Yoga opens portal to lead meaningful life

Hindustan Times

4 hours ago

Yoga is about celebrating our own life. June 21, celebrated as the International Day of Yoga since 2015, marks the longest day in the northern hemisphere, while days start growing longer and brighter in the southern hemisphere, symbolising hope. Just as we need a licence to drive a car on the road for our safety and that of others, we need a licence to lead our lives meaningfully. (Shutterstock)
Though the 2025 theme of One Earth, One Health is relevant more than ever in a world fraught by differences, the underlying message of yoga is timeless. Yoga means connection that brings value to one's life. It is the individual connection with the highest possibility. Yoga does not dawn without individual effort. Only through sincere practice can it uplift and transform the game of life. When we align ourselves with a higher purpose, our inner being begins to blossom.
Without such inner enrichment, material prosperity alone cannot bring lasting joy. To acquire sustainable joy, don't settle for the ordinary. Instead, remain inquisitive, strive to do better and be a committed student for life. Only one who has lasting joy can truly share joy with others. To realise these higher possibilities, one must be enabled — physically, mentally, and spiritually. Yoga, therefore, is the integration and enabling of the body, mind, and soul.
Claim your licence
Just as we need a licence to drive a car on the road for our safety and that of others, we need a licence to lead our lives meaningfully.
This body is called a vehicle, and the mind and soul are mounted on it to navigate life. A combination of a fit body and an enabled mind allows us to travel further and rise higher in life.
In the Bhagavad Gita, yogacharya Shri Krishna says:
Uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
Ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ (6.5)
(Always keep your body and mind in an empowered state. An inspired mind energises the body, while a dull one makes it sick).
Yoga gives us this licence to lead a life with awareness, direction and purpose.
Yoga is not merely a physical workout; it is built upon the foundational principles known as yama and niyama, the ground rules for living ethically and harmoniously. Yama or principles for outer harmony regulate our interaction with the external world, while niyama or principles for inner harmony refine our internal faculties. These principles give us the licence to lead a conscious and fulfilling life. Irrespective of religion, race, language, age, or profession, everyone must enter the portals of yoga and claim this licence.
As Patanjali affirms in his Yoga Sutra 2.31: Jāti-deśa-kāla-samaya-anavacchinnāḥ sārvabhaumā mahāvratam
(These great vows are universal—unbounded by class, place, time, or circumstance).
Path to sustainable health
Once this licence is in place, life manifests through asana that strengthens and energises the physical body, pranayama that refines and elevates inner energy, pratyahara that prevents contamination of energy through sense control, dhyana (meditation) that brings clarity and focused awareness and samadhi that leads us to abide by our own nature.
This journey transforms our limited identity from 'me and mine' to 'we and ours.'
Consciousness expands from self-care to global care.
The Australian government allocates about 17% of its $750 billion budget to healthcare. Alarmingly, nearly 40% of young Australians (aged 16–24) reported experiencing a mental health disorder in the past year. The economic burden of mental ill-health is estimated at $220 billion annually, significantly affecting productivity and quality of life.
In contrast, India spends only around 2% of its total budget on healthcare. These figures highlight a crucial truth: No one can truly look after us unless we take responsibility for our own health.
Health is not merely a government agenda, it is a personal commitment.
Through sustained sadhana (practice), one begins to see positivity everywhere. Depression and despair dissolve with the realisation of the fruit of yoga practice. One who is physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy alone can infuse energy and make this world healthy.
The yogic vision
When one embraces yoga in its totality — not merely as a physical exercise, but as a way of being — one begins to align with the natural harmony of the Earth and all living beings. We are all travellers on this shared journey, and every living being is a stakeholder in the well-being of our planet. We have a responsibility to leave it in a better condition than how we received it so the next generation may live a fuller, healthier life.
By nurturing ourselves, we nurture the world. The vision of One Earth, One Health is not just a slogan, it becomes a lived reality for one who walks the path of yoga. Let us earn the true licence to live, not merely exist. Yoga is not a one-day-a-year celebration. It is a lifelong commitment, a continuous journey.
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(The writer is the Melbourne-based founder of Vasudeva Kriya Yoga0