The Fourth International Yoga Day was enthusiastically observed on Thursday within the country and abroad, with Prime Minister NarendraModi, who attended the main event at Dehradun, saying yoga has emerged as a major unifying force in a world facing conflicts.
A Guinness world record was created at Rajasthan’s Kota where over two lakh people performed yogic ‘asanas’ at one place on the occasion. Across the country, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Governors participated in event along with many thousands of people.
Modi, who led the International Yoga Day celebrations, said the world had embraced yoga and June 21 had become one of the biggest mass movements in the quest for good health and well-being.
Terming yoga beautiful because it is “ancient yet modern”, he said: “It is constant yet evolving. It has the best of our past and present and a ray of hope for our future. In yoga, we have the perfect solution to the problems we face, either as individuals or in our society.”
Modi said yoga helps to maintain balance when divisive powers gain prominence and “does the job of uniting us. Yoga brings about peace in this modern fast paced life by combining the body, mind, spirit and soul”.
Stressing yoga’s increasing spread has brought the world closer to India, he said: “The position that yoga has got in the world due to constant efforts made by us…
“It is our responsibility to further develop the understanding about yoga for a healthy and happy humanity. We should not hesitate to honour our own legacy and heritage if we want the rest of the world to respect us.”
He added: “From Dehradun to Dublin, Jakarta to Johannesburg and Shanghai to Chicago, people are celebrating Yoga Day all across the world.”
More than 35 foreign volunteers participated in the Dehradun event and performed 21 yoga postures along with nearly 50,000 people.
In Kota, the record-breaking event took place in the presence of yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Rajasthan Chief Minister VasundharaRaje at the RAC ground where people started assembling from 5 a.m.