One of the top athletes in the world Novak Djokovic defeated the Tennis legend Roger Federer in a five hour long, nail biting Wimbledon finals game which pushed both the players to their physical and mental endurance limits. Novak Djokovic with his 16 grand slam titles earlier had revealed the secret behind his mental and physical endurance which he has developed over the past years during his training. Djokovic says that Yoga, meditation and veganism have helped the star Tennis athlete through his career.
The Tennis player defeated Roger Federer winning the Wimbledon title for the fifth time. In a match that lasted four hours and fifty seven minutes, the longest Wimbledon singles final ever, the endurance and stamina of the two athletes was put to the ultimate test. 32 year old Novak Djokovic, who practises Yoga, emerged victorious in this historic Tennis match.
Djokovic had revealed that it is Yoga and meditation that has helped him to stay at “an optimal state of mind and peace and calm”. He had earlier said “I do [meditation and yoga] out of a need to have an optimal state of mind and peace and calm, and at the same time happiness and joy. Everybody has their ways to reach that state of consciousness where you’re in a good mood and you feel love towards yourself, towards people around you, towards the planet. So I try to be aligned with this kind of approach and mindset in life […] Because it was definitely not an easy period for me in the last seven to eight months. The results were not there in the big tournaments. But more than results, it was that lack of balance on the court emotionally.”
While Yoga is celebrated and practiced by people and several world class athletes in the world, several sections in India have tried to mar the ancient tradition to forward their agenda of minority appeasement and blatant false propaganda. Yoga is an ancient Indian practice and it has mention in Rigveda and detailed in Yoga Sutras of Rishi Patanjali. As it has origins in Hindu texts, and is accredited to ancient Hindu society, it was unfortunately marked as a non-secular practice by many.
In 2015, All India Muslim Personnel Law Board (AIMPLB), had written a letter to Muslim bodies and Imams cautioning that some organizations are “attacking Islamic beliefs” and trying to violate the secular constitution through the practice of Yoga in schools. AIMPLB acting general secretary Maulana Wali Rahmani of AIMPLB further added that the celebration of Yoga Day and ‘Surya namaskar’ in schools are aimed at implementing the RSS agenda. Muslims should be cautious as many organizations and individuals under the patronage of the government are attacking Islamic beliefs.
Last year, Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) had reacted sharply to the state government’s decision to celebrate the International Day of Yoga on Sunday. It said Sunday is a holiday for Christians and holding an event on the day would hurt their religious sentiments. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan made many initiatives to make Yoga popular in schools, but unfortunately opposition parties called it an effort of mere saffronisation. Going two steps forward, CPIM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had insulted yoga by saying “All yoga exercises can be noticed in dog’s body movement.”
While the world progress ahead taking benefits from this ancient science, like Novak Djokovic, pseudo-secularists continue to put roadblocks in the path of well being of individuals. However, the Indian community has been proactive in promoting Yoga which was being labeled as ‘Communal’, now practiced in 180+ countries on International Yoga Day every year on June 21, after Narendra Modi proposed for the same at the United Nations.