Mayapur (WB), February 18 Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that ISKCON was playing a significant role in spreading the message of Sanatan Dharma across the world while serving humanity through relief operations and social welfare initiatives during natural disasters.
Addressing devotees at the ISKCON temple in Mayapur in West Bengal's Nadia district during celebrations marking the 152nd birth anniversary of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Shah said he had come to the spiritual center not in his official capacity but as a devotee of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
"Brothers and sisters, you respectfully referred to me as India's home minister, but I have not come here in that capacity. I have come here as a devoted follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu," Shah said, adding that he had long wished to visit Mayapur but circumstances had delayed the trip.
The Union minister said the global spread of the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) movement was the result of the life work of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and credited the organization with taking spiritual teachings to people across countries and cultures.
Shah said he had witnessed ISKCON's influence across India during his travels as the BJP president and Union minister, noting that copies of the Bhagavad Gita published by the organization were accessible to people across age groups and professions.
"Whether schoolchildren, college youth, homemakers or young professionals, ISKCON has inspired people to follow the teachings of the Gita," he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi often gifts the Gita to visiting world leaders as its message promotes universal welfare.
Highlighting ISKCON's humanitarian outreach, Shah said the organization's role extended far beyond devotional activities, with its food distribution camps often among the first in disaster-hit areas. He also cited its work in establishing hospitals and schools, ecological initiatives and engaging youth through Indian festivals.
The home minister's brief visit to Mayapur was described by party sources as devotional in nature, with no political events included in his itinerary.
In remarks seen as reaching out to the Matua Mahasangha, an influential community in parts of southern Bengal, Shah lauded its contribution to social reform and welfare traditions.
"The Matua Mahasangha has always carried forward the spirit of social welfare. Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur worked to bring large sections of society together through this spiritual tradition and social welfare," he said.
Shah also emphasised that spiritual organisations had a role in uniting society beyond social divisions, saying that ISKCON's outreach had helped connect people from diverse linguistic and social backgrounds through devotional teachings.