June 21 was designated “International Day of Yoga” (IDY) by the UN General Assembly back in 2015. In its resolution, co-sponsored by a historic 177 countries, it declared that “yoga provides a holistic approach to health and well-being”. The wide support was achieved not just because yoga had taken over the West by storm after the well-publicized adoption of its philosophy and practice back in the 1960s by the Beatles, but because its philosophy is shared by other ancient systems of thought and practice from Africa’s “Ubuntu” to the Chinese “Tao”. Even though yoga is practised in many forms the world over, the principles of balance, interdependence and oneness constitute the foundation of all yogic forms.
They all represent a recognition that in his long societal evolutionary path, mankind has created world views and paradigms that had stood the test of time much more responsibly than the neoliberal cul-de-sac in which we have been herded into over the last three centuries of European conquest. While “yoga” is known in the West through the series of exercises that have been shown to be so beneficial for mental and physical well-being, this physical aspect – called “hatha yoga” – is only an entry point – along with breathing control (pranayama) – that are conjugated with meditative techniques on concepts that integrate practitioners into a oneness with the universe –- of which the West forgets we are a part.
The International Day of Yoga coincides with the summer solstice, on June 21 – a day often celebrated through festivals and rituals in societies across the world. Yoga is a neutral tool and works well to promote cultural interconnectedness. India’s call in 2015 to celebrate yoga once again highlights the need to uncover all the wisdom found in traditional knowledge systems to find clues to the contemporary problems faced by humanity. It is a philosophy in action. Acknowledging yoga under the UN Observances only reinforces the holistic perspective of all creation endorsed by the UN.
This year, to mark the commemoration of IDY, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has sponsored “UBUNTU – YOGA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE – 2021” today and tomorrow. As the organisers declare, this is “A very first global virtual conference bringing together Africa and India on the basis of their respective Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) with the aim of “finding commonalities between African and Indian Traditions”, having global gurus in the field of IKS-Africa and Yoga, enlightening the global audience through their interactive sessions and panel discussions.” There will be participants representing 78,000 traditional African practitioners of their IKS in addition to others from across the world.
“Ubuntu” is a “Nguni Bantu term meaning “humanity”. It is sometimes translated as “I am because we are”, or “humanity towards others”, or in Zulu, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. In Xhosa, the phrase is often used in a more philosophical sense to mean “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”. Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously described Ubuntu as meaning “My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours.” Those who were blown away by the magnificence of Nelson Mandela’s gestures of reconciliation after 27 years of brutal incarceration, should know that his world view was grounded in Ubuntu.
The role of cultures and traditional knowledge systems in the spectrum of relationships between individuals and nature is understood by recognising the significance of Cultural Diversity and Indigenous Populations. The holistic approach for development adopted by the UN thus seeks to explore the dynamic reciprocal interconnections between the subtle (spiritual) levels of health to the more explicit (ecological) dimensions of existence and their balancing determinants.
Experts consider sustainable development as the ‘greatest and most complicated challenge’ faced by humanity. It is believed that a plausible solution lies in changing the current resource consumption patterns from a destructive mode to a cooperative mode, while living in harmony with the environment.
IDY and Ubuntu are not unrelated to the Millennium Development Goals.
