Modi ends two-day long meditation at Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari: “Visiting the Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India, I feel a divine energy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, as he concluded his 45-hour meditation and left Kanyakumari for Delhi on Saturday.
At about 2.45 pm, Modi, clad in a white shirt and dhoti, left for the Thiruvalluvar rock memorial. He placed a rose garland at the feet of the 133-feet-tall statue of the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar and bowed before the statue.
He then proceeded to the mainland from where he reached the travellers’ bungalow premises, where an Air Force helicopter was ready to fly him to Thiruvananthapuram.
After refreshing himself and a change of dress, Modi left Kanyakumari at 4 pm.
BJP leader and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a post on 'X' said: “On completing his meditation on the Vivekananda Rock Memorial PM @narendramodi writes: Visiting the 'Vivekananda Rock Memorial' at Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India, I feel a divine energy.”
Furthermore, the PM said: “It is on this rock that Mother Parvati and Swami Vivekananda had meditated. Later, Eknath Ranade transformed this rock into a Shila Smarak' that brought Swami Vivekananda's thoughts to life.”
“Swami Vivekananda, a leader of spiritual renaissance, has been my ideal, my energy, and the source of my spirituality. Years ago, after traveling across the entire country, when Swami Vivekananda meditated here, it was here that he envisioned a new direction for India's revival.”
“It is my fortune that today, after so many years, as India embodies the values and ideals of Swami Vivekananda, I too have had the opportunity to meditate at this sacred place…. Sitting at the feet of Ma Bharati, I once again reaffirm my resolve that every moment of my life and every particle of my body will always be dedicated to the service of the nation,” Modi said, according to Sitharaman.
In view of the Prime Minister's presence at Vivekananda rock memorial, the public were allowed to visit it for just three hours from 8 am on Saturday. Tourists visiting Kanyakumari faced severe restrictions for the three days from May 30 due to the Prime Minister’s personal visit.
After the Prime Minister left Kanyakumari, all restrictions imposed on tourist movement were lifted. The ferry service to Vivekananda rock memorial, however, was said to resume from 8 am on June 2, according to state tourism department sources.
Visiting Kanyakumari as a personal programme to meditate at Vivekananda Rock Memorial after his hectic electioneering for the 18th Lok Sabha polls, on May 30, the Prime Minister offered prayers at the Kumari Amman (Bagavathy Amman) temple before reaching the memorial by a special ferry operated by the Tamil Nadu government-run Poompuhar Shipping Corporation Limited.
Staying at the Rock Memorial amidst tight security for about 45 hours, Modi was said to have meditated for 18 hours at the Central hall and the meditation hall.