Mumbai, March 19 (PTI): All municipal schools in the city and suburbs would teach ‘Bhagwad Gita’ to students in order to make them more focused, boost their morale and impart them knowledge about spiritualism, a civic official has said.

“We shall impart the knowledge of ‘Bhagwad Gita’ to students to make them independent and sharpen their power in decision making,” Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s (MCGM) Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ramdas Bhausaheb said.

He was speaking at a prize distribution function of ‘Gita Champions League’ contest, organised by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) here on March 15.

Mr. Bhausaheb said MCGM has 1,200 schools with a total strength of 4,78,000 students where the corporation spends over Rs. 3,500 crore every year to impart free education to children in nine regional languages, a press release here said.

“Our children are our future. We need to protect them, nourish and develop their minds. However, television, movies and the Internet together expose the children to violence, pornography and insanity, as a result of which they can easily get influenced and succumb to negative thoughts and actions,” said Radhanath Swami, the spiritual guru of ISKCON’s Radha Gopinath Temple at Girgaum Chowpatty here.

The teachings of ‘Bhagwad Gita’ can influence young minds and give a positive and morale-boosting exposure, help students remain focused and assist in taking ethical decisions, he said.

The Gita Champions League written contest was held in January this year by ISKCON. Nearly 4,617 students belonging to various religions from 105 schools all over Mumbai participated in the contest and answered questions related to the sacred scripture.