Talk:Gita press

Gita Press Generally speaking, Hinduism and organised propagation of its tenets are poles apart! The very nature of Hinduism, which lays great stress on personal mukti or individual liberation, prevents it. However, over the last two centuries, several attempts have been made to propagate either general Hinduism or some of its cults through various religious movements and organisations. One such organisation that is rendering great service to the cause of Hinduism quietly and unostentatiously, is the Gita Press of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Since the Bhagavadgītā or the Gītā is the most popular scripture, accepted by almost all the sections of the Hindus, the late Jaydayāl Goenkā established the Gitā Press in A. D. 1923. Its Govind Bhavan Kāryālaya (office) at Calcutta has been registered under the Registration of Societies Act of West Bengal, 1961. The institution is managed by a board of trustees. The primary purpose of establishing the Gītā Press was to propagate Hinduism by printing and selling at a highly subsi¬dised price, Hindu religious literature. This includes the Bhagavadgitā, the Upanisads, the Rāmāyana, the Mahā- bhārata, the Bhāgavata, the purāṇas, other religious works like the Rāmcarit- Mānas, the Nārada Bhaktisutras, Vedāntic works like the Vivekacudāmani, compen- diums of stotras or hymns, lives of saints and so on. Till now (March 1998) a total number of 270 million copies of these books have been printed and circulated. These books have been mostly in Sanskrit and Hindi languages as also English. Recently, the same books are being brought out in other regional lan¬guages also. Two monthly journals—Kalyān in Hindi and Kalyāna Kalpataru in English— are also being published. These journals have become extremely popular. The main gate of the Gītā Press of Gorakhpur is very impressive and has incorporated in itself the special ar¬chitectural features from several parts of India. The Līlā Citra Mandir houses hun¬dreds of pictures depicting the incidents from the lives of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. Slokas from the Gitā and the sayings of saints like Tulasīdās, Kabīr, Dādudayāl, Sundardās, Rahim and others have been inscribed on the walls. Every year, during the Gītā Jayanti celebrations, special exhibitions of Gītā literature (including rare books in several languages) are organised. There is a Gītā Bhavan at Svargāśram (Uttar Pradesh) on the bank of the river Gaṅgā, run by the Gītā Press. It has more than 1000 rooms, to accom¬modate sādhakas (spiritual aspirants) who throng to the place now and then. The Gītā Press is also running a Rṣikul-Brahmacaryāśrama at Curu in Rajasthan, to impart training on the Gurukula model, to willing students. The Govind Bhavan Kāryālaya at Calcutta, the Head Quarters of the organisation has facilities for the chanting of the Gītā and religious discourses. An āyurvedic dispensary is also attached to the same.