The concept of yoga as an exercise in controlling and training body and mind as part of human health was conceived by ancient Indians. The first reference to yogasna as part of health maintaining device is to be found in the Atharva Veda that deals with health and medical science. From times immemorial Indian saints and savants have been practising and preaching yogic exercises as the means of maintaining body and mental wellbeing. The importance of Atharva Veda lies in propounding the theory that perfect personality is a combination of sound body and sound mind.
In ancient India yogashramas were incepted where the yoga gurus imparted training to their pupils. These ashrams or centres also were considered as seats of social gathering for disseminating the science of the health of body and mind. The tradition has come down to us from the antiquity. The reason why the attention of the world community stands diverted towards yoga today more than ever before is that the modern society is bandaged in great controversies and confusions. Modern man is a bundle of tensions because of the pressures of modern scientific and technological life. Speed and suspense are the characteristics of modern life. A large number of thinkers and specialists of social science are sitting with crossed fingers how to help modern man overcome his tension ridden life’s debilities.
It is in this background that India has come forward with the theory of yogasana that is specially designed to mitigate the problems of a life overburdened by tensions. It was Prime Minister Modi, who highlighted the merits of yoga before the United Nations General Assembly, particularly his address before UNGA on September 27, 2014 which turned to be very impressive. UNGA and UNESCO recognized yoga and committed to celebrate International Yoga Day once a year i.e. June 21st. the declaration was signed on Dec 11, 2014. The International Yoga Day was celebrated in a big way by 177 countries of the world on June 21, 2015. It may be known that June 21st is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shows special significance in many parts of the world.
21 June 2016 was the second year of celebrating International Yoga Day all over the world. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon issued an appeal to the international body to give wide publicity of celebrating the day by imploring people to conduct yoga exercise for physical and mental well being. More than a hundred countries in the world observed the day with great gusto. According to our information, the day was observed through the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and Nehru Yuva Kendra, simultaneous yoga programmes were held across the country at 1,00,000 villages, 250 districts and mega events at 10 cities including Jammu, Varanasi, Imphal, Vadodara, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Vijaywada, Bhubaneshwar, Shimla and Hoshiarpur. It is for the first time that Jammu also celebrated the International Yoga Day on a large scale. In Gujarat about 2000 pregnant women took part in yogasana exercises and about 1000 persons joined the President in his yoga exercise at Rashtrapati Bhavan. About 30,000 people participated in the yoga exercise of the Prime Minister in Chandigarh. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that on the yoga day in every part of world, yoga has become a subject of prestige. He said that our ancestors, ‘rishi munis’, gave this science, to us and it was our responsibility to take yoga to the world. We should do our capacity building. Expert yoga teachers should be ready in the country. The Prime Minister also announced that the Government would incept awards for service in the field of yoga and it could be given to anyone who rendered exceptional service to the concept. In this way, the foundation of celebrating the International Yoga day in the length and breadth of the country has been firmly laid by the Prime Minister.
Yoga is a pure physical and mental exercise for the well being of both of them. It has nothing to do with religion or rituals. Some people have the doubt lingering that yoga is connected with Hindu religion and they have hesitation in performing yoga as a pure physical – mental exercise. Speaking on the occasion in Jammu, Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister in PMO proposed that instead of calling it International Yoga Day it should be called International Jansamparakh Divas. Through yoga India brought entire world in one fabric and it will have happy results in future.
While the International Yoga Day has entered the calendar of the United Nations, India is justified to consider it as enhancement of her prestige and status at the United Nations. India considers it a step in bringing international community closer to one another with focus on international peace.
While we have been celebrating the International Yoga Day, there is a suggestion from certain quarters in Jammu that that International Yogashrama should be established at Mantalai in Udhampur district where the early effort was made by late Acharya Dhirendra Brahmachari to lay the foundation of a commanding yogashrama as early as 1971. Mantalai is actually a pond where pure water is gushing out and coming down in a beautiful stream of pure water. The sceneic beauty of the place located at a distance of eight kilometres from Sudhmahadev in Udhampur district is reputed as the abode of Lord Shiva. According to mythological lore, Goddess Parvati was born to mother Maina. The legend reveals that there was a havan kund which turned into a pond (Talai in local dialect). Thus ‘Maina di Talai’ became Mantalai with the passage of time. After the tragic and untimely death of Dhirendra Brahmachari in an air crash, the entre campus of this ashrama extending over several hundred acres of land was taken charge of by Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and later on was given in charge of Patnitop Development Authority. The site has all the features to become an international centre for yoga if it is developed properly and planned carefully. The late Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed had visited it once and was eager to make it a real tourist spot in Jammu besides a yoga centre.
We would like to suggest to the State as well as the Central Government to seriously consider the proposal of converting the Mantalai Ashram into international yoga centre and develop it as a prime tourist destination. Its natural setting and environs are best suited for calm and cool meditation and yoga where people can stay for some time to refresh their body and mind while they live far from the madding crowds for a while. The Centre should evince keen interest in having such a beautiful yoga centre in the lap of the Himalayas. This is actually the voice of the people of Jammu, rather of entire State.
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