Over 20,000 people gather at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium as three-day festival begins with flag hoisting and Vedic rituals; Scindia administers three pledges
New Delhi [India], October 31: The three-day Birth Centenary Festival of All World Gayatri Pariwar began today at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi with flag hoisting and Vedic rituals. More than 20,000 people attended the first day of the festival, held to mark the birth centenary of Param Vandaniya Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia addressed the gathering.
The festival was inaugurated with a joint flag hoisting by Delhi Government Minister Kapil Mishra and the festival’s Dalnayak, Dr Chinmay Pandya. Learned acharyas from Shantikunj, Haridwar, led the Vedic chanting.
A key highlight of the day was the release of a commemorative postage stamp issued by the Government of India in memory of Param Vandaniya Mataji. The stamp, prepared by India Post, was released by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, as the stadium broke into applause and many in the audience were moved to tears.
Speaking on the occasion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that All World Gayatri Pariwar is spreading the message of individual building, family building and nation building. He said the organisation has awakened social consciousness through character building and value-based education. Referring to the hundred years of the Akhand Deep, he said, “This eternal flame will keep burning until its light reaches the last person in society.” Birla noted that at a time when unrest prevails in many parts of the world, Gayatri Pariwar has worked towards establishing peace through spirituality. “I wish that the resolve of nation building through family building and individual building is fulfilled in every village,” he said.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the commemorative stamp is not merely a tribute to a great personality. “It is a tribute to her ideology, her resolve and, most importantly, her spirit of motherhood,” he said, adding that the occasion carries a message of fresh energy for lakhs of Gayatri Pariwar members. He said the core mantra of Gayatri Pariwar is not spirituality alone, but a vision of building the individual, the family, society and the nation alongside it. Pujya Gurudev’s vision, he said, was to make social consciousness the core mechanism of social change and, through it, bring about India’s global transformation.
Scindia called upon the gathering to take three pledges: first, to spread the values of motherhood, love and brotherhood; second, to honour women and help them advance in every sphere of society; and third, to continuously preserve and enrich Indian culture, pass it on to future generations, and nurture spiritual consciousness and a spirit of nation building among the youth. Dalnayak Dr Chinmay Pandya felicitated the guests.
Dr Chinmay Pandya said that 2026 is not merely a year of celebration for All World Gayatri Pariwar, but a historic milestone marking a hundred years of spiritual practice, sacrifice and dedication. It marks the completion of a hundred years since the birth of Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma, the lighting of the Akhand Deep, and the spiritual practice of Yugrishi Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya. He said the core spirit of the festival is to bring together the administrative strength of the state and the moral consciousness of spiritual institutions for the welfare of all.
Around 650 students of Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar, are handling a range of responsibilities at the festival, from event management to cultural performances. Forty students of the university presented an impressive Pragya Yoga performance, while folk and tribal dances from states including Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh showcased India’s cultural diversity and its message of unity in diversity.
The first phase of the festival was held earlier this year at Vairagi Dweep, an island between two streams of the Ganga in Haridwar. The second phase in Delhi is reviewing the pledges of individual building, family building and nation building taken at the start of the year, and deliberating on the plan of action ahead.
The first day of the festival is dedicated to Matrishakti and women’s empowerment. The second day will feature programmes on Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and universal brotherhood, with pledges for world peace and harmony taken through a mass Deep Yagya. The festival will conclude on 2 November on the third day with the Maha Sankalp of Yug Nirman.
