Nepal Sanskrit University to organise yoga festival

By Liladhar Oli,Dang, Aug. 31:  To introduce Nepal to the world as the birthplace of spirituality and yoga science, an international yoga conference will be held in Dang from October 11 to 13, to promote global peace and human welfare.

The event is being organised by Nepal Sanskrit University and will take place in Beljhundi, Dang.

According to Prof. Dr. Sudhan Kumar Poudel, coordinator of the main organising committee and Executive Director of the Nepal Sanskrit University Research Center, more than 5,000 yoga practitioners from 50 countries, including India and the USA, are expected to participate.

Coordinator Poudel further informed that the conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who also serves as the Vice-Chancellor of Nepal Sanskrit University.

He added that during the three-day event, more than 30 research papers on classical and modern aspects of yoga philosophy will be presented by nationally and internationally renowned scholars, experts, yoga practitioners, spiritual thinkers, researchers, and intellectuals. A collective yoga practice with participation from around 1,000 people will also be held.

“The international yoga conference has been initiated to revive and globalise the heritage of yoga for world peace and human welfare,” Poudel said, adding, “It will play a supportive role in promoting the significance of yoga worldwide, as well as in boosting tourism in Dang.”

International coordinator Bholanath Yogi informed that arrangements have been made for hospitality and management of international participants, from the moment of invitation to their arrival.

He mentioned that foreign participants will also be taken on study tours of religious, historical, and cultural sites in Lumbini Province, along with popular tourist destinations in the district. Organisers themselves will accompany them to local destinations, while coordination will be made with travel agencies for tours outside the district.

The conference is also expected to help promote yoga internationally and create an academic environment for teaching and practice at Nepal Sanskrit University, said Registrar Madhav Adhikari.

The event is being organised in collaboration with the Patanjali Yoga Committee of Lumbini Province, Yoga University of America, Maharishi Vedic Foundation, Rotary Bangalore Global Yoga, and other organisations. Various stalls will be set up to provide information on yogic diet and lifestyle, along with lectures on yoga and health, health camps, Ayurvedic treatments, and blood donation programmes.

The university has formed a 13-member main organising committee and 21 sub-committees for the event, informed publicity committee coordinator Durga Lal K.C.