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Gangotri, Uttarakhand May 22: Aiming the upliftment of rural Indian Life, RSS former Akhil Bharatiya Seva Pramukh Sitarama Kedilaya lead Bharat Parikrama Yatra has reached Gangotri today, May 22, 2014 Thursday on its 651st day since its launch.
Sitaram Kedilaya visited Gangotri, Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirathi and origin of River Gangeslocated in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand on Thursday. Gangotri is found on the Greater Himalayan Range, at a height of 3,100m. Gangotri is the origin of the River Ganges and seat of the goddess Ganga, is one of the four sites in the Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. The original Gangotri Temple was built by the Gurkha general Amar Singh Thapa. The river is called Bhagirathi at the source and acquires the name Ganga (the Ganges) from Devprayag onwards where it meets the Alaknanda. The origin of the holy river is at Gaumukh, set in the Gangotri Glacier, and is a 19 km trek from Gangotri.
Earlier Kedilaya visited Yamunotri on May 3rd and offered prayers and discussed with few villagers there.
Bharat Parikrama Yatra will reach Kedaranath on June 19th and will reach Badrinath on July 03. Sitarana Kedilaya lead Bharat Parikrama Yatra will travel across the villages of Uttarakhand till August 05th.
On August 06th, 2014 Bharat Parikrama Yatra will enter Uttara Pradesh via Philibhit district.
Bharat Parikrama Yatra entered Uttarakhand on February 26 from the previous state Himachal Pradesh. On January 13, 2014 the Bharat Parikrama Yatra had entered Himachal Pradesh and travelled across the villages creating awareness about conservation of water, ecology and rural Indian values in village life.
![Kedilaya in his Visit at Uttaranchal University recently](http://samvada.org/files/2014/05/DSC_0682.jpg)
Began on August 9, 2012 from Kanyakumari of Tamilnadu, 67 year old former RSS Pracharak Sitaram Kedilaya lead ‘Bharat Parikrama Yatra’ has been aimed at the upliftment of rural life in the villages of India. The Yatra which was launched in Kanyakumari on August 9, 2012 has now covered an approximate distance of 7500 km.
Earlier, When in Rajasthan, RSS Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat joined Bharat Parikrama Yatra on September 08, 2013 at Seekar district. RSS chief echoed the aims and concept of the Bharat Parikrama Yatra which was aiming the upliftment of rural Indian life. Bhagwat stressed on the conservation of water, soil, Cow, all forms natural resources. Bhagwat wished Kedilaya for the successful completion of Bharat Parikrama Yatra. This is the second visit of RSS Sarasanghachalak in the same year, who earlier joined Yatra in January 2013 at Panvel of Maharashtra.
- Sitrama Kedilaya at Mewar Village of Rajasthan during Bharat Parikrama Padayatra, recently
- 3 Friends Meet: Senior RSS Pracharaks Na Krishnappa, Sitaram Kedilaya and Mai Cha Jayadev in a discussion during Bharat Parikrama Yatra at Madanageri Village, near Karawar. ಭಾರತ ಪರಿಕ್ರಮ ಯಾತ್ರೆಯ 105ನೇ ದಿನವಾದ ನವೆಂಬರ್ 21ರಂದು ಕಾರವಾರ ಬಳಿಯ ಮಾದನಗೇರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೀತಾರಾಮ ಕೆದಿಲಾಯರನ್ನು ಭೇಟಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ಹಿರಿಯ ಆರೆಸ್ಸೆಸ್ ಪ್ರಚಾರಕರಾದ ನ ಕೃಷ್ಣಪ್ಪ ಮತ್ತು ಮೈ ಚ ಜಯದೇವ್
Elaborating on the yatra, Sitarama Kedilaya said that a span of about 10 kilo metres 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.
66 year old Sitarama Kedilaya 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. When asked what inspired him to undertake the endeavor 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.”
Sitaram Kedilaya has dedicated a slogan for the purpose. “Know Bharat, be Bharat and Make Bharat Vishwaguru”. 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.
www.samvada.org, the official website of RSS Karnataka for mass communication and media activities, has continuously published the updates of Bharat parikrama Yatra in Karnataka for non-stop 45 days.