Vishwaguruji's visit to Ukraine
Kyiv
On his arrival at Kyiv Airport, Vishwaguruji was welcomed by his bhaktas in the traditional way, with bread and salt.
In the welcoming satsang, children performed Khatu Pranam in the beautiful Yoga Sphere.
On 5 April 2017, in the Botanic Garden of Kiev, His Holiness and the vice-director of the Botanic Garden planted a Peace Tree on behalf of the Sri Swami Madhavananda World Peace Council. Vishwaguriji expressed his wish for the Ukraine society to live in peace and harmony with nature and said that the tree was planted as a symbol of protecting the environment and maintaining peace.
After this beautiful event, His Holiness met with the Ambassador of India to Ukraine, H.E. Manoj Kumar Bharti. They had a vivid discussion about the treasures of Indian philosophy and culture, agreeing that it is very important to inspire people worldwide by spreading the principle: vasudeva kutumbakam – 'the whole world is my family'.
In the evening, His Excellency attended Vishwaguruji's public program at the Inveria Center in the heart of Kyiv, and was invited to address the audience.
On Thursday 6 April, Vishwaguruji was invited to give a lecture on 'Spirituality in Modern India' to the students of the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Cherkasy
In the welcoming satsang in the beautiful new ashram of YIDL Cherkasy, His Holiness acknowledged the richness of the nature in Cherkasy and the whole of Ukraine, which is called the 'bread basket' of Europe.
On Friday 7 April, Vishwaguriji was invited to Cherkasy Rosmedia TV for an interview with a journalist, where the audience could ask questions as well. His Holiness touched many topics, including how yoga can help with gaining and maintaining good health, and how it can be used as a remedy against depression. He spoke particularly about peace - both personal inner peace as well as world peace. There were questions from the audience about religion and spirituality, and about the sort of family problems that are part of everyday life for people all over the world.
The last days in Cherkasy were filled with the beautiful topic of Meditation in Vishwaguriji's lectures. His Holiness explained that meditation cannot be done while intellectually repeating, "I will meditate"; and it is not necessary to 'learn' meditation, just as we need not to learn how to sleep. Meditation appears when our approach is pure and the circumstances are proper. A comfortable sitting posture, a calm environment, and pure sattvic nourishment are essential.
On Sunday 9 April, the last day of Vishwaguruji's program in Cherkasy, Vishwaguruji and his bhaktas visited the lake, where the great composer Tchaikovsky found inspiration for his famous ballet Swan Lake.
Enriched with his words of wisdom and his blessing, the bhaktas from Ukraine bid farewell to Vishwaguruji and asked him to grant them his darshan again soon.
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