VHP to launch Gita lessons in Karnataka on August 30

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday announced a campaign to help people learn all 700 verses of the Bhagavad Gita in 140 days. This will be open to people from other religions as well, it said.

VHP central general secretary Milind Parande told a news conference that the campaign will be launched on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami and the VHP’s foundation day on August 30 at the Vishwa Shanti ashram in Nelamangala. The campaign will be inaugurated by Pejawar Mutt seer Vishwaprasanna Teertha.

“Akin to the ancient gurukul system, the verses will be recorded on video that will be uploaded on our website and other social media platforms. Everyone can take part in this,” Parande said.

VHP’s regional secretary Jagannath Shastri said the focus of the campaign will be on pronunciation of the verses. “Most of the shlokas are in the Anshuman Chandassu. Every shloka has 32 letters. To begin with, each of the Sanskrit verses will be divided for easy pronunciation,” he said, adding that each verse will be taught thrice. “To make the Gita popular, online classes will be held in all languages.”