CELEBRATING THE POWER OF YOGA
LUCKNOW: Incessant rainfall failed to dampen the spirits of thousands who assembled at the sprawling Ramabai Ambedkar ground to perform an array of asanas with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in observance of the third International Yoga Day (IYD) on Wednesday morning.
The PM, who arrived at the venue around 6.40 am with Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, did not let them down. Even as an enthusiastic crowd chanted ‘Modi Modi’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, he shrugged off his security cordon to join the students assembled in the main arena.
Modi, in his address, praised the people for braving rainfall since 4 am for the yogic cause. “I thank Lucknowites for patiently waiting in this rain to perform yoga,” he said. “Today, they have sent a message across the world that yoga can be performed even in a downpour.”
The PM said yoga has cut across linguistic and cultural barriers to unite various regions of the world – just like it links the mind, body and soul. Urging people to make yoga as integral a part of their lives as common salt, he said: “Earlier, yoga was performed only by saints. Today, it is found in every household.”
Yoga has also played a big role in bridging India with the world, he claimed.
“Several countries have acknowledged the discipline. It has connected the entire world, with several countries performing yoga on this day. And even here, the demand for yoga teachers has increased manifold in the last three years. Yoga has become part of the education curriculum in several states across the country.”
Modi said the increasing popularity of yoga spurred Unesco to add yoga to its list of intangible cultural heritage, along with Cuba’s rumba and Peru’s scissor dance, in December last year.
“It is not necessary to perform yoga 24 hours a day. Fifty or sixty minutes should be enough to bring harmony to the body, mind and intellect. If 1.25 billion Indians and people across the world attain this state of well-being, humankind will be able to tide over problems borne out of human thoughts,” he said.
Once his address was complete, the Prime Minister surprised everybody by descending on the ground to join the students waiting to perform yoga. The crowd burst into cheers. Then, for around 20 minutes, Modi followed the instructions being conveyed through the public address system to perform a number of yogasanas. The students behind him followed his lead, matching him step to step.
In his speech made earlier, Adityanath thanked Modi for picking Lucknow as his venue for performing yoga. He also expressed his gratitude to those who waited hours in the rain to perform yoga with the PM.
UGC NOW PROPOSES A YOGIC SCIENCES CENTRE
NEW DELHI: After approving undergraduate and post-graduate yoga courses at universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC) now plans to establish an Inter-University Centre for Yogic Sciences in the country.
Sources said a proposal submitted in this regard is being examined by the commission. The UGC had also asked all universities and colleges to prioritise the celebration of the International Yoga Day, and submit proof of activities by students and faculty members for review.