New Delhi: ‘Bharatatma Ashok Singhal Vedic Puruskar’ was conferred at a ceremony in New Delhi which was attended by Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev as the chief guest.
The award ceremony, was aimed at promoting Vedic education across India, and to appreciate the efforts of all those working in this direction.
While addressing the ceremony, Baba Ramdev highlighted the importance of the Vedas and said, “The entire universe is governed by the laws of the Vedas. Vedas aren’t about the mantras uttered during religious rituals, hence they shouldn’t be associated with any specific religion or faith. The Vedas are much older than the religion itself because the concept of religion in our country came some 3000 years ago but prior to that entire world was governed by laws of Vedas.”
Ramdev further stated that Patanjali Yogpeeth is constantly making efforts in the promotion of the Vedas and its teachings. Around 500 students are getting educated at its gurukul.
When asked about his struggle against black money, he said that wealth should never be in the hands of evil men. He stressed that the Vedas are the very foundation of our ancient religion and even the opening lines of the Yajurveda claim that a country should not be governed by evil men.
Ramdev also conferred the ‘Bharatatma Ashok Singhal Vedik Puruskar’ in memory of late Ashok Singhal, the former international president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The objective behind convening the award ceremony was to promote Vedic education across India and recognize excellence in this area. Sadguru Nijanand Maharaj Ved Vidhyalaya in Alindi Maharashtra was given the award of best Vedic school, Pankaj Kumar Sharma from Neemuch, MP was named the best student.
The jury chose Shridhar Adi of Varanasi for the best teacher award and gave a cash prize of Rs. 7 lakh. Pankaj Sharma from Neemach, Madhya Pradesh, was given the best student award and received a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh. While 81-year-old Vinayak Badal was awarded lifetime achievement award for reviving the education of ‘Shatpath Brahmin’ – which was on the verge of extinction.
“Our selection is entirely merit based. A special committee was set up to shortlist the candidates/names from the entries that we received. The objective of these awards is to promote Vedic education across India and recognize the efforts of all those working in this direction,” said Singhal Foundation’s trustee, Salil Singhal.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]