PTI
Mysuru (Karnataka)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called upon India’s youth to dedicate themselves to nation-building through service, innovation, education and discipline, saying fulfilling Swami Vivekananda’s vision of India was the responsibility of the present generation.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Youth Centre (Viveka Smaraka) at the Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama here, Modi said the memorial should nurture young people who place the nation above self and draw inspiration from Vivekananda’s ideals of service and sacrifice. This Centre marks a new expansion of Ramakrishna Mission’s work.
Highlighting India’s transformation, he said the country’s youth, once constrained under colonial rule, were today driving global development.
“Today, India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Who has made this possible. The capability of India’s youth. Youth of India are giving impetus to the development of the world,” Modi underlined.
He credited young Indians for making the country the world’s fastest-growing major economy, the third-largest startup ecosystem, the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer and an emerging leader in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, deep technology and space
technology.
Referring to the recent launch of a privately developed Indian rocket, PM Modi said it reflected the growing capabilities of the country’s young innovators.
“Fulfilling the vision of India that Swami Vivekananda dreamed of is the responsibility of today’s generation. I am confident that Viveka Smaraka will serve as a powerful source of inspiration and energy for that mission,” he said.
Recalling his association with the Ramakrishna Mission, the PM said the organisation had played a significant role in shaping his life and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to once again interact with monks of the order.
“Mysuru had been a centre of India’s timeless cultural consciousness,” he said about the Karnataka city.
He noted that Swami Vivekananda’s association with the city and the support extended to him by the then Maharaja of Mysuru had played a key role in the swami’s journey to the West.
Quoting the principle “Shiva Jnane Jiva Seva” (serving humanity is serving God), he said the Viveka Smaraka should inspire youth to place the welfare of the poor and the nation above personal interests.
It is expected to benefit more than 10,000 students from nearby educational institutions, as well as urban and rural youth, through lectures, workshops, short-term courses and capacity-building programmes inspired by Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy of nation-building and character development, the statement added.
