To emerge as a powerful nation, India needs to aggressively promote Yoga to make its citizenry physically fit, mentally sharp and spiritually strong
-Nikhil Yadav
The idea of ‘New India’ or ‘Self Reliant India’ has not come out of mindless fervour, but it has a civilisational basis to it. As we know, without a strong base a grand building cannot be built, similarly without watering the roots of a plant it’s impossible to have a healthy plant. When capital is lost, it’s termed as materialistic loss. But when culture fades away it darkens an era of civilisation.
Yoga is an essential part of our culture and tradition. It is a gift to the humanity. However, it is we Indians who have to introspect today, on how much we are living up to our cultural heritage when the world has accepted it in a big way. In the words of Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi “From Dehradun to Dublin, from Shanghai to Chicago, and from Jakarta to Johannesburg, Yoga is now spread everywhere.”
Yoga as a tradition and spiritual discipline in India has a long cultural heritage. The expansion of this yogic art, skill, and science can be regarded as a gift of India to the world. People attain perfection in action and understand the meaning of life through its rich practice and knowledge. One of the first archaeological references connecting to yogic postures can be identified in the form of a seal at Mohenjo-daro, an archaeological site of the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation which recognises a Pashupati seal, also commonly known as Proto-Siva. Dated back to 2500 – 2350 BC c. the seal “denotes the sitting posture of a yogi with his spine erect, a posture somewhat similar to modern-day “Mulabandhasana”. The name given to Pashupati on the seal is associated with Rudra, the Vedic deity, who is generally believed to be an early form of Shiva. Shiva is considered the Adi-Yogi in Yogic knowledge. However, due to the undeciphered Indus script, we still lack a tangible literary source of the period.
The tradition continued during the Vedic times which is evident through literary sources like Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Shri Krishna teaches the art and the science of yoga to Arjuna. Bhagavad Gita which is a Yog Shastra introduces various dimensions of yoga, exemplified: Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam – (2.50) “Yoga is a skill in action”. But at the same time, we have to ensure that every action of ours is beneficial for society.
Yoga Philosophy (Darshan) is among the six major Indian philosophies (Shad Darshana) which introduce mankind to the method of living a yogic life. Born in 140 -150 BC c. Maharishi Patanjali initiated Yoga as a way of life through his 195-196 Yoga Sutras – which consists of both the theory and the practical part which expressed a process to attain Samadhi (a state of meditative consciousness). His “Ashtanga Yoga” (the eight limbs of yoga) connected yoga for the understanding of the common man. From his “Ashtanga Yoga”, we learn that the Asanas (postures) and Pranayama (breathing practices) are one of the two out of the eight elements of yoga to keep us free from diseases in daily life. Yoga is not just Asana and Pranayama alone but a way of living a balanced life. The first five limbs in “Ashtanga Yoga” are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, and Pratyahara; these five are bahiranga ( external) and the three parts that come after this are Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi also known as Antaranga (internal).
It was Swami Vivekananda, the great Yogi of the 19th century, who introduced and spread the Indian wings of spirituality to the world. After his historic speech of September 11, 1893 at the World Parliament of Religions, Swamiji became a household name. For the next three and a half years (1893–1897) he continued his spiritual journey in the Western world. In America he alone traveled to dozens of States. Further, he visited England and explored a few more European countries during his stay in the West. Swamiji, not only through his public lectures on Bhakti, Karma, Raja, and Jnana Yoga and private classes defined the meaning of yoga but also performed the yogic postures and exercises. Through this, he not only changed the world vision about India to the West but also raised the level of India’s standard by instilling a feeling of self-confidence, self-respect, and self-esteem in the Indians back home. He used yoga as a magic wand. In America and England, people used to throng to listen to Swamiji. In his lectures given on the topic Rajyoga, Swamiji used to present very subtle points in front of the west very simply. Under Raja Yoga, he sheds light on Prana, the Psychic Prana, the Control of Psychic Prana, Pratyahara and Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi. All this information is also contained in the book “Rajyoga” composed by him.
Moreover, Swamiji also introduced subjects which seemed complex to the common man such as Samadhipad, Sadhanapad, and Vibhutipad among others, under Patanjali yoga sutra. For him, Yoga was a gift from India to the world. After returning to India, Swamiji gave a call to Indians. According to him in the league of nations, every nation has its defined role and he elaborated India’s role while speaking at a youth gathering at Madras on the topic ‘The Work Before Us’. There Swamiji mentioned “Everything looks propitious, and Indian thought, philosophical and spiritual, roast once more to go over and conquer the world.” He further added “Let foreigners come and flood the land with their armies, never mind. Up, India, and conquer the world with your spirituality!” India has to conquer but not by hatred, not by anger, not by materialism, not by grabbing someone’s land or by fighting with the help of ammunition, but by spirituality. It is the science and the art of Yoga that the world is craving.
The need of the hour is to understand the real essence of Swami Vivekananda’s teachings. The time is to show our faith in the age-old tradition – Yoga. Today, 177 members of the United Nations have approved the proposal to celebrate “International Yoga Day” on 21 June every year. It depends upon us how we take this opportunity to further develop a society in which there are physically fit, mentally sharp and spiritually inclined human beings. Yoga has come up as the panacea for the human race. It has rescued and filled people with positive vibes during this time of COVID-19 uncertainties. It is important for all of us to realise its importance and get connected with it for our peace and prosperity. It is rightly said, ‘a healthy mind can lead you to a healthy body’, and we can achieve this by practicing Yoga religiously.
The writer is a State Youth Head at Vivekananda Kendra, Uttar Prant, and a Research Scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is also a nominated Member of Indian Yoga Association, Delhi Chapter)
