Raj Sadosh/Abohar.

On the auspicious day of Ganesh Chaturthi, Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India, visited the BAPS Hindu Mandir site in Abu Dhabi. He was accompanied by senior officials from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, including the Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kawatra, Ambassador Sanjay Sudhir, Joint Secretary Vipul and Consul General Dr. Aman Puri.

Dr. Jaishankar made the visit a priority stop on his official visit to the United Arab Emirates to chair the 14th India-UAE Joint Commission meeting and the India-UAE Strategic Dialogue with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Swami Brahmavihari welcomed Dr. Jaishankar and the delegation and led them to the Rivers of Harmony exhibition. The exhibition presents the origin of the mandir – which is a prayer for peace and harmony by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, as well as the universal call for tolerance and unity shared by thinkers across time.

Dr. Jaishankar discussed with Swami Brahmavihari ideas regarding global harmony and progress. He said, “Our efforts should be to collectively bring everything we can to bring this mandir to culmination... Destiny will make this happen… It seems like a miracle that so many people are coming together to make this happen. I know that as people who live in this country its value is something you cannot even describe, but I want you to understand that it is something that the rest of the world is also watching.”

Dr. Jaishankar expressed his gratitude for the mandir and the BAPS Sanstha’s role in community service, especially the special services during COVID-19 and the Ukraine Crisis. The minister and officers performed Ganesh puja and puja of the bricks to be placed on the mandir plinth that day.
Swami Brahmaviharidas thanked Dr. Jaishankar and presented him a Golden Spire of Harmony memento.

Keenly interested in witnessing the making of the mandir, the minister took on the midday heat to visit the mandir site. Climbing five meters to the mandir’s plinth, he placed a brick on the mandir while the auspicious Vedic Shanti Paath was chanted.

Dr. Jaishankar discussed with Swami Brahmavihari ideas regarding global harmony and progress. He said, “Our efforts should be to collectively bring everything we can to bring this mandir to culmination... Destiny will make this happen… It seems like a miracle that so many people are coming together to make this happen. I know that as people who live in this country its value is something you cannot even describe, but I want you to understand that it is something that the rest of the world is also watching.”