What If there was International Day of Yoga ?

As the sunlight falls on our faces a little longer than usual, there is another reason to rejoice the day that marks the longest day of the year. June 21 has been declared as the International Day of Yoga and the world celebrated first Yoga Day with high spirit and enthusiasm.

Yoga is the science of world peace. There couldn’t have been a better day to celebrate and give a tribute to yoga. 21^st June has special significance to communities from all over the world. According to the Vedic scriptures, the first full moon after the summer solstice was the day when the first ever Yoga practitioner and Yoga Guru; Adi Yogi imparted his knowledge of Yoga to the seven sages known as Saptarishis, who then taught Yoga to the mankind.  

Actions spoke louder than words for India’s Hon’ble Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on this day as he led thousands of people to such a grand event. He proposed this day, which was approved by the United Nations General Assembly last year.  New Delhi witnessed ministers stretching their bones and embracing this healthy practice with their attempts to inspire the nation.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that we need to take Yoga to the doorstep of everyone and free the world of misery. His organization, the Art of Living, has been spreading the knowledge of Yoga to people of every age group all over India as well as abroad too. This event that aims to unite the world on a health level was successful as thousands of people paid their tribute to Yoga across the world. The International Day of Yoga has encouraged people to embrace this spiritual discipline with passion and pride. Yoga has been well practiced in India for centuries and this day has let the entire world gain awareness to an ancient science.

A question arises though. What if there was no such day to acknowledge the importance of Yoga? It is a shame that we haven’t imbibed Yoga into our daily routines yet as we all know, we should. Our knowledge is incomplete and most of us lack the strength of mind to meditate. This day marks our respect for this ancient art. Of course, the world has one day in one year for everything worth respecting. Rarely will anybody remember the significance of Yoga otherwise.

A bunch of famous celebrities practicing tough asanas on the television inspires us to stretch. Yes, people stretch their arm to get to the remote or a glass of water. The importance of Yoga and its healing power is known and still not respected. People religiously watch their favorite shows for an hour each day but can’t perform the sun salutation once a day.

We all know Baba Ramdev and the controversies he’s been in, yet we forget why he is so influential. He is somebody who has power over his own mind and body and has reached out with this power to help other people. Yoga teaches us to gain complete control over our bodies and minds. Yoga enables us to attain power. The International Day of Yoga gives power to this practice.

If there was no such day, Yoga would’ve been limited to a few countries and not many people would’ve known about its benefits. The purpose of Yoga is to unite oneself with the entire universe that is situated within one’s body. There is a possibility that there will be a day when everybody on this planet will become a practitioner of Yoga. Yoga or ‘Yog’ literally means union with the supreme power. And if every single person on this planet was on the path to ‘Yog’, this world would definitely become more peaceful.

It was very noble of Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi to promote world peace with actual substance, indirect but highly effective.