The world order is in turmoil with the unstable world order, crumbling economic model of development, climate change crisis and unabated use of artificial intelligence. Yogic wisdom rooted in balance, harmony and unity within and outside goes beyond health and can provide a solution to the worst-ever challenge to humanity.
What is the Yogic Vision?
As Bharat’s civilisational contribution to the entire humanity, Yoga does not only mean individual health and well-being through physical exercise. Derived from the root ‘Yuj’ – which means union or to connect, Yoga is essentially a holistic way of life leading to the harmony of body, mind, intellect and soul as envisaged by sages like Maharshi Patanjali, who did the first comprehensive compilation of the Yogic Philosophy. The ancient Indian Yogis, who were researchers on human life and its relationship with Mother Nature, developed various Yogic practices to overcome the ego and feel oneness with the supreme power through self-realisation. These ancient practices are known as Yoga.
“Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. It is not about exercise but to discover a sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it
can help us deal with climate change” – Prime Minister Narendra Modi
at UNGA on September 27, 2014
Thus, Yoga means balance, harmony and unity. On December 11, 2014, it was a momentous occasion when the resolution was proposed by 175 countries and passed unanimously by the general assembly, recognising that Yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being. Since then, the Yoga movement has been catching up worldwide. This approach of evolving a consensus amidst differences by elevating the individual and collective consciousness to the universal level is the crux of the Yogic Vision.
We need to inculcate and exhibit a similar approach to working together despite differences by realising the inherent unity that lies beneath the diversity. Post-pandemic recovery, climate change concerns, the economic crisis, and the challenges posed by the unabated use of technology with the growing intrusion of Artificial Intelligence and an unstable world order are the current reference points that underscore the need to evolve the Yogic Vision for the global good.
Post-Pandemic World
During the Covid-19 crisis, the UN recognised that Yoga has been playing a significant role in the psycho-social care and rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients in quarantine and isolation. That it is beneficial in allaying their fears and anxiety has been a shared experience. Therefore, the message of Yoga in promoting both the physical and mental well-being of humanity has never been more relevant. A growing trend of people worldwide embracing Yoga to stay healthy and rejuvenated and fight social isolation and depression has been witnessed during the Pandemic. At the same time, a lack of consensus about the holistic idea of wellness and the tendency to accumulate profits even when the entire humanity was crisis-ridden were evident in the real world. The conflict between modern allopathic practices and traditional methods of medicine was presented to the masses as if they were not just exclusive but inimical. At the Global level, there is a need for a dialogue between different ‘pathies’ (medical practices) to find common ground for a holistic concept of wellness, and the Yogic vision can provide a proper perspective in realising the same.
Climate Change
Extreme weather events like droughts and floods are now everyday news. Everyone agrees that avoiding harm to living conditions while pursuing material development is one of the most critical problems of our time. This dilemma has brought the issue of climate change to the centre of international negotiations. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his thoughts while proposing the International Day of Yoga in September 2014, “Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover a sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change”.
Peace is absence of disturbance
What is the best way to work for world peace?
Ramana Maharshi: What is the world? What is peace, and who is the worker? The world is not in your sleep and forms a projection of your mind in your jagrat [waking state]. It is therefore an idea and nothing else. Peace is absence of disturbance. The disturbance is due to the arising of thoughts in the individual, which is only the ego rising up from pure consciousness. To bring about peace means to be free from thoughts and to abide as pure consciousness. If one remains at peace oneself, there is only peace everywhere.
Will not the practice of good conduct [nitya karmas] lead to salvation? Several books state that it will.
Ramana Maharshi : It is said so in books. Who denies that good conduct is good or that it will eventually lead you to the goal? Good conduct or sat karma purifies the chitta or mind and gives you chitta suddhi [pure mind]. The pure mind attains jnana, which is what is meant by salvation. So, eventually, jnana must be reached, that is, the ego must be traced to its source. But to those to whom this does not appeal, we have to say that sat karmas lead to chitta suddhi, and chitta suddhi will lead to right knowledge or jnana, and that in its turn gives salvation.
Again, the Yogic vision that revolves around decoding the principles of nature can provide insights into evolving a consensus for addressing the issues of depleting natural resources and fluctuating weather conditions.
