New Delhi: International Yoga Day is going to be celebrated on June 21 in 192 countries including 47 Muslim countries.
The United Nations (UN) declared June 21 as ‘International Yoga Day' after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a fervent appeal for the same in his address to the UN General Assembly.
In India, a controversy erupted over whether celebration of Yoga would go against the secular character of the country. Some Muslim leaders and organizations opposed it on the ground that Surya Namaskar, originally part of Yoga celebrations, goes against the principles of Islam as a Muslim can't bow his head in front of anyone except ‘Allah'.
To douse the flames of dissent, the govt removed ‘Surya Namaskar' from ‘Yoga Day' celebrations but the controversy has not died down completely.
Swami Ramdev, in an exclusive interview to indiatvnews.com, made it clear that Yoga is not against Islam and that it will only help the Muslim community in India.
Here are 5 important messages that Swami Ramdev wants to convey to Muslim community:
1. Yoga is a combined heritage of Hindus and Muslims. One should not see any politics in Yoga. Both Hindus and Muslims had same ancestors and they used to practice yoga. Therefore Yoga should not be looked upon with a religious prism.
2.Majority of Muslims in India are poor. From where will they bring money for medicines? With the help of a few asanas, pranayama and exercise, they can get rid of ailments like Blood Pressure (BP), Sugar, heart disease, arthritis and stomach related problems. They can save money by doing yoga. It will bring them happiness.
3.Practice of Yoga will bring Muslims closer to Hindus. It will help Hindus and Muslims gel better .
4.A section of Muslims which is less educated blindly follows their big political leaders. This is why this section opposes Yoga because they think what their big leaders are saying may be right.
5.Then there are people who want to oppose BJP and Narendra Modi and therefore they also start opposing Yoga. I want to tell them one thing. You have all the rights to oppose Modi, BJP and RSS , If you want, you can also oppose me but don't oppose yoga. Yoga is for the betterment of everybody.
