Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the celebration of International Yoga Day at the United Nations in New York and urged people "to join hands together to realise the goal of one earth, one family, one future."
The United Nations in 2014 declared June 21 the International Day of Yoga, adopting a measure proposed by Modi. "Let us use the power of yoga, not only to be healthy, happy, but also to be kind to ourselves and to each other," Modi told a gathering of yoga devotees seated on yellow mats on the north lawn of UN headquarters by New York's East River.
"Let us use the power of yoga to build bridges of friendship, a peaceful world, and a cleaner, greener and sustainable future," he said.
“It is a very old tradition. . . (but) it is also living and dynamic. When we do yoga, we feel physically fit, mentally calm and emotionally content,” he said before participating in International Yoga Day celebrations under the aegis of UN. “But it is not just about doing exercise on a mat. Yoga is a way of life,” he added, stressing that it is free from copyrights and patents. The event set a Guinness World Record, announced on scene, for most nationalities - 135 - at a yoga lesson.
Surat city sets a world record
The Yoga Day event organised in Surat city of Gujarat has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering for a yoga session at one place with 153,000 people joining the program, officials said. The previous world record was set in 2018 in Kota city of Rajasthan when 100,984 people participated in a Yoga Day session in one place. Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi said, "The Yoga Day event in Surat has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people for a yoga session in one place. More than one lakh people took part in the event and broke the previous record."
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with other participants performed yoga onboard INS Vikrant, in Kochi. Border Security Force (BSF) personnel take part in a yoga session at India-Pakistan Wagah border post about 35km from Amritsar. The celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir reached new heights when a session of yoga was held on the Chenab railway bridge, the highest bridge in the world, which is located in the Reasi region.
Worldwide celebration of Yoga day
Many people from different parts of the world participated the Yoga event with the theme ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ aptly translating to One Earth. One Family. One Future. To celebrate the International Day of Yoga, 650 people gathered on the grounds of Tokyo's Tsukiji Honganji Temple to perform yoga. People residing in Malaysia observed the day in different parts of the cities. India’s neighbouring country, Nepal’s officers performed Yoga at the National Police Academy in Kathmandu.
