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21 June will be celebrated officially as the
International Day of Yoga worldwide for the first time this year. The declaration came on 11 December, 2014 after the call
for the adoption of 21 June as International Day of Yoga by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014. Shri
Modi stated that Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It
embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment;
harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being.
It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of unity with yourself, the
world and the nature.
About
Yoga:
Yoga is an ancient discipline of India, focusing on
the physical, mental & spiritual practices. It is 5000 year old Indian body
of knowledge. The Sanskrit term “Yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit word “Yuj”,
which means union of the individual consciousness, the soul with the universal
consciousness / spirit.
In today’s modern era, Yoga is understood as merely
a form of different physical exercise form, but actually Yoga is a science
which imbibes itself as the complete essence of the way of life, which includes
Gyan Yoga (philosophy), Bhakti Yoga (path of devotional
bliss), Karma Yoga (path of
blissful action) and Raja Yoga (path
of mind control). Raja Yoga is further divided into eight parts. At
the heart of the Raja Yoga system, balancing and unifying these
various approaches is the practice of Yoga Asana. Lord Shree Krishna in Shrimad
Geeta has focused on Gyan Yoga, Karma Yoga & Bhakti Yoga.
Yoga philosophy is one of the six
major schools of ancient Vedic philosophy focusing on systematic studies to
better self physically, mentally and spiritually. Yoga has influenced all other
schools of Indian philosophies since past thousands of year. Various texts
related to Yoga have been composed in the Vedic literature. Along with Vedic
traditions, Yoga has also significant importance in the Jain & Buddhist
traditions.
One of the major texts on Yoga is the Yoga Sutras by
Maharshi Patanjali composed around 400 CE which is a compilation of the
different works on Yoga composed earlier. Swami
Vivekanand described the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta)
from taking various forms (Vrittis).
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| Indian Ocean, asanas for #YogaDay at the historic Apravasi Ghat and the Albion Light House in Mauritius Photo Courtesy: Source : Ministry of External Affairs, India |
Significance
of the International Yoga Day:
The idea of celebrating 21 June as the International
Day of Yoga was supported by various personalities from around the world. The resolution was supported by 175 nations, including
USA, Canada and China who co-sponsored the resolution. It had the highest number of
co-sponsors ever for any UNGA Resolution of such nature.
As June 21 is the Summer Solstice,
longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and has special significance
in many parts of the world, it was selected as the day for celebrating the
event. The renowned Yogi and mystic, Sadhguru describes the importance of 21
June as the day on which, Adiyogi (the first Yogi) turned south and first set
his eyes on the Saptarishis (Seven Sages), who were his first disciples to
carry the science of yoga to many parts of the world.
The pioneer of the Art of Living, Sri
Sri Ravi Shankar appreciated the efforts of PM Narendra Modi, stating that is very difficult
for any philosophy, religion or culture to survive without state patronage.
Now, after the official recognition by the UN, it would further spread the
benefit of Yoga to the entire world.
Though the mankind has achieved extra ordinary
progress in the materialism and has done great innovations in science &
technology since past two centuries, the human race is still not successful in
attaining peace & happiness in the real sense. Today the world is facing a
number of issues & conflicts due to which the life of an individual is
adversely affected.
Increasing pollution, complex competitive life,
deteriorating environmental situations are negatively affecting the physical
& mental health of the people resulting in the increase of the people
suffering from various physical & mental ailments like hypertension, asthma,
obesity etc. Tensed & uncertain political situations resulting in
communalism, terrorism, insurgency are dividing the society and creating
barriers between the mankind by creating hatred. Due to such troubles, the
mankind is losing faith from humanity & trust are becoming more and more
violent and aggressive.
The time has come when the ancient Indian philosophy
of Yoga can again teach the world the ideal way of living. Along with weight loss, a strong & flexible
body, glowing beautiful skin & good health, Yoga also helps in acquiring a
sound mind and mental peace. The benefits of Yoga are achieved not only at the
physical level, but it also helps in uniting the body, mind and breath. Yoga can be sited as the one of the major
solutions to various existing problems of the human race, through which at the
individual level they can attain a sound mind & body and in the long run
will affect the whole world if Yoga is practiced by a large section of the
world’s population.
The celebration of 21 June as the International Day
of Yoga is a matter of pride for every Indian, as it will not only glorify the
golden aspect of the spiritual discipline of ancient India, but will also prove
a boon to the mankind for attaining a sound body & mental peace and uniting
with the self.
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