade the entire world with harmony. The best place to initiate this is the villages. And so the endeavour is being undertaken for safeguarding villages, the country and the entire world.
