India is blessed to have many gurus, in the past and present, but Yogacharya BKS Iyengar was the first to bring yoga to the West, said Murli Manohar Joshi, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former human resource development (HRD) minister.
Joshi was addressing a session at Balewadi stadium on Friday as part of the concluding event of the 10-day BKS Iyengar birth centenary year celebrations that included practical exposition of Iyengar yoga.
“The true soulful yoga was taken to the western world by the Guruji which is his biggest contribution and a gift to the world. No more gift and contribution is more spiritual than this. Guruji is a special creation of the almighty for the betterment of mankind. While initially it was not accepted, however, Guruji personified yoga, and now the whole world has accepted it,” said Joshi.
The veteran BJP leader said that the youth should not consider yoga as only practiced for health, but good health is a by-product of yoga.
Joshi, reading a letter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi written for the occasion, said, “The life of BKS Iyengar was a mission to help the humanity benefit from the healing touch and self-realisation potential of yoga, the gift of Indian civilisation to the world. His contribution to the popularisation of yoga to the world is unparalleled. Befitting a true master, he remained a lifelong student of this ancient wisdom and remained a true beacon of India’s soft power.”
{{/usCountry}}Joshi, reading a letter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi written for the occasion, said, “The life of BKS Iyengar was a mission to help the humanity benefit from the healing touch and self-realisation potential of yoga, the gift of Indian civilisation to the world. His contribution to the popularisation of yoga to the world is unparalleled. Befitting a true master, he remained a lifelong student of this ancient wisdom and remained a true beacon of India’s soft power.”
{{/usCountry}}Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, through a video message, said, “Yoga is an Indian philosophy that is over 5,000 years old. It is heartening to see the world celebrating Yoga Day, an initiative promoted by PM Narendra Modi.”