Yoga Vidya Niketan, Member Institute of IYA celebrated Kruytadnyata Mahotsav and the birth anniversary of founder of Yoga Vidya Niketan (YVN), Mumbai, Late Yogacharya ‘Padmashri’ Sadashiv Nimbalkar Guruji on July 28, 2024 at Yoga Bhavan, Vashi, Navi Mumbai.
The event honored ten senior teachers with the ‘Yoga Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar’ and featured a special recognition for former Union Petroleum Minister and former Uttar Pradesh Governor Shri Ram Naik, who recently received the ‘Padmabhushan’ award from the Government of India. Shri Naik reminisced about his significant contributions, such as the introduction of pipe gas and the cigarette ban in local trains, and shared how yoga, particularly his daily practice of 25 Surya Namaskars from his school days, has maintained his health into his 90s.
The program, hosted by Dr. Manasi Bavdekar, began with floral tributes at the statues of Swami Kuvalayanandji and Nimbalkar Guruji. Chief Guest Dr. Rajendra Patankar, CEO of Jupiter Hospital, Pune, highlighted the synergy between medical science and yoga in enhancing public health. Chief speaker CA Shri Chandrashekar Vaze, known for his engaging wit and insightful life lessons, emphasized the importance of the term ‘Shikshak’ (learner) in Sanskrit compared to the English term ‘teacher’. The event also featured addresses by YVN President Dr. Shrikant Badve, an urologist and social activist, and Shri Mahesh Sinkar, Chairman of YVN and an executive engineer with the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation.