International Day of Peace 2018
In March 2018, at United Nations headquarters in New York, the Sri Swami Madhavananda World Peace Council (SSMWPC) organized a conference titled 'Yoga and World Peace', which marked the 15th anniversary of its eponym, Paramhans Swami Madhavananda’s mahasamadhi (liberation from mortal life). At end of the conference, Vishwaguruji pointed out that the primary aim of the conference was to awaken awareness in the individual and in society as a whole, to the significance and importance of world peace. The goal of this conference is in line with that of Word Peace Day, or officially the International Day of Peace (21 September), which is one of the most prominent UN observances, that the SSMWPC, and Yoga in Daily Life, both NGOs overseen by Vishwaguruji, celebrate worldwide every year.
In 2018, members of YIDL and the SSMWPC celebrated the International Day of Peace across five continents. In New York, representatives of YIDL and the SSMWPC joined with the International Day of Yoga Committee at the UN to commemorate the International Day of Peace in the Tillman Chapel. On a global scale, YIDL centers organized a wide range of programs:
- peace prayers at World Peace Trees/public places (Austria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cuba, Hungary, India, Luxembourg, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, UK)
- free indoor/outdoor yoga classes (China, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, Slovenia, Ukraine)
- meditations for world peace (Austria, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Hungary, Scotland)
- public lectures (Hungary, Slovenia)
- cultural and interfaith programs (Austria, Hungary, New Zealand, Slovenia)
to celebrate the International Day of Peace in honor of its significance.
