Averring that yoga had nothing to do with religion, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said here on Thursday that yoga “is a holistic science embodying the basic principle of organic, interconnectedness of different facets of life”.
Addressing the gathering while participating in the International Day of Yoga 2018 celebrations in Mumbai, Naidu said: “Yoga has nothing to do with religion. It is unfortunate that some people attribute religious overtones to this ancient scientific system. Yoga is a holistic science embodying the basic principle of organic, interconnectedness of different facets of life”. Quoting Sage Patanjali who compiled the first yoga philosophy, the Vice-President said that yoga helped a person control his or her own random thoughts and allowed achieving stillness, a calmness that created inner harmony.
Exhorting the people to make yoga a part of daily routine to combat modern day health problems, the Vice President said: “Time has come to introduce yoga as part of school curriculum so that India becomes a nation of healthy and happy people in the coming years”.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that yoga promoted concentration and focused attention. “Apart from enhancing physical and mental agility, Yoga practice makes a person to adopt a balanced attitude towards life at all times,” Naidu said.
Dwelling upon the importance of yoga, Naidu said that the worrisome trend of youngsters resorting to extreme steps like ending their lives could be curbed if they developed sense of equanimity and calmness of mind that could be developed through yoga and meditation.Meanwhile, Maharashtra Governor CH. Vidyasagar Rao participated in a special yoga session organised by Kaivalyadhama and The Yoga Institute on the occasion of International Day of Yoga at Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai.
Over 15,000 service personnel and family members of the Western Naval Command participated wholeheartedly in the International Yoga Day (IYD) – 2018 organised by the Western Naval Command.
The IYF-2018 was celebrated by units of the Western Naval Command at Mumbai, Karnataka, Goa and Gujarat on 21 Jun 18. Defence civilians from industrial units of the Command also conducted Yoga camps at their work places.Special yoga sessions were conducted for the children of naval community at Kalakendra, Navy Nagar to inculcate a spirit of yoga among the younger generation.
Personnel on Naval ships on the high seas and in foreign ports dedicatedly conducted yoga sessions with high spirit and enthusiasm thus showcasing the benefits of Yoga across the oceans.
The IYD-2018 was celebrated with great enthusiasm by more than 50,000 NCC cadets at more than 653 different locations all over Maharashtra.
The Western and Central Railways celebrated Yoga day with enthusiasm. The Western Railway organised a programme “Common Yoga Protocol” consisting of various Yoga exercises for senior officers & staff including General Manager, Additional General Manager, Principal Heads of Departments, Heads of Departments, Officer and staff members. On its part, the Central Railway organized a demonstration of asanas as directed by Ministry of AYUSH and it distributed booklets on yoga.
In an interesting development, commuters performed Yoga exercises on board the running the suburban locals of the Western Railway. “A team comprising 20 yoga teachers performed as well as provided coaching to passengers on the platforms at Churchgate and in moving trains, on the yoga assanas,” a Western Railway spokesperson said.
According to the WR spokesperson, the yoga teachers’ team travelled from Churchgate to Virar in groups of 2-3 trainers. “They covered 15 coaches in 5 trains, with an objective of reaching out to maximum people. The lady commuters were very enthusiastic about this concept, Special Yoga sessions were also conducted for WR's motormen at motormen lobbies at Churchgate,” he said.