The historic week-long 28th annual International Yoga Festival held from the March 1 to 7 at Parmarth Niketan Ashram (Rishikesh) concluded on Monday with the celebration of Maha Shivaratri. It was jointly organised by the Uttarakhand Tourism, Parmarth Niketan and GMVN. With the end of this yoga festival on Monday, begins another yoga festival-Yoga Kumbh in Haridwar.
The Yoga kumbh has much in offing – regular yoga weekend classes by the nodal agencies of Haridwar like Patanjali Yog Peeth, Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Rishikul Ayurvedic College and Gurukul Kangri University.
On Monday, a procession was taken out by the participants of the festival joined by 140 students of Hindu Heritage Foundation who are on a trip to learn the culture and philosophy of India.
The conclusion of the festival coincided with the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri. More than 1100 participants from 85 nations joined together, as one family, to celebrate and rejoice on the occasion by joining in a special Shiva Abhishek (worship of Shivalinga) on the banks of Mother Ganga amidst the extraordinary drumming and music by world famous percussionist Sivamani.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Swami Chidanand Muni of Parmarth Niketan said, “The participants were deeply touched and transformed by learning Yoga, Pranayama and meditation in Rishikesh, the birthplace of Yoga, on the banks of sacred Ganga. Each evening they performed yagna and Ganga aarti, singing joyfully and exuberantly.
On the last day, they offered their love and gratitude to the lord of Yoga, lord Shiva. They were in tears having to leave their Himalayan home.
They said they would come back again and again to the sacred land of the Himalayas, which was like heaven.