Yogis Pledge to Live as United Humanity to Abate Climate Change and Protect the Planet
On the 5th Day of the 29th annual world famous International Yoga Festival, the 4:00 am Kundalini Sadhana was led by Gurushabd Singh Khalsa, an American Sikh and disciple of Yogi Bhajan. The early morning, pre-breakfast classes included Yuvaa Yoga, taught by Yuva Dayalan of Hong Kong, and T.A. Krishnan of Chennai. Deepika Mehta of Mumbai, India, yogacharya to the Bollywood stars, led a Mysore Morning Series. Deepika is a yoga teacher, professional fitness expert, and TV personality. The other early-morning classes were taught by Parmanand Aggarwal and Shilpa Joshi, Yogrishi Vishvektu, and Charat Singh, followed by sacred chanting and Nada yoga at sunrise on the banks of Ganga with Anandra George of Hawaii, USA.
After a light breakfast in the garden, world famous Kundalini yoga teacher Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa of USA, taught on the Yoga Ghat. The other asana intense morning classes included Ashtanga Primary Series, led by Mark Robberds of Australia, The Kundalini Express, led by Tommy Rosen of USA, Iyengar, led by HS Arun of Bangalore, India, as well as T’ai Chi taught by Sandeep Desai.
A class entitled Uncovering the Mystery of the Psoas was taught by Francesca Cassia. Francesca is Co-Founder of Odaka Yoga. Students call her the “Queen of Psoas”. She has been teaching yoga and running teacher trainings for over 20 years.
There was then a special Conversation / Joint Discourse on “Self over Situation: How to Live Lives of Health, Happiness and Wholeness” with Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati and Bruce Lipton Ph.D., an internationally renowned scientist and best selling author. The conversation bridged science and spirituality to help everyone understand that we are not victims of our genes, our physical bodies or our situations.
Sadhvi Bhagawatiji explained: “We blame the outside world for our problems; we think if I just had this or that, then I would be happy. But within ourselves is the source of happiness, the source of joy and the source of peace. Connecting with that inner source is the key. We have been brainwashed and indoctrinated to believe that something is lacking in us, that we need to purchase something or wear something or be something different. That experience of lack is what drives not only personal misery but also drives the havoc we are wreaking on the planet in an effort to fill our own inner emptiness.”
Dr. Bruce Lipton said: “We are not victims of our genes or our physical bodies or our environment. We are creators of our environment! We are energy transmitters through our thoughts so our thoughts are creating the world we live in. We need to all come together and think powerful thoughts of peace and love which will shift the entire global consciousness. The Yoga Festival is the heart of healing our world. It is the source of conscious evolution that will save humanity and return the Earth to the beautiful Garden that welcomed us to the planet.”
After the special session, Dr. Bruce Lipton and Sadhvi Bhagawatiji led a pledge of yogis to live for the planet, not for ourselves, to live and work for environmental protection and preservation and to abate climate change.
As Dr. Bruce Lipton said, “We are not isolated humans. We are part of a big organism called Humanity. It is time to live as part of Humanity and to care for all of Humanity.” The yogis pledged together to live as part of humanity, not just as individual humans, and to serve that whole humanity!
The late afternoon classes included a public yoga class on Hip and Shoulder Opening by Mohan Bhandari of China, originally from Rishikesh, India, and Jivamukti Yoga by Jules Febre, an internationally acclaimed Advanced Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher from New York, USA. Padmashri Bharat Bhushan of Saharanpur, India taught Bharat Yoga and Laura Plumb of USA taught a class entitled Rock Your Bhakti.
Presenter Kia Miller of USA said, “I love to turn people onto The International Yoga Festival where they get an authentic taste of the ancient tradition of yoga. For me this is so much more than a festival, it is a coming home to a world wide community of people who have fallen in love with yoga, Parmarth Niketan and Rishikesh in general”.
Following Ganga Aarti and dinner, participants enjoyed a movie night with a special screening of “Milton’s Secret,” based on the book by Eckhart Tolle and Richard Friedman, screenplay by Barnet Bain, and staring Donald Sutherland, Michelle Rodriguez, and William Ainscough. It follows Milton, a 12 year-old boy growing up in an economically and socially unpredictable world. When his grandfather visits, Milton learns rehashing the past and worrying about the future are preventing him from finding true happiness.
Quotations from Participants:
Gillen, USA, “I came to the International Yoga Festival because my roots are here, my family is from Rishikesh, and this is a beautiful way to connect. It is my first time in India.” J
humun, Mauritius Country Ambassador, “Thanks to the International Yoga Festival 2017, for its organization, that was superb learn new techniques of Asanas and meditations that I will put it into practice, also met with other yogis of other country. Thanks.”
Maxence, France, “For me, what I love the most of the festival, are the classes that involve chanting and dancing. They are the biggest tool to make people happy. The energy is amazing. Like this class (Kirtaniyas) was so spontaneous, everyone starting dancing with a big smile in their face.”
