At the Kanyakumari Vivekananda Rock Memorial, PM Modi starts his “dhyan.”
Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu: At the renowned Vivekananda Rock Memorial here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commenced a 45-hour meditation on Thursday evening.
Modi began his meditation, which is set to last until June 1, after arriving by helicopter from nearby Thiruvananthapuram. He then worshipped at the Bhagavathi Amman temple, took the ferry to the rock memorial, and began.
Dressed in a white shawl and dhoti, Modi circumambulated the ‘garbhagriha’ and offered prayers at the shrine. Priests conducted a unique ‘arthi’ and offered him ‘prasad’ from the temple, which comprised a shawl and a framed picture of the temple’s presiding deity.
Later, he started his meditation at the ‘dhyan mandapam after arriving to the rock monument by a boat service offered by the state government-owned shipping company.
Modi briefly paused on the steps leading to the mandapam, which provides amazing views of the sea that encircles the memorial from all directions, prior to starting the dhyan practice.
Ahead of his departure on June 1, Modi is likely to visit the Thiruvalluvar statue, next to the memorial. Both the memorial and 133 ft statue were built on tiny islets, that are separate and mound-like rocky formations in the sea.
While outfits including Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam staged a black flag demonstration in Madurai opposing Modi, social media platform ‘X’ also witnessed a flood of #GoBackModi posts, amid political opposition to the broadcast of his meditation in view of the seventh final phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections on June 1.
All arrangements, including heavy security, are in place for Modi’s 45-hour stay at the famed memorial named after the revered Hindu saint.
The prime minister is spending his first night at the memorial dedicated to Swami Vivekananda, who spent his last days on the sea’s rocks in meditation in 1892.
After the Lok Sabha election campaign concluded, the Prime Minister went to the Kedarnath cave to sit and contemplate. However, now that the election is over, he has selected a spiritually significant location near the southernmost point of the country’s mainland.
After presiding over and speaking at several political events, including roadshows and rallies, during the frenetic Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi will likely be meditating in a calm place where the only thing to disturb him is the sound of breaking waves.
Security has been tightened throughout the Kanyakumari district, with the deployment of approximately 2,000 police officers in addition to increased monitoring by the Coast Guard and Navy, while guards managed the memorial grounds.
