A day in Harmony with Nature, Gandhi and Gurudev

A day in Harmony with Nature,  Gandhi and Gurudev

21^st June, the international day of Yoga was a historical day for the entire world. Millions of yoga enthusiasts across India and much of the world took part in the Yoga exercise to mark the first International Yoga Day. It was a day of peace and harmony which made us realize that we, the global citizen, can stay connected and live in union with nature. In the city of Irving , a suburb of Dallas , Texas , we celebrated the day with Mahatma Gandhi Memorial of North Texas (MGMNT), in association with Art of Living (AOL)

On the event day, we were greeted with intermittent rain showers. It was not the most auspicious start to the event and we were worried. The early morning shower, though, could not dampen the spirit of hundreds of participants who turned up for the event at the complex. Not only did the rain fail to forestall the festivities, it heightened the spirits among those brave souls who refused to be scared off. The function started with a short speech by  Dr. Prasad Thotakura on the significance of the event. Afterwards, audience were introduced to Mr. Taiyab Kundawala, Mr. Rao Kalvala (Secretary),  Mrs. Shabnam Modgil of MGMNT and Ankur Bora , AOL and  the coordinator of the event. Rajneesh  Gupta of AOL in his opening remark , talked on the importance of International Yoga Day, UN Declaration , How Art Of Living is involved in the spreading the awareness about Yoga and its benefits.

The function started with a recitation of the Sanskrit shloka, “Asato ma sadgamaya, Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya “  , a Sanskrit verse praying to dispel darkness and enrich the individual and the humanity with enlightenment, peace and prosperity. Deepa Koshaley , who has over 10 years of experience in yoga and breathing techniques , led this session.

Shreedhar Thuljaram, a senior Yoga Teacher with the Art of Living Foundation led the next session with a series of  “Hatha Yoga”. Shreedhar was supported by  Mr. Sapan Shah , Dr Nick Saraf , Ms. Svetlana and Mr. Bala , who positioned at different corners of the stage , displayed the postures to the audience as the instructions were made.

Towards the end , the audience were greeted by the art of living singers. The team of  Rohit Gajjela,  Geeta Verma ,  Jwala  and Gayatri Vedantam played “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram” , “Amazing Grace” and “ham honge kaamyaab” ( 'We shall overcome' ). The program ended with a vote of thanks and refreshment served by Anvi and Riddhi Bora

We sincerely wish that MGMNT will continue to work with AOL to make the 21th June an annual event at the plaza and also collaborate on future events. 

With Thanks,

Ankur