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Good morning, and a very warm welcome to this special program on International Yoga Day. What a beautiful way to start your morning: practice yoga and explore the full potential and purpose of your life. Yoga is the mother of all sciences and arts. It is the science of human origin and evolution to a point where you can overcome the boundaries of space and time. It is not the preserve of the recluse; it is very much mainstream. Yoga is the highest and all-encompassing system of thought given to us by our ancient thinkers to safeguard individuals, societies, nature, and the whole cosmos. It is indeed a historic moment when the whole world is celebrating International Yoga Day, and the need is to take the understanding of yoga beyond the physical limits. June 21 is a day of pride for India because India is celebrating Yoga Day with its own efforts all over the world. The reason for this is our country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. In September 2014, he announced International Yoga Day on June 21. On December 11, 2014—within 90 days—this announcement was accepted. Indian Yoga has united not only the country but also the whole world. Yoga is not only for the body but also for the mind, soul, and spirit to connect with God. On this International Yoga Day, India and the Prime Minister will lead the world. 192 countries around the world are celebrating World Yoga Day according to their time. On this occasion, more than 100,000 yoga programs are being organized across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do yoga in the capital complex of Chandigarh, where about 35,000 people are involved. Last year, the first International Day of Yoga was celebrated across the world with much fanfare, and this year again a big event is planned for the day. Ever since the United Nations declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day, it has been celebrated widely all over the world, particularly in India. This year too, a well-coordinated plan is drawn up to celebrate this day across the entire country. A theme song for the International Day of Yoga, named "Yoga Geet," has been released this year in addition to the yoga protocol of 45 minutes. Internationally, 191 countries will celebrate Yoga Day with almost double the number of participants this year. Besides the main event on Yoga Day, several Indian missions have organized a series of curtain-raiser events in various parts of the world to spread yoga awareness. The International Day of Yoga was organized successfully in India and throughout the world for the first time last year, with 177 nations voting in favor. India played a key role in the declaration of June 21 as International Day of Yoga. The proposal was mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his first address to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2014. This proposal saw India set two Guinness World Records with a mega yoga event at the iconic Rajpath last year. The Rajpath event broke the record for the largest yoga class, with more than 35,000 people performing the ancient Indian discipline at once. This time, it seems we are going to break another record. Joining me in the program today is Mr. Gyanendra Bhattaria, senior journalist and analyst. Swāmī Maheśvarānandjī and Dr. Mohd. Hanif Khān Śāstrījī also join us on the panel. Thank you very much for joining me this morning. I would like to start with you, Bhattāriyajī. How would you assess the preparations that have gone into today’s event? Do you think this is a great moment for India to ensure that International Yoga Day is not just celebrated within our country but beyond the boundaries of nations? Yesterday, I was watching the news, and I found that in far-off countries, in African countries like Ghana and others, there have been vast preparations for Yoga Day. Throughout the country, we have come across several news reports about the preparations being celebrated in almost every city of this country, as well as in several other nations—it is difficult to count as of now. Everywhere, the Indian Embassy has arranged new arrangements for the celebration of the program and Brand India, along with Brand Yoga, has gone across the world. This brand yoga is a very big brand because, keeping in mind that India is known for its rich cultural heritage and the fact that yoga has originated on our land, ancient, you know, thousands of years ago. Actually, in this globalized world, many things are borrowed. We have, each and every part of the world is borrowed from other parts of the world. The kind of dress I am wearing as of now is a European dress. Similarly, Yoga, as it has emanated from India and has gone across the world, Karate, which has become Kung Fu and Judo, Karate in other countries, that too is oriented in India. Āyurveda is oriented in India and several other fields: mathematics, from mathematics to science to several other things, several other fields of knowledge, of treatment, of discussion, even grammar. The most ancient grammar known to the world is from India. The most ancient language known to the world is from India. Several things are there. And in this globalized world, we keep on using the cultural tenets, cultural threads from other parts of the world for the betterment of humankind. The Prime Minister is going to lead the nation today with the yoga session being held in the Capital Complex in Chandigarh. The viewers can see how the preparations have been going on. People are already set for the session to begin sometime from now. But Swāmījī, we have the privilege of having