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... Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was founded in 1938
by Kulapati K. M. Munshi.
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has made the intellectuals of Bharata Varsha evince interest in the various aspects of our culture and progress. May we pray Give fresh vigour to the Bhavan, a unique institution, in directing its attention more and more with greater and greater fulfilment to the dissemination of moral principles and devotion."
"The Bhavan has undertaken the noble work of fostering the immemorial culture of Bharata Varsha throughout the world and also for the benefit of the sons of the soil who have unhappily strayed away from it.
The Bhavan has served the cause of Bharatiya Culture with remarkable success and diligence.
Wish greater and greater success in the Bhavan's noble mission of spreading Bharatiya Culture."
"The Bhavan has rendered unparalleled service for the resuscitation of Sanskrit and Bharatiya Culture.
May the Bhavan grow from strength to strength is our prayer.
It is rendering the right service by inculcating in the minds of the present and future generations the noble ideals of Bharata Varsha."
"With its impressive record of work for the cultural education of our people, the Bhavan can look forward to a long career of usefulness in its chosen field. It has my best wishes for the continued success of its mission."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is endeavouring to spread the knowledge of Indian Culture and to inspire more persons to practise the disciplines enjoined by that culture. I would like all those who honour the Atma Vidya of Indian sages to give the Bhavan their fullest co-operation and strength."
"In a world that, to a large extent, seems to ignore spiritual values, we congratulate the Bhavan on its excellent work, and wish it Ad Multos Annas!"
"The Bhavan has made considerable progress in achieving its objective, namely, the reintegration of Indian Culture to suit modern conditions. I congratulate the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on this success and hope that it will continue to make strides."
"The wide range of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's activities and the success they have achieved can only be described as most remarkable."
"My warm congratulations to the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on their achievement."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has been doing excellent work all these years in getting our generation back to its roots. In the noise and intensity of modern life the youth are wandering bewildered. It is essential for them to get back to the roots and that is why I appreciate very much the work which the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is doing."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is a composite institution spreading out into diverse fields of Indian cultural life. The Bhavan is not an institution but a movement seeking to reintegrate Indian Culture, by the application of the modern critical apparatus to its ancient heritage combining the anxiety to preserve the heritage that is useful with the courage to replace it with more effective expressions of the Indian spirit in consonance with its present circumstance."
"Generations to come will be grateful to the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan for the yeoman services it has rendered forthe preservation and propagation of Indian Culture during the last 30 years. Its contribution is fostering ethical and spiritual values as the basis of national integration is indeed magnificent. It is a great and unique All-India institution laying great emphasis on the unity of the country. Every patriotic Indian should encourage and support it."
"Ever since its inception, nearly forty years ago, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has been rendering excellent service for the propagation and enrichment of our cultural heritage. The Bhavan stands for synthesis of science and spirituality and is propagating the true ideals of material and spiritual progress. I wish the Bhavan all success and congratulate all those associated with it for carrying on this noble work with zeal and dedication."
"Munshiji had conceived this institution for enabling us to recapture and foster our fundamental values reintegrating them with new elements suited to modern conditions.
The record of Bhavan's achievement spreading over the last 42 years speaks volumes about fulfilment of this objective. It has grown into a movement with diverse activities and its roots have struck deep into the soil, like a banyan tree, spreading its influence ever wider and wider ......
The Bhavan's main objective of cultural reintegration of the Indian people in perfect synchronization with the continuously evolving patterns of knowledge and understanding should not only be preserved but also propagated throughout the world."
"I am very happy indeed that the Bhavan has not been nourished on the milk of some strange breed of cow, she-buffalo, goat or foreign mother. The Bhavan has been nourished on the milk of Mother India ................
I have very high hopes of this Institution as an instrument for the spread of the message of India Culture. My good wishes."
"The word' Dharma' has no equivalent in English.
It is an entirely Indian concept comprising innumerable virtues like charity, justice, fairness, honesty, one's duty, righteous conduct, straightforward behaviour and others. The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, has been during the last sixty years, propagating 'Dharma' among people irrespective of Region, Caste and Creed. It has spread the message throughout our country through its Kendras and Schools and has carried the message to materially advanced countries like Europe and North America.
Its extensive publications of ancient scriptures combining with it modern computer education free for the weaker sections of the society makes the Institution unique and unparalleled.
"One can hardly find words of adequate expression in the whole library of English literature to acknowledge the invaluable contribution to humanity that Kulapati K.M. Munshi has made by founding such a unique institution."
