Ex-PM Deve Gowda congratulates PM Modi: will visit Kedarnath soon

Bengaluru, Nov 6 (UNI) Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former PM HD Deve Gowda Saturday said he would soon visit Kedarnath to see the newly-installed statue of great saint Sri Adi Shankaracharya, which was unveiled by PM Narendra Modi in Kedarnath on November 5.

“I wish to soon visit Kedarnath to see the newly-installed statue of the great saint. It is also a matter of great joy that the statue was sculpted by a Mysore sculptor — Arun Yogiraj,” he said in a letter written to PM Modi.

He congratulated PM Modi for his dedication to transform the holy site and added that he was deeply moved to see the very impressive black schist statue of the saint.

Gowda said he has long been an ardent follower of the Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham or the Sringeri Math in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka, which is among the four cardinal centres established by the saint.

He said he is particularly attracted to the Sringeri Math for its inclusiveness and has been a spiritual counsellor across the centuries to many rulers and kingdoms.

“As much as the Wodeyars, the Peshwas, the Keladi and Travancore rulers benefitted from the Math, Mysore kings Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan as well as the Nizam of Hyderabad have immensely gained from their devotion to the Math and the wise counsel it offered,” the ex-PM added. The glorious tradition of Math’s guidance has continued to the present day, Gowda said.

“The Sringeri Math, personally for me, has been a refined symbol of inter-faith harmony. I am indebted to the blessings I have received all through my life from this very sacred seat of God,” he said.