Many people still see yoga as contortion of body, or a cult in Hinduism. In fact, yoga is a "super-science" or "Universal Science" and can play a crucial role in bringing about peace, humanity, brotherhood and global cooperation. Many people are uncomfortable with their life and are deprived of inner peace. The only way they can achieve peace and love is through the positive energy of yoga and meditation.Yoga helps maintain a balance between a person's body, thoughts, and feelings, thus leading to integrated personality development. Therefore, yoga can be seen as guiding us to lead our life as complete human beings.
The world today is divided by religions. Religious intolerance in turn contributes to conflict. In this context, when human values are slowly eroding, yoga can strengthen the feeling of brotherhood in the world. Irrespective of your religion or beliefs, everyone is free to practice yoga, pranayam (breath exercise) and meditation in order to experience a high level of being within ourselves.
In order to make themselves more productive, people from all walks of life can practice yoga. It should also be practiced in schools, colleges, and other professional bodies. This is the age of material achievement. But this comes at price. In order to direct scientific developments in right direction, there should be proper balance between materialism and spirituality.
But without the right practice of yoga, meditation and pranayam, it is hard to live healthily. Albert Einstein must have realized this truth when he said, "Science and spirituality are complementary. Spirituality without science is blind; science without spirituality is crippled." Yoga can act as a liaison between the worlds of science and spirituality.
Mankind has exploited the nature to the hilt. Everything is polluted, resulting in poor physical and mental health. Negative thoughts and feelings are taking over. Consequently, a person loses his or her balance in life, paving the way for stress and depression. The five physical constituents of life, viz. earth, water, air, fire, and space are affected by reckless human activities. Yoga, meditation, and pranayam are the most suitable way to stem this damage. It purges the society of its sufferings.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, yoga and meditation can be applied to reduce mental stress. It's necessary to teach people the art of coping with disasters, and the art of living. This will enable them to do something good for future generations.
Journalism—the profession I am in—is a demanding one. Such works can negatively impact person's life. That's why I rely on yoga and meditation. Ever since 2000 when I first participated in Vipassana Meditation, I have been constantly practicing meditation. I don't think there is a more effective way to make our life balanced, peaceful, creative, comfortable, and stress-free.
This Yoga Day can be an auspicious occasion for you to start a new, healthy life—by detoxifying the body and preparing yourself to embark on a lifelong spiritual journey. Let's make a resolution today to allocate at least 30 minutes every morning and evening for yoga, meditation and pranayam.
The author is with Nagarik Daily. He is also a yoga instructor
karki.chhatra@gmail.com
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