Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday underscored the potential of yoga to lead the world towards peace in the face of increasing global turmoil and chaos.
Delivering his address at the 11th International Day of Yoga celebrations in Visakhapatnam, PM Modi appealed to the world to adopt "Yoga for Humanity 2.0," converting inner peace into a cornerstone of world policy.
Along with more than three lakh people participating in the national celebration at RK Beach, the Prime Minister participated in the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) and demonstrated the unifying and healing power of yoga.
"Amidst conflict and adversity, yoga teaches us the way to peace," the Prime Minister stated. "Yoga is the pause button the world needs — to breathe, to achieve equilibrium, and to feel complete again."
Emphasizing yoga's capacity for transformation, he added that it has to break out of the confines of personal practice and become a basis for international partnerships, with each nation and society making yoga an integral part of everyday life and public health policy.
"Yoga in its very essence means to connect — and that very connection has united the world," Modi said, felicitating citizens across the globe on the 11th International Day of Yoga.
From a Resolution to a Global Movement
Referring to the origins of world celebrations, PM Modi remembered how India's suggestion in 2014 that June 21 be declared International Yoga Day found unexpected endorsement from 175 countries in the United Nations.
"That was more than an endorsement of a resolution — it was a global pledge for the health of mankind," he said.
Looking at the international embrace of yoga over the last decade, the Prime Minister said, "After 11 years, yoga has become part of life for crores of people. On the steps of the Sydney Opera House, at the top of Mount Everest, or in the oceans, yoga speaks one language — it's everybody's language."
Inclusivity and the Spirit of Oneness
PM Modi spoke of how yoga has touched lives from all sections of society. From visually challenged persons reciting yoga scriptures in Braille to astronauts doing yoga in space, and kids undertaking Yoga Olympiads in villages, he discussed the diversity and coverage of yoga.
He also noted that yoga classes were being conducted on Indian warships at sea off Visakhapatnam, a symbol of the large-scale adoption of the practice across various walks of life.
This year's theme, "Yoga for One Earth, One Health," resonates with the spirit of oneness, he added. "Human well-being is inextricably intertwined with the well-being of our environment — the earth, water, vegetation, and wildlife that form our collective ecosystem. Yoga sensitizes us to these interdependencies and urges us to live in harmony with nature," Modi said.
Leaders Join the National Celebration
The Visakhapatnam event had involvement from major leaders, such as Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prakash Jadhav, and central ministers K. Ram Mohan Naidu, Chandrasekhar Pemmasani, and Bhupati Raju Srinivasa Varma. State ministers Nara Lokesh and Satya Kumar, and MPs D. Purandeswari and M. Bharat also attended.
