National

Sadhguru At UNESCO: Yoga Belongs To Humanity

June 24, 2023
Bharat Times English News

On the occasion of the ninth International Day of Yoga, renowned spiritual leader Sadhguru, founder of Isha Foundation, addressed a packed auditorium on the theme “Creating a Conscious Planet” at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris on Wednesday. Did. , Emphasizing that yoga belongs to humanity, Sadhguru said, “It is a matter of great pride for all of us that yoga originated in India. Yoga originated in the land that was called India. But everyone should understand, I know some people will disagree with very strong national sentiments, but yoga is for humanity.”

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Explaining this further, he said, “Whatever we find may not be related to any group of people. What we invent can belong to the people. What we create may belong to a certain group of people. What we seek as reality cannot be mine or yours. It is the right of every human being to find a way to his satisfaction.” Talking about International Yoga Day, the mystic said, “International Yoga Day is not a day to celebrate, it is a day of commitment. Your best contribution to the world is your living in the best possible way physically, mentally.

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Sadhguru’s address was followed by an interaction with Dr. Guila Clara Caseous, UNESCO Artist of Peace. Responding to Ms. Caseous’ question on the need to pass on yoga as a living legacy to humanity, Sadhguru spoke about the dire situation in the United States. He shared, “Recently, the Surgeon General of the United States said, one out of every two Americans, one out of every two, is feeling lonely. So look, in the most affluent country one in two is feeling lonely. As our population reaches 8.4 billion, we are feeling lonely. What is it? That is, we are erecting walls of individuality. Walls you can’t break yourself. You build a wall that you cannot break through because these walls are built for self-protection.

The walls of self-protection you build today will turn into walls of self-imprisonment tomorrow.” He continued, “So just imagine if every second American in a country felt lonely, loneliness is the first step towards mental illness. You have taken one step, the next step will come. So yoga (union) means that you are no longer alone because only you exist in the universe. you’re everything. Wherever you look there is only you. So when you see too much of yourself, you close your eyes and sit down.” Guiding the audience through a simple 15-minute meditation practice called Isha Kriya, which is available for free on the Sadhguru app, he took them through the meditation process.

Answering a question from the audience on how youth can use technology but not fall into the trap of loneliness, Sadhguru revealed that he will launch a special aspect of the Chetan Graha movement in 2024 that will explore the wonders of the mind through yoga. will focus on the search for Art forms such as meditation, dance, classical martial arts and music. “If two to three billion people used it over a sustained period of time, you would have a much better state of mind in the world,” he said.

The event also saw an address by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and UNESCO Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Vishal V Sharma and a cultural performance by Isha Foundation’s in-house band “Sounds of Isha” and a soulful dance performance on the Project Sanskriti theme. Yoga. The event was attended by over 1,500 people including Ambassadors of Angola, Albania, Palestine, Peru, Morocco, Costa Rica, Romania, Uzbekistan, Santa Lucia, Czech Republic and Lithuania, dignitaries, staff members from the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO . UNESCO, global leaders from the worlds of fashion, music and business and the general public.