Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu, who rose from a municipal councillor in Odisha to the highest constitutional post in the country, on Friday shared her personal experience with yoga that changed her life completely.
Addressing the gathering at the 50th foundation day of Jnanaprabha Mission here, the President said that she had lost all hope at one point in her life and it was then that she was drawn to yoga. “Yoga helped me to compose myself and through it, I regained faith in life. I still practice yoga regularly. I wouldn’t have been what I am today without yoga,” she said while noting that the Jnanaprabha Mission is active in popularising the ‘Kriya Yoga’.
Murmu, who is on a two-day visit to the state and her second since being sworn in as the President, further said that yoga is an ancient science and spiritual practice, whose objective is to create a healthy human society, and the world has now realised its importance due to the efforts of India.
Stating that yoga can give meaning to a person’s life, she added: “Today I am blessed to be here at the institution as it reminds me of my mother. No other person can replace a mother. Women have a significant place in society and mothers have always played a great role in the spiritual evolution of the world,” she said.
She also spoke about sad stories of elderly parents in the newspapers and urged all to vow to serve senior citizens, elders and the sick. “Merely addressing parents as God and worshipping their pictures is not spirituality. Caring about parents and respecting them is important. This is human religion,” she said.
“Our tradition holds mother in great respect and we should ensure that youngsters give the due love and care to their parents and serve them well,” she added.
The President said that women are playing leading roles, be it in spirituality, politics, education or any other field. “There are several organisations that are working to uplift women,” said Murmu.
Jnanaprabha, a charitable and spiritual organisation, is named after Paramahamsa Yoganandji’s mother “Jnanaprabha”. The organisation works to serve women, especially mothers.
Later in the afternoon, she attended the second convocation of Rama Devi Women’s University, also her alma mater, and was felicitated by the Vice Chancellor of the varsity.
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Notably, President Murmu completed her graduation from Rama Devi Women’s College in 1979. She was conferred with an honorary degree on its first convocation after the college was upgraded to a full-fledged university.
She will be inaugurating a banquet hall at the Governor’s residence and spending the night at Raj Bhavan.
On the second day, she is scheduled to visit Lingaraj Temple to pay obeisance to the Lord and then attend a programme at the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) Cuttack before returning to Delhi.
