The gastronomy of raw mangoes
The pleasure of eating a mango is so moreish and exquisite that even Hanuman, from the texts of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana by Maharishi Valmiki, mistook the sun for a giant mango and leapt up to eat it.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today called upon the people to follow the path shown by Sri Parameswaranji and strive to build a stronger, happier and prosperous India.
Delivering the first P Parameswaran Memorial Lecture organised by Bharatheeya Vichar Kendram in Thiruvananthapuram today, the Vice President emphasized the need for an India that is free from social evils like casteism and corruption and takes pride in its rich cultural and spiritual heritage.
Paying rich tribute to Sri Parameswaranji, Naidu called him a Tapasvi and humanist par excellence and said that his life inspires us to keep the nation above everything.
Advertisement
Noting that he was instrumental in reviving the forgotten tradition of observing Ramayana Month in Kerala, the Vice President said that through his writings, speeches and other intellectual activities, Sri Parameswaranji changed the tone and tenor of intellectual discourse in Kerala. He was a great writer, orator, poet and social philosopher, Naidu said.
Counting Sri Parameswaranji among the great intellectual figures from Kerala who brought about cultural awakening and spiritual rejuvenation, the Vice President mentioned the contribution of great thinkers and spiritual leaders such as Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya, Acharyas Ramanuja and Madhva, Swami Ranganathananda of Sri Ramakrishna Matt and Mata AmritanandaMayi.
Observing that India’s intellectual tradition in cultural and civilizational contexts has survived over five thousand years, he said this intellectual tradition was interwoven with India’s social texture and helped to sustain India’s fundamental unity despite its diversities. Referring to the great Sanskrit epics or Itihaas- the Mahabharata and Ramayana as the fountainhead of Hindu thought and philosophy, Naidu underlined that the religious and cultural life of India and much of Asia has been deeply influenced by these two epics.
Advertisement
