PM Modi kickstarted the 10th International Day of Yoga celebrations the morning of 21st June by performing yoga in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar to a cheering crowd of local Kashmiris, who performed along with him. The PM was supposed to perform Yoga on the banks of Dal Lake but due to unexpected rains, the event was rescheduled to an indoor facility.
The PM also shared Yoga selfies with the local women from his X account and said, “Post Yoga selfies in Srinagar! Unparalleled vibrancy here, at the Dal Lake”.
The theme for International Yoga Day 2024 is “Yoga for Self and Society”. Keeping in sync with the theme, PM Modi said yoga has helped people realize that their welfare is intrinsically connected to the larger welfare of the world around them. “The world is looking at yoga as a powerful agent of global good. Yoga helps us live in the present moment without the baggage of the past”, said the PM. “When we are peaceful within, we can also make a positive impact on the world. ..Yoga is making new ways of positive change in the society”, he added.
Since the International Yoga Day was first celebrated in 2015 after it was officially designated as the International Day of Yoga by the UN in December 2014, owing to sustained efforts of the Bharatiya government, PM Modi has made it a point to make a symbolic statement on this day every year by choosing a different venue for kickstarting the celebrations.
The choice of Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar for PM’s International Yoga Day programme is a rather surprising one. Most importantly, it’s a choice that’s loaded with geopolitical symbolism. With the abrogation of Article 370, the narrative around Kashmir began to change fast. However, there was still a considerable amount of anti-Bharat propaganda regarding the Kashmir issue at the international level. News of the internet shutdown in the valley flashed across the whole of global media circuit for months after Article 370 was abrogated.
But with the Modi government’s astute international diplomacy under the aegis of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the international narrative around Kashmir began to change as well. The Arab world now chooses to ignore Pakistan’s cries on Kashmir; It’s instead focusing on further deepening its ties with Bharat. The West too has stopped using the Kashmir card with Bharat to a considerable extent. Also, given that the West is caught neck-deep in its own issues, it can no longer afford to interfere in the internal affairs of Bharat. It can also not afford to antagonize Bharat, a country with increasing geopolitical clout and economic prowess, the support of which the West desperately needs on pressing issues.
Thus, PM Modi choosing Srinagar as the venue for International Yoga Day celebrations is as much about Kashmir as it is about yoga. It sends a strong message to the world that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of Bharat, and that Pakistan and China would do well to concentrate on their internal affairs rather than lecturing Bharat on Kashmir.
It’s also an apt response to Bharat’s Islamists who still raise hue and cry over International Yoga Day celebrations, crying hoarse over the Hindu origins of Yoga. PM Modi, by performing Yoga in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, has sent a strong message to Bharatiya Islamists. Also, Islamic nations have been holding International Yoga Day celebrations over the past couple of years. Nouf Almarwaai, Saudi Arabia’s first Yogacharya, the recipient of Bharat’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri in 2018, said that Yoga is becoming popular across Saudi Arabia as people are interested in fitness.
Around 10,000 people joined the International Yoga Day 2023 celebrations in Saudi Arabia. This year also, UAE is gearing up for a whole week of International Yoga Day celebrations starting June 21. The UAE is focusing on “Yoga for Women Empowerment” as multiple events focused on empowering women are being organized across the country, attracting participants from a diverse set of nationalities.
Bangladesh also celebrated International Yoga Day 2024 as the High Commission of India in Bangladesh organized a grand Yoga event at a stadium in Dhaka. Yoga day programmes were also reportedly held at the Hamdard University of Dhaka and other multiple venues.
It’s strange that despite Islamic countries embracing Yoga, Islamists in Bharat have time and again created a ruckus around Yoga Day celebrations, branding Yoga as “UnIsla-mic”. Outright protests against International Yoga Day celebrations were more common during the initial years of the UN-designated day. With the world embracing International Yoga Day celebrations and acknowledging Yoga as a powerful symbol of Bharat’s soft power, it’s becoming increasingly hard for Bharatiya Islamists to keep their anti-Yoga rhetoric relevant.
International Yoga Day 2024 is being celebrated with much fanfare and enthusiasm in countries across the world including the US, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, China, etc.
Yoga practitioners assembled for day-long Yoga sessions at Times Square, New York to commemorate the International Day of Yoga. The Consulate General of India in New York hosted special Yoga sessions along with the Times Square Alliance at Times Square, on Thursday. Hundreds of Yoga enthusiasts performed Yoga asanas in Tel Aviv, Israel to celebrate International Yoga Day and also to seek justice for those taken hostage by Hamas after the October 7 terror attack on Israel. The participants in Israel turned the Yoga Day celebrations in a sort of symbolic protest as they attached the pictures of hostages to their mats.
International Yoga Day celebrations will also be conducted on the North Lawn area of the UN headquarters, coordinated by the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in partnership with the UN Secretariat. Free Yoga sessions are also being organized in parks in multiple cities across the world.
While it’s great to see so much fanfare and enthusiasm around Yoga, Bharat mustn’t lose sight of its original objective in seeking global recognition of Yoga. The Bharatiya origins and the Hindu roots of Yoga shouldn’t be downplayed in a bid to boost global popularity, Yoga is not a stretching exercise and a cosmetic form of workout, it’s a life- altering profound experience that connects us to our inner consciousness. For seasoned Yoga practitioners, Yoga is Sadhana (devotion). Thus, while promoting the International Day of Yoga, the Bharatiya government must also emphasize the Hindu roots and metaphysical dimensions of Yoga, it shouldn’t be reduced to a workout that keeps one physically fit.
“Yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit root “Yuj” meaning “to join” or “to unite”. As per Yogic scriptures, the practice of Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with universal consciousness. Bhagwan Shiva is seen as the first Yogi or Adiyogi, and the first Guru or Adi Guru. Thousands of years ago, Adiyogi gave his profound knowledge to Saptarishis (seven sages). The Saptarishis thus carried this profound Yogic knowledge and wisdom to different parts of the globe including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, etc. This is how Yoga came into being.
In Bhagvad Gita, Shri Krishna speaks of four types of Yoga – Bhakti or devotion, Jnana or knowledge, Karma or action, and Dhyana or concentration, as paths to derive Moksha or salvation. The most commonly referred text on Yoga these days is Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, dating between 200 BCE-200 CE. “While Patanjali codified the many existing teachings on yoga at his time, some of which are seen in Buddhism and Jainism, it cannot be ignored that yoga and references to its practice existed within Hindu scripture long before the Yoga Sutras”, says Hindu American Foundation.
Thus, while we celebrate the International Day of Yoga and the Bharatiya government promotes Yoga worldwide, perhaps it’s good to bear in mind the Hindu origins of Yoga. Rebranding Yoga from a global perspective and connecting it with economic growth is all great but we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that Yoga is deeply rooted in Bharat’s ancient civilizational and cultural ethos. We need to keep reiterating this in front of the whole world.
Celebrating International Day of Yoga is a great beginning. The next step should be to create our own Indic narrative around Yoga and promote it globally.
