Yoga, Mental Health and Global Spirituality

Denpasar (Atnews)—Yoga, which is popular with the global community, has now become a lifestyle or way of life.

Yoga movement has spread throughout the world, both the Americas, Europe, Arabian Peninsula, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the plains of India.

The yoga movement also hit Malaysia, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Austria, Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands, including Indonesia, especially Bali as an international tourist destination.

Bali is culturally and in terms of civilization suitable for doing yoga activities. That is why many yoga clubs are spreading across Bali, especially in the Ubud area which is of interest to tourists.

Yoga clubs and studios are also developing, and so are in Dubai where there are well-known yoga studios such as Trident Wellness Center, Zen Yoga, Voyoga as well as Urban Yoga.

For this reason, every Commemoration of International Day of Yoga takes place lively and simultaneously throughout the world. It is inseparable from the idea of International Yoga Day initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed on September 27, 2014, during a speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN).

India supported by 177 countries, including Indonesia, adopted a resolution to designate June 21 as the International Day of Yoga and on December 11, 2014, the resolution was issued by the UN General Assembly with the support of 193 countries.

Recognizing its universal appeal and growing popularity, the United Nations declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga on December 11, 2014. As a result, the first International Day of Yoga was observed on June 21, 2015. June 21 was chosen because it is the summer solstice or the most sun out of any other day of the year.

Meanwhile, commemoration of the International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2023 in Bali will be attended by Indian Consul General for Bali Neeharika Singh together with Director of Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center (SVCC) Bali or The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Bali Naveen Meghwal, and it will be centered at Bajra Sandi Monument, Puputan Margarana Square, Niti Mandala, Denpasar (in front of the Office of Bali Governor).

The event was held again at the same venue, after the 8th International Day of Yoga commemoration with the theme “Yoga for Humanity” and in 2022 India celebrated 75 years of independence with the spirit of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

A cultural scholar, Putu Suasta, who is an alumnus of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and Cornell University, fully supports the yoga commemoration event.

He considered that yoga contains universal values as a resultant of various religions and beliefs. “In doing Yoga, there is no distinction between background, caste, religion, ethnicity, race and others. So, it is no wonder the world (UN) accepts it as a way of life in creating happiness and peace,” Suasta told Atnews in Denpasar, Tuesday (May 30).

In doing yoga, you do not lose your identity, in fact it will introduce you to who you really are. “Yoga trains a person to be at peace with himself,” he added.

According to the International Yoga Federation, around 300 million of people practice it globally. To that end, the International Day of Yoga event is to spread awareness of the many physical and spiritual benefits yoga has brought to the world. As well as with universal consciousness, it shows perfect harmony between mind and body, man and nature.

In addition, yoga is considered to play an important role in psycho-social care and rehabilitation of Covid-19 patients in quarantine and isolation.

Yoga has existed from 5,000 years ago in India, even before the belief system was born. The word yoga is also mentioned in ancient literature, such as the Rig Veda.

Yoga symbolizes the union of body and consciousness. The word yoga comes from Sanskrit, which means ‘combining’ or ‘unifying.’ Physically, yoga is the union of body, mind and breath. Spiritually, yoga is the union of individual energy with universal energy.

Socially, yoga is a connection to the entire human soul or Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam meaning the whole world is one family. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam suggests five things namely truth, wisdom, love, peace, and ahimsa or non-violence.

In addition, yoga is known to be very effective in training the mental and thinking abilities. As stated by researchers at UCLA who used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brain tissue of yoga practitioners, there is scientific evidence of the effectiveness of yoga in improving memory, emotional control and all things related to mental health.

As stated in the NeuroImage journal which can be visited online as stated in the reference link in this article, it is reported that several brain areas in meditation practitioners are larger than those in people who do not meditate.

Hippocampal volume and areas in the orbito-frontal cortex, thalamus and inferior temporal gyrus experience significant enlargement where all of these areas are known as the emotional control nerve areas. This study also concluded that meditation can reduce stress and increase the immunity of the body.

He also explained that the yoga system in the Vedas was written by Rishi Patanjali, so that the original yoga system is known as Patanjali Raja Yoga.

The yoga system developed by Rishi Patanjali is also basically inseparable from the Samkya system of philosophy, which is a branch of Vedic philosophy that puts forward the scientific method and was conveyed by the avatar of God himself, Maha Rishi Kapila (Bhagavata Purana 1.3.10).

Likewise, it is mentioned in the Ganapati Tattva, Ganapati Text. The Tattva consists of 60 verses of Sanskrit verses accompanied with Old Javanese commentary.

Yoga has eight limbs known as Astangga Yoga. The eight limbs are Yama (abstinence), Niyama (auxiliary virtues), Asana (body postures), Pranayama (mastery of vital breath), Pratyahara (channeling mental activity), Dharana (one-pointedness of mind), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (states of transcendent supraconscious).

Suasta learned a lot from India, and has even traveled around the country five times in 30 years. Even he had lived in holy places for Hindus namely Punjab, Varanasi also called Benares, Banaras or Benaras or Kashi or Kasi, posing a holy city of Hinduism located on the banks of the Ganges in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Northern India.

