Thiruvananthapuram:
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said “98 percent of rural people” in the country did not contract the coronavirus as they “live with nature” and urged Indians to revisit the habits including the food habits and consume traditional healthy food and not the junk food.
Naidu, who was in the state to deliver the first P Parameswaran Memorial Lecture, said the time has come that “we must try to be with nature”.
The Vice-President also urged the people to maintain the “thousands of years of civilisation” which is surviving in India because of its “basic philosophy”.
“The time has come we must try to be with nature.
Nature, culture, together for a better future. One has to understand this message and then try to have as much light as possible… Nature has been very kind to Indians. We have so much sunlight. We are getting deprived of it. We should go back to our roots of way of living,” he said.
“I go around the country. 98 per cent of the rural people did not get the pandemic. Because they live with nature. People who work hard, disciplined, they were not affected including agricultural labourers and all. We must draw lessons and develop physical fitness. Physically fit, then you will be mentally alert.
“We must revisit the habits including the food habits.
I have made it a mission to tell everybody that they follow the traditional healthy food and don’t go for junk food,” Naidu said.
The Vice-president also said India, with its great past, has “never attacked any country” but other small countries had “attacked us, ruled and ruined us and ruined our thoughts” also.
“Now it’s time that we must get back to ourroots, thoughts, our ancient culture and tradition. and see to it that it flourishes. The younger generation must follow that path shown by our forefathers,” he said.
Naidu urged the youngsters to draw inspiration from the life and teachings of P Parameswaran, a veteran RSS ideology and Padma award recipient, who passed away on February 9, last year.
“Through his writings, speeches and other intellectual activities,Parameswaranji changed the tone and tenor of intellectual discourse in Kerala. He expounded the thoughts and teachings of Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Narayana Guru and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadyaya among the youths,” Naidu said.
The Vice-President called upon the younger generation to strive to build a stronger, happier and prosperous India – “an India that is free from the social evils like casteism and corruption”, as envisaged by Parameswaran.
