Bhagavad Gita’s message remains ever-relevant: Vice President

Mental health has emerged as one of the biggest concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic in the world. Lockdowns and social distancing caused many mental issues which people across the globe have coped up with.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu is of the view that Bhagavad Gita, which is thousands of years old, can provide people guidance and mental peace.

Naidu inaugurated the Fifth Global Bhagavad Gita Convention virtually from Chennai. He emphasised that the universal message of Bhagavad Gita should be translated into as many languages as possible so that the entire humanity can be benefitted.

“Mental stress is becoming an ‘all-pervading phenomenon in modern times’ and called for greater awareness and attention on the ‘critical health issue’. Even though the Bhagavad Gita is thousands of years old, its timeless message remains relevant to people, providing them guidance and help in restoring mental peace,” Naidu said.

He added, “Despite the prevalence of mental health issues, awareness remains low in India and there is a lot of stigma associated with it.”

He observed that the pandemic has impacted the mental well-being of the people. “More than anything else, we must be willing to have public conversations about the importance of mental health’,” he said.

He wanted celebrities from all fields to come forward and spread awareness among people. He expressed his concern on the cases of suicide and said, “Every educational institution must have in-house counsellors to help students overcome stressful situations. Governments everywhere must ensure compliance of this requirement,” he said.