THE CONSECRATION of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is the harbinger of an era of a prosperous India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Ayodhya Monday, giving the people a new mantra linking the two – “Dev se desh; Ram se Rashtra (from God to country, and from Ram to nation)”.

Addressing a gathering of about 8,000 guests invited for the consecration, the PM also said the moment was not just of “vijay (victory)” but also “vinay (humility)”, and invited those who had opposed the Ram temple to also come and experience the feeling.

The PM said he was glad that Ram did not have to “live in a tent anymore”. “Hamare Prabhu Ram aa gaye hain (Our Lord Ram has come),” Modi said, adding that there must have been something wanting in “our devotion” that it took centuries for this to happen. “I say sorry to Lord Ram today. I am sure He will forgive us,” the PM said, adding that while in the Treta Yuga, Ayodhya missed Lord Ram for 14 years, people of this era have missed Him for five centuries.

Modi noted that the first draft of the Indian Constitution had Ram in it, and expressed happiness that the temple had been achieved with the help of the law. He thanked the judiciary for keeping the “honour of justice”.

अयोध्या धाम में श्री राम लला की प्राण-प्रतिष्ठा से पूरा भारतवर्ष राममय और भावुक है। https://t.co/nGzYkOttSy

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 22, 2024

Taking on naysayers, Modi said: “There was a time when people said that the country would be engulfed in aag (violence) if the Ram temple was built. They did not understand the nature of this country. I call all those people to come and experience this; to rethink their beliefs. Ram is oorja (energy) not aag (fire). Ram is not vivaad (dispute) but samadhan (solution). He belongs to everyone. He is timeless.”

He added: “Today I get the feeling that the Kal Chakra (time) is changing; that we have laid the foundation for a Bharat of a thousand years later. We have to extend our social consciousness through Ram’s ideals.”

Citing various characters from the Ramayana, Modi said there was much to learn from them, including “the value of service and loyalty from Lord Hanuman”. “Adivasi mother” Shabari used to say “Ram would come” while the Nishad Raj had helped Ram and Sita cross the Ganga in his boat, he said. Even the smallest of creatures such as squirrels had contributed in the construction of the Ram Setu, while the Jatayu had taken on Ravana to save Sita despite knowing he would be defeated, Modi said.

Going on to thank the kar sewaks and saints who struggled for the Ram temple, he expressed confidence that the future of the country would be “more beautiful than its past”.

“In the form of Lord Ram, today is also the pran pratishtha (consecration) of Indian civilisational values and humanity,” Modi said. “We have to vow to build a samarth (capable), saksham (able), bhavya (grand) and divya (divine) Bharat.”

He exhorted the youth to take inspiration and work for a Bharat that has now reached the moon and space.