Chandigarh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday led a camp of over 35,000 people for the second International Yoga Day celebrations. Asking people to embrace yoga, he said it is not a religious activity and people should perform it for better mental and physical health.
"Yoga is not about the other life. Therefore, it is not a religious practice. It is the science of this world, it is about what we will get in this life," Modi said.
Modi announced two annual awards to be given from 2017 for doing exceptional work for promotion of yoga at the international and national levels.
Dressed in a white-coloured t-shirt and trouser along with a scarf, Modi himself performed yoga 'asanas' along with the people at the event.
Defence forces personnel and school children, people from all ages -- 10,000 each from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana -- performed yoga 'asanas' on pink and blue coloured mats during the event.
“Many people do not understand yoga completely. It is not what you will get from yoga but what is important is what you will give to yoga and what all (ailments) will it rid you of. It helps is getting mukti (salvation) from health issues," Modi said, in an attempt to de-link the belief among some that yoga was a part of Hinduism," he said.
Modi also said that the UN-declared International Day of Yoga had become the biggest global mass movement.
“Among all days marked by the UN, no day has equalled the mass movement the International Yoga Day has become. It has become the biggest mass movement worldwide," said Modi, who was instrumental in getting the UN to declare June 21 as the International Yoga Day.
He said yoga was for both believers and non-believers, and there was no need to create any controversy over it. "Make yoga a part of your life. Just as the mobile phone is now a part of your life, make yoga too a part of your life," he said.
Yoga, he said, helped to control the mind and maintain a healthy body. It helped people to lead a disciplined life.
Emphasising on the importance of yoga, Modi said yoga was a guarantee for wellness, not just fitness. "Yoga binds body, mind, intelligence and soul. It provides a balance to mind and body. Yoga gives health insurance at zero budget. Anyone can do it anywhere. We are busy in our lives. We are cut off from ourselves. Yoga links us to ourselves," he said.
Expressing concern at the rising number of diabetics in India, he urged people to focus on the disease so that it could be tackled in a better way by the next International Yoga Day.
Yoga day was also held at 100 other locations across Chandigarh. Thousands across the country began the day with yoga exercises on Tuesday.
Yoga guru Ramdev held his record-breaking yoga event in Faridabad in Haryana, adjoining the national capital, earlier on Tuesday. Organisers said over 100,000 people performed yoga with Ramdev, setting a world record.
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