New Delhi/ United Nations: Amid chants of ‘Om’ and recitation of ‘Mantras” for universal peace, millions across the globe today joined in spectacular celebrations to mark the inaugural International Yoga Day, in a tribute to the ancient Indian spiritual and exercise discipline known to balance mind, body and spirit.
From glaciers of Siachen to the troubled waters of the South China Sea, from Sydney’s popular Bondi beach to the banks of the Thames in London, from obscure parks to the barracks of Tihar Jail, people stretched and bent and sat in quiet meditation as PM Narendra Modi hailed the occasion as the “dawn of a new era of peace”.
Mr Modi expressed his gratitude to the UN and 193 countries for their “unprecedented support” in passing an India-sponsored resolution to declare June 21 as International Day of Yoga and said a “new era” has begun to train the human mind to scale new heights of peace and harmony. Mr Modi also cautioned against commodifying yoga.
Addressing the first International Day of Yoga celebrations at the UN, foreign minister Sushma 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 destabilise 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 ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’,” she said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his excitement in his meeting with Ms Swaraj, saying the day has garnered “unprecedented” enthusiasm around the world.
US Ambassador to India Richard Verma was among scores of diplomats who attended the mega event at Rajpath. Several top bureaucrats, including secretaries to union ministries and officials from the PMO were also present. So were Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung. Locked in a bitter turf war, they were, however, seated in separate enclosures.
Indian soldiers, dressed in special weather clothing, practised yoga at the frozen heights of Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world at 18,800 ft above the sea level.
