Reasons and grounds for a cause
- International Day of Yoga -
1- For the Curtsy to the extraordinary effort of the Forces of Nature that provide us an Exceptional Multi Habitat, and for the constant Human Consciousness and Gratitude on the usufruct of this wealthy Inheritance.
- Why choosing a Solstice (Sun’s Place) - June 21st, for the International Day of Yoga?
The deep Knowledge, old and current, of the Yoga and the Sámkhya on the Universe and the Human being – the oldest and perennial manifestation of Wisdom and Culture of the Humanity.
At the Primordial times, Yoga was called Sámkhya - approximately 7.000 years ago, Yoga and Sámkhya were a one and only Philosophical System of Personal Development (later raised to the category of Darshana, two of the six Great Hindu Philosophical Systems on Human Development). Sámkhya (which literally means “reason” or “number”) – The Wisdom – much later the Sophia of the Greeks, that defines itself as non speculative but just descriptive! and that is the First System of Thought – Mono Creator- describes the Cosmology since the First instant, today the Big Bang, at the time Mahá (great) OM - Vibration, which according to Sámkhya, gave origin to the Universe (OM - written in Samskrta or Sanskrit, Indo-European language which is the base of Yoga, \ , the Yoga Universal symbol). Also according to Sámkhya, this Vibration spread until the present, supporting the Cosmos (as the cosmic background radiation of the contemporary astrophysics), being the matter a modification of the energy and essentially empty / illusory - Máyá, strangely in accordance with the atomic Physics, with the Einstein’s relation between substance and energy, contained in the Theory of Restricted Relativity, with the Physics Quantum and with the modern Astrophysics. The Sámkhya does not only report the evolution of a Feminine and Fertile Universe, but it is also Anthropogenic, describing the Human being and its complex Constituent Levels.
Finally owning the knowledge of the Great Creative Mean and of the Created Human beings, the Sámkhya delivers us Yoga (verbalized Youga, like Yoke; Yoga means to join, or to bind, from the root Yuj – verbalized Yudj = yoke), in its practical part, a complex System, with fourteen Technique Disciplines (and six secondary disciplines, a total of 20), capable to confer to the Human being, in all his facets, an exceptional development, and giving him a Global perspective, of human fraternity, and challenging him to assume a Cosmic Greatness, as Supra Conscious Philosopher with a wholly developed mind.
Now, this very ancient Knowledge will certainly be in fashion, with the constant scientific progress, with the increment of the human knowledge, and with the extraordinary movement of building an United Europe (an example to follow by the remaining Continents), with the UN global vision, with the ecological conscience, with the necessary extinction of the harmful dictators (who with their deformed ego, exploit their own Countries’ weak resources for personal benefit, and exterminate in pernicious wars the people they should represent and respect), with the struggle against asymmetries amongst different people (where some spend 50 times more Energy per capita than the world average, while others do not even have water!), with the end of any kind of colonialism, with the Ecumenism amongst the most populous religions (to stop the humanly killing on the behalf of a Creator God!) with the certainty that only exists one Human Race (and many different Ethnical groups), with the end of any kind of human slavery or human traffic; and with the conscience of the World Peace necessity; and furthermore, in a near future, with the change of perspective of the human vision: with the democratization of the orbital and even interplanetary voyages, while arriving and leaving Earth, many will see a small (and beautiful) Planet and only one People! A Conscience that will push us further into Fraternity, by the vision of the small relative, and into Cosmic Knowledge, by diving into the fantastic Greatness.
The Magnificent Planet where we inhabit has extraordinary and optimized peculiarities, a judiciously inclined axle of 23º and 27', which provides the seasons of the year, so appropriate for a constant renewal (and also for the variegated and inspired Natural beauties resultant from that renewal), and which disciplines the circulation of sea currents and quite revitalizing atmospheres; a ratio of 70% of water on its surface (similar to the human constitution), a rare and balanced atmosphere and an arboreal covering, a ferrous nucleus which allows us to have a magnetic belt protecting us from excessive cosmic radiations (and the iron element so necessary to the oxygen setting on human haemoglobin); a super proportioned Moon, located on a distance that allows the stabilization of the terrestrial axle and protects life on Earth from harmful oscillations (the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun and the its distance to the Sun is 400 times larger than the distance between Moon and Earth, allowing us magnificent sights of total eclipses), in short, a Planetary and an incredibly appropriate Solar System engineering!
