BANGALORE, May 31

President Shankar Dayal Sharma today said that there can be no real prosperity and balanced material and spiritual development unless the poorest of the poor and the weakest of the weak in the country prosper.

Speaking after the inauguration of the Centre for Advancement of Culture set up by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) on the occasion of the birth centennial of Sri A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada here, he said the pursuit of hedonistic pleasures with no regard to the needs of other people, specially those that are less privileged, has brought in its wake discord, discontent and disharmony. It is in such a context that our tradition with its philosophy of love, compassion, non-violence and service has acquired new meaning, relevance and significance. The approach of Bhakti or devotion not merely to God but to all beings who belong to God and of selfless service, has been preached by our seers and saint- singers from remote antiquity, he added.

The president said real prosperity would come about only by reinstalling among the people the moral and ethical values of love, devotion, compassion, selfless service and other ethos of Indian culture. '

Dr Sharma said the efforts for modernization and growth, the people must never forget the philosophy of humanism inherent in the country's civilization. In India, the activities of Iskcon are rekindling the latent knowledge and awareness among the people of the great spiritual and cultural heritage, he added.

In today's world, Dr Sharma said there appears to be relentless and single minded pursuit of material wealth and prosperity. Though this has resulted in an improvement in the standards of living of people, especially in the so-called developed western countries, the spiritual needs, requirements and aspirations are yet to be met. Material wealth has not necessarily brought happiness and peace of mind. Instead, it has been accompanied by considerable mental stress and tensions and has led. to a spiral of insatiable greed and desires which remain, unfulfilled.

He said the Bhakti movement has flourished in every part of India. The songs of the Alwars and teachings of Sri Ramanujacharya and Sri Madhwacharya in the South, the bhajans and dohas of Surdas, Sant Kabir and Mira Bai in the North, the abhangs of Sant Tukaram attd Sant Gyaneshwar in the West, and the Kirtanas of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva in the East are still sung and recited in millions of homes. Sri Jayapataka Swami, governing body commissioner and a guru of Iskcon, said the youth have become victims of moral and spiritual degradation due to westernisation of Indian education system and environment. The institution of marriage is losing sanctity due to the unrestricted intermingling among men and women in our educational institutions. Ms Vimala Sharma, wife of Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, Governor Khurshed Alam Khan, Chief Minister J H Patel, Medium and Large Scale Industries Minister R V Deshpande, Health Minister Dr H C Mahadavappa, former chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde, MPs Ananthakumar and I G Sanadi and legislator Sureshkumar were present on the occasion.