Mumbai: Bikram Choudhary, the yoga master has faith in the Indian people
Yoga guru to Hollywood stars, Bikram Choudhary was in Mumbai for a programme when terror forced its way into the city. In this interview he urges Mumbaikars not to panic and states that Indians can over come any obstacle.
Where were you when you first heard about the attack?
I was at the JW Marriott for our programme with my team when the media there began to get reports. I think it was Anil Kapoor or Gulshan Grover who told me about it. We cut down the four hour-long session to 40 minutes.
Where did you and your team go?
We went to Bappi Da's (Bappi Lahiri) house.
Will Mumbai ever recover?
Yes we can get over such a stressful situation.
We are Indians! We are wind, cyclone, water, sex, emotion proof. If we panic, they (terrorists) will think they are successful. We have always survived and will survive now.
How can we forgive?
We have to forgive. The darkest place in the world is under the lamp. We have to live together. These terrorists are ignorant people. It's like pi*sing in the wind. It does not prove that you are right. When you practice yoga you have discipline and nothing can break you down. I teach how to survive and how to deal with the bad times.
Can you suggest any asanas or a form of mediation to relieve some stress?
There is nothing you can do overnight. My suggestion now is to calm down and relax. Don't create tension and don't get excited. Don't kill the mosquito with a cannon. Ignore it. You can think anything you want but it does not solve anything.
In the long run if anybody practices yoga they will improve their psychological power. You can control your emotions. A yogi's feet do not touch the ground. They levitate. Nothing on the earth can touch a yogi.
What was the reaction of your team since most of them are foreign nationals?
There are Americans, people from Canada, Vietnam and Thailand. They are a little upset because they came here to conduct a program. They are a little homesick. But after all they are yogis...
When you go back to America, what will you say about your country after this attack?
The same thing I have been saying all this while: Learn to deal with it. News is not news if it's not bad. Unfortunately this began in America and everybody is following that. Why is there no good news?
Bikram Choudhary began learning yoga at the age of four. At the age of 13 he was declared the National Yoga Champion. But when he was 17, doctors told him he would never walk due to injury to his knees. Yoga helped him get back on his feet within six months. Spreading yoga's message, he reached the USA.
Hollywood fell in love with him. He counts actress Raquel Welsh (in spite of her having plagiarised his book), Sean Connery and Michael Jackson whom he has known since eight, as good friends. Controversy has been his close associate, with him choosing non-vegetarianism over fruits 'that have chemicals' and patenting certain yogic asanas.
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