Thus, the choice of the International Day of Yoga, looking above, naturally leaned towards Solstice (Place of the Sun) – June 21st, Day of the Light, of the anti-obscurantist Wisdom, through thousands of years associated with Supreme Knowledge / Intellective Enlightenment / Cosmic Consciousness (Samádhi) that Yoga pragmatic Philosophers constantly aim forr. Day when the Fantastic Planetary/Solar/Galactic interactions are more evident and intense and Light that Yoga Masters and addicts have been have been celebrating and singing since the deepest ancient times (the largest day of the year in tne north Hemisphere, where the biggest mass of Continents is placet and therefore the Civilization). Day that was also celebrated by our People with Lusitanian and Celtic roots, and ever since by the whole of ancient Mankind aware of its dependence on such a wonderful and balanced greatness, also celebrated by other People of astronomers: Crescent Fertile, Mayan, Egyption, Inca, Chinese, Slavi, Polunesian, Austral, etc.
A Day when no one is staring (on the grandstandor on stadiums), everyone is practising (on the Áshrama – Yoga Centers, or on the lawn), developing, clearing from stress, strengthening personal and public health (a warm and exuberant Mediterranean climate day – in the North Hemisphere - appealing to outdoor practices); a Day when all practitioners have fun, discover, dream, knit together, preparing a more fraternal and better society for the future.
2- For the Pioneering past of Portugal on the restlessness of Knowledge, on Global Knowledge and on its relationship with India - in the beginning of the Renaissance it was the focus of World Wealth.
- Why Portugal? - Because Portugal has an unique and pioneering historical past in the quest of Knowledge and an incomparable contribution to the first notion of Globalness,
- Because any Country, even as small as Portugal may fight for World Peace, mainly if it is proud of its own knowledge on the subject it struggles for,
- Because Portugal is inserted in the European Union – an example of the union of a Continent, a Great Hope for World Peace and Justice,
- And because the Portuguese are today World Specialists on Yoga and the great defenders of the Traditional Yoga Force.
Even though the Cosmic-Human Philosophy of the Yoga-Sámkhya considers the Planet as a whole, as a small Galactic quarter, without human borders, we pride ourselves on the Portuguese tradition - Lusitanian, on this small corner of Europe facing the Atlantic which, during some centuries, was the focus of the world civilization (focus that roamed since the fabulous and Matriarchal Dravidian Civilization/ Indo Valley - more than 9.500 years ago, continuing through the following civilizations: Caldaria/Assyrian, Chinese, Egyptian, Hebraic, Greek, Roman, African... Arabic, Hispanic, Italic, Slavic, Andean, from the Netherlands, French, Centre European and Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian and United Europe). We are honoured by our search of a Great Knowledge beyond East, which truly started the Renaissance, after more than a thousand years of medieval obscurantism (approximately one century before History has considered the start of Renaissance), in the beginning of the XVth century, through the School of Sagres that gave origin to a World Revolution, congregating the greatest Wisemen of that time, all the ancient human knowledge, collecting the most important and trustworthy cartography and bibliography that Mankind possessed, improving ships and navigation systems, the astronomical observation, the invention of nautical instruments granting more safety to sailing (without the coast at sight), the development of complex tables for a faster and safer longitude calculation, the use of the correct Globe diameter knowledge, and mainly the foundation of the true and systematic scientific investigation.
The search of Wisdom beyond the Saint Sepulchre, of the power hypothetically contained on saint’s relics, and the information of the Arabs, took this circle of Wisemen and the whole of the Nation, beyond "Prestes John", the settlement of the Maritime “Path” to India, in 1498, to the wisdom of Yoga - Sámkhya, from India’s Himalayas (the Soul of that Country) – and it’s Southern Forests - and naturally, also to the economical power of all spices and remaining “Eastern” wealth, and a privileged connection between both countries with a Cultural and Philosophical interchange that brought us strong benefit.
The emerging Science gave to the Portuguese, India, Europe, Asia (and later the Americas), and to the whole World, not only the basis of modern investigation, but also the first notion of Globalization, the first perspective of the importance of the Seas, the first great shortening of distances through the easiness, freedom and speed of maritime communication, at the time much less dangerous and cheapest than the terrestrial, the embrace amongst different human ethnic groups (unfortunately and regrettably not always fraternal), and the fusion between “Eastern" and “Western” knowledge, cultures and civilizations – the base of modernity.
We are also proud of Fernão de Magalhães (Magellan) and his first certainty (experimented/verified) of the Planet’s Global shape (although serving Spain); and of Priest Bartolomeu de Gusmão and his first World experience of lighter than air (the “Passarola”) in 1709. We feel dignified to be the Country of Fátima.
Then, we dared to build the future. Today we want to build it once again, with truthful and magnificent self-esteem, for Fraternity, Sustainability and World Peace.
We count on the Vision and on the Support of all people who agree with this Noble Cause, especially those with high responsibility and consequently more power.
For the Human Race and for the Planet
OM Shánti
H. H. Jagat Guru Amrta Súryánanda Mahá Rája - Great International Yoga Master
