- Monday, February 24, 2025
More than 1,300 yoga enthusiasts representing 75 countries, alongside 64 yoga teachers from 25 nations, gathered to partake in the annual IYF festival.
By: Shubham Ghosh
A SPECIAL event on the occasion of Mahashivratri was held at Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on Friday (8), the day the International Yoga Festival (IYF) kicked off.
Parmarth Niketan organised the week-long IYF 2024 (it will conclude on March 14) in association with the Indian culture and Ayush ministries. The event was officially inaugurated by the governor of Uttarakhand, Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmit Singh and will see the presence of a number of ministers, diplomats and dignitaries on all the days.
The Mahashivratri programme was imbued with boundless enthusiasm and joy with participants from around the globe experiencing the essence of India’s sacred festival dedicated to dispelling darkness, amidst a vibrant atmosphere of music, dance, and inspirational messages.
At the ashram, sacred chants of kirtan (devotional song) echoed along the serene banks of the Ganges, accompanied by performances by renowned musicians Gurnimit Singh and Sattyananda. More than 1,300 yoga enthusiasts representing 75 countries, alongside 64 yoga teachers from 25 nations, gathered to partake in the annual IYF festival.
Read: International Yoga Festival kicks off at Parmarth Niketan in India’s Rishikesh
This year, Parmarth Niketan is witnessing the 36th anniversary of the festival.
His Holiness Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, president of Parmarth Niketan, said, “If you want to be peaceful on this earth, this is the way: Realize Shiva and Shakti are not two; they are one. Today on Shivratri and International Women’s Day, this is a beautiful way to start the Festival. Yoga is the union of Shiva and Shakti.”
Friday was also the International Women’s Day.
HH Pujya Swamiji added, “People from Ukraine and Russia, Palestine and Israel were in my jyopri last night, but there was no war. Yoga is the way, love is the way, peace is the way. That is why we come to yoga, come to the banks of Maa Ganga in the lap of the Himalayas. Your practice will first transform yourself, then your communities, countries, and the world.”
Pujya Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji, director of the IYF, introduced the international audience to core Vedic understandings on the auspicious day saying, “In Vedic tradition, we do not believe in original sin but original divinity. That we have not been created by the divine but oF the divine. Hinduism is not a polytheistic religion or monotheistic religion but actually there is nothing but the divine. The dilemma is we have ignorance, we forget who we are.
“We think we are this body, this skin color, this skill, this bank account, and then we suffer. The solution is to come back to the truth of who we are. Everyone wants to know, ‘what’s the purpose of living, what’s my dharma’? You are here to remember. Shivratri is the day to remember you are divine. That’s the real you.”
She also explained the significance and meaning of the Mahamritunjaya Mantra – Om Tryambak Yajamahe, Sugandhim Pushtee-Vardhanam, Urvarukmeva Bandhanaan, Mrtyoh-Mrukshiya MaaMmrataat- to the participants from across the world that spirituality is not converting, destroying, annihilating or taking away something valuable but a ripening, a fullness of
discovering something so infinitely more valuable from within ourselves.
At the first light of dawn, the morning asana session commenced with Kundalini Sadhana, guided by Gurushabd Singh Khalsa from California, USA. Following this, a series of pre-breakfast classes enriched the day’s schedule. Stewart Gilchrist, the founder of East London School of Yoga, delved into “The Teachings of Yogasana 1: Vinyasa Yogacharya Krishnamacharya’s Global Legacy.”
Katie B Happyy, a best-selling author and motivational speaker, led a session titled “Freedom In My Foundation – 1st + 2nd Chakra Balancing Vinyasa – Hips + Hamstrings.”
Anand Mehrotra, the developer of the Sattva Yoga style and founder of the Sattva Yoga Academy, conducted a session on “Enlivening Shakti”, urging participants to delve into ecstatic movement, exclaiming, “Move like you’ve never moved before!”
Tommy Rosen, the founder of Recovery 2.0, shared insights on utilizing yoga to transcend the barriers imposed by addictions, empowering participants to overcome obstacles hindering personal growth.
“Addiction is the place where nothing connects,” Rosen said. “Yoga is the place where everything is connected. Yoga is recovery. Recovery is yoga. You can’t have one without the other.”
After lunch, the participants engaged in a stimulating discussion titled “How Ayurveda and Yoga Can Heal Addiction,” featuring Rosen and renowned Ayurveda expert Vaidya Dr. Ramkumar. Meanwhile, at the Sacred Sound Stage, renowned musicians Sanj Hall and Sandra Barnes treated the audience to a mesmerizing “Cosmic Sound Scape,” guiding listeners through a tranquil and rejuvenating sonic journey.
After a brief tea break in the evening, attendees congregated at the Parmarth Niketan ghat on the banks of the Ganges for a special Mahashivaratri session comprising a lecture, meditation, and chanting led by HH Pujya Swami ji, Pujya Sadhvi Saraswati ji, and esteemed yogacharyas from around the globe.
As the aarti ceremony concluded, participants were treated to an exuberant kirtan session featuring renowned musicians Gurnimit Singh, a third-generation lineage holder Kirtan singer from Vancouver, Canada, and Sattyanand, an accomplished musician and Nada Yoga practitioner from India. Their uplifting melodies had participants dancing in joy late into the night on the banks of the sacred Ganges.
Rosen, who has been coming to the festival since as early 2012, shared, “I’ve been thinking a lot about sanctuary, a safe haven, a place where you can dock your soul, body, and mind to rebalance, renew and remember. In the same way, the mind can be distracted and then brought back into balance, life’s journey brings us home once again to the magical and mystical Parmarth Niketan on the banks of Ma Ganga.”
Argentinian participant Sandra Barnes, a yoga teacher, said, “I come every year and I just love it. It’s so important to come home to connect and share.”
Twenty-six year old Marissa Dudek, who is visiting from Michigan in the United States, and serving as a sevak (volunteer) at IYF, said, “It’s my first IYF and I’m so grateful to have the chance to meet so many people coming from different backgrounds and cultures, all here to express their shared love for yoga.”
