On the road

On the road

March 2015

By Suma Varughese

Padayatras (walkathons inspired by a political, religious or social cause) are a time-honoured tradition in India, and have a proven record for enabling participants to encounter the spirit of India. Swami Vivekananda went on a long padayatra through the length and breadth of the country, to understand its nature. His journey culminated in Kanyakumari, the Southernmost tip of India where, sitting upon a rock in the sea, he was inspired to go to the Parliament of Religions in the US and introduce the West to the glory of Indian philosophy. Mahatma Gandhi too went on a similar journey through India shortly after returning from South Africa, to assimilate the ground reality of this vast nation. Only then did he take up the Freedom Struggle. In the course of the Struggle, he undertook the legendary Salt March, probably the most famous padayatra ever taken, which struck a decisive blow to the British Raj, and kindled the spirit of revolt in the common man. Which brings us to the walk of the moment, Manav Ekta Mission’s Walk of Hope, for peace and harmony, led by Sri M, its founder. In many ways, the flag-off event invoked the memory of both the late greats. To begin with, it was held at Kanyakumari, and the chosen day, January 12, 2015, happened to be the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The memorable day commenced with an early morning visit to Swami Vivekananda Rock, where Sri M and several dignitaries who had assembled to see him off, garlanded the statue of Sw Vivekananda. The ceremony concluded with Sri M and other guests garlanding a bust of Mahatma Gandhi, before moving on to Zero Point, the beginning of NH 7. Sri M is a venerated Vedanta teacher and spiritual guru to thousands. His autobiography, Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master, has sold over 50,000 copies and is an astonishing account of an incredible spiritual journey, filled with miracles, mystical experiences and great masters. The Walk of Hope will take him and his comrades from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, spanning 6,500 kms through 11 states, 86 districts and reaching 10 million people. He will be on the road 500 days. The website eloquently sums up the mission of the padayatra. “The Walk of Hope is an exercise to restore the innate spirituality of the nation – rekindling true faith and rejuvenating the spirit of hope, love, peace, harmony and oneness. The hope is to erase disparities arising from a misunderstanding of our diverse culture and religions, thus uniting the humanity of India through a spiritual approach proving people can live together despite all differences.” Perhaps there could be no better moment than the present to emphasise unity in diversity, for extremist forces seem on the rise. And Sri M, born a Muslim, teaching India’s eternal philosophy, is peculiarly suited to play the role of peacemaker. I had been invited to witness the event and so arrived at the venue, excited to be in Kanyakumari. The flagging-off ceremony was a confluence of music, mercifully short speeches by the dignitaries and inter-faith prayers. Several politicians lent their heft to the event, including Sri P J Kurien, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, and Ravishankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Government of India. The chief guest was the august Dr Karan Singh, whose impeccable spiritual credentials and closeness to Sri M made him a natural choice for the occasion. There were any number of representatives from the religious and spiritual community. There was a large contingent of monks from the Palpung Sherabling monastery, headed by the Tai Situpa himself, his face creased into a cherubic smile. Dr AK Merchant, National Trustee, Lotus Temple and Baha’i community of India, and Ezekial Isac Malekar, a twinkling-eyed Maharashtrian rabbi based in New Delhi, were also present. Representatives from Hindu, Christian, Islam and Sikh faiths were also present as well as Gandhian activists. There were several touching moments in the event, such as when the assembled clergy made heartfelt prayers for the success of the Walk and the wellbeing of Sri M. Garlanding the bust of the Mahatma was an emotional moment, which also spelt the end of the ceremony. Thereafter, Sri M and the dignitaries gathered on NH7, over which he poured a container of water consisting of the Ganga as well as of the three seas _Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. With that came the final act. Sri M handed Manav Ekta Mission flags to the VIPs, and was in turn handed the National flag by Dr Karan Singh.

The Walk had begun.