 "Why PM Modi has chosen Vivekananda Rock Memorial as his meditation retreat")
This afternoon (30 May), Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel from New Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram and then to Kanyakumari. Unlike the previous times where he’s travelled to the South for election campaigning, this time around the visit is personal. The PM is going on a meditation retreat for three days, until 1 June, to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
PM Modi’s meditation visit to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial is quite similar to the one he undertook in 2019 and in 2014 after the Lok Sabha election seasons ended. While in 2019, he visited Kedarnath, he visited Pratapgarh in 2014.
But why has PM Modi chosen the Vivekananda Rock Memorial for his visit? Here’s what we found out.
Modi’s trip to Vivekananda Rock Memorial
On Tuesday, PM Modi announced that he would be visiting and meditating at Kanyakumari’s Vivekananda Rock Memorial , from 30 May to 1 June to mark the culmination of BJP’s Lok Sabha election campaign.
For the unknown, the Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a monument and a popular tourist destination located approximately 500 metres off the mainland of Vavathurai. Situated on a big rock, it is surrounded by three water bodies – the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.
The memorial features two primary structures: the Vivekananda Mandapam, which houses an impressive bronze statue of the revered Swami Vivekananda, and the Shripada Mandapam, which contains footprints believed to belong to Goddess Kanyakumari. This site holds profound cultural and spiritual significance, with legendary tales of Goddess Kanyakumari praying to Lord Shiva on this rock.
According to security sources who are in charge of the visit, PM Modi will arrive at the memorial around 4.30 this evening and will witness the sunset at 6:34 pm. On completion of his meditation, he will return from Kanyakumari on 1 June at 3:30 pm. From Thiruvananthapuram airport, he will board an IAF aircraft for Delhi at 4:10 pm.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsTightened security
Ahead of PM Modi’s visit, security has been beefed up with reports saying that 2,000 police personnel will stand guard during his stay, even as the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy maintain a tight vigil.
A PTI news report has said that the beaches will be out of bounds for tourists from Thursday to Saturday and private boats would also not be allowed to ferry. Moreover, tourists have been asked to cancel their plans for the weekend. “Bookings to all lodges and hotels in the small town will be blocked by police. Around 1,000 police personnel will be deployed and the coastal police along with coast guard ships will patrol the waters around the island,” said an official to Indian Express.
Significance of the location
The decision for Modi to meditate at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial is significant. Named after the famous Indian philosopher, it is believed that in 1892, Swami Vivekananda swam to the rocky islet to meditate. His followers are of the belief that it was after these three days of meditation that Vivekananda attained enlightenment.
As he wrote to Swami Ramkrishnananda in 1894: “At Cape Comorin sitting in Mother Kumari’s temple, sitting on the last bit of Indian rock, I hit upon a plan: We are so many Sannyasins wandering about, and teaching the people metaphysics — it is all madness. Did not our Gurudeva use to say, ‘An empty stomach is no good for religion?’ That those poor people are leading the life of brutes is simply due to ignorance. We have for all ages been sucking their blood and trampling them underfoot,” (as quoted in SP Agarwal’s The Social Role of Gita, 1993).
It was many years later in 1970 that a memorial was erected on the tiny islet thanks to the hardened efforts of Eknath Ranade, a social activist and RSS leader. In fact, then President VV Giri had inaugurated the memorial.
Modi’s connection to Vivekananda
It is widely known that PM Modi considers Swami Vivekananda as one of his role models. On numerous occasions, the PM has stated how the philosopher has played a profound influence on his life.
As a young man, PM Modi was a member of the Ramakrishna Mission, a spiritual and philanthropic organisation founded by Swami Vivekananda. It is also reported that in 1966, a young Modi had decided to take up sanyas at the Ramakrishan Mission Ashram in Gujarat’s Rajkot, similar to Swami Vivekananda. However, Swami Atmasthananda — the then head of the Ramakrishan Mission — told Modi that his place was in society and not in taking sanyas. He told him that he should give up the idea of sanyas and should rather be among the people, serve society, and not think of living his life as a monk.
Others also note that many of PM Modi’s programmes such as Skill India mission, Fit India Movement and the New Education Policy echo Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy of “man-making” and “character-building.”
Moreover, speaking at the Mission’s 125th anniversary celebrations last year, PM Modi had said, “Swami Vivekananda had a grand vision of India, and I am sure he is proudly watching India working to fulfil this vision.”
**Also read: Why is TMC, Congress opposing media coverage of PM Modi's meditation in Kanyakumari?**The political significance
However, PM Modi’s decision to meditate at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial seems not to be driven by personal beliefs alone. There’s also a political significance to choosing the location in the South.
This Lok Sabha election season, PM Modi has been actively campaigning in the South , hoping to establish a larger footprint for his party, the BJP. As per data available, PM Modi held a whopping 35 election events in the five southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. This includes 11 events each in Karnataka and Telangana and seven in Tamil Nadu.
Incidentally, PM Modi is ending his election campaign today at Kanyakumari, which also where he began his marathon campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha election on 16 March this year.
Speaking on his South push, he had told news agency PTI on 20 May: “We have already seen a jump in mind-share, we will see a big jump in seat share and vote share for us in the region.”
For the unknown, the five southern states account for 131 of 543 Lok Sabha seats. Tamil Nadu alone accounts for 39 seats in the Parliament.
With inputs from agencies
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