Thiruvananthapuram: The Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu said that ‘welfare of all’ and ‘share and care’ have been the core aspects of Indian philosophy since ages and are ingrained in the Indian value system.
Speaking at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Sri Satya Sai Orphanage Trust –Kerala, the Vice President called Sri Satya Sai Baba as one of India’s most revered spiritual gurus who devoted his entire life to bring about spiritual regeneration and spread the message of truth, love and peace to unite all mankind.
Quoting Sri Satya Sai’s message – “Service to mankind is service to God”, Venkaiah Naidu expressed happiness that Sri Satya Sai Orphanage Trust has been continuously working for the social, economic, cultural and spiritual development of the society through various projects.
He lauded the Trust for providing education free of cost in the string of educational institutions run by it.
Talking about Saigramam, the central project of Sri Satya Sai Trust in Thiruvananthapuram, Naidu likened it to the Gandhian vision of Grama Swaraj or a self –governed and self-reliant village. Gandh Ji had said that Ramya Rajya would be incomplete without Gram Rajya, the Vice President added.
He appreciated Saigramam for achieving self sufficiency in different areas like Rain Water harvesting, Biogas plant, Solar Street Light, Gokulam Dairy Farm and Agriculture, among others, and stressed that Saigramam can be a role model for village development in India.
Describing Kerala as a land of great visionaries such as Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, Narayan Guru and Chitra Tirunal, the Vice President said that the State has huge potential for tourism and called for promoting it to boost local economy. “This may also give a fillip to the conservation of nature and preservation of our rich cultural heritage and traditions”, he added.
Naidu expressed happiness that Sri Satya Sai Orphanage Trust is planning to revive and rejuvenate the near extinct art forms and traditional crafts through promotion of social tourism.
“It is good that Sri Satya Sai Orphanage Trust plans to bring artists and artisans practicing rare art forms, adopt them, provide them space to practice their art, impart training to youngsters in their art form and create a performing stage where performances can be held periodically”, he said.
The Vice President also appreciated the good work done by the Trust during disasters such as cyclone Ockhi and Kerala floods. He expressed hopes that the Trust would keep doing the good work for betterment of the society.
Arif Mohammed Khan, Governor of Kerala, Oomen Chandy, MLA and Former Chief Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Co-operation, Tourism and Devaswom, Kerala, Justice (Retd.) A. Lakshmikutty, Chairperson, Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust, Adoor Prakash, Member of Parliament, K.N. Ananda Kumar, Founder and Executive Director were among the dignitaries who graced the occasion.
