British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday attended a ‘Ram Katha’ by spiritual preacher Morari Bapu organised at the Cambridge University campus. Sunak turned up as Murari Bapu’s katha was concluding. He said he was there not as a prime minister but as a Hindu.
“It is truly an honour and pleasure to be here today at Morari Bapu’s Ram Katha at the University of Cambridge on Indian Independence Day,” he said. “Bapu, I am here today not as a prime minister but as a Hindu!”
The Indian-origin British Prime Minister said that for him, faith was very personal, and it guides him in every aspect of his life. In a video of the event, Sunak is also seen making salutations of ‘Jai Siya Ram’.
The UK PM referred to a portrait of Lord Hanuman that featured in the background on the stage and said: “Just like Bapu has a Golden Hanuman in his background, I am proud that a Golden Ganesha sits gleefully on my desk at 10 Downing Street.”
Sunak said that he was proud to be British and Hindu before calling his childhood in South Hampton where he visited his neighbourhood temple with his siblings.
In his concluding remark, Sunak said Lord Ram would always be an inspirational figure for him. “I leave here today remembering the Ramayana that Bapu speaks on, but also the Bhagavad Gita and the Hanuman Chalisa. And for me, Lord Ram will always be an inspirational figure to face life’s challenges with courage, to govern with humility, and to work selflessly.”
In the end, Sunak participated in an aarti on stage. Morari Bapu presented him with a consecrated Shivlinga from the Somnath temple as a sacred offering from the Jyotirlinga Ram Katha Yatra.
(With inputs from Gopi Maniar Ghanghar)
