President Pratibha Patil said that the uncertainty and fear around the world due to terrorism and religious hatred could be dealt with by spreading the philosophy of Indian saints.
ALANDI (Pune): President Pratibha Patil on Saturday said that the uncertainty and fear around the world caused due to terrorism and religious hatred could be dealt with by spreading the age-old philosophy of Indian saints.
"When I meet the heads of state I get a feeling of uncertainty and fear caused due to various problems. There is a general atmosphere of fear caused due to terrorism and one religion fighting against the other. The philosophy and teachings of Indian saints can bring people together," Patil said at a function in this temple town.
Patil spent the first part of her day on Saturday in visiting the temples dedicated to Saint Gyaneshwar and Saint Tukaram, both of which belong to the Bhakti cult, in the nearby Dehu.
Later, while speaking at the function near Saint Tukaram's temple, Patil said, "In today's world which is enamoured by globalisation and is blindly following the western culture, the teachings of saint Tukaram can be a good guide."
The Vilasrao Deshmukh government plans to spend Rs 434 crore to develop Dehu into a pilgrimage centre in the next three years.
"The development will be undertaken in consultation with Warkaris (pilgrims who leave their homes and spend a month travelling from Dehu to the Vittal temple in Pandharpur)," Deshmukh said on the occasion.
Deshmukh also gave a cheque of Rs 15 Lakh on behalf of his government to the Trust which manages the temple for releasing video and audio CDs of the saint's teachings. About 4,200 Abhangs (couplets) of the saints have been recorded in the CDs.
President Patil also inaugurated a knowledge pilgrimage networking mission in the name of Gulabrao Maharaj, a follower of Saint Gyaneshwar. Gulabrao's teachings will be spread to the masses through internet, the organisers said. The teachings were simplified by Vijay Bhatkar, the scientist involved in building India's first supercomputer 'Param 10,000', who was also present at the function.
"Science and spirituality are two sides of the same coin," Bhatkar said in his address.
Patil hailed the contribution of four prominent saints--Gyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram--to Indian philosophy and said they ushered in "spiritual democracy" in the country.
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