India now aims high

New Delhi: While inaugurating the 12-foot statue of Adi Shankaracharya at the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhandon Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India now 'aims high' and 'sets a time limit to achieve these aims.'

"A grand Ram Temple is being constructed in Ayodhya. Recently, Deepotsav was celebrated there. Work on Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project in Varanasi is also progressing rapidly… Now, the country aims high and also sets a time limit to achieve these aims," the PM said.

Modi said there was a time in the country when religion and spirituality were believed to be connected "only with stereotypes," but Indian philosophy mentions human welfare and views life in a "holistic manner." "Adi Shankaracharya worked to make the society aware of this truth," he said.

The 12-foot status was washed away in 2013 following the flood that had wreaked havoc in the State. In reference to rebuilding it, Modi said people used to think that Kedarnath could never be developed again but a 'voice' within him said that it will be redeveloped and 'will be more majestic than before.'

The Prime Minister reached the northern hill State on Friday morning and was received by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmit Singh and other State officials at the Dehradun airport.

Modi later visited the Kedarnath Temple on an Indian Air Force chopper, did aarti inside the shrine and undertook circumambulation.

Along with the inauguration of the Guru Shankaracharya statue, Modi also launched various projects, including the Saraswati Retaining Wall, Tirith Purohit Houses, Garud Chatti Bridge across the River Mandakini, among others.

Dhami said the Shankaracharya statue has been made by a Mysore-based sculptor using chlorite schist – a rock popular for withstanding rain, sunshine and harsh weather. It has been constructed by digging land behind the Kedarnath Temple and in the middle of the samadhi area.