BEVERLY HILLS (USA):
The Global Citizen Forum (GCF), a Singapore based not for profit and its Founder-President & Global Thought Leader, Dr M have espoused the Indian values of Advaita and One World and announced a proposal to revamp the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple as a global pilgrimage centre.
The highly sacred shrine of Sree Padmanabha Swamy is of immense spiritual, cultural and religious significance to the Hindu community. To develop & preserve the temple and strengthen Hindu Dharma, devotees have joined hands in the service of Sree Padmanabha Swamy.
The new plans for the development of the temple include a re-integration and display of the temple wealth within the temple complex and on the shrines. In addition, GCF also supports the creation of ‘Advaita Centre’ outside the temple premises that will pay homage to the values espoused by the deity Sree Padmanabha Swamy.
“In keeping with the tradition of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, GCF believes that the deity has the first and exclusive right to the temple wealth,” said the founder, Dr M. “It is our conviction to ensure that the wealth of the temple is used in the service of the deity and to this effect it should be displayed within the temple premises and on the shrines,” he added.
Fool proof safeguards to secure the temple wealth will be made whilst also ensuring that devotees can enjoy the darshan of Sree Padmanabha Swamy uninterrupted. It is estimated that the new, bejewelled look of the Sree Padmanabha deity will generate a revenue of up to USD 1 billion each year and growing, as devotees throng to see the deity in all its glory.
This sum will go a long way in developing the temple complex and providing world class facilities to the millions of devotees coming to the temple. A blueprint by the devotees will also be developed for an upcoming Advaita knowledge centre where the Indian values of One World (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) will be advocated.
‘Advaita’ means non duality and emphasises the inherent godliness in everyone. This centre will become the focal point of human happiness, “Peace and happiness only comes from the true understanding of the principles of Advaita,” said Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Shringeri Sharada Peetham in support of the cause. The Advaita centre, will go beyond gender, religion, nationality and boundaries and will espouse the values of Advaita, to become a learning centre for Hindus and non-Hindus, globally and in India.
In order to help the centre realise its full potential, the development of Thiruvananthapuram as a global city is crucial. The support of the government will be instrumental to make this happen whilst celebrating natural scenic beauty of the city.
“The GCF is representing the aspirations of global Hindus who want to witness the development of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple,” Dr M mentioned as he re-iterated his conviction to see the temple as a global pilgrimage centre for Hindus, like Mecca is for Muslims and Vatican City for Christians.
As centres of spirituality and religion, both Mecca and Vatican City generate their own revenues which is used for development and progress. In 2017 alone, the revenue generated from the Hajj and Umrah was over US$12 billion. “With the number of wealthy global Hindus on the rise, there is an increased desire within the community to give back and develop their centres of spirituality, this is why it becomes crucial that we start with the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple so that it becomes the focal point for Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma, Dr M added.
All these efforts will be executed subject to the approval of the Supreme Court of India and the concurrence of the Royal Family of Travancore.
