3,656 km and counting- Padyatra pushes on with harmony message

'Walk of Hope', a padyatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, which began on January 12 last year with the aim to propagate interfaith harmony, has now reached Delhi.
The padyatra, which was kicked off on birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, who had undertaken a similar countrywide journey to spread the message of social harmony, has so far completed 3,656 kms in 254 days.
By the time the footmarch reached Kanpur, a year had passed after covering Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The idea behind the ambitious 15-month long walk was mooted by Shri M, who calls himself a social reformer and says he is inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi who used to hold several marches across the nation during the freedom struggle.

Other objectives include equity for all, empowerment of women and sustainable living among others.
The 67-year-old spiritual leader, a native of Andhra Pradesh, said that India's strength lies in its unity in diversity.

"No community wants to destroy the fabric of this country, but if you look closely, you will find the vested interests of political or other people, they take advantage of the fact there are religions forgetting that humans are one," he said.
The padyatra, which covers 15 to 20 kilometres every day has a 'core group' of 70 to 80 people who commenced journey from Kanyakumari and locals tag along and join it in various cities.

"We used to walk in the day before taking shelter and sleeping in the homes of locals in towns and villages," Sri M said.
"We didn't have a difficult time with people at all and even if we had, we solved it through dialogues. We visited temples, mosques and other religious places along the way and decided if somebody objects to it, we won't go, but believe me nobody did," he said.
Among the core members, the oldest in the group is 80-year-old Commodore V Raveendranath, while the youngest is 20-year old film-maker S George.
The Delhi leg of 'Walk of Hope', is being spearheaded by the 'Manav Ekta Mission, a wing of the Satsang Foundation established by Sri M, who was born as Mumtaz Ali, is set to end on March 3. The walk hopes to reach Srinagar by May 1 this year.

The spiritual leader said he was aware that one walk alone would not be able to solve all problems and the aim was to sow the seeds of unity.
"We have to nurture the seeds of peace in young people's hearts and the responsibility goes to teachers and their parents to make it happen," he said.
Sri M, who has also penned "Apprenticed to a Himalayan master - A Yogi's Autobiography" is expected to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal here.