This combination of “asangatir shakti” (disparate forces), he said, “means that society has to admit to itself the reality of living together.”
Written by Aniruddha Ghosal | Mirati (birbhum) | Updated: October 22, 2015 9:28 am
Using the metaphor of the carriers of Goddess Durga and her children, President Pranab Mukherjee once again underlined Wednesday the need for tolerance in the country saying “different, seemingly disparate forces can be seen co-existing” in the idols.
Speaking on the eve of Vijaya Dashami from his ancestral home at Mirati in Birbhum, Mukherjee said: “The main thing is tolerance, to try and understand each other and preserve different identities of each other… We can see that in the idol of Goddess Durga, different, seemingly disparate forces can be seen co-existing.”
“Shiva’s vahan is the bull, but the bull is also a source of food for the lion which is Durga’s vahan. The rat and the snake have no relationship of friendship. But the rat is the vahan of Ganesh while the snake is one of the weapons that Durga carries. The peacock and snake have a relationship of animosity, but the peacock is Kartikeya’s vahan.”
This combination of “asangatir shakti” (disparate forces), he said, “means that society has to admit to itself the reality of living together.”
“Opposing forces, different opinions… co-existence of these increase ties within society and increase society’s capacity to move forward… We must maintain social harmony and must respect and promote tolerance and co-existence. This has happened through the years and that is why India has survived for so long.”
The President said Durga Puja was not just a “religious festival” but also a “social festival”.
“It is no more a religious festival… it becomes a social festival, resulting in universal participation from a cross-section of society. This is also an opportunity for me to meet so many different people,” he said.
Two days ago, the President, while referring to growing incidents of intolerance, expressed the “apprehension whether tolerance and acceptance of dissent are on the wane” in the country.
Underlining that “humanism and pluralism should not be abandoned under any circumstance”, he said he hoped that “Mahamaya, the combination of all positive forces, would eliminate the Asuras or divisive forces”.
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