you also today on the panel. Can you please throw some more light as to how yoga is perceived throughout the world today, and whether it has the real essence of yoga? Does it remain intact in its form? For the last 46 years, I have been living in Vienna, Austria. Around the world, I have thousands of yoga centers, and I am living there. I can say the Western people are with great joy and happiness accepting the yoga because they know to find peace of mind and good health. This India’s, as you said before, the speaker said, it is very ancient. Yoga is given by Swayambhū Śiva. So the author of the yoga is Śiva. And that, as the previous speaker said, yoga is the core of the achievement of the ātmā to the paramātmā, but first, good health is the first wealth. So yoga leads humans to become good persons, makes a good family, a good society, and a better way of living, and to bring the world peace, harmony, and unity. So yoga is a science of body, mind, and soul. Yoga leads to health: physical, mental, and social health. That’s a very interesting aspect, yes, this understanding of yoga in its complete form. See, there are eight stages of yoga, and we begin from very primary things like śauca, one must have the cleanliness of the body, of the environment, then of the mind, then of the nāḍī, nāḍī śodhana. I feel that more scholars are sitting than me; they will be able to explain better. Then nāḍī śodhana comes, it goes to the very end. After this, we gradually bring things together and develop our Tāntrika Tantra. We start our meditation. Meditation is probably the seventh stage. Mahārāj jī, can you tell me more about it? Well, you know, Swāmījī, the fact that the interpretation of any subject, I think, holds the key. Is it intact in the form that it used to be, that it was given by Ṛṣi Patañjali 4,500 years ago, probably? Is it the same? Is it intact in that form, or has the interpretation really diluted the core principles of yoga? Of course, they can’t be diluted. But the understanding of yoga, has it been affected because of the interpretation by various people? Yes, it has influenced the people in many different ways because people do not have opportunities to come to India or to learn properly the science of yoga, which has the different steps: the purification, ācār, vicār, āhār, and vihār. This is very important for the people. So purification of the body, which is coming to the Haṭha-yoga: netī, dhautī, vastī, naulī, tratāka, and kapālabhātī, where the prāṇāyāma comes. After that, which comes the āsanas. Āsanas are different. People think it is only for your good form of the body. But the āsanas are that where you feel very comfortable, and you can meditate and become one with thyself. After that, you understand the spiritual part of the yoga. Now everywhere is yoga, yoga, yoga. There are many, many different kinds of yoga developing in the world. So are there different kinds of yogas, or is yoga just one? Yoga is one. But how they are demonstrating and explaining, manifesting, there is a call wine yoga. You will be laughing, wine yoga. They say, what is it? Swāmījī, what is it? All kinds of names you hear. Yeah, all those kinds of names. But those who practice honestly, very soon they will come, they realize what is yoga. As our viewers can see on their screens, Prime Minister Modi is already there in Chandigarh, the capital complex, where the yoga session is going to begin in some time from now. This is according to the yoga protocol, a 45-minute protocol. It is a discipline in life, and it is beyond give and take. It is about freedom from everything and not about wanting for more. In fact, selfless service is also one of the key aspects of yoga. How do you link that principle to what the PM said today? Yes sir. First, we can see that in Patañjali, in the very beginning, it said, "Athaḥ yoga-anuśāsanam." Yoga begins with the anuśāsanam. But not tomorrow, not today, but just now. When you heard from the Prime Minister, that time many people, inside their ātmā and their mind, they made a saṅkalpa that I will develop the discipline. And do you think that the saṅkalpa part was a very crucial aspect of this protocol which has been designed? Yes. The saṅkalpa goes very deep into your subconsciousness, and it works very powerfully within thyself if you make a saṅkalpa with great humbleness, kindness, and truthfulness. Swāmījī, how does yoga promote world peace? I mean, if you can throw some more light on it. Yes. Because when you practice yoga, then you understand what life is. And when you understand what life is, it means not only the human, but the life of every creature. And not only the animals or birds or others, but also the trees and the vegetation. But not only the trees and vegetation, also rivers, the ocean, and you have to understand also the mountains. So being one with nature, that’s the biodiversity. So you have to become one with this creation. And yoga is, as it is said, not for some religion. It is not for some pūjā or something like that. It is like this that some practice for spirituality, and if you understand spirituality, some people think religion. But religion is also a definition of the religion; realize your relation with God is religion. And so you have to get a relation with thyself. If you understand the relation with thyself, the relation, then develop the relation with the outer world. And what is the significance of the chant of Oṃ, Swāmījī? Well, Aum is one of the first words. Nāda-rūpa-para-brahmā, śūnyākāśa, there was nothing, only dark and dhāk, nothing. So there was this one tendency, what they call that spūraṇa. So, "eko’haṁ bhauṣyāmi," I want to manifest it myself. That time this begins first a spūraṇa, Aum. So, it is beginning. The whole universe expanding is with that sound of the Om, from which comes the light, that is called Jyoti, Prakāś. And that Jyoti which comes, the Swayam Bhūden. So, Aum is the entire universe. Within that consciousness, the dormant energies await the chanting of the Aum, and especially so for the awakening of the chakras or the kuṇḍalinī. Also, collecting the thoughts into one, as Modijī said, the body becomes balanced, and the mind becomes peaceful and stable. Isn’t it very challenging for the modern-day man to practice honesty, non-covetousness, non-violence, all these things? Because what you see around is entirely different. Holding, we know, is very much there in our society. So, how challenging do you think it is going to be for the modern man to practice yoga in its purest form? Yes, in prima facie it seems very challenging, and there it underlines the requirement of adopting yoga; it underlines the essentiality of why we need yoga now. Once you start into all the five segments of yama, as you have described, primarily you will find that there is a lot of resistance, because all the resistance is attributable to a particular lifestyle. As Mudhījī has said, once you adopt yoga, once you get adopted by yoga, your own lifestyle starts changing. There is Aparigraha, that you must not hold. You must not have more than what you need. You do not have to be greedy. It looks very challenging because we are very familiar with the lifestyle which makes us hold on to as much as possible. But when we practice yoga, we reach that state when we feel that our mind, our soul has been emancipated from these kinds of holding, attributable, holding-related addictions, or whatever our desires are. When we start coming out of it, we feel that it was very simple; we were doing it like this. So this is the beginning. Once you get more and more into it, you will start seeing... So yoga will actually refine a person. Refine your lifestyle. That changed lifestyle will make you a person who needs less, who spends less, who spends only according to the requirements, and there the need of holding, the requisition of holding itself, will dwindle. That is a very, very global thing, and in fact we need it the most; any society would need it. In fact, Modi in the United Nations also, elsewhere also, he has said that if you want to protect the world’s environment, that is a very significant component of you. Absolutely. If you want to protect the world’s environment, if you are really concerned about global warming and related issues, you have to limit your consumption according to your needs. And that will happen only when you start thinking about others as well. About others as well, yes. You cannot have conspicuous things. Conspicuous consumption, conspicuous hoarding. Absolutely. And the mantra of Vasudeva Kuṭumbakam is also given to the whole world. That the world is a family. When we talk about Vasudeva Kūṭumbakam, one question arises here: India is the world’s most youthful country. So, what should be considered is that in today’s era, when yoga has once again gained such an expressive form, we should understand the importance of it. Now, will the youth power of our country be able to understand this? I feel that the tangible results system will have an impact. It will take two, three, four, five years. The youth are joining it now. They are seeing it as a majority. They are seeing it as a minority. Gradually, they will become aware of other aspects of it. They will not be aware of it. They will be able to see it. It also affects the organization. Gradually, they will become aware of it. Then they will be able to control their consumption, their lifestyle, and their patterns more. Embassies are involved in it, and so many other countries are celebrating it. So, what do you think? Do you think it’s going to really gain the momentum? And what significance does it add to the celebration of the day? You know, the Prime Minister hinted at some other days also which are observed by the United Nations. But how crucial does it become? A very significant component you have pointed out. Because it is not a government program. The Prime Minister is participating in it, the Prime Minister is leading it, but again, in its capacity as just yet another person who is performing. True. Therefore, it is a people’s movement. It is a people’s movement across the borders. It is a people’s movement across caste, creed, and other inhibitions. So therefore, you are creating an environment globally which practices yoga. By practicing yoga, you believe in confining yourself, having better peace of mind, better health, a new trend, a new fashion of keeping your requirements, demands, and greeds in control. Because, see what happens, if yoga had been an Indian affair only, then you will find in the global community that Indians are treated as someone who is a busy miser. Why misers? Because they don’t spend much. Why don’t they spend much? Because they are yogīs in their own right. Okay. So let there not be any point of pride or shame. Let it be a global phenomenon so that you may keep your requirements in control, so that you may protect your environment better, so that you may have Aṣṭeya, Aparigraha, all the five Yamas. This is going to be a new global trend. This is a people’s world. It is not, you cannot be showing the data: itne logon ne kiyā, itne logon ne sāns li, itne logon ne sāns ho. But interestingly, you know, the Prime Minister connected it all the while with the health aspect, and I think