Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Yoga Day celebrations in Vizag.
- Yoga promotes peace in a conflict-ridden world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday
- Yoga is inclusive and unites people beyond boundaries, age, or ability, he added
- He led the 11th International Yoga Day celebrations in Visakhapatnam
Yoga can ensure peace in a "conflict-ridden" world and is the "pause button" that is the need of the hour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.
"Let this Yoga Day mark the beginning of Yoga for humanity 2.0 where inner peace becomes global policy. May today be the start of global peace," the Prime Minister said, as he led the 11th International Yoga Day celebration in Visakhapatnam.
Yoga is for all, beyond boundaries, backgrounds, age or ability, he said. "It has united the world. After 11 years, Yoga has become part of the lives of crores of people around the world. Whether the Sydney Opera House or Everest mountain or the span of the ocean, the message is that Yoga is for everyone," he added.
The 11th International Yoga Day, celebrated by several countries across the world on June 21, has been themed as 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health'.
In his speech, PM Modi said crores of people have adopted yoga. "It awakens us to interconnectedness. Yoga is for one Earth, one health. Yoga takes us from me to we. India is offering healing to the world," he said.
"Let us turn yoga into a revolution. Begin each day with yoga to achieve balance and harmony," he added.
He said that yoga leads us on a journey towards oneness with the world.
"In the last one decade, when I see the journey of Yoga, it reminds me of many things. The day India put forth a resolution in the UNGA - to recognise June 21 as International Yoga Day- and in a very short time, 175 countries of the world stood with our country. This unity and support in today's world is not a normal incident," he said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also spoke at the event. He said PM Modi made Yoga popular not only in India but across the world, turning it into a global wellness movement.
He highlighted that Yoga Day is being celebrated in more than 175 countries, across 12 lakh locations with the participation of over 10 crore people.
"I am thanking our visionary Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making Yoga popular not only in India (but also) across the world. He started International Yoga Day through the United Nations and made Yoga a global wellness movement," he said.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the cultural arm of the Ministry of External Affairs, is organising various yoga events and programmes in 191 countries to mark the day, with more than 2,000 events to be hosted at 1,300 locations.
In Delhi, yoga events will be held at Jantar Mantar, Qutub Minar, Purana Quila and Humayun's Tomb, while similar 'Yoga Bandhan' programmes will be organised at iconic locations in Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhopal, Gwalior and other cities, she added.
