NEW DELHI: India on Sunday set two new Guinness World Records for Yoga with 35,985 participants performing Asanas at one venue and as many as 84 nationalities joining in the official observation of International Yoga Day on Rajpath here.
“It is a matter of pride for India that we have broken two records on one day. First, 35,985 participants performed Asanas at a single venue (Rajpath) and 84 nationalities participated in the event,” said Minister of AYUSH, Shripad Naik.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated all for the record and the successful conduct of the event.
The Rajpath event set two new Guinness World Records on the first International Day of Yoga.
“Category One was for the largest number of participants in a Yoga Lesson at single venue.
“The earlier record was set on November 19, 2005, when 29,973 students from 362 schools had performed a sequence of ‘yogic kriyas’ for surya namaskar simultaneously for 18 minutes led by Vivekananda Kendra at Jiwaji University, Gwalior,” said Marco Frigatti, global head of record verification at Guinness World Records.
“(The second record) was for the most number of nationalities at a Yoga Lesson, a category introduced for the first time for an yoga event.
“The minimum criteria set for any yoga event to enter the record books was participation of at least 50 nationalities and today 84 nationalities performed Yoga at Rajpath.
“It was an astounding achievement, a very rare one,” Frigatti added.
Ernst and Young was the official process adviser and validator for the International Day of Yoga.
“They (EY) used a three-layered approach to not only count the number of participants but also check the number of performers at the venue. In addition, they had put in place a robust process to count the number of unique nationalities participating in the event.
“During the process, they found 105 persons attending the event but not performing yoga,” said a senior AYUSH Ministry official.
Surprising many, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed ‘Asanas’ as he led the first ever International Yoga Day celebrations on Sunday at the imposing Rajpath with over 35,000 participants including diplomats, soldiers and students.
The entire two-km stretch from Rafi Marg crossing near Vijay Chowk to India Gate was lined with blue and red mats over green carpets with people of all ages twisting, bending and stretching on the ceremonial road performing various yoga exercises.
Modi expressed his gratitude to the United Nations and 193 countries for their “unprecedented support” in passing a resolution moved by India to declare 21st June as International Day of Yoga and said a “new era” is beginning to train the human mind to scale new heights of peace and harmony. Modi also cautioned against commodifying yoga.
Before surprising everyone by joining the mass session, the Prime Minister said, “Who would have thought that Rajpath would become Yoga Path?”
An avid yoga practitioner, 64-year-old Modi was not scheduled to perform the ‘Asanas’ at Rajpath — located between India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhawan — but he climbed down from the podium after his address to join the over 35,000 participants, including students and officials, in the mass demonstration.
Attired in a white sweat shirt and trousers and a tricolour scarf, Modi did most of the 21 ‘Asanas’ along with thousands of participants as part of the common yoga protocol, following simultaneous instructions in Hindi and English and watching instructors on big digital screens at Rajpath.
US Ambassador to India Richard Verma was among scores of diplomats who attended the mega event.
Several top bureaucrats, including secretaries to Union Ministries and officials from the PMO were also present.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung were also present on the occasion, but were seated in separate enclosures.
Later, addressing a two-day international conference on yoga for holistic health here, Modi said, “if we make yoga a commodity, then maximum damage to it will be done by us. Yoga is not a commodity, yoga is not a brand which has to be sold.”
Drawing attention to boards of “pure ghee” shops in the market, Modi said that 50 years back these were never seen but today they exist because money is there.
“This should never happen in relation to yoga. Never should a time come when we hear that only my yoga is true and all the rest are uselessly holding their nose and spending dollars. This is not a trade or organisation but a state of mind (vyapaar ya vyavastha nahin avastha hai).”
Under attack from Congress for “usurping” the traditional form, Modi stressed that yoga is “not the brainchild of a government” or the United Nations but a gift from many generations and many traditions from across the world.
The Prime Minister cautioned against oneupmanship on the ancient practice, saying it belongs to all countries and all communities.
Yoga exponent Ramdev, who shared the dais with him at Rajpath as well as at the conference, said yoga is “scientific, universal and secular”.
Of the 177 countries, which backed the Indian resolution on the Yoga Day in UN, 47 were Muslim countries.
The Prime Minister chose the occasion to make a pledge that the spirit of India and the collective entry of its people will work to the creation of a more equal world, a world without fear, a world of peace and foster culture of inclusiveness, of fraternity and of one global family.
Noting that people often think that yoga is just a set of exercises, he said that it is more than that and is actually a philosophy of disciple and meditation that transforms the spirit and makes the individual a better person in thought, action, knowledge and devotion.
“Most people think that yoga is some sort of an exercise for limbs. I think this is the biggest mistake. Yoga is not limited to physical exercise. Had this been the case, children working in circus would have been called yogis. Hence, how much we make our body flexible is not yoga,” Modi said comparing ‘Asanas’ with fine tuning of musical instruments before a music performance.
He also said that yoga leads to enormous reduction in healthcare costs and social support, dramatic reduction in conflicts and misunderstanding within families, communities and countries and compassion towards all beings.
“In a world of fear, yoga promises strength and courage.
We live in a world that is divided, in a world in conflict over material gains, a world in conflict over failures to understand each other. How shall we understand each other, if we do not understand ourselves,” he said adding that a new world can be created through yoga.
Noting that changes are also going to come in yoga with the passage of time, he said that it has to be made more modern and more scientific adapting to different conditions in different regions.
Terming the participation of thousands of people as “overwhelming”, a representative of Guinness Book of World Records hoped that the event will set a world record.
School children, NCC cadets, army personnel and officials were among those who participated in the mega event.
The Ministry of AYUSH, the coordinating ministry, had set sights on registering the event in Guinness Book of World Records for “largest yoga demonstration or class at a single venue and largest number of people of various nationalities performing yoga at one place”.
To mark 21st June, 21 ‘Asanas’ were practiced by 35,000 people for 35 minutes, the organisers announced after the event.
At the international conference, the Prime Minister also released a Rs 5 stamp and coins of Rs 10 and Rs 100 on IYD brought out by the Postal Department and the Finance Ministry.
States ruled by BJP and its allies took the lead, organising mammoth events and announcing various initiatives on the day.
A number of Union Ministers participated in events to mark the occasion in several states across India. (PTI)