Over 30,000 throng Karuna Vihar to see Buddha relics in Bhopal

Thousands of Buddhists thronged Karuna Buddha Vihar in Bhopal to have a glimpse of the sacred relics which were on display till 5 pm on Monday evening.

Published on: Oct 20, 2015, 17:27:04 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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Thousands of Buddhists thronged Karuna Buddha Vihar in Bhopal to have a glimpse of the sacred relics which were on display till 5 pm on Monday evening.

Devotees throng to have a glimpse of Buddha relics kept for Karuna Buddha Vihar in Bhopal on Monday. (Praveen Bajpai/HT photo)

Buddhists and Buddha lovers from various parts of Madhya Pradesh came to see the relics, with organizers putting the number to over 30,000.

Rajesh Bansode from New Bhopal said, “I feel blessed and privileged that today I had the darshan of the Buddha relics. What else can we wish for as a Buddhist.”

Many non-Buddhists also witnessed the relics. “I love Buddha for his scientific approach, his non-dogmatic practical teachings and his rebellion against orthodox Vedic Hinduism. When I heard Buddha’s relics were in Bhopal for a day, I had to come,” said NS Khare from Arera Colony.

Chandra Bodhi Patil, national president of the Buddhist Society of India, who accompanied the relics to Nagpur on Monday, said the relics would be displayed at the first International Buddhists Conference on October 20-21 in Nagpur, where BR Ambedkar embraced Buddhism, and would be taken back to Sri Lanka on October 24.

“This is for the first time that Lord Buddha’s relics blessed the people of Bhopal,” he said. “Since morning, over 30,000 people have come here to have a glimpse of the sacred relic. There were instructions that a devout should come clad in white. We are happy that most of the people came dressed in white,” said working president of the Buddhist Society of India, MP unit, BT Gajbiye.

Ambedkar’s memorial at Mhow being built

After offering flowers to the relics of Lord Buddha at Karuna Buddha Vihar, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed gratitude to BR Ambedkar, saying he gave the right to equality in the Constitution, for which a person of the lowest echelon of the society can reach the top.

“A grand memorial of framer of the Indian Constitution, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, is being constructed at his birthplace Mhow,” he said. Chouhan also informed about facilities being given to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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