Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said yoga remains a “ray of hope” as the world fights the coronavirus pandemic and asserted that in these difficult times it has become a source of inner strength.
Addressing the 7th International Yoga Day programme, Modi also said that in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), India has taken another important step and now the world is going to get the power of M-Yoga application, which will have many videos of yoga training based on Common Yoga Protocol available in different languages of the world.
This will help us in making the ‘One World, One Health’ motto successful, he said.
“At a time when the whole world is fighting the coronavirus pandemic, yoga remains a ray of hope,” Modi said.
The prime minister noted that there may not have been any major public events in countries around the world and in India for around a year and a half, but the enthusiasm for Yoga Day has not diminished.
For most of the countries of the world, Yoga Day is not their age-old cultural festival and in this difficult time, people could have forgotten about it and ignored it, but on the contrary, people’s enthusiasm for yoga has increased, he said.
“When the unseen coronavirus knocked on the doors of the world, no country was prepared for it in terms of resources, capability and mental state.
We all have seen that in such difficult times, yoga has become a great source of inner strength,” he said.
“The ‘Yoga For Wellness’ theme this year has encouraged people even more to perform yoga. I pray that every country, region, and people, stays healthy,” he said, adding that the pandemic has not dampened the enthusiasm for yoga worldwide.
The Prime Minister stressed on the need to reach yoga to every corner of the world and the need for fusion of modern technology and ancient scientific knowledge like yoga. Yoga will play a preventive and positive role in healthcare for masses, Modi said.
In December 2014, India introduced the draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly to mark June 21 as International Day of Yoga. It received widespread support, with 177 nations co-sponsoring the resolution.
