International Yoga Day: How Yoga Reflects India’s Rising Power 

The world is celebrating International Yoga Day today by practising its mental, physical and spiritual teachings that have been passed on since ancient times. All eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently touring the United States for various geopolitical purposes. But he marked the first day of his visit by leading the International Yoga Day celebrations himself in the United Nations Headquarters. While the geopolitical phase of PM Modi’s visit will take place in the next few days, his presence at the UN on this occasion should not be mistaken for tokenism, as these celebrations are, in a way, a reflection of India’s arrival as a global leader. Here are a few reasons how Yoga reflects India’s rising power.  

How Yoga reflects India’s rising power  

Depicts the vastness of India’s soft power  

The strength of any country or civilisation is judged by two things – its hard and soft power. While India’s military strength obviously reflects its hard power, its soft power is a much wider term. Just like Hollywood movies are America’s soft power, India’s cuisine, cinema and deep cultural and religious heritage is its soft power. But Yoga has today become our soft power on its own. People from all corners of the world are adopting Yoga not just as a form of fitness but as a way of living. No matter what culture, race, religion or background people are from, they are all being influenced and inspired by the power of Yoga and how it helps us grow in all walks of life.  

An image of India’s changing mindset  

In the past, India was defined as a country immersed in poverty where people died of starvation. While it does no good to ignore the dark side of our past, we never made proactive efforts to define ourselves with our prosperous culture and heritage. The world never saw our better side earlier, but the tables have been steadily turning. Today’s India is highly motivated to take its rightful place in the world by redefining its capabilities and guiding the world out of its current crises by leading the way in growth. Yoga preaches not just physical but also mental strength by practising meditation and remaining calm even in the toughest of situations. This mindset shift promises to take India to new heights.   

Highlights the richness of Indian heritage and wisdom  

While our textbooks have always taught us that India has a rich heritage and culture, they have fallen short in highlighting just how much. The very essence of Yoga is linked with our rich wisdom and teachings, and people from all corners of the world are today taught invaluable teachings of our Vedas and Upanishadhs as they learn the roots of Yoga. Most of these teachings are relevant even today, and it shows the might and depth of the Indian civilisation. In our own minds, Yoga has helped us rediscover our pride in our culture, and this will shape India’s future in decades to come.  

Yoga is thus one of the greatest assets of India’s image, and we must all pay our small contributions by simply making ourselves more aware of it and making it part of our daily lives, starting this International Yoga Day.