Crisis of Economic Model
As per the Yogic wisdom, material prosperity is essential for spiritual elevation. Optimum utilisation of resources available at the local level to fulfil the basic needs while establishing interdependence through technology and trade for ease of living is the balancing principle that is innate in the Yogic wisdom. We need to explore the Third Way, where each country is self-reliant with a unique development model and still practising interdependence for shared prosperity. Unless a holistic approach to balancing material prosperity with social satisfaction is achieved, society can never be content. Based on the Yogic ideas, the third way can help us get out of the extremes of individual values (capitalism) or enforced collectivism (communism) and enable us to balance the material and non-material needs.
Unstable World Order
The cycle of wars, either for exploiting resources or for establishing ideological and religious supremacy, is a consistent feature of the contemporary world order. After the devastating experience of World Wars, international organisations were created, but the cyclical nature of conflicts did not stop. Presently, the United Nations system is under tremendous pressure, and the world is facing another round of instability. The Ukraine crisis is just a symptom; the real malaise lies somewhere else. As Maharshi Aurobindo, whose 150th birth anniversary is being celebrated this year, articulated, “a mere outward unity- mechanical or administrative will never be sufficient in creating the ‘Ideal’ if the nature of humankind is given to politics of domination, repression, competition and clash. The intention of nature is to take up and perfect all these regressive movements and she will not rest till the inner basis for a true Unity is perfected”. The idea of imposed uniformity is inherent to all the modern ideological constructs, which is against the law of nature. Perpetual peace is possible only by recognising diversities and still creating unity at the level of consciousness, as analysed in the Yogic Wisdom – corresponding institutional mechanisms can keep changing as per the needs.
Self-realisation is the beginning; feeling unity with the Supreme level of consciousness is the ultimate goal. That is the key to peace and prosperity. Celebrating the International Day of Yoga is an occasion to experience and celebrate the ‘religion of humanity’. The substance of the Sanskrit saying, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, One-world Family – flows from the Yogic Vision.
Yoga and Meditation for a Peaceful Society
Can you define ahimsa and explain what it means and its connection to yoga?
“Today it’s very important that people wake up to a call for Non Violence. Violence is so pervasive in schools, homes are broken. Domestic violence – women are in trouble all over the world. We need a safe and secure world. We all have to work together. Every NGO, Civil Society Governments need to have one common goal: Creating a violence-free stress-free society.
There are eight limbs to yoga. First limb is Yama – in that are included non-violence, truth, integrity. These are foremost qualities for any yoga practitioners. Second limb of yoga is Niyama – Inner & outer purity. Then comes Asanas. It’s the third step: stretching. Yoga helps lead you to a non-violent state. You can start with any limb; all of them work well with each others. Like the legs of a table, they are interconnected. You pull one then others also come. When you do yoga you tend to be peaceful in your behaviors and with people, more non-violent.
Many people these days are worried about the threats of nuclear missiles being launched from North Korea. Can you speak about this situation and the solution?
“When you meditate and you feel calm and peace inside you will move away from violent tendencies and violent entertainment. It’s so obvious. If you are agitated, like leaders today, then your decisions affect millions of lives. In Iraq, one President was disturbed and it affected the whole country. When leaders meditate they will take better decisions. All decisions for war sprout in minds of individual people. So meditation by leaders is absolutely essential for a peaceful society.”
(From the transcript of interview of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar aired on Vancouver based radio station: Drishti Point yoga radio. Source: https://www.artofliving.org/)
As each individual is unique, adopting different paths of Yogic practices to elevate the consciousness as per the temperament and physical strength to realise the unity with the Supreme Consciousness, each society or nation can be part of the World Family, maintaining its own uniqueness. Evolving a federation of autonomous and self-contained nations under a common centre linking them all is the ideal of the Yogic Vision. Mere free trade or ideological and religious bonding cannot be a driving force for attaining this goal. As Dattopant Thengadi Ji aptly enunciated while providing a Third Way to the Capitalist or Socialist forms of Globalisation, “Without the growth of such human consciousness (based on the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam), it is impossible in the international economic field to ensure genuine ‘free trade’; maximum utilisation of the scarce resources; development without environmental problems and permanent damage to nature; adjustment of the presently unlimited human desires with the limited resources of the planet; management of population explosion; diversion of all the huge amounts allocated currently by different countries for their defence budgets to their developmental activities; encouragement to every country to maximise its specialised production; free exchange of scientific and technological information; constitution of International Technological Ombudsman; curbing the activities of international criminal gangs disturbing seriously the economic structures of even the civilised countries; and world peace, harmony and prosperity”.
International Day of Yoga is an opportunity to connect the world with the principles of harmony and peace and take the Yogic wisdom beyond health for global peace, stability and prosperity.
