Yoga ॐ: To make yoga aam choice, Modi government to drop all references to ‘ॐ Om’ from promotion
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Yoga Practice|Narendra Modi government|International Yoga Day|Hindu spirituality|aum
"It
has to be kept in mind that the idea of the International Yoga Day is
to take yoga to the global stage," a top government official involved in
preparations said.
NEW
DELHI: To make yoga an aam lifestyle choice in a country where
religious symbolism often attracts high-voltage political controversies,
Modi Sarkar is dropping all references to 'Om' — the traditional
mystical invocation related to Hindu spirituality and yoga practice — in
its coming high-powered promotion of this ancient discipline.
Senior officials involved in the government's extensive preparations to celebrate the June 21 International Yoga Day told ETthat the brief is to keep the effort "free of controversy".
Therefore, there will be no reference to 'aum' in the 33-minute Common Yoga Protocol that's been prepared by the department of AYUSH ( ayurveda, yoga & naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy), as well as all literature and video being prepared for the June 21 celebration.
"It has to be kept in mind that the idea of the International Yoga Day is to take yoga to the global stage," a top government official involved in preparations told ET.
"Linkages with religion may just undermine this ambitious effort," the official added. Officials who spoke to ET for this story did so on the condition they not be identified.
The Modi government's decision is significant not only in the light of recent religion-related political controversies but also global debates about yoga's 'religious' identity. Court battles have been fought in the US over whether yoga propagates religion and although the discipline's global popularity is substantial and growing, the question hasn't completely gone away.
Aqua yoga session at Perks School in Coimbatore
Ishwar V Basavaraddi, director, Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga confirmed that even the mention of the "universal sound" of aum is being avoided to ensure that there is no religious overtone given to International Yoga Day.
Plenty of other efforts are being made to make June 21 a significant day. There are plans to issue Rs 100 and Rs 10 coins. The coins will carry the logo of International Yoga Day - a yoga posture indicating the integration of the five elements.
The government will also issue a special postal stamp bearing the same image. The same logo is likely to be adopted by UN for the international day of yoga. The slogan likely to go with the logo will be - 'Yoga for Harmony and Peace'. Indian missions and culture centres all over the world will host the 33-minute Common Yoga Protocol, starting 8 am of June 21. There are plans to host this — starting 7 am — across India as well, in schools and government departments and security forces. And the government is approaching Guinness Book of World Records as well as Limca Book of Records to enlist June 21 celebrations as the biggest multi-venue yoga practice ever. Also, officials said, the yoga protocol, prepared in consultation with Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev and yoga institutions in India, will stick to the simplest of yoga postures. "This is to ensure yoga appeals even to the uninitiated in many countries."
Later this month, a yoga guru will be brought in to train MPs and their family members. In New Delhi, while the culture ministry will organise an exhibition on the history of yoga, the tourism ministry will circulate brochures and booklets. To round it all off, there will be a government-sponsored international conference on yoga on June 21 and 22.
Senior officials involved in the government's extensive preparations to celebrate the June 21 International Yoga Day told ETthat the brief is to keep the effort "free of controversy".
Therefore, there will be no reference to 'aum' in the 33-minute Common Yoga Protocol that's been prepared by the department of AYUSH ( ayurveda, yoga & naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy), as well as all literature and video being prepared for the June 21 celebration.
"It has to be kept in mind that the idea of the International Yoga Day is to take yoga to the global stage," a top government official involved in preparations told ET.
"Linkages with religion may just undermine this ambitious effort," the official added. Officials who spoke to ET for this story did so on the condition they not be identified.
The Modi government's decision is significant not only in the light of recent religion-related political controversies but also global debates about yoga's 'religious' identity. Court battles have been fought in the US over whether yoga propagates religion and although the discipline's global popularity is substantial and growing, the question hasn't completely gone away.
Aqua yoga session at Perks School in Coimbatore
Ishwar V Basavaraddi, director, Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga confirmed that even the mention of the "universal sound" of aum is being avoided to ensure that there is no religious overtone given to International Yoga Day.
Plenty of other efforts are being made to make June 21 a significant day. There are plans to issue Rs 100 and Rs 10 coins. The coins will carry the logo of International Yoga Day - a yoga posture indicating the integration of the five elements.
The government will also issue a special postal stamp bearing the same image. The same logo is likely to be adopted by UN for the international day of yoga. The slogan likely to go with the logo will be - 'Yoga for Harmony and Peace'. Indian missions and culture centres all over the world will host the 33-minute Common Yoga Protocol, starting 8 am of June 21. There are plans to host this — starting 7 am — across India as well, in schools and government departments and security forces. And the government is approaching Guinness Book of World Records as well as Limca Book of Records to enlist June 21 celebrations as the biggest multi-venue yoga practice ever. Also, officials said, the yoga protocol, prepared in consultation with Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev and yoga institutions in India, will stick to the simplest of yoga postures. "This is to ensure yoga appeals even to the uninitiated in many countries."
Later this month, a yoga guru will be brought in to train MPs and their family members. In New Delhi, while the culture ministry will organise an exhibition on the history of yoga, the tourism ministry will circulate brochures and booklets. To round it all off, there will be a government-sponsored international conference on yoga on June 21 and 22.
ओम को हटाकर योग को सेक्युलर बनाएगी सरकार
भारत में धार्मिक प्रतीकवाद से कई बार बड़े राजनीतिक विवाद देखने को मिलते हैं। इसलिए मोदी सरकार योग को आम लोगों के जीवन से जोड़ने और निकट भविष्य में इसके लिए होने वाले प्रमोशन में यह कदम उठाने जा रही है।
21 जून को अंतरराष्ट्रीय योग दिवस को मनाने के लिए तैयारियों में जुटे वरिष्ठ सरकारी अधिकारियों ने हमारे सहयोगी अखबार ईटी को बताया कि इसका मकसद इसे राजनीतिक विवाद से बचाना है। उनका कहना था कि किसी एक धर्म से जोड़े जाने पर इस अभियान के कम पसंद किए जाने की आशंका थी।
आयुष विभाग (आयुर्वेद, योग और नैचरोपथी, यूनानी, सिद्ध और होम्योपथी) के बनाए गए 33 मिनट के 'कॉमन योग प्रोटोकॉल' में ओम का कोई जिक्र नहीं होगा। इसके अलावा, 21 जून को योग दिवस के लिए तैयार की जा रही लिखित सामग्री और विडियो में भी ओम शब्द नहीं रहेगा।
योग दिवस के लिए और भी कई तैयारियां की गई हैं। 21 जून को महत्वपूर्ण बनाने के लिए इसी दिन 100 और 10 रुपए के सिक्के जारी किए जाने की योजना है, जिसपर योग की एक मुद्रा छपी रहेगी। इस मौके पर डाक टिकट भी जारी किए जाएंगे। इसमें भी वही तस्वीर लगेगी। संयुक्त राष्ट्र के भी इसे 21 जून को अपना लोगो बनाने की उम्मीद है। एक साथ कई देशों में और भारत से सरकारी स्कूलों और ऑफिसों में योग करने के कई रेकॉर्ड बनने की भी उम्मीद है।
अंतरराष्ट्रीय योग दिवस के मौके के लिए आम स्वीकार्य स्लोगन देने की भी योजना है। इस दिन के लिए 'शांति और सद्भभाव के लिए योग' स्लोगन दिया जा सकता है। योग प्रोटोकॉल तैयार करने के लिए बाबा रामदेव, रविशंकर, जग्गी वासुदेव और दूसरे योग संस्थानों से सलाह ली गई है।
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