"Dr. K.M. Munshi was a great scholar, a practical idealist and a visionary and if the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has sustained itself for 60 years and has grown from strength to strength during this period, it is because of the wisdom and imagination behind this institution. Of course, he had great successors who have sustained this institution with equal wisdom and imagination. The Bhavan has made a crucial contribution to the advancement, in the younger generation, of education and to the cultivation, in the younger generation, of ethical and spiritual values of our civilisation."
"The Bhavan has served Indian Culture with ability and perseverance and has made truly remarkable progress in many aspects of Indian Culture.
The Bhavan's past record gives assurance that this progress will continue in the future also and the Bhavan will create fresh records in the service of India's culture. A very fine institution which deserves every encouragement and support."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has to its credit achievements which older institutions may well be proud of.
May this institution become the nursery of torchbearers of a composite civilization, taking just pride in all that is best in the past, imbibing all that is noble in the present, shedding light and glory wherever they go and moulding the life and destiny of a great nation."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is a unique institution. I am fully aware of the excellent services the Bhavan has rendered to the people of India and to the world within a short period. Any amount of praise will be inadequate for it. I pray that the Bhavan should keep on progressing and should continue its services to culture and learning as also to the country and the world."
"The Bhavan had set its lamp of auspiciousness. It has not left any avenue of programme unexploited to the maximum in serving our culture. The impossible has been made possible; the incredible has been made credible ...... I will only pray for greater services by the Bhavan in the future years to come."
"As Patron-in-Chief of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, U.K. Centre, I was glad to be present when the British Prime Minister officially opened the new building of our Institute of Indian Culture in London on 19th July 1978. It was a most thrilling and memorable occasion and there is no doubt that the Institute is already playing an important part in community relations in this country. I know how thrilled my dear friend Gandhiji would have been with all the Bhavan is doing to create greater understanding."
"I need hardly say how much I admire the work which this great organisation is doing.
I send all good wishes for the future."
"..... It has been true to India's age-old ideal that "the World is one Family." In promoting racial harmony and understanding, it has given a stern rebuke to those who have sought to foment racial discord. In its role as the propagator of the values of India's immemorial culture, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has acquitted itself creditably."
"Years ago we were delighted and greatly honoured when you decided to establish here in London the first cultural centre outside India. Today you are taking a splendid further initiative... I would echo the phrase you have used "The Majesty of the Moral Law."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan was started at a time when Indians were gradually getting wasternised and our thinking and approach were moving to that direction.
India must not lose its soul. The Bhavan is spreading Indian Culture, philosophy and spirituality in India and abroad and helping India to make its humble contribution to the world for peace and for better international cultural relations."
"I was a witness to the founding of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. It was conceived in the year 1937. The Bhavan has developed into a unique institution for which I can see no parallel. I wish the Bhavan all success, continuous success."
"Through its activities, publications and the educational institutions it runs, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has been doing impressive work to enable our people to understand their heritage. My good wishes."
"Over the last fifty years, the Indian Cultural scene has changed remarkably. The difference that was engendered by colonialism has yielded place to self-confidence. Access to knowledge and culture has also widened impressively. The challenge before us today is to ensure that preoccupation with material development does not cut us away from the heritage which has provided continuity, stability, and the outlook of tolerance to a nation of infinite diversity. The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan movement has emphasized the importance and inseparability of science and spirituality, of education and self-discipline.
Dr.Munshi was a many faceted personality who dedicated his life to the re-establishment of India's basic values that have universal and eternal relevance. The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is a projection of his dreams and ideals.
The real assault that the country is coming under is the assault from a culture which is alien to us, a culture which is very materialistic and not suited not only to India, I would suggest, not suited to humanity at large and it is for India to see that the essence of our learning is not lost in this deluge that is coming on us, that we not only preserve it for our coming generations but for the whole world as a model for development, as a model for the future.
What we need is to go back to what our great teachers have taught us on tolerance and compassion, on the diversity of our cultures being able to live together, work together and develop together. The Indian culture despite many religious regional and linguistic diversities, brings all together and that is our strength. Dr.K.M.Munshi gave us the directions to continue that great heritage for the coming generations. The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has continued these directions not only in India but right across the globe."
"For more than five decades the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has ceaselessly been striving to spread the message of Indian Culture - the message of the oneness of human kind, of peace, creativity and mutually supportive action. The Bhavan serves as a bridge connecting diverse cultures, historical experiences and perspectives of the future. Universal values and ideals central to human societies the world over are promoted and safeguarded by the Bhavan's work."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is doing a yeoman's service to the cause of education and you find that the value system it is trying to build is something any country, any society can be proud of."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is one of our most cherished national institutions. I bow my head and pay tributes to the memory of Dr. K.M.Munshi. He was a towering visionary....
