BRAHMAKUMARIS : SOCIAL, SPIRITUAL GROUPS MUST DO MORE for NATION – NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister

ABU ROAD [May 10,2023] : Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged social and spiritual organisations in the country to step forward and play a greater role during the present Amrit Kaal, which was a “Kartavya Kaal”, or an era of duty, for each citizen.

Every citizen should discharge their role with dedication and adopt a broader outlook and greater responsibilities in the interest of society and the nation, he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking here at the headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris, where he laid foundation stones for a multi-speciality hospital, and the expansion of a senior citizens’ home and a nursing college — all to be built by the Brahma Kumaris in Abu Road.

He said the Brahma Kumaris were working not only to strengthen moral values in society, but also in the areas of healthcare, education, and social welfare. The Global Hospital and Research Centre being run by the institution in Mount Abu for the past three decades was an example of this, he noted.

Mr. Modi said that medical services in the country were undergoing a transformation, and for the first time the poorest of the poor had access to hospitals. He said the Union Government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme had opened the doors of government and private hospitals to the poor, and more than four crore poor people had benefited from the scheme, under which treatment costing up to Rs. 5 lakh is paid for by the government.

Similarly, the Jan Aushadhi scheme had given the poor access to affordable medicines, he said, while urging members of the Brahma Kumaris to help make people in the villages aware of Jan Aushadhi centres, where they could get low-priced medicines.

Highlighting the work done by his government in the field of healthcare, the Prime Minister said that more than 300 new medical colleges had opened in the country in the last nine years, while less than 150 such colleges had opened in the ten years before that. Similarly, the number of seats for MBBS students in the country had increased from around 50,000 before 2014 to more than 1 lakh now, while seats for postgraduate medical students had increased from around 30,000 to more than 65,000.

He said that as a result of this expansion in medical education facilities, India would produce as many doctors over the next decade as it had produced in the last 70 years.

Recalling his long association with the Brahma Kumaris, since his days as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr. Modi lauded the institution for its dedicated services to society. He recalled the work done by Brahma Kumaris volunteers in the wake of the Kutch earthquake in 2001, and said the Brahma Kumaris’ efforts in the fields of de-addiction, water conservation, and environment protection had shown how one institution could launch people’s movements. The institution’s work in connection with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Swachch Bharat Mission, and the International Day of Yoga had strengthened his faith in it, he added.

The Prime Minister said that India was now promoting millets as part of a global campaign, and it was also advocating sustainable agriculture, and working to conserve its rivers and groundwater resources. All these efforts were connected in some way to India’s ancient traditions, he said, and urged the Brahma Kumaris to contribute to them. He expressed the hope that the institution would take up the nation’s priorities and contribute to India’s development.

The Prime Minister met Dadi Ratan Mohini, the 99-year-old Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris, who was on stage during the event.

Earlier, B.K. Jayanti, Additional Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris, said the Prime Minister’s sacrifice, his faith in God, his celibate life, and his spiritual energy had helped him achieve a lot for the nation.

While earlier India was known abroad for its food, fashion, and IT skills, the Prime Minister’s efforts had resulted in the whole world coming to know of yoga, which is not just a physical practice but also a means to keep the mind healthy and happy, she said.

She said India’s ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam was reflected in the help it had extended to several countries during the Covid pandemic. Now, India was showing the right way to the world as chair of the G20 this year. Challenges such as terrorism and climate change could be overcome if we changed our way of thinking, and our conscience, feelings, mind, and intellect came on the right track, she added.

B.K. Jayanti said that many presidents and prime ministers come and go, but from time to time, some leaders appear who show a new light to the world, which touches everyone’s hearts. She said Mr. Modi was the Prime Minister of one country, but he had won the hearts of people in all corners of the world.

She said that only on the basis of our original spiritual qualities of truth, purity, love, and peace could the world become a better place. At a time when there appeared to be darkness all around, she said the Prime Minister was showing the world how a new, Golden Age could be ushered in on the basis of spiritual power.

B.K. Mruthyunjaya, Executive Secretary of the Brahma Kumaris, said in his welcome address that the Prime Minister was fulfilling the task of the founder of the Brahma Kumaris, Prajapita Brahma, to usher in the Golden Age in India. He said the Brahma Kumaris supported the PM in his endeavour to make India free from corruption, crime and pollution.

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