UNGA unanimously adopts resolution co-sponsored by India declaring December 21 as World Meditation Day

PTI, Dec 7, 2024, 10:04 AM IST

United Nations: India co-sponsored a UN General Assembly draft resolution that was unanimously adopted to proclaim December 21 as World Meditation Day.

India, including Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mexico and Andorra, was a member of the core group of countries that guided the unanimous adoption of the resolution titled ‘World Meditation Day’ in the 193-member UN General Assembly on Friday.

“A day for comprehensive well-being and inner transformation! Glad that India along with other nations of the core group guided the unanimous adoption of the resolution on the declaration of December 21 as World Meditation Day @UN General Assembly today (Friday),” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said in a post on X.

He said India’s leadership in overall human wellbeing stems from “our civilisational dictum of #VasudhaivaKutumbakam – the whole world is one family”.

Harish noted that December 21 marks the Winter Solstice, which in Indian tradition is the beginning of “Uttarayana – an auspicious time of the year, especially for inner reflection” and meditation.

It also falls exactly six months after the International Day of Yoga commemorated on June 21, which is the Summer Solstice.

Recalling that India had in 2014 taken the lead in declaring June 21 as International Day of Yoga, Harish said that in a decade, it has become a global movement which has led to common people across the globe practising yoga and making it part of their daily lives.

A press release by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN said India’s instrumental role in the adoption of the resolution on World Meditation Day was a “testimony to its firm commitment to overall human wellness and global leadership on this front in tune with our civilisational dictum of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.

The declaration of World Meditation Day comes at a time when various regions of the globe witness conflicts and growing tensions, the mission said.

It underlined that meditation is rooted in ancient practises and is an effective tool to achieve inner transformation and peace in the modern day.

It is aimed at comprehensive human well-being, including mental, emotional, physical and spiritual dimensions. It prepares human beings to cope with several modern-day issues such as heightened anxiety and stress and brings about harmony between mind and body, humans and nature.

“Modern science attests to the numerous benefits of meditation and its profound impact on our lives. It has been scientifically proven that regular meditation significantly reduces stress, and enhances cognitive and physical functions,” the Indian mission added.

The resolution, introduced by Liechtenstein, was also cosponsored by Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Burundi, the Dominican Republic, Iceland, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Portugal and Slovenia.