PM Modi at Yoga Day celebrations in Kolkata says the practice connects world to India

PRime government minister Narendra Modi led the 12th International Yoga daylight (IYD) jubilation at calcutta’s red river Road on Sunday morning, taking part in a mega event where thousands of open-air yoga sessions were held across the eastern state for the first time.“Yoga is not just for a better personal life but for the world’s future,” Modi said in his inaugural address.  The celebration started at 6.30am when he reached the venue from Lok Bhawan (formerly Raj Bhawan). He was accompanied by governor RN Ravi, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, Union minister of state for the ministry of Ayush Prataprao Yadav and senior dignitaries.“June 21 is the longest day in our part of the world, and now it is the day the world celebrates its biggest festival. Yoga has connected the world to India. It brings people together. Today I offer my best wishes to the world community,” Modi said.“It is a special occasion for me to be in Bengal on International Yoga Day. Swami Vivekananda introduced Yoga to the world. It gives me a spiritual feeling to take part in a community yoga event here. Rabindranath Tagore said we belong to the world community. Rishi Aurobindo said Yoga connects us to spiritualism even if we cannot feel it immediately,” he said.“This year’s theme is Yoga for Healthy Ageing. Yoga can keep us healthy even if we are ageing. It means that age does not reduce human potential. Yoga can help human life to aspire for growth. Our target must be to be more energetic at 50 than we were at 30. We must be more resistant to life style diseases at 70 than we were at 50. This is where Yoga can help us,” he said.“Yoga for healthy aging must be seen as one for people from all ages not just for the elderly...It paves the way to world peace, not just for our personal lifestyle; it is a necessity for a better future for the world,” he said,“Millions connect to Yoga on this day but we need to focus on our resolutions. Let us not limit Yoga to a one-day event but make it part of our life, our family, and our coming generations. For this reason, we introduced the Yoga 365 programme. A 100-day online programme was introduced on this occasion, and people from 130 nations have participated. Once this is done, we will have a prosperous and peaceful world,” Modi said.Also Read:Bengal finally on path envisioned in 1947: PM ModiThis is the first time International Yoga Day was celebrated on such a large scale in Bengal and chief minister Adhikari indirectly attributed it to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the recent assembly elections.“Until now, the state government has not been involved in the International Yoga Day celebrations. I don’t want to go into the reasons. The scenario has changed. Today, more than 10 million people across Bengal are taking part in the celebration,” Adhikari said.