India hosts first International Yoga Day

“NEW DELHI — It was a rare sight — after a brief speech to inaugurate International Yoga Day on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi descended from a huge stage in front of the presidential palace and took off his glasses and his shoes. He quietly took his place before a sea of schoolchildren and others, mats neatly arranged in a checkerboard as far as the eye could see, to begin what was billed as the largest yoga demonstration in a single venue in history.”

Led by Prime Minister Modi, 35,000 participants did yoga together, in unison, for 35 minutes. The day was hyped up for weeks by the government, and Mr. Modi himself campaigned for the day to be internationally recognized at the United Nations in New York last year.

“I believe that from the 21st of June, through the International Day of Yoga, it is not just the beginning of a day but the beginning of a new age through which we will achieve greater heights of peace, good will and train the human spirit,” Mr. Modi said in his speech before the demonstration.

Modi believes yoga can help restore peace and train the human spirit.

“The government attempted to give fresh life to the idea that yoga can help restore national pride and a return to ancient values in an age of tarnished virtue and health crises.”

“It will increase the self-confidence that we are not a third world country, a poor country,” participant Baishakh Charavorty said. “We can be No. 1.”

The event cost the Indian government anywhere in between $5 million and $15 million.