Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav global summit in New Delhi last Friday. During the event he held a conversation with a holographic image of the late spiritual leader Swami Chinmayananda.
Recalling his meeting with Swami Chinmayananda in 1993, Modi also asked for his blessing for the work ahead. In reply, the holographic image said: “India is with you, Narendra.”
During the exchange Modi said: “It was my great good fortune to have met you. I seek your blessing for the work I want to do today.” The holographic avatar replied that it was glad to see Modi as India’s prime minister and expressed its support for him.
Speaking at the event, Modi described the experience as a unique spiritual moment. Thanking the saints for their blessings, he said: “This is a different kind of spiritual experience. The blessings of our saints are extremely precious to me. Chinmaya Mission is not just an institution; it also represents ‘Chinmaya thought’.”
Explaining the event’s significance, Modi said the word “Chinmaya” stands for immortality, which gave the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav global summit at Bharat Mandapam a special meaning. Praising the use of technology, he said: “The use of technology here has made this experience even more vivid. Seeing Chinmayaji’s divine presence through the hologram, I felt as if I had gone back 33 years.”
Recalling the 1993 meeting, Modi said the affection and blessing he had felt from the spiritual leader then had come alive again through the holographic conversation. “For a moment it felt as if I had gone back to that time. For me it is a very emotional moment,” he said. He thanked Chinmaya Mission for the event.
Describing their first meeting, Modi said they met around February or March 1993. He had gone to Swami Chinmayananda to invite him to the centenary celebration of the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago.
“He accepted my request and decided to go there to make people aware of the World Parliament of Religions. But fate had other plans. Only a few weeks before the event, on 3 August, he left us,” Modi said. He also recalled being present at the gathering in Chicago on 11 September 1993, and said he had felt Swami Chinmayananda’s absence deeply there.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report