Guru's word broadcast across the waves

MORE than 800 Gujaratis from India and Britain have returned from a special 10-day cruise from Venice to London aboard the Cunard Princess luxury liner during which they listened to a revered Guru recite the ancient Indian scripture, the Ramayana.

For five hours every day of the cruise, Guru Morari Bapu, a respected holy man, recited the story of Ram, the 2,000-year-old mythical Hindu god to 887 Gujaratis aboard the world's second-largest luxury liner.

But surprisingly the cruise was not for the benefit of people aboard the liner as Guru Bapu had set off on the voyage with a completely different concept in mind.

He believed it was his duty to relate Ramayana or Ram's tale to creatures of the sea.

And, for this eight huge speakers, pointing seawards were rigged up on deck for the Guru's discourse.

The Shree Sita Ram Seva Trust who organised the cruise paid GBP1 million (HK$11.72 million) to charter the Cunard Princess while each passenger was charged about GBP3,000 for the voyage.