Yoga - India's solution to friendly and harmonious diplomacy

To celebrate International Yoga Day (June 21), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and about 7,000 soldiers and civilians practiced yoga at Dal Lake, a famous tourist destination. The Indian leader is an active promoter of Yoga, considering it a friendly and harmonious diplomatic solution between countries and peoples around the world.

On June 21, at Dal Lake, a famous tourist destination in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, bordering Pakistan, Indian Prime Minister Modi and about 7,000 people, including leaders of ministries, sectors, military personnel and citizens participated in a 30-minute yoga session to celebrate International Yoga Day.

This year’s International Yoga Day theme is “Yoga for Self and Society”. On social media X, Prime Minister Modi encouraged people to make yoga a part of their daily lives. “Yoga fosters strength, good health and wellness,” he stressed, adding that wherever he goes, global leaders are curious to ask him about yoga and the world is seeing yoga as a force for global good.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi practices yoga in Srinagar on June 21. (Photo: X)

Yoga is a group of physical, mental and spiritual exercises rooted in ancient Indian philosophy, which are said to help build strength, flexibility and reduce stress. Although Mr. Modi's predecessors tried to spread the influence of yoga to the world, the effort was rather lackluster. After becoming the leader of India, one of Mr. Modi's first and most important jobs was to mobilize the Indian community around the world to sponsor and promote Indian culture, especially yoga. Taking advantage of social networking sites, especially on his personal Facebook page, which currently has 49 million followers, Prime Minister Modi regularly posts pictures, videos/clips of practicing yoga with the Indian people to strongly popularize this health training subject.

In 2014, Prime Minister Modi successfully lobbied the United Nations to adopt a resolution to designate June 21 as International Yoga Day. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September 2014, Prime Minister Modi affirmed: “Yoga is India’s invaluable gift to the world. It represents the unity of mind and body, thought and action, restraint and performance, harmony between man and nature, and a holistic approach to health and well-being. Yoga is not just about exercise but about discovering the meaning of unity with one’s own body, the world and nature.” According to the Indian Prime Minister, “by changing our lifestyle and building awareness, yoga can also help us deal with climate change.”

Also in 2014, Prime Minister Modi established the Ministry of Yoga & Traditional Medicine with the aim of promoting Indian culture to the world.

International Yoga Performance - Da Nang 2024 at Bien Dong Park, Son Tra District, Da Nang City. (Photo: DAFO)

Since then, yoga has been considered an effective diplomatic tool of India, contributing significantly to rebuilding the position of one of the most brilliant civilizations in human history. "Yoga diplomacy" under Prime Minister Modi has been implemented in many different forms, including three basic forms: the Indian Prime Minister himself introduces yoga in high-level diplomatic forums, gives books, discusses yoga with politicians; organizes yoga performances during visits and welcomes of international heads of state; through Indian embassies abroad to deploy yoga activities globally on the occasion of International Yoga Day.

Prime Minister Modi also regularly presides over International Yoga Day events at various locations across India and last year at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

According to statistics from the United Nations, there are currently more than 2 billion people practicing yoga in the world; over 300 million people practice yoga every day. In Vietnam, there are thousands of yoga clubs with hundreds of thousands of people practicing every day. Yoga has become a lifestyle, a training trend that attracts a large number of people of all ages, genders, and professions.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/yoga-giai-phap-ngoai-giao-than-thien-va-hoa-hop-cua-an-do-201383.html