Greater Noida(UP): Brahma Kumaris, with support from the Government of Uttar Pradesh and regional citizen groups, organized the Yoga and Wellness Festival 2018 from 14th to 16th December at Greater Noida Sports Complex.
The Festival aimed at spreading awareness about the advantages of practicing yoga and a healthy lifestyle guided by spirituality. Students, young adults, parents and senior citizens participated in the Festival and found the workshops, events and activities immensely useful in their daily lives.
Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Mr Narenda Modi also gave his message and best wishes for the three day Festival. The Minister for Agriculture, Agricultural Education & Agricultural Research, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Surya Pratap Shahi, Agricultural Director Shri Swaraj Singh, Chief Development Officer, Greater Noida were among the many dignitaries who attended the Festival.
The Festival was preceded by the Rural India Rejuvenation Campaign from 15th November to 13th December during which BK volunteers visited more than 600 villages in Gautam Budh Nagar and surrounding areas to help in the development of rural households, educating them about sustainable agriculture, de-addiction and women empowerment.
A Healthy and Happy Student Life campaign for school and college students was also conducted from 29th November to 12th December. The campaign covered over 200 schools, spreading awareness about advantages of meditation in student life. Over 3000 students from 60 schools participated in the painting, rangoli, best out of waste, sports and yoga competitions during the Young India Conclave held on 14th December. Guinness World Record holder, Aditi Singhal, organized a memory training and math workshop for the students.
On 15th December, 1000 farmers participated in the Kisan(Farmers) Mega Conference and Krishi(Agriculture) Exhibition aimed at encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable agriculture methods with emphasis on yogik farming. BK Raju, Vice Chairperson of Rural Development Wing of the RERF along with Cabinet Minister Shri Surya P. Shahi shared the importance of eco-friendly agriculture practices and motivated farmers to practice sustainable agriculture. Several Government organizations like Indian Agricultural Research Institute participated in the exhibition. On 16th December, over 2500 yogis gathered from NCR to meditate for world peace.
BK Asha, Director of Om Shanti Retreat Center and BK Sheel, Director, Sadbhavna Bhavan, Noida conducted meditation along with other spiritual teachers. The evening was filled with the joy of relaxing silence as 3000 people learnt meditation and its benefits for holistic well-being from BK Shivani in the Meditation Summit. Dr. Manthena Satyanarayan Raju, natural living expert from Arogyalayam, Andhra Pradesh conducted 6 sessions on naturopathy and healthy living that were attended by hundreds of people who found the knowledge profoundly useful.
The Yoga and Wellness Festival 2018 upheld values of brotherhood, unity and harmony in the society. An event of the community, for the community and organized by the support of the community, it truly was a remarkable weekend spent in utter joy, bliss and amazement.