Today is International Yoga Day. The whole world will be celebrating it. For several years, it has been celebrated with great enthusiasm. Ever since the United Nations declared Yoga Day, it has become immensely popular worldwide. But why? What is Yoga? Yoga is connected to your body; it’s like the overhauling of your vehicle, meaning the servicing of this body. People often say, “The vehicle has broken down, and it needs repair.” Similarly, this body is also like a vehicle, which keeps breaking down, and which is exactly why hospitals are becoming overcrowded. Forty years ago, there were not as many hospitals.
In the present times, Yoga is being taught to everybody to get rid of the diseases of the body. Whenever the word Yoga comes up, we immediately relate it to sages and monks. Sage Patanjali is the great sage who gifted yoga to the entire world. The word yoga is related to the physical body, like Pranayam or Yogic exercises. But is just practicing Yoga through the physical body enough? Yoga practice will only make this body healthy to about 30%-40%. The ultimate essence is the Yog (Union). It is Yog (union) which gave rise to Yoga, and not the other way around. Sage Patanjali had gone to a cave for Yog (union). What kind of union was it, and with whom? It was the union with the inner battery, energy, consciousness, and soul, which drives this whole body. The energy of the soul comes from the Eternal Divine. This is why this union (yog) is important. When union with the divine happens, the energy of this body spreads out everywhere, and flows to wherever there is disease in the body, and starts healing it. But the reason this energy fails to reach those areas is that we remain so far away from the Divine.
The true meaning of Yog is the union of the soul with the Supreme Soul. If we do not give priority to the Divine, then it remains merely a physical workout. In recent times, mental health issues, such as depression, are on the rise. While the mind’s psychological energy cures the entire body, sadly, we waste all our energy in useless thoughts. Mobile phones and digital devices make a bigger contribution to this. We have begun to consider lifeless devices as our actual life, whereas our life is this living body which embodies consciousness.
The energy of these lifeless devices is artificial, which is precisely why your mind feels so tired. No matter how many physical yoga practices this body performs, it can never attain true health. The physical body will only become fully healthy when it is united with the Divine. Sage Patanjali retreated for Yog, and not Yoga. It’s Yog that gave rise to yoga. We must never forget our real Father—the Divine—who is driving this physical body. For if there is no soul/energy, this body will collapse.
On the occasion of International Yoga Day, it is vital to pay attention to Yog—the true union. If we don’t water the roots and keep watering only the leaves, then the plant will eventually wither and dry up. Therefore, our primary focus must be to water the roots. Let’s make a strong resolve that when Yog (union) happens, then Yoga naturally follows. First, bring peace to the mind. Pause the overthinking. Watch, listen, and speak only when it is truly required. Your inner energy is very precious; don’t waste it.
The moment the soul leaves the body, the value of the physical body becomes zero. The dead body can’t be alive even if one is offered the combined wealth of the whole world. So, which is bigger—the physical body or the soul? The soul is invaluable. The way you plug in the battery of your mobile phone to charge, in the same way, you must unite the soul with the Supreme Soul. Once this connection is established, the physical body starts healing automatically.
On this International Yoga Day, focus on your inner self. You can find infinite knowledge about the physical body on the internet, but if you fail to achieve union with the inner self, then treatment of the mind cannot happen. If we give importance to Yog, then yoga will happen on its own. Yoga is important for the physical body, but it is incomplete without Yog (union with the divine). Without Yog, the process of Yoga cannot be completed. Unite the soul with the Divine Soul, and then enjoy Yoga; only then will International Yoga Day be successful.
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