The United Nation’s General Assembly has declared that World Meditation Day will be observed each year on 21 December, after a draft resolution, co-sponsored by India, was unanimously adopted by all members. An inaugural event was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, hosted by the Permanent Mission of India and attended by the renowned Indian spiritual teacher Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who led a reported 8.5 million people worldwide in a record-breaking live Meditation for Global Peace and Harmony.
“The first World Meditation Day marked an unparalleled celebration of unity and inner peace,” an announcement published on Shankar’s website stated. “With participants tuning in from over 180 countries, the event showcased the transformative power of meditation as a global movement. Starting with the inaugural event at the United Nations and culminating in a live session led by Gurudev from atop of the World Trade Center (New York), the day witnessed a wave of meditation sweeping across continents.” (Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)
The draft UN resolution, unanimously adopted by the UN on 6 December and titled Global Health and Foreign Policy, was jointly introduced by Andorra, India, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, with support from 60 co-sponsors.
The event reportedly broke a number of world records, including, “the most viewers of a guided meditation live stream on YouTube,” as recorded by Guinness World Records, and “maximum number of nationalities participated in guided meditation in a day,” recorded by the Asia Book of Records. (Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)
During his keynote address for the occasion, Shankar observed: “Meditation is the journey from knowing by thought to feeling what you know. To meditate you need to first go from too much thinking to feeling what is. And then go beyond the feeling toward the inner space. If you want to be sane, sensitive, and sensible, you need to meditate. Meditation is not inactivity. It makes you more dynamic and peaceful. Even to be a revolutionary, you need to meditate.” (Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)
Born in 1956, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is an Indian spiritual teacher, also referred to as Gurudev. In the 1970s, he worked as an apprentice under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation movement, and in 1981, he founded the Art of Living foundation.
“The recognition of meditation by the United Nations is a profound step forward,” Shankar noted ahead of Saturday’s inaugural event, which was also attended by the president of the General Assembly, Philemon Yang, and Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare. “Meditation nurtures the soul, calms the mind, and offers a solution to modern challenges.” (Hans India)
India’s permanent representative to the UN, ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said in a social media post:
A day for comprehensive well being and inner transformation!
Glad that India alongwith other nations of the core group guided the unanimous adoption of the resolution on declaration of 21 December as World Meditation Day @UN General Assembly today.
India’s leadership in overall human wellbeing stems from our civilizational dictum of #VasudhaivaKutumbakam – the whole world is one family.
A foundational practice in Buddhism and numerous other spiritual traditions, with far-reaching physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits, the practice of meditation has been dated to as early as 5,000 BCE, with archaeologists acknowledging ties in ancient China, Egypt, and India. The UN added that estimates indicated that between 200 and 500 million people practice meditation worldwide today.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the significant benefits of meditation, particularly mindfulness meditation,” the united Nations noted. “WHO’s discussions on stress management underscore the importance of learning coping mechanisms, such as meditation, to support mental and physical well-being.” (United Nations)
The renowned Buddhist leader and socially engaged monk Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena, founder and spiritual director of the non-profit Mahabodhi International Meditation Center (MIMC) in Ladakh, in India’s far north, issued a statement in celebration of the new annual observation, which said in part: “It is heartening to share that 21 December has been declared World Meditation Day by the United Nations General Assembly. This is a truly commendable step! . . .
“We are deeply grateful to the UN and its member nations for supporting this proposal. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, along with many individuals and organizations from our country, who spearheaded this wonderful initiative, just as they did forWorld Yoga Day on 21 June. World Meditation Day is indeed a monumental achievement! . . .
“Medication supports physical health, while meditation nurtures mental health. Together, they ensure holistic well-being. Meditation is a pure science of the mind, a systematic approach to understanding, purifying, and mastering it. Ultimately, it can lead to enlightenment and liberation from the cycle of birth and death—Samsara.”
See more
World Meditation Day 21 December (United Nations)
1st World Meditation Day – A World Record (Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)
Not Luxury, Necessity: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar At UN Inaugural Of World Meditation Day (India West Journal)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to address UN on World Meditation Day (Hans India)
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