NEW YORK
While thousands flocked the iconic Times Square, several hundred tested their flexibility at the United Nations headquarters here June 21, to observe the first International Day of Yoga, following recognition by the United Nations General Assembly that the holistic benefits of the ancient Indian practice are compatible with the principles and values of the U.N.
In attendance were External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Sam Kutesa, president of the General Assembly, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
The annual day was established in 2014 by the U.N. General Assembly, which recognized “that yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being.” The draft resolution establishing the day was proposed by India and endorsed by a record 175 member states. The proposal was first introduced by Prime Minister Modi in his address during the opening of the 69th session of the General Assembly last September.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has praised yoga for promoting respect for one’s fellow human beings and for the planet hoped that if yoga promotes physical dexterity, it can also promote diplomatic dexterity. “In my job as the secretary-general of the United Nations, I have to be agile all of the time,” he told the audience. Quoting Prime Minister Modi, he stressed that “yoga is not just about exercise; it is a way to discover the sense of oneness, with yourself, the world and nature.”
His first ‘asana’, or pose, he said was the tree pose, “suited to beginners.” Before his keynote Ban’s photo doing a tree posture while in India was shown to the audience. “It took a moment for me to gain my balance but once I did, I appreciated the simple sense of satisfaction that yoga can bring,” said Ban, who was dressed in a yoga track suit and participated in the yoga demonstration, performing several asanas that Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led the audience in.
Addressing the audience, Swaraj said the entire world is one family, and we can unite it with Yoga. “At a time when ethnic conflicts and extremist violence are threatening to destabilize societies, yoga can serve as the perfect antidote to stem such negative tendencies and move us on the path of harmony and peace,” she said. “I am confident that yoga can also become a potent tool for the United Nations to promote the message of brotherhood and amity in the finest Indian tradition of s ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’,” she said. “It is not often that both occasion and location match each other in scale. Here, in this historic place that was built to protect succeeding generations from the scourge of war, we gather to celebrate an ancient treasure – India’s own gift to the world,” she added.
Tulsi Gabbard, the lone Hindu member of the U..S Congress, referring to the massacre of nine Christians at a South Carolina church by a white supremacist last week, said this was the result of ignorance and hate and the antidote to that is the wisdom and spiritual love that lies dormant in all. “Yoga can awaken them,” she said.
India’s Permanent Representative Asoke Kumar Mukerji, invoked the ‘shloka’ “Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah” and said that its message of health, joy, freedom from suffering peace was the guiding principle for India joining the U.N. as a founding member. Yoga was the force behind this concept and the outpouring of support for the yoga day showed its time has come, he said.
Before leading a yoga and meditation session, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told the audience that the day is very important for people who have been practicing yoga and have found inner peace. Calling yoga “a means,” he said the practice is useful in the education sector too, by helping the young. “Every child is entitled to a violence-free society,” he said. Reiterating that yoga is a way to find inner peace, he began the session with a short prayer to the almighty to give us strength and move together.’
Sporting IDY tee shirts that said “Wellness Before Business,” yoga demonstrators rolled out mats to settle down in yogic postures before the event began. Followers of the Art of Living Foundation, Brahma Kumaris Worldwide and other spiritual groups joined yoga aficionados and dignitaries at the outdoor event that was webcast in Times Square. A few journalists-turned-yoga enthusiasts, who went there to cover the event, left aside their pens and notepads to sit on the mats that they carried with them, showing excitement and euphoria about the event that seemed to be infectious both within and outside the UN.
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