By Our Staff Reporter
RISHIKESH, 14 Mar: Drum beats vibrated through the sacred Yoga Gardens as world famous percussionist Sivamani and Soulful Sufi Singer Runa Rizvi sang Holi songs as delegates from more than 90 nations danced in ecstasy at the International Yoga Festival, here, as Swami Chidanand Saraswati, President of Parmarth Niketan, and Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Director of International Yoga Festival, applied pure sandalwood paste as tilak on the foreheads of all the participants, on the final day of the annual International Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan, here, which is organised with the support of Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism, in association with the Union Ministry of Culture and Ministry of AYUSH.
To promote an eco-friendly, green approach to all festivals and holidays, Parmarth’s Holi celebration used natural organic colours and flowers in the Yoga Gardens. Afterwards, participants joined the Swami, Sadhvi and Sivamani in rallying down to the holy banks of Mother Ganga for an special and deeply refreshing Maa Ganga Snan.
World peace was the message of the day as over 1500 participants, saints, spiritual masters, yogacharyas, artists and musicians gathered on the Parmarth Ganga ghat to offer their prayers and pledge to uphold and spread peace.
“If you love the creator, love the creation,” Swami Chidanand said. “India believes in allness, in oneness, and togetherness. The spirit of India always believes in “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, the great mantra given by the sages from this land. We must remember we are all one.”
The day began with a Bheem Prana Power Yoga led by Yogiraj Swami Jayant Saraswati from Kanav Ashram, Kotdwar. Dr Indu Sharma, who has been in seva at Parmarth Niketan for over 22 years, led a chakra alignment asana. Erica Kaufman from the USA, taught Lila Yoga Vinyasa for Heart Opening Transformation.
After a satvik brunch, participants queued for a much awaited session with the famed Dr Ishwar Basavareddi Yoga Experts Mat to Mind: Exploring Mind – Body connection in Yoga Sadhana. Dr Basavareddi is one of the leading architects of the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP). He was joined by several leading yoga experts from IYA.
Following lunch, Anand Mehrotra, conducted a sacred satsang, a spiritual question and answer session themed The Mind and the Cosmos. Meanwhile, Parmarth Niketan’s resident Vedantic expert Gayatri Yogacharya gave an enlightening discourse on The Nature of Being.
At the Sacred Sound Stage, participants immersed in the a truly international lineup, including Sandra Barnes of Argentina, Joseph Schmidlin of the United States, Astrid Slegten of Brussels, and Sanj Hall of India.
This was followed by the sacred Yagna and divine Ganga Aarti, during which the festival gathered together to celebrate Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati’s 53rd birthday.
The International Yoga Festival closed with a concert by the legendary Sivamani, who enthralled listeners with his wide array of percussion instruments, from the conventional cymbals to the timbale to the batajon to the vastly unconventional shells and conches and “Biryani Kadai”. Thus the curtain closed on another remarkable International Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan on the holy banks of Ma Ganga, in the lap of the Himalayas, in the sacred land of Rishikesh, birthplace of yoga.
