NEW DELHI: A 45-hour meditation session of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the tranquil shores of Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu culminated today. He was paying a spiritual visit to the state after the months-long electioneering engagement.
He meditated at the Dhyan Mandapam, the site where the revered Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda is believed to have had a divine vision of 'Bharat Mata.' This visit coincided with the conclusion of polling for the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The Prime Minister is known for undertaking spiritual journeys at the end of election campaigns. In 2019, he visited Kedarnath, and in 2014, he visited Shivaji's Pratapgarh, Times of India reported.
Earlier in the day, he performed the 'Surya Arghya' ritual at sunrise at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, officials said. The 'Surya Arghya' involves offering salutations to the sun, seen as a manifestation of the Almighty. PM Modi poured a little water from a traditional small vessel into the sea as an offering (Arghya) and prayed using his prayer beads (Japa mala), they said.
Dressed in saffron, PM Modi also paid floral tributes to a statue of Swami Vivekananda and walked around the mandapam with his 'japa mala' in hand. Kanniyakumari is renowned for its sunrise and sunset views, with the memorial located on a tiny islet near the shoreline at the southernmost tip of India. It is where India's eastern and western coastlines meet and the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea. The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases starting April 19, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.