OUR GREAT TRADITION OF YOGA IS CONNECTED WITH PEOPLE’S MIND

The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’. It means to join. In the scriptures related to yoga, yoga has been designated as the art and science of healthy living. For the first time here, Maharishi Patanjali codified the Yoga Sutras by organizing various meditation practices. If you go to the Indian culture of the Vedas, then you will also meet the tradition of Yoga there. Hiranyagarbha preached yoga at the beginning of creation. The sages like Patanjali, Jaimini etc. later made it accessible to everyone.

Yoga has been accepted here from the very beginning as an ideal way of life with a healthy body and a healthy mind. Maharishi Arvind has described the practice of yoga as very important for the overall vision of life. I believe that yoga is not a therapy, it is the greatest means of selfdevelopment. It has always been getting importance here in us only as a method of realization with the Supreme.

In such times when the mind constantly wanders in the blind race of materiality, yoga is very useful for mental peace and contentment. On the initiative of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, UNESCO, considering this great tradition of India as useful for the world, has declared World Yoga Day. This is the global acceptance of our tradition and culture.

Indian culture is associated with lofty values of life. Yoga is the sound of that culture. This is the ideal way of life, in which the mind is attached to the lofty ideas of welfare not only for itself but for the whole world. It is well known that we have always believed in connecting, not breaking. Yoga is the foundation of this. Maharishi Arvind has explained yoga very deeply. He wrote, “Yoga does not mean to give up life, but to face the problems and challenges of life with courage, keeping faith in the divine power.” According to Aurobindo, yoga is not merely the practice of difficult asanas and pranayama, but selfless surrender to God and transforming oneself into divine form through mental education.

Yoga is related to the mind with the body. If the mind is healthy, then the body automatically moves towards health. In intuition, a person is exposed to ignorance within himself. Yoga helps with this. I have felt it many times. Maharishi Aurobindo has given utmost importance to intuition in life. Because of this, humanity has reached the present stage of progress. If the modern generation joins the yogic routine, it is made mandatory in schools and colleges, then many complexities related to life can be solved very easily.

We all know that it is the Prana Shakti that controls all the activities and arrangements of the body. Accumulation of life force and its arrangement is possible only through yoga. Yoga is naturally related to Pranayama. Pranayama awakens our inner energy and makes it healthy, balanced and active. It is said that yoga controls the tendencies of the mind. Its meaning is that yoga controls the instincts related to our mind and makes it conducive to a healthy life. Bhastrika, Kapal Bhati, Tribandha, Anulom Vilom, Bhramari, etc. are such easy yogas, which everyone can practice with little effort. If these are done regularly, then not only the body but the mind also remains healthy. For a healthy, happy, and wellbeing life, these activities related to yoga are also useful in the way that it gives direction to a positive life.

The meaning of yoga is to know the powers within, harness them and to awaken one’s infinite powers within by realizing the inner self. Swami Vivekananda had advised yogis in his time that their conduct and they themselves should become proof. What he meant was that yoga should be kept away from professionalism. It should be seen as the welfare of humanity, not as a miracle. This is the greatest need of the hour.

Lord Shri Krishna has said in the Bhagavad Gita, ‘Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam’ which means doing any work with skill is yoga. This is a matter of very deep meaning. If we understand this, then we will be able to understand more closely our lifestyle related to yoga contained in Indian culture. Knowing the mind and adapting life accordingly, that is the real yoga. Come, on this auspicious day of Yoga Day, let us carry forward this great tradition of ideal and lofty life values and spread ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ in the public mind.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

KALRAJ MISHRA The writer is Governor of Rajasthan