In a significant moment for the worldwide sankirtana movement, Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi has presented a Russian edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The exchange, which highlights the global reach of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, was shared publicly by Yudhistir Govinda Das, the Director of Communications for ISKCON India. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Yudhistir Govinda Das expressed the gratitude of the ISKCON family.
Commenting on the photo shared by the Prime Minister’s official handle, Yudhistir Govinda Das wrote:
“.@ISKCON family is grateful to PM Shri Narendra Modi ji for sharing India’s greatest treasure with President Putin. What makes it even more special is that this is Bhagavad Gita with the commentary of Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of @ISKCON.”
The Prime Minister noted in his original post that the teachings of the Gita “give inspiration to millions across the world.”
For followers of Srila Prabhupada, seeing the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the same edition distributed on streets and in airports worldwide, being exchanged at the highest levels of international diplomacy is a heartening validation of the value of this Vedic literature.