Yoga is beyond religion, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Kollam: “Yoga should not be connected to any religion. It is beyond religion,” according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.  Inagurating the ‘secular’ yoga demonstration as part of the international yoga day at Kollam beach here on Tuesday, Mr Vijayan took a dig at the  Sangh Parivar for its take on yoga and said some  people were interested in connecting yoga with religion and spirituality. 

It  should be taken only as a programme intended to rejuvenate health, he said.  “If it is considered spiritual, a large section of  society will be prevented from enjoying the virtues of yoga,” Mr. Vijayan said.  The government was ready to launch yoga training  for students in schools.

“The classical martial arts of Kerala, Kalarippayattu, should also be promoted like the yoga,” he added. Over a thousand volunteers lined up for yoga at the programme organised by the Indian martial arts and yoga study centre under the CPM.

“Practising yoga is synonymous with the saying ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’. Yoga is a physical exercise, and I used the term ‘exercise’ deliberately. There are attempts to make it the other way. It is an exercise that gives strength to the mind and body equally,” he said and urged the gathering to seek all possible ways to keep the mind and body sound. The unprecedented rise in lifestyle diseases in our society was  due to the lack of exercise.

“The society is dangerously competitive and this has caused the stress level of people to increase. These are also caused by the change in food habits. To combat all these, exercise should be done and yoga is most efficient which will refine the body and improve the concentration of the mind,” he said. Kollam Bishop Stanley Roman, Minister Mercykkutty Amma  and MLA M. Naushad were among those present  at the function.