New Delhi, Jan 21 (UNI) Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday lauded the Gita Press, saying that it has done the great work of making the important texts like the Shrimad Bhagavat, Bhagavad Gita, Shiva Purana, Vishnu Purana, Mahabharata, Ramcharitmanas and Valmiki Ramayana, accessible to the people.
Shah said that when the country got independence, the Gita Press must have clearly held the view back in time that upon becoming independent the policy formation must be based on the Indian values and culture concepts and not on western perspective.
He added that now in the centenary year of the press, that ideological U- turn in the country’s policies is being realised at a rapid pace under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reflecting on the ‘Kalyan’ printed by the Gita Press, Shah said it has shown that civilization is not built by the sword, but nurtured by words and knowledge, and such words become effective only when they are based on truth.
The Home Minister said that the Gita Press operates not for profit, but for enriching the generations with the knowledge from the good literary works and the texts, making them available to people.
He said that there must be only a few printing houses that have covered the journey from hand printing to the four-color printing press like Gita.
Addressing people on the release of the 100th issue of Gita Press’ Kalyan (monthly magazine), Shah said that the press has also made Adi Shankaracharya and his commentary regarding the Upanishads accessible to the people.
Sharing an emotional memory from his childhood, the Home Minister said that he was very young when he lost his grandmother, but he learned from his sisters that grandmother used to read the Gita printed by the Gita Press.
He added that his mother also used to read the Gita printed by Gita Press, and presently, his granddaughter carries the Hanuman Chalisa in her bag, which is also printed by the Gita Press.
“For four generations, the work of taking the same literature forward on the path of Sanatan, without diluting it even a little and making it acceptable to the masses, has been done by Gita Press,” Shah added.
According to Shah, there has never been a shortage of noble people in the society, the only issue is that they were not connected or together.
He said that the ‘Kalyan’ magazine has, for over a hundred years, brought the intellectual power and cultural consciousness of the followers of Sanatan Dharma together.
