Mysore/Mysuru: Udupi Pejawar Mutt Seer Sri Vishwaprasanna Teertha Swamiji said that as the dream of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya has been realised, the establishment of ‘Rama Rajya’ should be our next aim.

He was speaking to presspersons after performing rituals as part of the 36th Chaturmasa Vrata at Krishnadhama in Saraswathipuram here yesterday.

Maintaining that ‘Rama Bhakti’ (devotion)  and ‘Desha Bhakti’ (patriotism) are not different from each other, the Seer said that  ‘Rama Seve’ (Service of the Lord) and ‘Desha Seve’ (Service to the country) are one and the same. Coming to the help of the poor, the helpless and those in trouble, is indeed ‘Rama Seve’, he observed.

Contending that following the principles of Lord Rama in life will help in realizing the concept of ‘Ramarajya’, he said that the Pejawar Mutt has come forward to build homes for the shelterless. Noting that the Mutt has constructed 8 houses for the poor and needy in Udupi, the seer said 2 donors have come forward in Mysuru  for extending their co-operation to the Mutt’s plans. The Mutt will come to the help of those in need depending upon the need, he added. He further said the Mutt has plans to set up Goshalas in all the districts of the state.

Reiterating that the next focus will be converting the country into a Ram Rajya, he appealed the people to make their contributions in this exercise.

Referring to the continuing violence in Manipur, the Seer said that it was wrong on the part of the administration to have let the violence go so far. Stating that he was unable to comprehend the real reason behind the violence, the Seer said the situation now seems to have gone out of control now.

Asserting that he was ready to intervene in the crisis to end the conflict, he said that he has written to the Union Home Minister in this regard.

Ram Mandir to open in second half of Jan. 24

Vishwaprasanna Teertha Swamiji, who is also a member of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, announced that the temple at Ayodhya will be inaugurated in the second half of January, after Sankranti and before February next year (2024). However, the exact date will be finalised after consulting the PM, he added.

Mysuru Hotel Owners Association President C. Narayanagowda, Hotel Owners Endowment Trust President Ravi Shastri, senior Journalist Mugur Nanjundaswamy, Mysuru District Journalists Association (MDJA) President S.T. Ravikumar, General Secretary M. Subramanya, Office-bearers P. Rangaswamy, Shivamurthy Juptimath, R. Krishna, Machamma Mallige, Raghavendra and others were present.