New Delhi: Advocating Yoga as a tool to fight diabetes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that Yoga can control diabetes if not eliminate the disease completely.
Addressing over 30, 000 people on the occasion of the International Yoga Day, PM urged the world to embrace Yoga as a discipline in everyday life and said that this is a day linked with good health and it has now turned into a people's mass movement.
In his speech at Chandigarh's Capitol Complex, Modi said, “Let's focus on one thing in the coming days, how to mitigate diabetes through Yoga. Diabetes can surely be controlled through Yoga.”
“Yoga is developing as a major trade too. I urge all those great people associated with the trade, I want to say this: We will again celebrate Yoga Day next year; until then, let’s concentrate on diabetes. The year round, let’s make it our primary target for the year. India is seeing a rise in diabetes. It can at least be controlled. Let’s start a mass movement... We will pick some other ailment next year...” said the Prime Minister.
Urging people to make nation diabetes free, he asked people to fight against this ailment. As India, the diabetes capital of the world, had 6.5 crore diabetics in 2014. Three percent deaths in India annually occur due to the diabetes.
"Yoga is not a religious activity. Many people do not understand yoga completely. It is not what you will get from yoga but what is important is what you will give to yoga and what all (ailments) will it rid you of,” PM said.
"It helps is getting mukti (salvation) from health issues," Modi said, in an attempt to de-link the belief among some that yoga was a part of Hinduism.
“Make yoga a part of your life,” he said. “Just as the mobile phone is now a part of your life, make yoga too a part of your life.”
Yoga, he said, helped to control the mind and maintain a healthy body. It helped people to lead a disciplined life.
Modi said yoga was a guarantee for wellness, not just fitness.
“Yoga binds body, mind, intelligence and soul. It provides a balance to mind and body. Yoga gives health insurance at zero budget… Anyone can do it anywhere,” PM said at the event to celebrate second International Yoga Day.
More than 96,000 people had registered themselves to take part in the Chandigarh event. Of this, over 30,000 were picked, including 10,000 each from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana.
Events marking Yoga day were held at 100 other locations across Chandigarh.
