International Yoga Day

Ramnath Raina

ramnathraina58@gmail.com

The moment we think of yoga our focus instantly shifts from external objects to internal objects and to our body relating to its holistic development. The literal meaning of yog is to unite and yoga means union with the infinite . In the words of Maharishi Patanjali as per his "yoga sutras" yoga is defined as under "yogus chitta vritti nirodha " which means yoga leads to restraining the mind stuff (chitta) from taking various forms (vrittis) . In other words uninterrupted regular practice of yoga as prescribed by our rishis and yoga gurus as also enunciated by Maharishi Patanjali in his Yog sutras leads to disciplining the mind and channelizing its energy towards pursuit of higher objectives of life as also its transition and evolution towards our spiritual goal of God realization.

In the year 2016 UNO accepted the proposal of honourable PM Shri Narendra Modi and declared 21st June to be observed as Yoga Day every year since then this day is observed as Yoga Day both at the UNO head quarters as well as capitals of the world. Lots of interest about yoga has been generated all over the world and the world community has started experiencing the salutary effects of yoga on human body and mind.

Long before the UNO declaration of international yoga day a number of illustrious yoga gurus and teachers had already spread yoga knowledge and set up yoga centers in the west which has generated immense interest and awareness about Yoga. A number of yoga seekers had already started visiting Rishikesh in Uttarakhand which is called the nerve centre of yoga learning. Naming a few illustrious Yoga figures Pramhans yoganada(The author of Autobiography of a Yogi) and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the exponent of transcendental meditation) are very famous. The positive effects of yoga on disciplining minds and enhancing concentration for improving productivity and output has been recognised by business corporates and yoga practice and learning has been incorporated in their training schedules. Yoga gurus and instructors are in great demand all over the world.

The fact that yoga finds mension at a number of places in the holy book Gita shows that Yoga was universally practiced and was a part of our daily life. Lord Krishna has enunciated in detail the philosophy of Karam yoga and gyan yoga in the Geeta while teaching his disciple Arjun regarding the techniques of pranayama and meditation at verse 29 of chapter 4 and verses 27 and 28 of chapter 5. Lord Krishna has compared the practice of pranayama as a Vedic ritual of performing hawana . The Yoga technique of vastirika and anulom vilom have been defined as offering inhaling breath(pran) into the exhaling breath (apan) and vice versa respectively. The practice of these techniques leads Yogi to neutralise both breaths and thus releasing prana from the heart to bring life force under his control. It is worthy of mention that yoga is one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy as also included in upanishadas. This shows that Yoga was practiced regularly and was a part of our Sanatan tradition . Its worth mentioning that Lord Krishna has stated in Gita that he taught this immortal and indestructible Yoga to Sun God, who taught it to Vivasvat who passed it on to Manu who further passed it on to the founder of India’s solar dynasty king Ikshwaku it's thus presumed that yoga was passed on from generation to generation and from time to time by our Rishis till the onset of kaliyuga (material age) . There after yoga seems to have lost its common practice.The latest recorded history of Yoga is available two centuries ago when Yoga in its present terminology of kriya yoga was taught by Maha avatar Yoga guru in the new form of kriya yoga to his disciple shri shri Lehri Mahasya who passed it on to Yugteshwar Giri who nurtured his disciple Yogananda the author of famous book (Autobiography of a Yogi) in techniques of kriya yoga and was instrumental in his journey to San Francisco (California) where he established his yoga centre for teaching yoga to yoga seekers in America.

A number of organisations are presently engaged in task of teaching and spreading the techniques and knowledge relating to Yoga. The prominent ones are Bhartiya Yog Sansthan with headquarters at Delhi established by Shri Prakash Lal ji in the year 1966. This organisation has set up yoga kendaras all over India numbering 4500, where proficient and dedicated teachers and instructors conduct daily classes free of charges. The motto of this organisation is “To live and let live” according to the Indian philosophy of Vishwa kutumbakam.The other prominent organisation in this field is Baba Ramdev by the name of Patanjali Yoga centre. Besides these organisations there are two very renowned Gurus namely Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji the exponent of “Art of living” and Jaggi Vasudev known as Sadhguru who has set up a famous Isha Yoga foundation coimbatore.

Bhartiya Yog Sansthan has set up about 100 yoga kendras in J&k and is conducting 30 classes in jammu city. Current year’s theme for International Yoga Day is the relevance of yoga for active ageing. It’s common belief that old age is itself an ailment and we normally come across statements regarding age related problems. It must be understood that ageing is a natural process of life. Yoga experts and Yoga textbooks declare that regular practice of yoga keeps one healthy both mentally and physically which ensures active ageing process with all the body organs functioning in a healthy state till the last breath. All Yoga Rishis and Gurus have stated that life is measured not by number of years but by the number of “shawas” (breath) which one has accumulated through yoga techniques of Pranayama. Therefore every individual right from young age should devote atleast one hour daily for practicing yoga which should contain important asnas, pranayama and meditation after learning these from qualified and proficient teachers. In essence one can conclude that Yoga is very relevant in present age which keeps us free from stressful life and to live a healthy life both mentally and physically till our last breath.