New York|June, 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a unique yoga session at the UN headquarters here on Wednesday in a historic celebration to commemorate the 9th International Day of Yoga that will see the participation from top UN officials, envoys from across and the world and prominent individuals.
In a video message on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga, Prime Minister Modi said India has always nurtured traditions that unite, adopt and embrace and made a fervent appeal to eliminate contradictions, hurdles and resistances through yoga.
Modi said Indians have welcomed new ideas, conserved them and celebrated the country’s rich diversity.
Yoga strengthens such feelings, expands the inner vision, and connects us with that consciousness which makes us feel the unity of the living being giving a basis of love for the living being, the prime minister said.
“We have to eliminate our contradictions, blockages and resistances through Yoga. We have to present the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ as an example to the world,” Modi said.
Modi is here on the first leg of his first state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj told PTI in an interview that the yoga celebration this year will be a very “unique occasion” because it was Prime Minister Modi who had given this vision and it was his leadership that ensured that June 21 every year is celebrated as International Yoga Day.
“So about nine years later, the author of that vision comes to the United Nations,” she said, adding that now Yoga Day is a UN-mandated occasion. “So the coming together of the two- the visionary leader and the United Nations, I think, is in itself very unique,” Kamboj said.