Swami Gitananda Best Youth and Best Child Awards-2004

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Swami Gitananda Best Youth and Best Child Awards

The aim of the Swami Gitananda Best Youth and Child Awards Competition is to stimulate the youth of India to take up the study of the wholistic concept of Yoga. This ensures their present and future health, happiness and well being, and enables them to avoid the pitfalls of modern living, that is, various bad habits like drug addiction and alcoholism etc. Furthermore, the Project aims to educate the public as to the true meaning of Yoga. In modern times, most equate Yoga with the term "Asana", and believe Yoga only to be a good exercise to lose weight, cure illness or

prevent illness. In fact, Yoga is an ancient science and art developed by our Rishis, which cultivates an entire life style, a wholistic way of living. Classical Yoga includes a Cosmic World View, a life-affirming philosophy, a practical and valuable set of moral and ethical principles, deep understanding of the Karmic law, intellectual exercises, emotional cleansers, body purifiers, nerve strengtheners and gland stimulators. Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita tells Arjuna : "Yoga is skill in action".

The practices of Yoga are encoded in the eight-step process termed "Ashtanga Yoga" by Maharishi Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, which was written more than 2500 years ago. The Ashtanga Yoga of Maharishi Patanjali envisions the Yogic path to Moksha or Enlightenment as entailing eight steps: first and second steps are the Yama and Niyama, a practical moral and ethical code to regulate life style. The third step is Asana, the attainment of perfect ease and stillness of body, through various physical practices. The fourth step is Pranayama, various types of breath controls,

which culminate in mastery of Prana, the Universal Life Force. The fifth step is Pratyahara, an understanding of the role of the sense organs in human life and proper care and control of these "windows of the soul". The sixth step is Dharana, concentration practices that develop the mind's ability to focus itself on one point. The seventh step is Dhyana, meditation, (but not as popularly conceived). In classical, wholistic Yoga, Dhyana was an exalted state of consciousness achieved by the rare few who had perfected Dharana, or concentration. It is a state where the "personal" merges into the "Universal" consciousness. The eighth and last step of Ashtanga Yoga is termed "Samadhi". “Samadhi” literally means "becoming

one with the Highest". When the individual Jiva merges permanently and irrevocably with Atman, or the Universal Consciousness, the Goal of Life, Moksha, is achieved.

Through this brief description, one can see the immense scope of Classical Yoga and how its meaning has been pathetically reduced in modern times to a simple “keep-fit activity” or “quick-fix avenue” to a nebulous "peace of mind". The study and practice of Classical Yoga produces a strong, healthy, active, alert and disciplined personality. Hence, such a scienceshould be cultivated in the practitioner from a very young age. The child should "grow in Yoga", thus becoming a good human being, one who is a boon not only to himself and his family, but to his community, his nation, the earth planet, and indeed, the very Cosmos.

It is to promote the concept of Classical Yoga, that the Swami Gitananda Best Youth and Child Awards Competition has been envisioned. True Yoga knows no religion. It is not a cult, or a sect. It is not exclusive, but rather inclusive. It is not introverted to the individual personality but rather extroverted to the universe. Thus, it may be practised by anyone who has a sincere desire to understand his or her purpose in life and who wishes to live a happy, healthy, meaningful and productive life.

This Competition was designed to stimulate, foster and test various Yogic traits of personality, including:

 

Discipline of body, emotions and mind

Clear strong intelligence

Ability to communicate Yogic concepts orally and in written form

Development of presentable personality

Knowledge of Yogic philosophy and theory

Skill in Yogic Practices such as Asanas and Pranayamas

Skill in arts which are complementary to Yoga

Quick thinking, on-the-spot, alert consciousness

Calmness of mind. Self control under all circumstances (Sthitha Prajna).

The Swami Gitananda Best Youth and Child Awards are named after the illustrious Guru Yogamaharishi Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri(www.geocities.com/yognat2001/swamiji), who was considered one of the leading authorities of Ashtanga Yoga, or Classical Yoga, in the twentieth century. We bow our heads to this great Guru and all the Great Gurus and Rishis of our Indian culture, who have shown us this wonderful spiritual path, which truly leads us "from untruth to Truth, from darkness to Light and from death to Immortality".

 

Previous winners of the Best Youth Award are:

D Lakshmi-2000

N Ramya – 2001

V Renuka Devi- 2002

S Tamilsengolan – 2003

 

Previous winners of the Best Child Award are:

Desh M -2002

R Subhashini– 2003

 

 

Pondicherry Yogasana Association (www.geocities.com/yognat2001/p_y_a) is conducting this Youth and Child Award contest for the fifth year in succession and this year’s event will be conducted in December 2004 - January 2005.

As the estimated expenditure is nearly Rs 40,000 (US$ 1000), I appeal to all those interested in sponsoring this unique method of fostering Yogic principles in our youth as well as a method to spread Pujya Swamiji’s name and fame to all sections of our society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani

Chairman : Yoganjali Natyalayam and ICYER

25,2nd Cross,Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry-605 013

Tel: 0413 - 2622902 / 0413 -2241561

Website: www.icyer.com

www.geocities.com/yognat2001/i_am_here

 

 

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