Mumbai: Spiritual guru and founder of the Art of Living Sri Sri Ravi Shankar heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking on the vision of Viksit Bharat during the Viksit Bharat Ambassador program in Mumbai. The spiritual guru, on Friday, said that PM Modi took pride in being a Hindu. 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “Viksit Bharat is something we should start believing in. Only then we can achieve that. Prime Minister takes pride in being a Hindu. He respects everyone. We should not be ashamed of our existence. It is crucial to have equality among all religions.”

Addressing a gathering of 25,000 devotees, he further added, "This does not mean that we should silently chant the name of Ram as if we are committing some crime; this feeling should be eliminated. We have to come out of the feeling of slavery. That too will become possible in the coming few years."

Speaking about India's culture, he said, "We must be proud of our culture and our roots. We've started feeling proud of our religion, culture, and art in past 10 years. Earlier, people would change their name when they'd travel abroad. Today, we don't have that atmosphere anymore."

He further added, “Under the leadership of PM Modi, our country's respect has increased manifold in the world. We need such a person in the country who can understand the minds of people.”

Union Minister Piyush Goyal, singer Sonu Nigam among several other dignitaries attended the mega event.