Health and education are two areas that have been relegated to the background in our country, unlike in the West where they are accorded top priority. At a time when the benefits of yoga have been internationally acclaimed, acknowledged and practised by millions of people across the globe, especially in the Arab and Western countries, and where a vast majority of people are predominantly Muslim or Christian, it is a matter of utmost regret that calculated attempts have been made to denigrate and undermine its relevance in the country of its origin. (“ >Muslim groups back Yoga day, Catholics unhappy ”, June 12). The increasing tendency of certain sections to inject politics and add a narrow religious connotation even to those policies which are beneficial to the common man without rationale and objective analysis of the same is myopic and skewed, which can only be construed as the symptoms of a diseased mindset. I wish to add that the family doctor of mine, who is a Muslim in his eighties, is a regular, long-term practitioner of yoga and who has absolutely no qualms in openly acknowledging its benefits.
Yoga offers a perfect and time-tested panacea to all sections of society, especially youth who are becoming increasingly susceptible to life-style diseases. Therefore, isn’t it in the fitness of things that yoga be promoted in schools right from an early age? The events proposed to be organised on International Yoga Day provide a fitting occasion to acknowledge the invaluable contributions made by our forefathers towards yoga.
B. Suresh Kumar,
Coimbatore
