Gurudev’s Message on the International Day of Yoga 2025
On July 21 in Bogota, Gurudev commemorated 10 Years of International Day of Yoga and 10 Years of Peace in Colombia.
This year marks a beautiful coincidence: ten years of peace in Colombia and ten years of the International Day of Yoga. It is heartening to see these two milestones come together in celebration.
I’d like to thank the Honourable Ambassador of India to Colombia for initiating and continuing this beautiful tradition of celebrating Yoga Day here. I’d also like to express my gratitude to the Mayor of Bogotá. The last time I was in Bogotá, she met with me and expressed her wish to host a major yoga day celebration in the city. It is on her kind invitation that I am here today. I thank her sincerely for supporting the well-being of the people of Bogotá.
As Chairperson of the Indian Yoga Association, I bring greetings from all the yoga schools across the world, especially from India.
Back in 2015, when the United Nations General Assembly declared the International Day of Yoga, we were tasked with creating a standardized yoga protocol. There are so many different schools and traditions within yoga, each with its own practices. The challenge was to bring everyone together and arrive at a simple, universal format that anyone could follow. I had the honour of chairing that committee. Today, I am happy to share that nearly one-third of the world’s population now follows some form of yoga and the yoga protocol.
To all the yoga teachers of Colombia, I offer my heartfelt encouragement. Continue your mission of spreading wellness and happiness to every corner of the country.
I’d also like to acknowledge Juan Carlos Losada, a member of the Colombian Parliament, and several of his colleagues who are practitioners of yoga and meditation. A few days ago, I met with members of Parliament, including the official in charge of mental health.
It is clear that our work is far from over—it has only just begun. We all have a shared responsibility to work towards a stress-free, violence-free society.
Finally, we must not mistake yoga for merely a set of physical exercises. Yoga is a state of mind. A flexible mind is even more important than a flexible body. Even if the body is not perfectly agile, let the mind not become stiff and rigid.
Too often, strength is mistaken for aggression, and softness is mistaken for weakness. But true yoga gives us both—softness and strength.
Let us carry this spirit forward.
