New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia inaugurated the Centre for Meditation and Yoga Sciences on Sunday. The Centre has been institutionalised by the Delhi government, in collaboration with the Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU).
The inauguration ceremony had CM Kejriwal as the Chief Guest, and Deputy CM Sisodia as the Guest of Honour. With this centre, the CM highlighted how Yoga will reach every house of Delhi and prove that Yoga can indeed be a ‘Jan Andolan’. Moreover, Deputy CM Sisodia further highlighted upon the course curriculum and also congratulated the team of the centre for designing and planning the initiative within a short span of 2 months, despite the second wave of the covid-19 infection.
The CM, while highlighting and thanking the presence of more than 450 yoga instructors who joined the occasion virtually, said, “Tomorrow is the International Day of Yoga, and I believe that there could not have been a better way to celebrate this prestigious day. It has been a dream for both me and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia to make yoga reach each and every house of Delhi and to devise ways in which we can do so. We have been repeatedly hearing from many people that yoga needs to be propagated as a Jan Andolan, but how can that be done, the ways in which it can reach the doors of every house, is hardly spoken about. Like Sisodia said, while India is teaching yoga to people from all across the globe, how many of our own Indians are practicing yoga? We had been deliberating upon ways in which yoga can be in the reach of every Delhiite. And hence, we decided that we need to allot a specific budget to this, in which a group of more than 20 people call up and say that they wish to learn yoga, then the Delhi government shall provide an instructor for free to them. I felt that this was one of the most easy ways to drive our people to yoga, and provide them the means to practice it. With this dream, we designated the budget, and wanted to start this with all our passion and conviction. But, the second wave of Covid-19 had hit just after the budget and we had to halt it. I didn’t even know that despite such difficulties this programme was initiated unless Shri Manish Ji told me about it a couple of weeks ago. I would like to congratulate everyone, Ramesh Ji, Kamlesh Ji, Deepak Ji, and all the 450 instructors who continuously worked on this initiative despite the havoc that the pandemic wreaked in the past few months. I cannot insist about how happy I am.”
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal talked about the significance that yoga carries in these times of the pandemic, and the launch of this programme. He added, “I have been told that October 2, we will be able to launch this initiative within the people of Delhi. From October 2, we will be able to initiate calls to the Dlehiites that if they wish to teach Yoga in their surroundings/societies, the Delhi government will provide them the instructors free-of-cost. There might be a possibility that due to the number of instructors being less, we may not be able to provide the instructors to everyone. But, it is going to be a great start. Within just 2 months, the Centre has designed nearly everything about the initiative. Today, we need yoga more than ever. In times of the pandemic, people talk about how a good level of immunity is needed to combat the covid infection for people. This immunity will be good only when our lifestyle is upto the mark, and the regular practice of yoga. Yoga helps in cultivating high immunity and keeping people mentally and physically healthy. Not only to prevent oneself from Covid-19, yoga plays an important role in dealing with post covid complications for those who faced an adverse infection. The psychological and emotional needs aggravate quite a lot post covid. Hence, exercise and meditation are key to fighting covid infection. Covid affects our lungs the most, and in post covid, if we teach Pranayama to people, they will benefit from it. In the covid crisis, yoga has a significant role to play in our lives. I would like to congratulate all the people of Delhi and those who are a part of building this centre.”
Deputy CM threw light upon how yoga will prove to be the sword against Covid-19 and help us be mentally and physically strong. He added, “The team of DPSRU and faculties of Centre for Mediation and Yoga Sciences for such impeccable work in difficult Covid-19 times. The Centre was announced in this year’s budget and the team did really great work. The Centre’s vision was laid down by CM Shri. Kejriwal Ji and the fact that India has been a yog-guru and a world leader when it comes to yoga and meditation. Whenever we talk of yoga and meditation, we talk about India as well. Then, why should it be the case that the people in the capital itself are kept away from meditation and yoga. Then, the Delhi government decided to take the responsibility for providing yoga and meditation instructors to all the people who want to practise yoga and meditation for betterment of their physical and mental peace. I discussed this issue with the Vice Chancellor and speedily, he placed the plan for implementation before us. Now we have started with training of around 450 yoga and meditation Instructors. We will have aggressive training for three months in the first phase. Then, such instructors will be able to go to different regions and teach people yoga and meditation and would be able to continue this one-year diploma as well. I would like to congratulate the first batch of young instructors who will be realising the CM’s vision to the grassroots. It is a unique course of one year, where yoga and meditation, the two schools have been included. Patanjali’s yoga and Lord Buddha’s meditation have been inculcated in the course structure. After completing the said course, our instructors will take forward the movement of yoga and meditation not only in Delhi but in the whole country and the world as well. On this International Yoga Day, I congratulate all the people involved including the people at DPSRU and especially the Chief Minister for laying the vision for the Centre of Meditation and Yoga Sciences.”
Prof. Ramesh K. Goyal, the Vice Chancellor of DPSRU gave the opening remarks in the ceremony and said, “During these difficult times of Covid-19, the inauguration of this Centre of Meditation and Yoga Science has given us this newfound energy, hope and vigour. The DPSRU was established as an Instituted of Pharmacy in 1964 and then, was envisioned as a university in 2008. It was only in 2015, with the support of Delhi government, that India’s one and only Pharmaceutical Sciences University and only the world’s third such University was developed at a fast speed. We had started with only 7 courses and in 2020, we increased the number of courses to 17; which has now further increased to 24 courses including DMLT, BMLT, B. Pharm. Ayurveda, M.Sc. (Artificial Intelligence), and many other different courses have been initiated. This not only includes pharmacy but also shows the diverse class of subjects that the University focuses on including Physiotherapy, Management, Regulations, Biotechnology, Ayurveda, Public Health and Hospital Management. Now, on this fruitful day, the Centre for Meditation and Yoga Sciences is being inaugurated which will take health services to the ground level of people of Delhi. With the support, hopes, and dreams of Kejriwal Ji and Sisodia ji, we had a dream to achieve the best results. In such times as well, a total of 51 students have qualified the National Competitive Examination that is Graduate Aptitude Test for Pharmacy with the 1st and 4th rank being achieved by our students. This speaks tonnes about the conviction of our students.”
Goyal further added, “Three faculties of our university have been published with Stanford University with top 2% scientists in the world. Two years ago, we also developed a nutraceutical medicine for critical care patients with kidney ailments which came into the market. This shows the strength and passion of our faculties and their research. In the last year as well, for fighting Corona, we have developed ‘Coroquil’ medicine made from herbs from Delhi’s Aravalli Park on which studies are going on. This would become the first such formulation, if approved, to directly target the ACE2 receptor in Corona. This herbal medicine has also shown clear anti-viral effect in studies going on in University of Missouri, which no other medicine has. Trial results have shown positive results and we are hopeful that the medicine will help in post-covid effects too. School of Physiotherapy in only 5 years has also come up in India’s top 10 list. Sixteen start-ups were also incubated under the Innovation Centre and out of which 6 were successful. We are now taking such start-ups to the next step. With these achievements, we will also get NIRF and NAAC rankings as we have completed five years now.”
Concluding the speech, he said, “The Centre for Meditation and Yoga Sciences inaugurated today, with the support and vision of the government will not only provide medicines to people but also, now we will be able to bring peace, prosperity and healthy lifestyle to every house.”
