Yoga not about religion, resist propaganda: Pinarayi

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday that attaching religious attributes to Yoga could alienate people from it.

Speaking at the state-level International Yoga Day celebrations at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, he said attempts were being made to hijack Yoga by projecting it in a religious context.

“This is a discipline that goes beyond religion. When some people claim its exclusive ownership, there is a possibility of others moving away from it,” the chief minister said. Vijayan said the practice of Yoga ensured the physical and mental well-being and offered remedies to lifestyle diseases. The state government is also set to develop a Yoga and Naturopathy centre of global standards.

Some people claim that Yoga has to be practised while reciting shlokas from the Rig Veda but history tells us that Yoga was in practice in India before Rig Veda, Vijayan said. “This is part of an attempt to establish that Yoga belongs to one particular religion. Such propaganda could affect the popularity of Yoga,” he said.

Governor P Sathasivam led the Yoga Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan here. Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan and State Police Chief Loknath Behera were among those who led events that were held in connection with the International Yoga Day.