The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said in Kolkata today (September 16, 2013) that the troubled and chequered history of mankind has always been directed by the intervention of divine figures such as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that led to rulers turning into saints to serve the mankind. Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, Prophet Mohammed, Guru Nanak and Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu all promoted the values of world-brotherhood in testing times whenever humanity needed them most. He was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Museum at Gaudiya Math, Kolkata.
The President called upon society to continuously draw lessons from Chaitanya's philosophy and pave the path of welfare and well being of all. Shri Chaitanya was not just a religious preacher or a reformer but a revolutionary. He realized that in order to bring change in social life no traditional path would suffice. He emphasized the promotion of human values above all. His influence was profound and it did not just remain confined to social life but also made a deep impact on art, literature, philosophy, music, dance, etc.
The President laid the foundation of the Museum terming the project an appropriate element in the ongoing celebrations of the 525th anniversary of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He expressed the hope that the museum would not only preserve priceless artifacts, manuscripts, etc. which would attract people in general but also open a new vista of research for scholars, researchers and students.
This release issued at 1615 hrs