Jain muni praises Rahul Gandhi’s ‘tapasya’. ‘He hasn’t changed’, replies Congress’s Supriya Shrinate

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Tuesday reacted to an undated video of Jain monk Ramnik Muni Ji Maharaj in which he can be seen praising Rahul Gandhi for his 4000-km-long ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and describing him as a wise man.

“My thoughts about Rahul Gandhi changed after seeing his ‘tapasya’ when he walked 3000-4000 km. I used to think he was not serious about the common man and did not understand their pain,” Ramnik Muni said.

“I was watching how an old man came running towards Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. As he came closer he threw up Gandhi’s feet. Had it been any other common man, he would have unstintingly stepped back. But Gandhi kept standing as the man threw up more… What a wise man he is! He will change India,” the Jain monk said.

Reacting to his statement, Shrinate tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi has changed – He was always like this – The conspiracy to tarnish his image by spending crores of rupees has now collapsed. After all, who has been able to hide the sun and the truth?”

Bharat Jodo Yatra

Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has ended after covering 4,000 km across about a dozen states on its south-north route, with brief interruptions for rest and reunion. The padyatra that started from Kanyakumari in September culminated in Rahul Gandhi unfurling India’s flag at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk in January.

The Congress said the objective of the mass-contact programme was to unite the country, which, according to the party, has been divided by economic inequalities and religious polarisation.

Gandhi called the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a ‘tapasya’ a spiritual disciple he endured through the journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. “…everyone’s limits, myself included, are far beyond what we think. In Sanskrit, the oldest language in the world, there is a word, Tapasya , which is difficult for a Western mind to understand.” Gandhi said in an interview.

He added, “Someone translates it with ‘sacrifice’, ‘patience’, but the meaning is different: to generate heat. The march is an action that generates warmth, makes you look inside yourself, makes you understand the extraordinary resilience of the Indians.”

“My thoughts about Rahul Gandhi changed after seeing his ‘tapasya’ when he walked 3000-4000 km. I used to think he was not serious about the common man and did not understand their pain,” Ramnik Muni said.

“I was watching how an old man came running towards Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. As he came closer he threw up Gandhi’s feet. Had it been any other common man, he would have unstintingly stepped back. But Gandhi kept standing as the man threw up more… What a wise man he is! He will change India,” the Jain monk said.

Reacting to his statement, Shrinate tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi has changed – He was always like this – The conspiracy to tarnish his image by spending crores of rupees has now collapsed. After all, who has been able to hide the sun and the truth?”

Bharat Jodo Yatra

Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has ended after covering 4,000 km across about a dozen states on its south-north route, with brief interruptions for rest and reunion. The padyatra that started from Kanyakumari in September culminated in Rahul Gandhi unfurling India’s flag at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk in January.

The Congress said the objective of the mass-contact programme was to unite the country, which, according to the party, has been divided by economic inequalities and religious polarisation.

Gandhi called the Bharat Jodo Yatra, a ‘tapasya’ a spiritual disciple he endured through the journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. “…everyone’s limits, myself included, are far beyond what we think. In Sanskrit, the oldest language in the world, there is a word, Tapasya , which is difficult for a Western mind to understand.” Gandhi said in an interview.

He added, “Someone translates it with ‘sacrifice’, ‘patience’, but the meaning is different: to generate heat. The march is an action that generates warmth, makes you look inside yourself, makes you understand the extraordinary resilience of the Indians.”