‘Kashi has been the spiritual centre of gravity of our country for thousands of years’ says Governor Ravi

The Tamil Nadu governor R.N.Ravi releases the “Kashi Kumbabishekam” book at a function held in Chennai on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN

Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi on Wednesday said Kashi has been the spiritual centre of the gravity of India for thousands of years and Tamil people have played such a significant role in maintaining its glory.

Launching the book titled ‘Kashi Kumbabishekam’ authored by Subbusundaram, a patron of several temples, at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Chennai, Mr. Ravi said nearly 40,000 Tamil people have made Kashi their home. “We know Bharat was created by our rishis, who not only gave us Sanatana Dharma but also created institutions all over the country. Those institutions sustained largely because of people, especially from the trading and business community. In Sanatana Dharma, creating wealth is a duty and responsibility of everyone, not for selfish motives, but for sharing it with others in a dharmic way,” he said.

“For a long period, we suffered because of foreign occupation. But unfortunately, even after independence, we lost direction. The core strength of Bharat as a Rashtra was none other than Sanatana Dharma… It was built on dharmic principles. When you negate those very principles and ignore institutions which nourish those principles in day-to-day life, attention will go somewhere else,” he said.

S. Gurumurthy, Editor of Thuglak magazine, said Nagarathars donated a sum of ₹ 25,000 in the 1870s, out of profit through their trade, to Kashi Vishwanath Temple for daily Pujas. In his speech, AR.L. Sundaresan, Additional Solicitor General, recollected his father and former Supreme Court judge Justice A.R. Lakshmanan’s association with the author.

V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras spoke about Kashi Tamil Sangamam 3.0 and said the relationship between the people of Tamil Nadu and Kashi should grow further. In his speech, Mr. Subbusundaram elaborated on how he had overcome several challenges in organising the consecration of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. N. Ravi, Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai Kendra and Pichai Gurukkal of Pillayarpatti were among others present.