THE week-long International Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India, concluded on Friday (15). As many as 1,500 international guests, including saints, spiritual masters, yogacharyas, artists, and musicians from over 75 countries have participated in the event.
The festival, under the guidance of Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati, president of Parmarth Niketan Ashram and Pujya Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, director of IYF, was organised with the support of India's Ministry of Tourism, in association with culture and AYUSH ministries.
International Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan
The highlights of this year's event include Maha Shivratri celebration, wellness session by Luke Coutinho and YOGIC Holi celebration, among others. There were sessions on topics such as environmental awareness; living Yoga for peace and sustainability; power of Ayurveda to heal and bridging the divide.
Global artists like Sivamani, MC YOGI, Kailash Kher, and Daphne Tse have performed at the festival.
HH Pujya Chidanand Saraswati Ji said, “Today the world is suffering. Eleven-year olds are stressed and depressed. At eleven years old? Yoga gives the answer. War is not the way. Peace is the way. Russia and Ukraine, there is fighting there, but we have participants from Russia and Ukraine and they are not fighting here. You want to be in peace, then you choose peace.
"The true cause of our land shortages, water shortages, or food shortages comes from a greater problem: We have a shortage of consciousness. In the land of yoga, where saints and rishis and sages of Rishikesh gave these sacred practices to the entire world, and sacred mantras, we can come back together. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: That is India's message to the world. The World is one family. That is the message of yoga.”
HH Pujya Chidanand Saraswati Ji and Pujya Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati Ji with participants.
Pujya Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati Ji said, " “Yoga is not about the teaching, it is about the touch and about the transformation. And what people are looking for is not just instructions, how to breathe, do the asanas and to be healthy in our bodies. Yes, it is critical as the body is our temple.
"We take care of our bodies and we realise that it's the medium through which we experience consciousness. The body is the beginning not the end. It's the tool, the instrument so we need it to be healthy. But where we're really going is somewhere much deeper and for that we need the touch, the energetic experience of being in the presence of sacredness. The transformation happens when our heart finally expands and explodes out of who we thought we were.”
Dharavi slum in Mumbai
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)