Yoga in times of crisis, war

The panellists join in a compact yoga session. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

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 age-old wisdom but constantly evolutionary and as a panacea in a war-torn world. The commemorative coin was unveiled at the World Trade Center (WTC) at Cuffe Parade on Wednesday evening.

Suresh Prabhu, former cabinet minister and chairman, centenary committee at Kaivalyadhama, said, "The long existence of the yoga institute is an achievement. More than longevity though is the fact that the existence has been extremely purposeful." 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, "needs to be acknowledged," he added.

Strife, life

Prabhu, 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, "There 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 button." Yet, like the many-headed hydra that hi-tech is, Prabhu acknowledged that though this is an immensely powerful era technologically, "this push button ability is also overpowering us at times." By this, the minister meant that this hi-tech blitz can consume and dehumanise us.

While technology is one facet, Prabhu said wars are caused or started by individuals. "These may be people in power, they may be non-state actors. How then can individuals change? Here, it is our traditional knowledge that comes in and yoga plays a big part of that." Prabhu invoked the Sanskrit philosophy which was also the motto of the G20 summit: ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' which means the world is one family. Prabhu said, "Yoga is India's great gift to the world. The country's contribution to the betterment of the world is immense." Prabhu also pointed to the fact that there is significant scientific research being done at the Kaivalyadhama with reference to yoga and claimed, "This 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 others."

Das class

The uplifting address was followed by Shaktikanta Das RBI Governor, taking the mike and giving his message. Das said, "I will talk about yoga through the prism of a common person and a working professional." He broke up his speech into four points stating first, "Yoga has gone mainstream. When I was a student, I recall we would see some ‘pious' 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 too."

The second point Das made after mainstream was that "yoga 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 yoga."

The button

The third aspect according to Das was an analogy of yoga being like the ‘reset' button on our device. "When 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 calmness."

Amidst 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, "has a scientific basis. World over, doctors and researchers are agreeing to that," he signed off adding as a postscript, "yoga transcends mere practice, it is a way of life capable of catalysing positive transformations in individuals and societies." The RBI unveiled the commemorative coin of '100. The coin is made of an 80-20 silver alloy and is 44m in diameter, weighing 35 grams.