AN EVENT in Parliament earlier this month marked Gita expert Dhruv Chhatralia’s 300th talk on the life of Hindu deity Lord Krishna, as well as the spiritual organisation SHYAM’s seventh birthday.
Hosted by the Conservative MP Bob Blackman, the event began with a speech by the politician who spoke of the importance of the Hindu community uniting to protect, preserve and promote traditional values.
Following on from a speech by Andrea Leadsom MP concerning the importance of promoting spiritual values from the life of Lord Krishna, Chhatralia recited the life of the Hindu deity as described in the religious text of the Shrimad Bhagavat.
The Shrimad Bhagavat was composed more than 5,000 years ago by Rishi Veda Vyas and contains 18,000 verses, separated into 12 books and 332 chapters.
Traditionally, it can take up to seven days to complete a narration of the religious text. Chhatralia recited the text in two and a half hours during the evening.
The occasion was also attended by Neil O’Brien MP; members of the armed forces and the civil service; the presidents or chairpersons of over 30 national Indian organisations, as well as community leaders who represented eight different religious backgrounds.
Around 300 other registered guests also attended the event.