Yoga in times of crisis, war

The launch of a commemorative Rs 100 coin celebrating the upcoming 100th year of the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute in Lonavala founded in 1924 was the launchpad for riveting talks about yoga rooted in ageold wisdom but constantly evolutionary and as a panacea in a wartorn world The commemorative coin was unveiled at the World Trade Center WTC at Cuffe Parade on Wednesday eveningSuresh Prabhu former cabinet minister and chairman centenary committee at Kaivalyadhama said ldquoThe long existence of the yoga institute is an achievement More than longevity though is the fact that the existence has been extremely purposefulrdquo Prabhu highlighted that to see only yoga as an exercise is narrow Research at the institute and efforts to create programmes for specific ailments like for cancer afflicted and survivors for example introducing yoga books and literature to all is what makes this an entire ecosystem and this is what ldquoneeds to be acknowledgedrdquo he addedStrife lifePrabhu coming to our contemporary times pointed to the wars the world is embroiled in The two though he did not name them specifically top of the mind are Israel against Hamas and Russia and Ukraine Prabhu explained ldquoThere are major crises in the world today and countries have a formidable arsenal Wars are not fought in a traditional way now We are in a push button age and they are fought with the push of a buttonrdquo Yet like the manyheaded hydra that hitech is Prabhu acknowledged that though this is an immensely powerful era technologically ldquothis push button ability is also overpowering us at timesrdquo By this the minister meant that this hitech blitz can consume and dehumanise usWhile technology is one facet Prabhu said wars are caused or started by individuals ldquoThese may be people in power they may be nonstate actors How then can individuals change Here it is our traditional knowledge that comes in and yoga plays a big part of thatrdquo Prabhu invoked the Sanskrit philosophy which was also the motto of the G20 summit lsquoVasudhaiva Kutumbakamrsquo which means the world is one family Prabhu said ldquoYoga is Indiarsquos great gift to the world The countryrsquos contribution to the betterment of the world is immenserdquo Prabhu also pointed to the fact that there is significant scientific research being done at the Kaivalyadhama with reference to yoga and claimed ldquoThis research makes accessibility easier Amidst all the crises roiling the world today India is a shining example as our wise taught us through practices like yoga to do something good for ourselves and not harm othersrdquoDas classThe uplifting address was followed by Shaktikanta Das RBI Governor taking the mike and giving his message Das said ldquoI will talk about yoga through the prism of a common person and a working professionalrdquo He broke up his speech into four points stating first ldquoYoga has gone mainstream When I was a student I recall we would see some lsquopiousrsquo looking persons doing yoga and it always amused us We did not know what they were doing Today we see yoga being practised in offices in parks and sometimes on a flight and in a train toordquoThe second point Das made after mainstream was that ldquoyoga has gone international When I travel abroad I see a large number of institutes dedicated to yoga Teachers have trained in India and gone back to their countries to impart that knowledge Some of these teachers are of Indian origin others are foreigners We cannot forget June 21 the International Day of Yoga as the most potent symbol of the internationalisation of yogardquoThe buttonThe third aspect according to Das was an analogy of yoga being like the lsquoresetrsquo button on our device ldquoWhen you have too many apps on your device when you feel lost you tap the reset button and begin again Yoga is like that when there is too much clutter in the mind too much pressure yoga is a reset button for clarity and calmnessrdquoAmidst this the audience at the south lounge of the WTC complex experienced a curated inner awareness session with some breathing exercises and yoga on the chairs led Ravi Dixit Jt director Kaivalyadhama Mumbai Bringing up point no 4 Das said yoga ldquohas a scientific basis World over doctors and researchers are agreeing to thatrdquo he signed off adding as a postscript ldquoyoga transcends mere practice it is a way of life capable of catalysing positive transformations in individuals and societiesrdquo The RBI unveiled the commemorative coin of 100 The coin is made of an 8020 silver alloy and is 44m in diameter weighing 35 grams