that is one of the things which is going to attract a lot of people, which has attracted a lot of people. That is the first step. That’s right. Health is the first step, the health assurance part. I would like that it begins from the education with the parents. We call them saṃskāras. Saṃskāra se saṃskṛti bantī hai. So at home, it is the duty of the parents to give in children’s mind what is health. In Āyurveda they say, "Pehla sukha nirudhitaya." So, how to live healthy? For example, now the people are consuming a lot of junk food, and the children are not healthy. And this. Nowadays, especially because I am working in the western countries in the Yoganandari life, all my Yoganandari life children do not eat any kind of meat or eggs or alcohol, and no drugs, and this. So the families and families are changing into the positive way of life. So health. So first is health. Health is not everything, but everything is nothing without health. So if it is a healthy body, then the mind will also be peaceful. When the mind is peaceful and the body feels good, you have a feeling of joy, a happiness. So you will think, sorry, this happiness, what is that? So I am searching for happiness. Someone is unhappy. Why is he unhappy? So I will tell him to find the peace within thyself. So how important is the selfless service aspect? Selfless service is one of the best services because when you give someone help, it is said the helping hands have more value than folded hands. So, you can only help at that time. Have that love, have that joy, have the feeling of giving something to make someone happy. So that is a selfless service, and that can be done only to the downtrodden or to anyone, to anyone. There is something very interesting which the Prime Minister said, that we need to produce more yoga teachers. Now, we are the land of gurus. We have seen, you know, how there have been so many spiritual leaders, gurus in our land, who have inspired so many souls and who have taken these principles of yoga forward. How do you look at that, Swāmījī? And do you think that we need to have a better understanding of who a yoga guru is, and the teachers? I mean, if you can please shed some light on that, because it’s very difficult to understand it all. That’s a very important point which you just put in. Now, everyone would like to become a yoga teacher. Again, I’m going to the West because I’m living there. The people are making advertising something. Come to the ten-day holiday on the beach somewhere in South India or so. And practice yoga, and you get a yoga teacher certificate. So within ten days, you give someone a certificate as a yoga teacher, that’s very harmful. Dekha deki sahaja yog, ghathe kaya, or badhe rog. So therefore, that should be yoga, as our Prime Minister said, and very systematically he told. You have to have good schools and a good teacher, or good guru, and to become a yoga teacher in my yoga and daily life system, it takes six years to give a diploma of a yoga teacher. And is yoga possible without a guru? Well, yes and no. In the beginning, you can practice, but if you go further, then you need a guru. Now, a little child also needs a finger to hold and learn walking. So, āsana, if you do something, you will harm yourself. You will harm your spine, you will harm your joints, you will harm your gland systems, you will harm your brain systems, and you will have problems with the heart. So dekha dekhi sajye yoga, gate kāya bade rog. So you have to have a yoga teacher. And therefore, I think what Modijī said, that we need good teachers, more teachers. I have about more than 1,000 teachers around the world who are teaching. They are very well trained, as I give you my yoga book. And you see the yoga and the life teachers. So we should develop those and support those yoga schools traditionally. Swāmījī, one last question. Maybe I can ask this to all three of you. You know, there’s a lot being said about the commercialization of yoga. Do you think that yoga should at all be commercialized? Or should it be just imparted like that, as it used to be in earlier days? Yoga should not be commercial. No. It should be free. A guru gives knowledge to the disciple not because of money or with money, but with blessings. The biggest problem in the whole world now has become, since, let’s say, yoga is very ancient and there are many best yoga teachers and gurus traveling around the world, and this and that, but this, what we give them. It is a very, very, it is a very frazil. When you tell, "Now you go to the ānand-āsana, which you call the śavāsana, but it is ānand-āsana," and you tell, "Close your eyes," and then you tell some saṅkalpa, it goes into their subconsciousness. So the teacher should know what kind of saṅkalpa or suggestion you give to that person in front of you. Śāstrījī, do you want to say anything about commercialization? Please say it quickly. Like Swāmījī, I am in agreement with Chintan. It cannot be called commercial, nor can it be called non-commercial. This is a matter of one’s own experience, and it is a matter of benefiting from that experience. So it is not appropriate to bring it into the commercial field. In my opinion, Mr. Modi did not talk about commercialization. He said that, along with that, many commercial activities also take place on their own. Thank you very much, gentlemen. Thank you very much, Śāstrījī, Swāmījī, for joining us here. Gaṇīnījī, we would like you to please stay here. That’s all for now, at least in this special presentation. We’ll slip into a very short break, and after the break, you can join us for the daily dose of news in perspective.