Health itself is Not everything, but without health everything becomes nothing.

My household members will not be safe if my house is in a coronavirus hot spot area. My country is not safe the surrounding countries are in a pandemic situation. I will be healthy only when my community is healthy. Similarly, the world is healthy only when its limbs in the form of all nations are healthy. If any country is not healthy, the body of this world is not at ease, and it is not healthy.

It is great news that the life expectancy of an Australian is steadily increasing, and it is currently at 83 years. Recent studies say that life expectancy of 150 years in the future is not impossible. To cater for this change, Governments across the world need to recalibrate their health budget to cater for an ageing population and this will put a strain on the nation’s budget. 

There is a steady increase in the Australian health budget year on year and the current health budget is over $121 Billion with about 5% of the budget being spent on mental health. According to the productivity council, mental health is costing the nation at least $70 Billon annually and this is on an upward trend. The Government’s current strategy to address the strained health budget is a firefighting approach and may not be sustainable.

How can Yoga add value to the Nation?

Yoga will complement Government’s initiatives in addressing the health crisis through a proactive strategy of “Prevention is better than Cure”.  Yoga is not only an investment in a healthy lifestyle but also enables one to bounce back to health quickly in case of illness. A healthy person is an asset to the nation as he or she contributes immensely to the wealth and wellness of the nation. Yoga plays a dominant role by making an individual physically healthy, mentally stable and spiritually connected. A healthy individual is vital for a healthy family, a healthy society and a healthy nation.

Yoga is the contribution of ancient sages of India to the whole of humanity. Though it is an ancient concept, its application is still relevant and will be relevant in the future also.

We generally associate wealth in terms of our bank balance, investments, shares etc. We work long hours in pursuit of this wealth. But we fail to realise that the wealth is not confined only to the money in the bank or our investment portfolio. As we age, we realise that the best wealth we can have is health. 

The values we entertain – our mental health has a direct bearing on our physical health and our approach to life. The absence of disease alone is not health. The presence of enriched values in life is health. A tailor does not make us a gentleman, but the values we entertain make us a gentleman. Raising the height of the ceiling alone is not called prosperity. Cruising on a motorway or having 20 lane brides does not alone make a country a developed nation. A wealth without values is a burden on society. Emptying the mind of negative things alone is not enough. Shunting all criminals to prison alone will not make a country safe. Unless we enrich our lives with values, we will not find peace and prosperity in life. This can be achieved through a value-based education need to be introduced in the school system

We claim that we are busy in life and busy for what cause is the differentiators. We can make history by being engaged in life for a higher purpose. Otherwise, we will become a part of history. Only those who are dedicated to living for a higher purpose can inspire others. In the school system children must read about such great achievers of the past so that they will be inspired to excel. When you lead a life this you will not be abandoned in old age and the society will look after the person who is of value. Do not look up to the health minister or WHO for your health. Take responsibility for your health by investing time in yourself. 

A healthy community is built on harmonious living amongst people from different races, religions, and cultures. For a healthy world, there must be a harmonious living between humans and animals and the environment.

The world is one family – vasudeiva kutumbakam. There cannot be sustainable peace and harmony by leading a selfish living. We must give more than we take for a healthy world. We must connect; we must join hands with others to enrich ourselves and others. This connection is called Yoga.

The application of Yoga is universal. It is not limited to one religion and one section of the community. The purpose of celebrating International Yoga is to bring the message of Yoga to the greater community.