Gita Press has played a very important role in taking the spiritual and cultural knowledge of India to the masses through its publications, said President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday.
His remarks came while addressing the centenary celebrations of the Gita Press at Gorakhpur on Saturday.
He noted that the intention behind the establishment of Gita Press was to make available Gita in pure form with the right meaning and at a low price to the masses which were not easily available at that time. He said that it is a matter of great pride for all of us that a small initiative started in Kolkata is now well known for its work all over India.
The President noted that apart from the Bhagavad Gita, Gita Press publishes books like Ramayana, Puranas, Upanishads, Bhakt-charitra etc. It has made a record by publishing more than 70 crore books till now and has the distinction of being the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious books. He praised the Gita Press for providing religious books to the public at cheap prices even despite financial constraints, stated a release from the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The President said that 'Kalyan' magazine of Gita Press has a prestigious place as collectible literature from the spiritual point of view. It is probably one of the most famous publications of Gita Press and the most widely read religious magazine in India.
The President noted that of the 1850 current publications of Gita Press, about 760 publications are in Sanskrit and Hindi but the remaining publications are in other languages such as Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, Oriya, Tamil, Kannada, Assamese, Malayalam, Nepali, Urdu, Punjabi and English.
He said that this reflects the unity in diversity of our Indian culture. The religious and spiritual base in Indian culture is the same from east to west and from north to south.
Pointing to the Gita Press's plan for setting up its branches abroad, the President expressed hope that through this expansion, the whole world would benefit from the culture and philosophy of India. He urged Gita Press to enhance its relations with the Indian diaspora living abroad, as they are the messengers of Indian culture, who connect the world with our country.
( With inputs from ANI )
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