Yoga
The power of Yoga is maintaining equanimity in the mind in challenging times and also gaining that much- needed skill in action while conflicting interests pose threats to peace in society. Contrary to what people think yoga is being reclusive and moving away from society, it is actually integrating with every aspect of life. In fact, yoga was taught in the middle of a battlefield by Lord Krishna over 5,100 years ago.
In today’s world when everyone feels righteous and has the right to fight for their own cause, there needs to be a commonality of understanding and a review of our sense of righteousness. Yoga gives you that much-needed keenness of observation and a wider context to consolidate your thinking. While perception and expression are two main reasons for conflicts, yoga can make a big difference to both.
Our society
Our society is undergoing social, economic and other challenges which seriously cause depression. A large number of youth today are suffering from this condition and popping anti-depressants is not helping. It is not so much a disorder as it is a pattern of low energy, low enthusiasm, disinterest and hopelessness. Yoga elevates the spirit and pulls one out of the quagmire of depression.
Another significant chunk of the world’s population is caught up in aggression and violence, either due to oppression and injustice or due to fanaticism. Here as well, yoga channels the energy of youth, giving it a constructive direction and preventing it from turning destructive.
Yoga changes the behaviour of a person because behaviour depends on the stress level in them. It creates a friendly disposition and a pleasant inner atmosphere in people. Higher values like non¬violence, forbearance and stability start coming to the fore in one’s personality. This effect multiplies and brings peace and harmony at societal, national and global levels.
There are hundreds of thousands of people who have come out of depression through yoga and meditation, and also those who have been able to leave a life of violence behind and start afresh. It is with an inclusive, broad vision with which people can be brought together and ways found amidst conflicting positions.
The power of yoga Inner peace is absolutely essential for a sane and healthy individual, yet many do not seem to be attending to it, maybe by sheer lack of awareness. As of last year, nearly 2 billion people on the planet joined the International Yoga Day celebrations. This gives a hope for the future and we can dream of an ideal world where conflicts could be resolved by mutual dialogues and our society could be lifted out of depression.
A violence-free society, disease-free body, confusion-free mind, prejudice-free intellect, trauma-free memory, and a sorrow-free soul is the birth-right of every individual. Parliaments all over the world are striving to achieve this goal of human existence—happiness! The European Union has also done some work in identifying parameters beyond GDP to measure prosperity. Governments around the world have begun to recognize Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH). Yoga is something that can aid and be a very useful tool towards that goal.
Yoga goes a step further than solving problems that have manifested already. The propounded of Yoga, Maharishi Patanjali, says that its purpose is to stop misery before it appears in life. Neither at school nor at home are we taught how to deal with negative emotions, but this knowledge is essential in improving the quality of our life.
