CHENNAI : “Modiji is not giving us the opportunity for power cuts,” said Dr Sambit Patra, national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday while delivering the Swami Chinmayananda Memorial lecture for the 25th Mahasamadhi Day Aradhana of the spiritual guru. Dr Patra said this while reminiscing his childhood days. He said that when the power supply went off, he used to sleep under the stars and it was during this time that he would be enveloped by a sense of ‘wonderment.’ He said children weren’t enjoying the same experience because they were living in a ‘concrete jungle’ and under the current regime, there was no opportunity for power cut.
He spoke extensively about the brilliance of Swami Chinmayananda and said he was “a reincarnation to bring about renaissance in Hinduism,” who spoke of the importance of modernisation being complemented with spirituality. It was in this context that he spoke of the importance of renouncing ‘desire.’“Life is synonymous with ‘desire,’” he said. “The only thing that can help us come out of this desire is ‘wonderment’ and a sense of ‘ecstasy.’ When you lie down and see the heaven full of stars, you realise you are so small and the universe is so huge. It is a moment of ecstacy.”
He went on to make a distinction between ‘wonderment’ and ‘surprise’ by saying that the former is an inward journey that leads to becoming a yogi while the latter is an outward journey that leads to becoming a scientist. Dr Patra spoke of how one can overcome ‘desire’ according to the Guru. He added that it was exceedingly hard for one to renounce all desires. State BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan too was present at the event.