PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The 37th International Yoga Festival (IYF) 2025 at Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh concluded on Saturday in the presence of governor lieutenant general (retd) Gurmit Singh. The event organisers claimed that about 1,500 participants from nearly 75 countries gathered with seekers, Yoga practioners and global thought leaders on the sacred banks of the Ganga for a week focused on Yoga and spirituality.
Addressing the gathering, the governor called the participants the brand ambassadors of Yoga as they are learning it, imbibing it and publicising it across the world. The gathering at the event on the banks of the Ganga not only proves the ancient culture of India and Uttarakhand but also the global impact of Yoga. Practising Yoga fills one with peace and a sense of unity, due to which one considers the whole world a family, he said. The governor also exhorted all to make Yoga a part of their daily life and through this, work towards the welfare of humanity.
Speaking at the final spiritual plenary session, Parmarth Niketan president Swami Chidanand Saraswati said, “When you are not in love, each minute drags by, but when you are in love, time flows effortlessly. It is the love for Yoga that has kept you connected to this path and it is the love of the divine that has brought us all together in this beautiful creation.”
The festival director Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati stated that a simple thought creates a profound change. “We always have the power to choose love and perhaps it is the most important choice of all,” she said
