Dr. Hansaji Yogendra, Director, The Yoga Institute
President, Indian Yoga Association
The longing for peace is as ancient as humanity itself. Yet, despite our progress and power, the world continues to wrestle with restlessness. The noise of conolict outside mirrors the turbulence within. True peace cannot be legislated or imposed. It must oirst awaken in the heart of each human being. Yoga takes us from chaos to calm, from division to unity.
Maharshi Patanjali deoined yoga as Chitta Vritti Nirodha, the stilling of the oluctuations of the mind. Every conolict begins not in the outer world, but in the disturbed mind of man. When the mind is restless – relationships, communities, and nations lose balance. When the mind is calm – understanding and compassion dawns naturally. The one who conquers the mind becomes a source of peace wherever they go.
India has carried this vision of peace for millennia. The principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – “the world is one family” – stands at the heart of our philosophy. It is not a slogan but a realization that springs from yogic awareness. When one perceives the same consciousness pervading all beings, violence becomes impossible. This is India’s message to the world – not dominance, but harmony; not conquest, but consciousness.
Throughout history, India has shared her light through wisdom, not weapons. Her saints, philosophers, and yogis travelled far, carrying no possessions other than the message of unity. They taught that peace does not arise from fear or negotiation, but from awakening. The transformation of the world begins with the transformation of each person. Whenever any person learns to pause, breathe, and reolect, they begin to act with awareness rather than reaction. Peace, then, becomes a living habit — one that grows from the person to the family, from the family to the society, and from the society to the world.
The Bhagavad Gita describes the Sthitaprajna — the person of steady wisdom who remains unshaken amid success and failure, praise and blame. Such equanimity is the hallmark of a yogic mind. A world guided by this understanding would know peace not as an interval between wars, but as a way of existence. When millions around the world sit in silent meditation, a quiet vibration moves through the collective mind of humanity. This is not imagination; it is an energetic truth. Peace spreads not through speeches, but through stillness. Each calm thought, each gentle breath, contributes to the balance of the whole.
The time has come once again for India to guide the world — not through authority, but through awareness. Under the leadership of our Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the international community embraced the International Day of Yoga, a global observance celebrated in 191 countries. The spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam calls upon us to live as one global family, sustained by one Earth and one breath. Every yogic practice — whether asana, pranayama, or meditation — becomes an act of service when done with this
consciousness. For more than a century, The Yoga Institute in Mumbai has carried forward the mission of spreading peace through self-awareness. Its teachings remind us that yoga is not conoined to postures; it is a way of life, a discipline of thought, word, and deed. Thousands who have walked through its gates have discovered that world peace begins with personal transformation — a calm mind, a kind heart, and a balanced life.
Peace will not descend upon humanity like a miracle. It must rise within each of us. Real transformation occurs when one person internalizes the timeless principles, morals and ethics of classical traditional yoga such as truthfulness, non-violence, self-restraint, moderation, and self-study. When you change, your relationships change; when relationships change, your community changes; when communities change, the world changes. A person who practices yoga changes the world not by argument, but by example; not through protest, but through presence. When hearts grow still and minds grow clear, the earth heals.
Yoga is not merely India’s gift to the world — it is humanity’s inheritance, rediscovered through India’s vision. And in that rediscovery lies the hope for a peaceful tomorrow
