Paris 15th May 2024

Daaji began by praising the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi for promoting yoga. He emphasized that yoga is often misunderstood as just asanas and pranayamas, but it encompasses much more, including the mental and spiritual aspects. Daaji explained that starting with meditation enhances the ability to follow the ethical principles (yama and niyama) naturally. He highlighted the heart's role in guiding behavior and emphasized the importance of listening to it. Daaji stressed the evolution of consciousness through yoga and meditation, not just physical exercises, and promoted a holistic approach to yoga that includes all its elements for achieving personal and collective peace and unity.

Daaji arrived at the Institut du Monde Arabe at 7:30 am. On his way to the hall, he met several abhyasis and greeted them with careful attention. Children were particularly enchanted by his gentle, caring attention and smiled broadly when he came in.

Then Daaji gave the morning satsangh and had an interview with Mr. Mark Milton, founder of Education 4 Peace.

After this interview, Philipp Müller-Wirth, Chief of the Sports Section at UNESCO, was introduced to Daaji and he talked about the values promoted by the UNESCO, very much aligned with Daaji’s work.

Later, Daaji left for his hotel and had breakfast in his room. After some rest, he decided to leave for his lunch at the residence of the Ambassador of India to UNESCO, Shri Vishal Sharma, Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO.

Daaji was received by the Ambassador at his elegant home. All the visiting ambassadors of other nations, including several eastern European countries, were introduced to him by Ambassador Vishal Sharma, who gave a short speech to all present, inviting Daaji to give a brief address. Then Daaji had lunch with all the guests, and after an hour of discussions, he proposed a Brighter Minds demonstration, and explained about its effects. After presenting the book of Spiritual Anatomy to the Ambassador, Daaji left and returned to the hotel for some rest.

Daaji was not feeling well that day but despite this, he pushed on to honor his commitments. His dedication is so exemplary that one cannot find such determination elsewhere, even if one conducts a treasure hunt of sorts. At 6 pm, he left to proceed to the curtain-raising event, which was again a 45-minute ride from the hotel. Arriving there, he was welcome by the Consul of India, who stood in for the ambassador, and the various partners of the “Master Yoga” Exhibition at UNESCO.

Daaji spoke beautifully on the practice and the importance of yoga in its entirety to the audience, giving wonderful examples and vivid imagery to explain the philosophy of yoga. He inspired, explained, shared, and brought to life the yoga sutras of Patanjali in such a profound way that the entire audience sat in enthralled attention.

Then Shri Kiran Vyas, the forerunner of Ayurveda in Europe, who was recently awarded the Padma Shri award by the Government of India, delivered his speech. When Daaji left the venue, many people greeted him on his way out. He arrived at the hotel to rest for the evening.