The seriousness with which the VHP seeks to "popularise" Vedas is apparent from the fact that the entire top brass of RSS including it's chief Mohan Bhagwat and the who's who of the Union government including Home Minister Amit Shah will be in attendance at the event from October 9-14.
Not just Bhagwat, but RSS Sarkaryavaha Bhaiyya Joshi and RSS Sah-Sarkaryawah Krishna Gopal will also be attending the event. Apart from Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Defence minister Rajnath Singh will also be visiting Birla Mandir, during these six days.
The VHP is calling it "Chaturved Swahakaar Maha Yagna", which they say is being organised "in order to make the knowledge and science of the Vedas accessible to the masses".
Along with Shri Ashok Singhal Foundation, a body in remembrance of VHP's fiery former chief Ashok Singhal and Jhandewalan Devi Temple are together organising the event under the umbrella of the saffron outfit.
VHP Working President Alok Kumar told reporters in Delhi on Monday that Ashok Singhal, the face of Ram Janambhoomi agitation in the 90s, had a vision to spread the "holistic, altruistic and syncretic worldview of the Vedas". The six-day event intends to do the same.
During these six days, 29,000-plus mantras of the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Saamaveda and Atharvaveda, will be chanted. Yajnas will also be performed by more than 50 Vedic pundits. In fact, in the run-up to the event, eight 'Rath Yatras' are being planned in the capital to publicise the massive event.
When it's about Vedic teachings and yagnas, how can saints, who form the backbone of VHP's spiritual journey be far behind? Top saints from across India including Mahamandaleshwar Juna Peethadheeshwar Avadheshanand Giri, Swami Chidanand Muni from Rishikesh, Mahamandaleshwar Swami Gurusharananand Maharaj of Karshni Ashram, Mathura will also attend the religious extravaganza of the VHP.
Singhal himself, in the year 2015, had completed extensive preparations for conducting this Chaturveda Swahakaar Maha Yagya at Birla Mandir in Delhi itself. But his deteriorating health condition had put the event on the backburner.
With Modi 2.0 back with an even bigger mandate of 303 seats, the saffron outfit has launched this Vedic event with renewed vigour. But is it just about making "the knowledge and science of the Vedas accessible to the masses"? A VHP statement reads, "The knowledge, science and spirituality that are in the Vedas could also be inculcated into the society through establishment of Vedic universities and chairs."
So, will the Ministry of Human Resource Development follow suit?
( With inputs from IANS )