Varanasi, for Hindus, is like Mecca for Muslims or Vatican for Catholics. Meanwhile, when he was in India, Putu Suasta associated with saints or sadhus.

The close historical relations between India and Indonesia have been going on for a long time. No less than IB Oka Puniatmaja as the Deputy Chairperson of Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI, the author of many Hindu religion books, argued that Rishi Markandeya is a prophet for Indonesian Hindus.

Apart from that, there are also other Balinese figures namely Nyoman S Pendit, IB Mantra, Mrs. Gedong Oka as well as Prabhu Darmayasa. Even the relations between Indonesia and India were bridged by Rabindranath Tagore and Dr. SN Subha Rao.

It should also be proud that Prime Minister Modi has just given praise and appreciation to Balinese humanist and art maestro Prof. Dr. I Wayan Dibia who received the Padma Shri Award 2021 art award.

Similar Padma Shri Award 2021 was given to Agus Indra Udayana (Ida Rsi Putra Manuaba) who has inspired the world through the journey of his life in implementing Gandhian values outside India.

Besides, there was construction of Padmasana shrine in India by Ida Rsi Putra Manuaba together with Made Mangku Pastika, currently serving as Senator of the RI representing Bali Province and was Governor of Bali for two tenures in 2008-2018, in Cuttack Odisha and in Rishikesh India has bridged the majesty of Indonesian-Indian culture.

Moreover, they built Padmasana shrine in India from the rock of Mount Agung and buried the Panca Datu (five metal foundations) and 200s perforated coins in India on the Sacred Mountains and Rivers as symbols of the binding of civilization.

For this reason, the highest award from the Government of India, the Padma Shri Award 2021, was awarded to Agus Indra Udayana, with the walaka (pre-priest) name of Ida Rsi Putra Manuaba.

Until now, Kalingga Bali Yatra in Odisha has become a world inspiration in Cuttack Odisha in which every full moon of Kartika is used as a symbol of cultural unifier.

In particular, Suasta praised Mangku Pastika towards the end of his tenure as Governor of Bali for visiting South India, the Odisha State, where the Balinese endek clothes came from.

 

The visit to Odisha was part of an effort to trace back the ancestral footprints of the Balinese people who have left a strong foundation for the history of Hindu civilization on the Island of the Gods with the values of burying Panca Datu, which means burying spiritually through the largest temple in Bali, the Mother Temple of Besakih in Karangasem District.

Even the endek cloth preservation in India is developed by Utkal University and the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).

Apart from that, there are also quite influential historical figures in Bali who had learned from India, namely Prof. Ida Bagus Mantra, who was the fifth Governor of Bali, served for two terms, namely in 1978-1983 (first period) and 1983-1988 (second period).

In the course of his life, Ida Bagus Mantra continued his studies at Visva Bharati University Santineketan, West Bengal, India. He earned his master degree in 1954 while he earned his doctorate in 1957 with a dissertation entitled Hindu Literature and Religion in Indonesia.

There is also another figure namely Prof. Dr. Tjokorda Rai Sudharta M.A (son of Ubud Palace) who is known as a Sanskrit expert, graduating in Sanskrit with a Bachelor of Arts degree at Banaras Hindu University, a Master of Arts at Panjab University.

He has bequeathed several books of works such as: Upadesa (1967), Sarassamuscaya (1976), Slokantara (1982), Asta Brata Dalam Pembangunan (1898), Nasehat Sri Rama Sampai Masa Kini (1990), Ramayana dan Mahabharata BH. Sarkar (translation--1992), Manusia Hindu Sampai Perkawinan (1993), Bertemu Tuhan di Dalam Diri (2005), Bhagawadgita Dalam Bisma Parwa (2010) as well as Antara Filsafat Yunani Plato dan Filsafat Upanisad Bhagawadgita (2010).

Even in marking the awakening of the relations between Bali and Odisha, Mangku Pastika awarded the Padmasana Kalinga Bali Inscription to be placed in the Cuttack Maritime Museum as a place of worship.

The Padmasana Kalinga Bali presented to the Odisha government was not made of ordinary metal or stone, but made of the lava of Mount Agung in Bali, which erupted in 1963. It is said that the lava flow of Mount Agung during the 1963 eruption did not damage the temple built by Rishi Markandeya.

Suasta who has traveled around the world doing spiritual activities always invites the community to build plural and social solidarity that is humane and egalitarian.

He had just successfully completed a 170-km walk from Porto Portugal to Santiago in Central Spain. It was a non-stop walking through forests, mountains, and traditional villages with genuine village hospitality. It is the classic pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago.

He traveled along 170 km from Porto-Valença-Tui-Porirño-Pedron to Santiago. His journey to Camino de Santiago, Portuguese Way along 119 km from Tui took place from September 30 to October 20, 2022.

Besides, he has performed services to Buddhist saints in Luang Prabang (Laos), Including taking a spiritual journey to China, Cambodia and Vietnam. (GAB/ART/001)