The world has come together to celebrate the fourth International Yoga Day on June 21, 2018. The theme for 2018 is ‘Yoga For Peace.’ Just how do we interpret peace in the given scenario? Is peace about two countries maintaining diplomatic relations? Is peace about individuals respecting each other? Is peace about giving the space to the downtrodden, the underprivileged and the weak? Or are we talking about the peace within.
Afterall, it is the lack of harmony within that leads to a myriad of emotions and distortion outside.
Perhaps it is quite in sync with our current realities. This 5000 year old science of wellness is all about restoring body balance, creating a dialogue between your inner self and exterior being and establishing a sense of calm both within and without.
Yoga is not just about weight loss. It is after all a way of life that aims to understand and unite your body’s response system. Both the physical and the mental health needs proper nurturing and care and yoga helps you to achieve this in a seamless fashion time and again in a constructive and continuous cycle.
Yoga helps you rein in the three primary vices in human nature, “Kaam, Krodh and Lobh”.
Undeniably, if you go to the root of most global problems today, it is ultimately the lust for power, anger and greed for more that is converting sane human beings into savages. Whether it is the kind of violence they treat their fellow humans with or the severe lack of basic human attributes, it points to a severe and scary disorder of the quintessential body balance within.
Peace is indeed what we need. But peace of human existence, the peace within and the overwhelming peace of life as we see is what we must strive to achieve. The need is to rein in the demon within. Whether it is the demon lusting for power or greedy about control, it does not matter. It is the human tendency yearning for more than you have that is creating the complete sense of discord all around.
This Yoga day, it is important that we celebrate the ‘Tyag bhav’ that Yoga embodies. Life is as fragile as the breath that we inhale and the breath is all that we can hold on to. The interesting part is how being in control of our breath changes the entire perspective of the world. Does it make us world leaders? Perhaps not so for everyone but it surely gives you the courage to lead from the front, believe in yourself and let go negativity in its true essence.
Leave a reply