New Delhi, April 21 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 2550th Bhagwan Mahaveer Nirvan Mahotsav at Bharat Mandapam on Sunday, where the Jain community took a pledge “Har Baar, Modi Ka Parivar.”

“We are celebrating Bhagwan Mahaveer’s Nirvan Diwas even after 2500 years and I’m sure that the nation will continue to celebrate the values of Bhagwan Mahaveer for thousands of years to come,” PM Modi said, addressing the vast gathering on the occasion of Mahaveer Jayanti.

PM Modi also released a commemorative stamp and coin on the occasion and thanked the Jain community for their guidance and contribution to society.

Speaking about the meaning of Jainism, PM Modi said that it is a path of the victorious. He also said that great saints and sages guided the country during the darkest of times which allowed the nation to find its way even though many great civilisations perished.

During the program, the Jain community lauded the Modi government’s motto of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’ and also vowed to become a part of ‘Modi ka parivar’.

The Jain saint blessed the Prime Minister with ‘Vijayi Bhava’ and urged the community members to take a pledge, ‘Har Baar, Modi ka Parivar’.

He also conveyed a message to the nation’s youth to abandon their foreign land dreams and rather work towards making the country ‘great and supreme’.

“Whoever has learnt the art of sacrifice, has learnt the art of living,” the saint added.

PM Modi asked the gathering to follow the teachings of Bhagwan Mahavir, saying that the revival of those values is the demand of the time.

“For India, modernity is its body, spirituality is its soul. If spirituality is removed from modernity, anarchy is born,” said the Prime Minister.