The world celebrated the first
International Day of Yoga on Sunday, 21st June, 2015 with great
fanfare. In India, the event was
celebrated throughout the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking the
centre-stage, transforming ‘Rajpath’ into ‘Yogapath’. He was flanked by 4 Prominent Yoga Gurus on
the stage, one of which was none other than Smt.Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra,
Director of The Yoga Institute, Santacruz East, Mumbai and the Chief Guest of
our Club’s event on Wednesday, June 17, 2015 to celebrate the Yoga Day.
President Mohan Joshi welcomed
the Chief Guest and the Members, Senior Citizens and Invited Guests present in
large numbers to hear her speak on “Yoga for Health & Happiness”. Past President Saroj Rao formally introduced
Smt.Hansaji as a dynamic and charismatic personality, who has devoted her
entire life to propagation and advancement of yoga through her Institute which
is the oldest organized Yoga Centre in the world. Her brilliant discourses delivered across
continents, her TV programme ‘Yoga for Better Living’ acclaimed as the
best-in-class and aired in the 1980s, her publications (in print form, video
cassettes and CDs) on various topics related to Yoga, the ‘Caring Heart’ Research
Project aimed at treating heart ailments through practice of Yoga, the innovative
Stress Management techniques developed for students and her emphasis on Yoga
Education for Women have all transformed lives of several thousands of people globally
and helped them live life better. 
President announced the Club was
honoured to confer on Smt.Hansaji a Special Rotary Appreciation Award for her
life-long dedication to Yoga. He then invited Vice President Aslam Merchant to
read out the Citation. Joined by Past
President Arvind Shah, Chairman, Vocational Excellence Awards and Sandeep
Vasani, Club Secretary, the President presented the Trophy and the Citation to
the Chief Guest amidst thunderous applause.
He then invited the Chief Guest to address the audience.
Smt.Hansaji Yogendra thanked the
Rotary Club of Bombay West and in particular Ms.Shahin Merchant for inviting
her. She also thanked the Club for
felicitating her on the eve of the first International Day of Yoga.
Yoga, according to Smt.Hansaji,
signifies union of self with universe.
Yoga is not just about ‘asanas’.
It’s a complete union of body, mind and soul achieved through the philosophy
and techniques of Yoga, which needs to be practiced regularly as a way of life.
Everyone wants to be happy and
healthy. But some of us like to seek
attention by remaining sick. However,
these attention-seekers soon realize the futility as such actions cannot bring lasting
happiness. When a young lad was asked
what is life, he replied that life is everything that happens between ‘B’ and
‘D’ i.e. between ‘Birth’ and ‘Death’. To
which Smt.Hansaji responded by saying that between B and D is “C” which stands
for “Choice”. Every individual can make
choices – like one can choose to be happy or sad, angry, frustrated, disturbed
or remain calm, healthy or unhealthy, etc.
No one in the world can make you unhappy unless you choose to be
so. So being happy or unhappy is your
personal choice.
She went on to illustrate her
talk with several real life examples and stories which drove her point on the
importance of making right choices in life.
She also emphasized that everyone must take responsibility for one’s own
life and not keep blaming others or the situations when things don’t work out
as per the plans. Further, one needs to
refrain from giving sermons or advice to others but focus on living a life
which serve as an example for others to emulate.
Talking about the importance of a balanced state of mind, Smt.Hansaji
said that like a spoilt machine can only produce defective goods, so would a
disturbed mind produce troubled thoughts which will do us harm both mentally
and physically. She then asked the
audience to take an Oath with her as follows:
“Humey apne man ko hamesha santuleet banaye rakhna hai. Isi mein hi
hamara aatmavikas samaya hua hai”
Lastly, Smt.Hansaji gave some
simple health tips to follow to remain healthy
- Do simple stretches or asanas to keep your body supple and always be aware of the condition of your body. Don’t go for complicated physical exercises if your body cannot take it.
- · Morning walk is a must for everyone. It’s the best form of exercise.
- · Do simple breathing exercises like Pranayama no.9 (alternate nostril breathing) and Pranayama no.4 (abdominal breathing)
- · Eat simple food enough to satisfy your hunger, don’t over-eat, be regular in your eating habits, take dinner preferably before 7 PM and avoid junk food
- · Ensure adequate Sleep – it’s during the sleep that the body repairs itself.
- · Relax when you’re unwell to let the defense system in the body do its job.
She ended by urging the audience
to apply the essence of her talk in their day-to-day lives which will make her
coming to the Rotary Club of Bombay West a worthwhile effort.
The audience responded to her
talk with a standing ovation. Past
President Chandramohan Saigal proposed a fitting vote of thanks.
Rtn.Aslam Merchant (with inputs from R/Ann Shahin Merchant)
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