New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI) The ancient text Bhagavad Gita has been relevant for 5,000 years and it will continue to resonate for millennia to come, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Wednesday.
He said this in his address at the inaugural ceremony here of a two-day symposium — ‘Timeless Texts and Universal Teachings: Inscription of Bhagavad Gita and Natyashastra in the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register’.
Scholars, cultural thinkers and heritage professionals have gathered here to reflect upon the timeless wisdom embedded in the Bhagavad Gita and Natyashastra, and to reaffirm their relevance as “living texts” in contemporary global discourse, officials said.
Hosted by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), it was inaugurated by Shekhawat.
In his address, the culture minister said, “Undoubtedly, the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita dates back over 5,000 years, and Bharatamuni’s Natyashastra over 2,500 years. Many nations today, which claim global influence and post on social media as torchbearers of civilisation, perhaps did not even exist back then,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Culture Ministry.
“And yet, in that ancient era, India had already articulated a nuanced and detailed treatise on the performing arts. One can only imagine the cultural zenith we had attained at the time,” he said.
The wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita is ‘sarvabhuta’ — meant for all living beings. Its global recognition by UNESCO is therefore not only “apt but essential”, Shekhawat said.
The event is being held to commemorate the inscription of these two foundational Indian texts into the prestigious UNESCO Memory of the World International Register earlier this year, acknowledging their global significance and enduring relevance, the officials said.
Natyashastra is considered a seminal text on performing arts.
Manuscripts of the Bhagavad Gita and Bharatmuni’s Natyashastra, among 74 new documentary heritage collections, were added to the UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in April.
“I believe the inscription into the Memory of the World International Register carries profound significance, because, perhaps due to the lingering colonial mindset, we have long accepted that what comes from the West is inherently superior. But, now that the West has acknowledged it, I hope the younger generation, disconnected from its roots due to the colonial legacy, will begin to recognise and take pride in our rich inheritance,” the Union minister said.
He added that the Bhagavad Gita has “remained relevant for 5,000 years and will continue to resonate for millennia to come”. PTI KND KND KVK KVK
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