‘Selfless work should be the aim’: PM Narendra Modi interacts with Seva Yatris

PM Narendra Modi urged youngsters to raise awareness about the seven streams of power that he spoke about in his Independence Day address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stressed on the importance of service and said selfless work should be the aim, and should be done without delivering any sermons and preaching.

The PM while interacting with Seva Yatris who have been on a bike yatra from Vadnagar to Varanasi as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Seva Yatra to commemorate the PM’s 25 years in public service said they should always follow the path of 'Seva Parmo Dharma' (Service is the highest duty).

“We will convey the message of service only through our service, not through words. Through our conduct alone, people should realise that no matter how great the power in politics may become, our path will remain that of service. We will never deviate from the path of service,” he said.

During the online interaction with the ten groups that are traversing through different states, the PM said according to an old saying, when someone returns from a journey and is offered salutations, half the spiritual merit earned from the journey is transferred to the person paying respects.

“I, too, am 'stealing' half of that merit,” he said.

Service, he said, should be the primary task without preaching.

“We will convey the message of service only through our service, not through words. Through our conduct alone, people should realize that no matter how great the power in politics may become, our path will always remain one of service. We will never deviate from the path of service. No matter how high the peaks we reach, we will move forward only with the sentiment of ‘Service is the highest duty.,” he said.

He urged youngsters to raise awareness about the seven streams of power that he spoke about in his Independence Day address.

“The stream of manufacturing, the stream of technology and innovation, the stream of connectivity—such 7 streams will become a tremendous source of energy for building a developed India. This energy will gain momentum only from every citizen,” he said.

Underlining the importance of service he said, when the spirit of service is applied in the country's policies, only then does service become the greatest driving force for the nation's progress, and from it emerge new schemes that give the courage to lift the 250 million poor of the entire country out of poverty.

“Politics has its place, elections have their place, governance systems have their place. But we are people who have set out for nation-building, we are people who have set out with the resolve for a developed India. We must take forward the crucial role of youth power in building a developed India by 2047 with utmost strength,” he said.

The PM also instructed the participants to not deviate from this path of service and stick to rules and regulations while driving across the states.

The rally will cover 35,500 kilometres across states from September 17 to October 7.

Smriti covers an intersection of politics and governance. Having spent over a decade in journalism, she combines old fashioned leg work with modern story telling tools.