Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi undertook a set of special rituals on Friday, January 12, 2024 and started observing an 11-day-long rigorous fasting and Yama-Niyama as mentioned in the Gita and in Patanjali’s first two of the eight limbs of Yoga. The first limb is about five ethical principles like non-violence, truthfulness, honesty, abstinence and non-accumulation. Niyama consists of cleanliness inside and outside, contentment, penance, self study and surrender to Providence.
He said, “Only 11 days are left for the consecration of Ramlala in Ayodhya. I am fortunate that I will also be a witness to this auspicious occasion. The Lord has made me an instrument to represent all the people of India during the consecration. Keeping this in mind, I am starting a special ritual of 11 days from today. I seek blessings from all the people. At this moment, it is very difficult to express my feelings in words.”
He went on, “I will always be inspired by the countless people who have dedicated their lives to the cause of Ram Mandir. God is formless, but I have seen Him in the form of people. When they express their feelings and give blessings to me, I am infused with new energy. Today, I need your blessings.”
There can scarcely be a person from political background, who can spend days as an ascetic like Shri Modi is doing. On the first day of 11-day Anusthan, the Prime Minister started sleeping on the floor, consuming coconut water only, waking up early to pray to God, doing jap and meditation, exercising calm, staying silent for some part of a day, reading religious scriptures, maintaining cleanliness and doing his work himself. He also resolved to offer prayers at various temples associated with Lord Ram across India, ahead of the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla. He went to Panchavati dham in Nashik, where Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and Laxmana spent a few years of their exile. He performed aarti and other rituals, and cleaned the premises with water and a mop. Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps on offering prayers at many other temples in different parts of the country and participating in cleaning activities there. He appealed to people to spruce up all temples and religious places across the country in the days leading to the consecration ceremony. He had already urged the countrymen to celebrate the consecration of the Ram Temple as Diwali in their own homes.
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