By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Following the path and service shown by Pujya Vedanta Keshari Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati is the best tribute to him. It is the duty of all of us to take Odisha forward by imbibing the values, social service and national defense for which Swamiji dedicated his life. Sambalpur MP and former Union Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said this while releasing the book ‘Vedanta Keshari Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati: Kriti O Pakhatva’ based on the life and practice of Pujya Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
In this program organized by ‘Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Smriti Nyas’, Shri Pradhan said that the book published today is not just a book, but an immortal record of the meditation, struggle and penance of a generation. The need for such a book was felt for a long time, which has been fulfilled today. Shri Dattatreya Hosbole, the Honorable Secretary of the National Self-Sevak Sangh, for guiding and launching this book, Shri Pradhan thanked him on behalf of the people of Odisha.
Paying tribute to the memory of Pujya Vedanta Keshari Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, Shri Pradhan said that Swamiji was the focus of great devotion of the entire Odisha and Sanatan Samaj. Recalling his childhood memories, he said that Swamiji was not limited to spiritual meditation only, but also did irrigation and social development work in the villages. About 40 years ago today in 1986, when he was the President of the Students’ Congress at Talcher College, the then government wanted to arrest Swamiji, on the information of Sangh Pracharak Shyam Guptaji, he along with his companions reached Paniora Ashram at night and met Swamiji for the first time.
Highlighting the multifaceted personality of Swamiji, Shri Pradhan said that he was not just a recluse, ascetic or spiritual seeker, but a unique public figure in India’s freedom struggle and Prajamandal movement. After returning from penance in the Himalayas after independence, he went to the Phulbani region at the request of Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab and Nabakrushna Choudhury. There he established a huge social organization to stop cow slaughter, serve the forest-dwelling brothers and sisters of Kandhamal, spread Sanskrit education, educate women and make the local people self-reliant and proud.
Recalling Swamiji’s sacrifice, he said that even today, when I remember the brutal murder of Swamiji on the night of Janmashtami, my hair stands on end. Swamiji himself lit up like a lamp and filled the lives of others with light. The true tribute to him would be to imbibe the values shown by him, the path of service and truth, and to build a developed India. On the occasion of Swamiji’s centenary celebrations, he appealed to all the saints and gurus to build Odisha and India on the ideals and inspiration of Swamiji from 2026 to 2036 and 2047. He called for instilling self-respect among the Odia youth, giving them the courage to build Konark, and adopting the idea of ’Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ in the ideals of Mahaprabhu Jagannath. He also expressed his gratitude and thanks to the venerable saints present at the event, the publishers Prachi Sahitya Patuvayan and Parvata Publishing House, and the brothers and sisters of the media. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the main authors Shri Bipin Bihari Nanda and Dr. Banchanidhi Panda for writing this invaluable book.
The event was attended by Shri Dattatreya Hoswale, the Chief Minister of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Shri Mohan Charan Majhi, the Spiritual Head of the International Action Organization, Swami Paramhansa Pragyanananda, the Chairman of the Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Smriti Foundation, Swami Jivan Muktananda, the Managing Trustee of the Foundation, Shri Manasukhalal Sethia, the author of the book and former Utkal Periphery Sangh leader Shri Bipin Bihari Nanda, the former Chairman of the Utkal Periphery Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, Dr. Banchanidhi Panda, the publisher of Prachi Sahitya Patupathan and Parvata Publishing, venerable saints and media representatives.
