She had a close affinity with all our traditional scriptures from childhood. At the age of 15, during a spiritual discourse by Sengalipuram Anantarama Dikshitar in Triprayar, she was asked by the spiritual guru to give a oratorical speech on Lord Krishna, she didn’t hesitate a bit before giving a long speech on the lord. And that was the beginning of the journey of Prema Pandurang, a renowned preacher of Hinduism.
“I had always loved the scriptures for their timeless relevance in our lives and the immortality of their values, and their understanding of human bonds. Whatever be the era that we live in, human nature is always the same. And in our epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, human nature is analysed in great depth,” she says about her humble beginnings.
The spiritual leader feels that there are four main problems that we are facing in the society. “One is the lack of values. Now, very often we hear about husbands and wives not getting along with each other. Earlier, there was a deeper spiritual understanding between couples. Then, our society also lacks morals. Both men and women are going astray with extra marital affairs and aping of western lifestyle. I strive to protect those morals because our country was once known for its culture based on values. The third aspect is the financial problem. Individuals are becoming more greedy. If a person has four children, all of them would need a car, a house and other luxuries. And finally, there is a tendency among the masses to achieve their goals through shortcuts, rather than striving diligently for them,” says Pandurang during her third visit to the state.
She will deliver talks on Valmiki’s insightful thoughts in the Ramayana this time. Ask her why she chose the topic, she says, “The Ramayana being one of the oldest epics in the world, it is also one of the strongest pillars of Indian society. Another highlight of the scripture is its deep analysis of human nature,” says Pandurang who was a professor of English in Presidency College, Chennai.
As per the Bhagavad Gita, ‘whenever there is a decline of dharma in society, God will reincarnate himself to wipe out adharma’. And in this present world where one could mostly see adharma happening everywhere in the form of corruption, terrorism and other social evils, what is the hope for mankind? Pandurang says in reply, “God is a benign presence. He is real and one can sense him through the miracles happening in their lives. The presence of God grows strong when good people fight for justice and establish goodness in society. The problem of our society should not be the problem of our legislation alone but each individual should stand and fight for the good cause,” she says.
For her, reviving faith among the youth is of paramount importance and thai is what she strives to achieve through her speeches. “It is faith that keeps our life together and can take us a long way. If only the faith in a superior power is sowed in the hearts of younger generations, will our future be bright,” she adds.
Before winding up, she says about her one dream, “I would like to build an ‘annakshetra’ where poor will be fed for free and also would like to open a college that teaches values, where anyone interested can come and learn,” she adds.