From the speech by: Shri. Kaptan Singh Solanki, Governor of Haryana&Punjab and the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh on the occasion of the Stone-Laying Ceremony of the Sri Krishna Arjuna Temple.
Honorable Sril Gopal Krishna Goswami; Trustee of this famous Institution, the Zonal Secretary of this Society Honorable Swami Mahaman Das ji, Srimati Nilam Pradip Kasni -Secretary to the Governor who is present amongst you all despite it being Raksha Bandhan, the Local MLA-Subhash Sudha ji, Honorable Ram Prakash ji- the former Member of Parliament, the President of this Society Sakshi Gopal ji Maharaj and all the devotees of Lord Krishna- brothers and sisters of the Hare Krishna Society who have assembled here. Its being repeatedly mentioned that the Honorable Governor is short of time, but there is no question of being short of time for such a beautiful program.
Today is the festival of Raksha Bandhan; normally on the day of a Family program, people don’t like leaving their homes. But today we have assembled here; that’s because our family is not small, it’s a big family- which we call Krishna’s family and all those are fortunate who repose faith in Krishna’s family. And, out of reverence and as the etiquette of this family, they follow Lord Krishna’s message.
Today is a historical day in the development of Kurukshetra, the Glory of Kurukshetra, especially for the ISKCON Society. I want to state that today, the establishment of the Krishna Arjuna temple, which is a wonder of India- We are laying the Foundation Stone for its establishment today, in Kurukshetra. I am very glad that, the Kurukshetra Development Board has been established in Kurukshetra where the Battle of Mahabharata was fought and the total area- coverage of that battle has been mentioned as 48 Kos; so that its Glory may be sustained and its message could be broadcast to the whole world. And the Kurukshetra Development Board has been executing various strategies to sustain the Glory and spirituality of Kurukshetra, which is a message of benefit to the whole world. One such Plan includes the ISKCON Society through whom this Krishna Arjuna temple is being established today.
The Kurukshetra Development Board has provided 6 acres of land to the ISKCON Society to establish this temple for its activities. The Governor is the Chairman of the Kurukshetra Development Board and as the Chairman, I am overwhelmed, ecstatic and pleased to see such an activity commence.
The Kurukshetra Development Board doesn’t want to stop with this-ISKCON will receive our complete cooperation to establish this task. You will receive the complete cooperation from the People’s Representative here. The people of Kurukshetra will provide support. The Haryana Government will support this and if there is any difficulty or shortcoming- the doors of the Chairman of the Kurukshetra Development Board (the Governor himself) are open for you. Do approach us, you will receive all kinds of support.
The residents of Kurukshetra, the Kurukshetra Development Board and all of us are grateful to the ISKCON Society that you have performed this task here- this temple, this Institution which will be a very great Memorial, a very great Landmark, a very big project that will make a mark for Kurukshetra in this whole world. Through this Project, Kurukshetra’s name will appear on the map of the Whole World. You might have seen several temples, but this is one where both God and his Devotee are there. Krishna is also there and so is Arjuna. This gives us messages that if you want to become a devotee, become one like Arjuna. This is a great message.
On the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna tells Krishna that Take my chariot in between the two armies. And the Chariot stops in between the armies and when Arjuna sees the army, illusion and attachment awaken in his mind and he says that I will not fight. He dumps his Gandiva. “I don’t want any kingdom, I don’t want any village, I don’t want any Wealth for which I have to kill relatives, Gurus and people worthy of respect.” This illusion and attachment awaken in Arjuna. The message that Sri Krishna gave him while standing up was the message to destroy injustice in society. He told him- don’t get involved in worldly affairs, give up worldly affairs. What you see is not Real, what I am telling you is Real. Thus, exactly the same kind of doubts appeared in Arjuna’s mind as they appear in the mind of a devotee, in our own minds.
And Whatever Krishna said, resolving them, is described in the Gita. From His own mouth, His own words, from His own speech whatever has been said to us; is not just for India, not just for those-5151 years back; it will be relevant today, tomorrow, always and it will be relevant for the entire human race. And it is necessary to preach this message. I am grateful to the ISKCON Society that they have spread their network across the entire world. Today ISKCON is providing the whole world the very same message for human welfare; that which Lord Krishna provided Arjuna in the form of the Gita.
We are going to this University. This Institution has established Universities, translated the Gita in 88 languages across the whole world and distributed it among 50 crore people! India is known for this great message. No government; or the United Nations despite being present at this stature across the world could achieve the task of bringing in peace in the whole world, harmony, Vaishnavism, the welfare of mankind. Today, the whole world is ablaze in Terrorism, whether it’s inside the house or outside; quarrels are so widespread that even the government has not been able to rectify this. The task of ringing in peace is being performed by this Institution- ISKCON. This message is for the welfare of the whole world. This message has been given by God Himself.
Without the mercy of God, you cannot do anything; after Designing this entire Creation, after the creation of the entire society, of all living beings, of one person, of the great Brahman; God said that if you want to enjoy peace and happiness in this creation- follow my message. The work done by ISKCON is all through the medium of the Gita and this is the task of the entire Bharatavarsha. How great will be their glory when their Center is constructed in Kurukshetra! Today the Krishna Arjuna temple is being established, to establish their preaching and reputation. The Bhumi Pujan has already been conducted. I consider myself fortunate that it happened by my own hands, with the cooperation of the Kurukshetra Development Board; we will still stand up in your support. May you March ahead, your purpose is beneficial to the whole world; my best wishes that you may gain fame and success. I would also like to thank you for giving me an opportunity to be present on this occasion. Jai Hind.
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