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21st June marks an important yet uncelebrated event that has been occurring since millennia. This is the day when the Sun transitions from North to the South in what is known as Dakshinayana and this is also the day when Shiva started to transfer his knowledge of Yoga to the Rishis. In current context, June 21 now assumes importance in that the UN has declared it a World Yoga Day pursuant to the efforts of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The decision came in the wake of Narendra Modi’s speech at the UN General Assembly in September and the UN made a declaration on 11 December 2014 with 170 nations supporting Modi.
Yoga is ancient India’s system of holistic health, closely tied with Ayurveda. Yoga is not religious in nature and is a system of practices and way of life that brings about inner balance, calm, sense of purpose and improved health. It also creates harmony between man and nature. Will all nations celebrate World Yoga Day or will it remain on paper? Assuming that Modi does give directives to seriously implement Yoga day and yogic practices, what can we expect? • Physical education is a part of school curriculum. Yoga could become a part of the curriculum and ingrain yogic practices into each child at a young age, paving the way for a country where each citizen is spiritually and physically balanced as well as empowered and works not only for his own good but for the greater good with a world view of the environment at the macro level. • At the micro level, each individual experiences greater calm, inner security and balance and thus behaves in a socially responsible manner. Should it become a widespread practice, yoga could certainly have an influence on the crime rate and make for happier families. Yoga is about self control too. • Yogic practices mean a sustainable lifestyle with minimalist requirements so it should curtail consumerism and bring about better interaction among classes and cross sections of society since money will not be the great definer. • Yoga becomes a lifestyle in the future and we can expect industrialists, farmers and even homeowners to be more responsible in handling pollution as well as nurturing environment. We may be reading a lot into the World Yoga Day and expectations may not match actual practices as has been the case in other “world” days declared by the UN. On a positive note, the population is more health conscious and World Yoga Day will only serve to motivate more people to become healthier mentally and physically through yoga. Know more about Yoga Guru Patanjali Statues
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Visiting Manali was in our mind for quite some time. Finally when our proposed trip to Srinagar had to be cancelled due to heavy flood there, we decided to spend some great time in Manali. We almost gave our Manikaran trip a miss during our trip to Manali. On the last day of our trip, we had barely six ours before our return journey to Delhi. But thanks to our driver Yash, we set on a thrilling journey towards the Himalayas. The sharp curves by the Parvati River welcomed us. And our driver was right when he said that visiting Manali is incomplete without a darshan to Manikaran. After the Beas and Parvati sangam (confluence), we move upwards towards Manikaran located in the Parvati Valley along the banks of river Parvati, northeast of Bhuntar in the Kullu District, the amazing landscape of mountains greet us to a world of spirituality and motivation. Located at an altitude of 1760 metres, Manikaran is about 40 km from Bhuntar. Any tourist visiting Manali and Kullu hardly can give it a miss to its hot springs and piligrim centres. A pilgrimage centre both for the Hindus and Sikhs, Manikaran attracts both devotees and tourists from various parts of the country. Here one can find temples of Lord Rama, Krishna, and Vishnu. There are some interesting anecdotes about this scenic place. Goddess Parvati For the Hindus, the place is auspicious because they believe that Manu recreated human life in Manikaran after the great deluge, making it a sacred place. Also there is another interesting story about the place. Once while roaming around, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, happened to be here. Manikaran was surrounded by spectacular mountains and was beautiful lush greenery. Mesmerized by the beauty of the place, they decided to spend some time there. It is believed that they actually spent eleven hundred years here. During their stay here, Goddess Parvati lost her mani in the waters of a stream. Upset over the loss, she asked Shiva to return it back. Lord Shiva commanded his attendant to find out the mani for Parvati, however, when they failed, he was very furious.Then Nataraj opened his third eye, a tremendously inauspicious event which led to disturbances in the universe. An appeal was made before the serpent god, Shesha-Nag, to pacify Lord Shiva. Shesha-Nag hissed giving rise to a flow of boiling water. The water spread over the entire area resulting in the emergence of precious stones of the type Goddess Parvati had lost. The Lord was pacified and both Mahadeva and Parvati were happy again. Here the water is still hot and is considered extremely auspicious. A pilgrimage to this place is thought of as complete, told us by our guide. It is also believed that there is no need to pay a visit to “Kashi” after visiting this place. The water of the spring is also supposed to have curative powers. The water is so hot that rice for the “langar” is cooked by putting it into a linen-bag and dipping it into the boiling water. From Manali, Manikaran is around 85 km. According to Sikhs, during third Udasi, Guru Nanak Dev came here in 1574 with his disciples Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana. Sri Guru Nanak Dev was with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana in Manikaran and Bhai Mardana felt hungry and they had no food. Guru Nanak sent his friend Bhai Mardana to collect food for langar. Devotees offered flour (atta) to make roti. However, there was no fire to cook the food. Guru Nanak asked Mardana to lift a stone and Bhai Mardana then lifted a rock and a hot spring appeared. As directed by Guru Nanak Dev ji, Mardana put the rolled chappatis in the spring to his despair the chappatis sank. Guru Nanak then told him to pray to god saying that if his chappatis float back then he would donate one chappati in the name of God. When he prayed all the chappatis started floating duly baked. Guru Nanak said that anyone who donates in the name of God, his or her drowned items float back. We had langar in Manikaran and all were extremely happy and content. |
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