6^th International Day of Yoga

21 June 2020

Remarks by High Commissioner Tanmaya Lal

Hon’ble Minister for Health and Wellness Dr. Jagutpal

We are grateful to you for sparing time for giving this message about the International Day of Yoga. We would like to thank all your colleagues in the Ministry for the continued collaboration to mark this event in Mauritius.

This year’s International Day of Yoga comes at a time when Governments and people all over the world are engaged in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the theme for this year’s celebrations is ‘Yoga at Home Yoga with Family’ and we are using online digital platforms to spread awareness about Yoga.

At the High Commission, we are undertaking several online initiatives in this context. We are also producing short video clips about Yoga in Mauritius.

Yoga is a collective heritage and traditional knowledge.

Yoga has evolved as a philosophical system over thousands of years. Yoga remains its appeal and has spread far wide simply because it works. It is an ancient science that allows individuals to personally experience a new domain, it is not a mere belief or a faith system.

As I understand Yoga helps us experience the interconnectedness of all creation a fundamental truth that the modern science is discovering only now. Through this interconnectedness, Yoga helps tune our inner sense with our surroundings comprising of nature and our fellow human beings.

Therefore, it helps contribute not only to personal physical and mental wellbeing but also the wellbeing of the larger society.

The ever growing popularity of Yoga across countries shows the inner belonging among all peoples to strive for something better, to overcome various stresses and to achieve greater balance in a contemporary world where this is becoming increasingly difficult.

The extent of the enthusiastic support and participation that the Yoga Day initiative has generated across countries has again revealed the inner longing among ordinary people to strive for something better to overcome daily stresses and to achieve greater balance in a contemporary world where this is becoming increasingly difficult. The large turnouts everywhere, including by young and old, clearly indicates our collective desire for a better more harmonious future, one that is peaceful and prosperous for all and that can be sustained over a longer term.

May I take this opportunity to congratulate the Government and people of Mauritius in their collective efforts to overcome the serious challenge posed by Covid-19 pandemic.

Traditional systems of knowledge including the natural healing traditions such as Yoga and Ayurveda are our collective heritage.