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Preamble
Mr. President, I wish to thank the organising committee for allowing me to speak to this Hon. Assembly of illuminated and prestigious delegates.
I have to clarify that I am neither a Philosopher nor a religious person who is daily and deeply involved in spiritual practices and in living an
integrated yogic life; I am a normal house-wife, and as such I will be talking in simple words, not ''sing" philosophic and yogic terms and concepts. I am concerned, as all of you are, and millions of people
around the world, about what is occurring in the present society. Many times I asked myself what could be done to have a better world. In spite of the fact that the main religion of the world have inculcated sound
moral principles in the minds of people over the centuries, modern man often disregards such principles and fights each other in useless wars and conflicts. There is a great need, as this irnportant Meet
demonstrates, for the world religions leaders, as well as for the philosophers, scientists and politicians, to join their efforts and establish a common strategy to fight against the main evils affecting modern
society and promote brotherhood, peace and harmony on earth. In this noble effort, I do believe that also Yoga could have an important role to play if people would acquire yogic knowledge and follow its moral
principles and techniques.
Since I was about twenty years old, I have been studying Indian philosophy and oriental religions and have attended several schools of yoga in India
and in other countries. When time allows, I teach Hatha Yoga, in Rome, Italy.
The title of my paper is "Yoga as Universal Education for self-development and for promoting peace". My husband, co-author of the paper,
has helped in formulating the concepts regarding the divulgation of yoga at the national and international levels by a global project of education.
Introduction
I am convinced that an improved education in all its aspects, especially moral education leading to individual and social development, will help to
promote a new philosophic attitude leading to the creation of a new world order where peace and brotherhood will prevail. In this idealist process in search of peace, I see that yoga could be a powerful tool for
self-development and for improving social relations among people.
The Roots of Yoga
As most of you know, the word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root 'yug', and it means to bind, join, unite. Yoga is the union of the individual soul with
the cosmic consciousness. Yoga is referred to in ancient sacred books as the Vedas, Upanishads and in the Gita of the Mahabharata. Archaic Yoga is believed to have been practised even before the Aryans invaded India.
Patanjali has compiled the Yoga-Sutras, which, as reported in some books, "are short aphorisms dealing with the mind and its fluctuations, showing
the way how they can be controlled and how complete mastery over the mind can lead in cessation of misery and attainment of peace leading to salvation".
The Yoga-sutras constitute the most important work of Samkhya and Yoga philosophy which is one of the six systems of Indian philosophy. Patanjali is
considered to be the world's first psychiatrist to recognize the need for education of the conscious and subconscious mind. Hardly anything is known about him, most scholars believe he has lived between 200 BC. and
200 AD.
The Yoga system of Patanjali
The Yoga system of Patanjali is divided into the following eight steps:
- Yama- abstention from harming others, from falsehood, from theft,
from incontinence, andfrom greed;
- Niyama- observance of purity, contentment, mortification, self study, devotion to God;
- Asanas- postures;
- Pranayama- control of the breath;
- Pratyahara- withdrawal of the mind from the senses and external objects;
- Dharana- concentration, or fixing the mind;
Yoga requires a strong motivation and commitment. This process should start as early as possible, preferably in the primary school, and extend it to
the university level. Therefore, it will be essential to establish different Yoga teaching levels in accordance with the age and maturity of the students.
In the modern set-up of the public education systems, yoga is not in the school curriculum. Unless governments recognize the importance of Yoga as a
science and integrate it as part of the learning process for students, Yoga will continue to be a privilege of a few motivated people and private institutes; consequently only a limited number of students, mainly
those with financial resources, may gain knowledge of Yoga principles and techniques.
Proposal to Divulgate Yoga at National and International Levels
There is a great need in this materialistic society, where the body has more importance than the mind and the soul, to change the present attitude
towards Yoga. It is most essential to recognize its full value as a powerful tool for human self-development. Integrated Yoga, including the physical, moral and spiritual aspects, will surely help to create a better
society.
To extend Yoga knowledge to public schools it will be necessary to prepare good and motivated teachers. Selected Yoga Institutes in India, like the
Yoga Institute in Santa Cruz, Bombay, and other equally qualified ones, could be entrusted to prepare Yoga teachers to be enrolled in public schools. At present there are several universities and private educational
institutes that offer Yoga education courses. To spread Yoga knowledge at national and international levels it may be necessary to formulate a global educational project with the financial participation of the
Indian Government, international organizations like UNESCO, foreign governments, private industries, philanthropists, and other possible sources. This global project should be developed in various phases.
The Role of India in Spreading Yoga Principles
India, as the cradle of Yoga, is the most qualified country in the world to spread Yoga at the national as well as at the international levels. The
Indian Government should therefore have the responsibility to accomplish this by appointing a qualified institution to organize the project at global level.
The first phase of the project should dealmainly with the training of motivated teachers to be integrated m the Indian public schools as well as in the
schools of participating foreign countries. Teachers should be trained for different levels of schools. To achieve this goal, the existing qualified Yoga institutions should be strengthened and new ones should be
created.
Even using the modern means of audio-visual communication like television and other modern technologies, the universal divulgation of Yoga is a very
long process and requires a strong financial and organizational commitment from member countries and organizations participating in the project.
The Proposed University of Peace and Global Yoga Education
As Yoga is considered one of the ways to achieve brotherhood, peace and harmony among people in the world, the University of Peace, to be created in
Alandi, in collaboration with United Earth organization, could be entrusted, among other responsibilities, to divulge Yoga in India and world-wide.
Alandi should be the starting point for spreading this new awareness in global education. Hopefully, Alandi Peace University will be the first of many
such universities to be created world-wide. In my vision, I see the University of Peace managed by a council of illuminated and motivated people, deeply involved in spreading knowledge and educational principles
which should promote the transformation of human behaviour and lead to brotherhood, peace and harmony among people. In this noble process,Yoga has a universal validity. The University of Peace, in accepting to
include Yoga, and divulge it as a scientific system of integrated learning, hopefully will help the western universities to introduce this science in their regular curriculum.
Conclusive Remarks
I do recognize that the proposed global project to divulge Yoga world-wide with the scope to contribute to world peace, is at present a mere idealistic
concept. The world, in fact, is affected by many problems requiring prompt solutions.
The southern countries, in particular, are afflicted by a number of problems such as unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, disease, overpopulation, and
ethnic conflicts. Also the northern countries are having their problems such as drug addiction, alcoholism, social unrest, political instability, unemployment. To have the world at peace, under these circumstances,
it is not enough to preach peace.
In the long run, only by practising moral principles aimed at changing the people from within, and by starting a new way of life, it will be possible
to create a better world where peace and harmony will prevail. In this challenging, very long process of awareness and consciousness for the reconstruction of humanity, we all are called to participate if we want
our dream to create a better world becomes true.
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