From the days of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, successive governments have greatly valued the Bhavan's contributions to human development in our country. The Bhavan has also inspired people abroad to come forward and contribute their mite to the preservation and promotion of Indian culture and learning....
The Bhavan is a unique institution because its feet are firmly placed on the solid foundation of our rich heritage and culture, while its head has soared into the skies to embrace all that is new and modern. It is an institution where excellence and social commitment and social equality go hand in hand....
I compliment the Bhavan on its unceasing and untiring efforts to remain relevant to the needs of our society. I salute the patriotism and humanism of all those who have helped to build the Bhavan and continue to help in its manifold activities....
I assure you that I'll always be here to support and encourage the good work of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. May your path continue to be blessed."
"Of the many institutions that were born in the ferment of India's struggle for Independence, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan occupies a unique place for its vision, activities and its continuing contribution to the realisation of the fundamental goods of the Freedom Movement"
The Bhavan has also been unique in attracting men and women of exceptional calibre and character decade after decade since its inception in 1938.
This speaks for the power of the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi which it had received at its birth and also for the farsightedness of its founder, the late Dr. K.M. Munshi....
It is only instruments like the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan which can guide the society along the desired path by radiating the light and wisdom of our ancient and modern seers.
There can be no two opinions that the Bhavan has been in the forefront of transmitting the knowledge and wisdom of the great minds of India both within the country and through its branches abroad. In doing so, the Bhavan has truly lived up to its Rigvedic motto: Aa No Bhadraha Kratavo Yantu Vishwataha: Let Noble Thoughts Come To Us From Every Side. The Bhavan has blended all the spiritual and intellectual streams of India and the world - and for this, too, it deserves to be heartily commended.
I join millions of my countrymen in wishing the very best for the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's noble endeavours in the coming decades."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, founded by late K. M. Munshi, has always played a remarkable role in the spread of education and Indian culture. No wonder, it is one of the leading educational and cultural institutions in the country. As we look back, we can not but admire the remarkable far-sightedness of late K. M. Munshi."
"My faith in India is well placed...Bhavan's Gandhi Institute's Project of making even poor and disadvantaged computer savvy was a model to the world and this Privilege of being involved in it "spurs me on"
"I am encouraged to see that the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan continues to thrive in its various activities, seeking to preserve and promote India's spiritual, ethical, social, and educational heritage. Religious harmony is still very much alive in India and I feel it is important that the rest of the world take note and learn from that. This is something that the Bhavan makes a special effort to foster with its emphasis on Sarva Dharma Samabhav, equal respect for all religions, and which I too wholeheartedly support."
"On learning of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's objectives -revelation of the spirit through Truth, Love and Beauty, I was reminded of the ancient Irish proverb "Three candles light up every darkness - Truth, Knowledge , Wisdom".
The work of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in helping to integrate Indian Culture with elements suited to modern conditions is similar to the task to which we, in Ireland, set ourselves, that is, the rediscovery and preservation of the native language and culture and their adaptation to the needs of the time.
I am very pleased that the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has achieved success and I take this opportunity of wishing it similar good fortune in the years to come."
"I assure all of you in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan of my prayers and those of poor for the success of the work you are undertaking to spread culture and religious consciousness. People everywhere are hungry for God. If we pray- we will believe, if we believe, we will love. If we love, we will serve. Only then we will put our love for God into living action through service of Him in the distressing disguise of the Poor."
"I pay my humble obeisance to the illuminating consciousness of Munshi Bapa (Kulapati Munshiji), the founder of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The Bhavan has been spreading Vidya (knowledge) and Indian Culture... I have been witness to its multidimensional activities."
"Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is spreading the ever-lasting beauty of integration of multi-cultures and multi-philosophies with tolerance."
"Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has fulfilled a very important role in the cultural vitalization of the country. The need of the day is for our youngsters to appreciate all the good things that India has. Our culture, our language, our dance, our music, our compassion, our family values. These are all extra ordinary values. And Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan through its programmes has been able to communicate to our youngsters not just in India, in New York, In London, in many other cities as well as many countries. Second, I think Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has played a very important role in communicating to the society the importance of inclusive prosperity.
That is where the efforts of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to start schools in slums, in providing opportunities to the bottom of the pyramid, in accessing high quality education becomes extremely important.
The third thing is the efforts of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan enhancing the quality of governance in the country by impressing upon the need for following the modern ideas combined very judiciously with the ideas that this great country has brought to fore through its 4000+ years of history. Therefore I would say that Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has been extremely successful in fulfilling an important role in revitalizing the cultural heritage of India."
"Vast changes have taken place during these years and the Bhavan is one of the few organizations which have sponsored and welcomed the changes. May history record the same progressive attitude during the next fifty years."
"Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is one institution which has reached the elite as well as the rural poor. They have undertaken so many service activities for the last 75 years and have also spread the ancient Vedic wisdom all over the globe. We have all grown as children and have all heard about Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan quite a lot. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's publications are most reputed , intellectually stimulating and emotionally enriching. Every English speaking child in this country at some time or other should read the journals of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan because they give you an idea of how rich our culture is. I congradulate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan which has kept the light alive which Dr. K.M.Munshi has lit 75 years ago.
Dr.K.M.Munshi who has been the founder of this institution had the great vision inspired by Rigveda"Aano Bhadra Kratavo Yantu Vishwatah" - Let noble thoughts come to us from every side. If our youth in this world follow these principles, this world will be free from extremism, fundamentalism and terrorism. A broad outlook towards life, towards the universe, commitment towards our planet and devotion to God all can come together and make life a celebration."
"The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has been largely instrumental in fostering and maintaining a discerning appreciation and love for all aspects of the Indian Cultural heritage in modern India."
"I can only hope that the Bhavan will continue to be led by the eminent succession of people who have served it and that it will continue to grow in one country after another and help revive our faith in life, faith in our country, faith in our planet for that matter"
"I cherish my old, beautiful association with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans and its great founder, Kulapati K. M. Munshiji and Smt.Leelavathiji. I am proud that I have performed for Bhavan in various parts of India and abroad thus becoming a part of Bhavan's mission to spread our art, culture and lofty values. I am so grateful to God for being a part of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan."
"Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is a Cultural Movement which has contributed immensely to the preservation and propagation of our nation's rich and beautiful culture which springs from the thousands of years old great spiritual heritage of our Punyabhoomi. When I was young, during my travels I would search for the Bhavan's publications at the railway bookstalls. But it is in the field of performing arts like Music, Dance and Drama that I admire Bhavan's contribution the most. In over 100 towns in India and in several countries Bhavan's cultural centres have been serving this rich heritage of our culture with dedication and wonderful imagination."
"Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is a great national treasure of India. Bhavan is the engine of Indian Culture, a constantly moving engine enriching itself, renewing itself by year. I think even Dr.Munshi who had this great vision, may be pleasantly surprised at the dimension of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan today and of course, in other parts of the world, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan centres are a home away from home for Indian Culture and are producing some wonderful interactions with the rest of the world."
"I am a proud Bhavanite as the Bhavan is the home not only for the Indian Art forms but also for the Artists as well. The Bhavan has stood the test of time and from a small shoot it has grown into a large banyan tree now fostering Indian Culture through education and its publication and various cultural activities under its shade."
"Munshiji was a great man. His brain-child Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has proved beyond all doubts that anything done in good spirit and for mankind will definitely bear fruit. This has been proved. Bhavan is known all over the world. Even when I go to foreign countries like UK and the like, I have been asked to participate in musical features there. I can only pray that after 25 years it will celebrate its Centenary and earn many more tributes. It is my humble prayer to the Almighty."
"If I had an education in Indian Culture, large part of it is from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's books. I have read most of them. At the level of book reading, it is, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan which decolonized India and made us respect ourselves. There are great people in the world whom European colonizers not only cowed them into political submission but made them to forget their past. That could never happen in India. And we owe it to people like Munshi and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan."
"I have long association with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan... The first book on Ramayana and Mahabharata read by me, were the publications of the Bhavan... Kulapati Munshiji founded an Institution - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan - for operating the education of our culture, especially where there was no such institution. Their tradition of spreading education has been continued by the Bhavan, not only in India, but throughout the world."
"The Bhavan has strived to preserve, sustain and propagate India's ageless Culture with great dedication. Bhavan has illuminated the path of countless students by offering high quality education. In the area of performing arts such as Music, Dance Et Drama, Bhavan has made and continues to make inimitable contributions to the global scenario, enriching the social fabric of society at large."
"...the only place I can really listen to Carnatic Music in England was to go to London and go to the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan... So I certainly could not have refused a request from Bhavan to give a lecture at its Chennai Centre, having taken advantage of the Bhavan over many years when I lived my life in Cambridge."
"I knew Munshiji from the days of the Constituent Assembly. When we came to know that he had started a cultural, educational and social institution, we who knew him well could visualize that this plant could one day be a strong tree. We were right. Look at Bhavan today with its 375 institutions in India and a few abroad.
When I was India's High Commissioner in London, Bhavan was the rendezvous where best of the speeches were made, where people exchanged their ideas, where people came together for music, for education, for discussing of burning problems.
Bhavan is devoted to the values of India's Culture. I hope it goes from strength to strength and resurrect in our Nation its eternal values when we can say "Right is right and wrong is wrong."