BY JYOTHSNA HEGDE
Atlanta, GA, June 26, 2020: As people bear the brunt of an unprecedented pandemic across the globe, different people have sought out solace in different ways. On June 21, 2020 hundreds of thousands of people tuned into a celebration of International Day of Yoga 2020 by Heartfulness Institute, in partnership with AYUSH Ministry which brought together eminent personalities in the fields of yoga and music including Kamlesh Patel (Daaji), President, Shri Ram Chandra Mission, Baba Ramdev, Yoga Guru, Co-founder, Patanjali Ayuerveda, Shripad Naik, Union Minister of State for AYUSH, Taranjit S. Sandhu, Ambassador of India to The United States, musicians Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj and Padma Shri Shankar Mahadevan. Themed “Let’s make Compassion Contagious”, the event trended as one of the largest virtual meets to celebrate the occasion across the world, highlighting the benefits of practicing yoga , and the necessity for compassion to take centre stage.
The event showcased the transformative powers of compassion that have been chronicled extensively in all of the great world scriptures. The event began with a brief introduction from the fourth spiritual Guide in the Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga meditation, Daaji, followed by Shankar Mahadevan’s musical invocation of Lord Ganesha.
“Compassion is love in action for the wellbeing of humanity. There is nothing more contagious than compassion. We start with self-compassion. We expand and embrace it with all of humanity. It is compassion that will unify us. If we upgrade ourselves on being more compassionate, we will follow the trail placed by Swami Vivekanand and Babuji in uniting humanity on a higher aspiration of total oneness,” said Daaji in his address. Daaji also highlighted the resilience of human spirit in the face of adversity, worldwide.
”This International Day of Yoga 2020 will be a significant milestone in the journey of bringing yoga practices to the world. This vision inspired by our Honourable Prime Minister is now adopted by the United Nations and is a global movement. The tradition of yoga is time immemorial and is another contribution to the heritage of the world, a fact that should make all Indians proud wherever there are. It is our responsibility to nurture and share the benefit of this phenomenal practice so that the future generations are also able to enjoy this gift to mankind,” stated Naik.
“I congratulate the entire team of Heartfulness institute for organizing a virtual global meet of music, meditation and Yoga on the occasion of International Day of Yoga. I congratulate them for getting such a large participation from all over the world and for making the sixth International Day of Yoga, i.e., ghar-ghar se Yoga, a successful one,” said Ambassador Sandhu.
The event, also graced with the presence of the legendary Pandit Jasraj, featured his soulful performance. “Service to your parents, devotion to your teachers and follow the guidance of your guru and your practice,” advised the luminary musician in his message for the youth.
Sharing his insight and practical wisdom on yoga and meditation Baba Ramdev demonstrated few practical breathing techniques and exercises that help gain focus before meditation. “I have always said that Heartfulness is the peaceful revolution of this era. Yoga is music and I salute you for bringing together great personalities of this country in the field of Yoga and classical music on the International Day of Yoga and Music,” he noted. Concluding his session with Daaji, he added, “Let us take a pledge today that we will follow the eight limbs of Yoga. We will elevate our lives by practicing Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Samadhi and Heartfulness.”
“Karuna in the times of Corona is needed more than ever. Let us all get united to prove that compassion is more contagious than the virus,” said Sanjay Sehgal, CEO, MSys Technologies and Atlanta lead of Heartfulness.
In the final segment, Daaji spoke about the institution of heartfulness and its commitment to serve humanity. “Babuji, the founder of Heartfulness created this organization with the primary objective of helping suffering humanity to move to a higher life. To bring the gift of meditation to every household in the world, free of charge.” The global personality in spirituality concluded the meet with a vote of thanks and wishes compassion and love for the world. The mega event ended on a high note with a laudable performance by Pandit Jasraj.
The 500 plus partner organizations supporting the event included top organizations including corporations, social transformation organizations, International and National Government bodies including Philips, HDFC Bank, DDFC, UCO Bank, SBI, NTPC, BHEL, Port Association of India, Reliance Jio, GICPL, Delhi Police, SEBI, GACL, Indigo Airlines, Sewa International, AIM for Sewa, AAPI, TANA, TAMA, ATA, YourDost amongst others.
Heartfulness (www.heartfulness.org) is a lifestyle based on simple meditative practices and skills. It has been around for over 100 years. Heartfulness is said to help people find inner calm, peace and stillness. The simple practices are offered to people of all walks of life, cultures, religious beliefs and economic situations, over the age of 15, free of charge. With over 4 million practitioners, Heartfulness has been adopted in thousands of schools and colleges, and over 250,000 professionals have been introduced to Heartfulness in corporations, non-governmental and government bodies worldwide. More than 5,000 Heartfulness Centres are supported by over 13,000 certified volunteer trainers in 160 countries.
