Tamil Nadu is gods destination

CHENNAI: If Kerala is God’s own country, Tamil Nadu is the destination of all gods, said M Rajaram, Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, here on Wednesday. He was speaking at the inaugural event of the fourth edition of the Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair, which showcases the services rendered by Hindu organisations to the society,  at the D G Vaishnav College.Organised by the Hindu Spiritual and Service Foundation (HSSF), the five-day fair has more than 160 Hindu organisations coming together to communicate the kind of social work that they do and how millions have benefited from such efforts.While there was doubt whether a government department could participate in such an event, the decks were cleared by the intervention of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa herself, who ordered the department’s participation, Rajaram informed. Of the 62,000 temples in the State, 36,441 were under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. Ever since the new government took over, pujas were being conducted at least once a day in 12,424 temples that did not have financial means to conduct the rituals in the previous years. Renovation works of 1,006 temples, taken up this year, would be completed by March. Restoration works of 130 very ancient temples were also taken up, he said.Delivering the keynote address, Nirmalanandanantha Swamiji of the Chunchanagiri Math, Karnataka, said Hindu Dharma is perhaps the most ancient, the philosophy of which provides a chance for the individual to understand one’s self. This is unlike the West where emphasis is on the outer world. Commending the organisers for the novel concept of the fair, he said his own Math has established more than 475 educational institutions and hundreds of healthcare facilities for the poor.Chairman of Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission R Nataraj, who is also the organising committee chairman for the event, said harmony and unity were the foundations of Hindu religion. The Bhagavad Gita, praised all over the world for its message of peace, is important for the development of any society.