Bengaluru, Jan 18 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday advised school children to always tread the right path in life, addressing the Vedanta Bharati Vivekadeepini Mahasamarpane here.
"I request the students to not fall on the face-meaning of the Vivekadeepini. They must understand its core values from their teachers and should try and implement it into their lives. I assure them it will ensure that they always tread the right path in life," said Shah.
Shah was addressing thousands of students at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru at the Vedanta Bharati convention, an institution for the study and research of Veda Vedanta, recognised by Tumkur University as a research centre.
Founded in 1999, Sri Bharati Theertha Mahaswaminah acts as the grand patron for the institution.
Shah suggested the students to see Vivekadeepini teachings as a guide to achieve the unseen targets in life as there is no better guide.
He thanked Vedanta Bharati for publishing the translation of Vivekadeepini literature in 10 languages. "I could see the Gujarati edition, and it gave me tremendous peace and joy."
The Home Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi took personal interest in the translation work and gave it to the Sahitya Akademi which is now translating it into 24 Indian languages.
Shah promised that he will stand by the Vedanta research institute and contribute to their work in every possible way which teaches Vivekadeepini to 10 lakh students.
Talking about the greatness of Adi Shankaracharya's life, Shah said everybody should draw inspiration from the saint's life.
"Living in such a minimalistic way, he went around the country on foot seven times. He also built four maths in four directions in the entire country," Shah said.
He said Shankaracharya built the Joshi Math in Kedarnath, Sharda Math in Dwarka, Govardhan Math in Puri and Sringeri in Karnataka.
According to Shah, the saint started the tradition of safeguarding our values by spreading the Vedas and Upanishads at these four maths.
"During his time, he ended a lot doubts and debates by providing facts and theories from the shastras. Adi Shankaracharya also ended the debate between Buddhism and Hinduism, a major achievement," he said.
Later in the day, Shah will address a public meeting on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as part of BJP's nationwide Jan Jagran Abhiyan at Nehru Stadium in Hubli, a town 415 km northwest of Bengaluru.