On Friday at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood in front of a holographic version of Swami Chinmayananda — the spiritual teacher who founded the Chinmaya Mission and left this world back in 1993 — and spoke to him like the man was right there in the room.
The occasion was the inauguration of the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav Global Sammelan, a three-day gathering marking 75 years of the Mission. Thousands of people had come from across India and overseas. The stage had the usual setup — lights, flowers, people in saffron — but then this large screen or projection area lit up and there he was: Swami Chinmayananda sitting cross-legged in his orange robes, white beard, glasses, looking just as people remember him from old photographs and videos.
Modi walked up with the mic in hand. He looked at the figure and started speaking from the heart. He reminded everyone of their meeting in Vadodara around February or March 1993. At that time Modi had gone to invite the Swami to the centenary celebrations of the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The Swami had agreed, even though he was already not well. But destiny stepped in. Swami Chinmayananda passed away on 3 August 1993 in San Diego, just weeks before the Chicago event. Modi himself attended that gathering on 11 September and felt the absence strongly.
Standing there on Friday, the Prime Minister said something simple and direct: “It was my great fortune that I met you, and today I want you to bless me for the work I wish to do.” He told the gathering that seeing the holographic form made him feel as if he had travelled back 33 years. The conversations, the affection, the blessings from that 1993 meeting — everything came rushing back. He called it a unique spiritual experience and thanked the Chinmaya Mission for making it possible through modern technology.
The avatar replied. It greeted him with “Hari Om, Narendra” and said it was happy that the person met in 1993 had gone on to become the Prime Minister of India. It recalled the Vadodara meeting and how the Swami had said he was getting old and that the responsibility of carrying the message would now fall on the youth. Then came the words that stood out: “India is with you, Narendra.” There was also talk of conveying the blessings of the sages, a light mention of offering shrikhand as prasad, and encouragement about the work being done.
People in the hall watched quietly. For many connected to the Mission it felt emotional — a way of bringing the founder’s presence into the 75th anniversary celebrations. The Chinmaya Mission started in 1951 with the idea of making Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita understandable to ordinary people. Over the decades it has grown into centres across the world, schools, colleges, and outreach programmes. This event was the culmination of year-long activities, and the holographic interaction became the moment everyone talked about afterwards.
Modi used the occasion to speak about the Mission’s role in keeping India’s spiritual and cultural values alive, especially among the young. He linked it to the larger goal of a developed India by 2047 and said organisations like this help build the foundation of character and self-reliance. The conversation with the avatar also touched on youth power and nation-building — the same themes the two had discussed in 1993.
Of course, not everyone reacted the same way once the videos went online. Some found it moving, a beautiful mix of faith and technology. Others raised eyebrows, shared memes, or questioned the idea of an AI version of a spiritual teacher offering praise and blessings. That’s the nature of these things now — one moment feels intimate in the hall, the next it’s clipped and circulating with every possible opinion attached.
Still, for those present it was a rare kind of moment. A man who died more than three decades ago appeared again through careful recreation based on recordings, writings and videos, and a sitting Prime Minister asked for blessings the way one might ask a living guru. Technology made the conversation possible, but the feeling people described was older than any machine — the sense of connection across time.
The three-day Sammelan continued with discussions, chanting, and programmes meant to carry the Mission’s work forward. Whether one sees the holographic interaction as a sincere tribute or something more engineered, it marked a first of its kind in a public Indian setting of this scale. Swami Chinmayananda’s teachings have always been about bringing ancient wisdom into everyday life. On Friday, modern tools brought a version of the teacher himself into the present for a short while.
In the end it left many with the same thought Modi voiced on stage: for a few minutes it felt as if the years had rolled back, and the blessing asked for was received in that unusual, technology-mediated way. India is with you, the avatar said. The hall heard it. The rest of the country watched and decided for itself what to make of it.
Sources:
NDTV, India TV, Bharat Express, Siasat, Times Now, Nation Press, ANI reports and related coverage of the 23 October 2026 event at Bharat Mandapam.
@Rohit Manral
