Munger yoga school stays aloof from electioneering

PATNA: Away from the high-pitched campaigning in Munger ahead of the fourth phase of polling, the globally renowned ‘Bihar School of Yoga’ here, is an oasis of peace and wants to stay that way.
The school, which hosts people from all sects, religion, caste, gender and nationality, wants to keep itself away all political influences. “After entering from the gates of this institution one is just a student of yoga and nothing else.Politics is not important for these people because they know that it is not fair to play on the grounds of identity that is man-made,” says Swami Gurkhananda, who has been serving the school for the past 50 years.
The Munger Lok Sabha constituency, which is going to the polls on April 29, is witnessing a high voltage drama campaigning with don-turned-politician Anant Singh’s wife Neelam Devi contesting on a Congress ticket against NDA’s Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, a former MP. LJP’s Veena Devi, wife of muscle-man Suraj Singh the sitting MP, is not in the fray this time making it a direct fight.
A yoga school source, who did not want to be named, said different political parties approach the authorities to campaign for their candidates during every election but the school stands firm on its principles of avoiding religion and caste-based politics.
“Political parties realize the importance the school holds in the heart of locals so they try their best to strike a chord and garner support. People inside the campus have fixed routines, which also leaves them with no scope of entertaining things that are not in public interest as per them,” the swami said.
On being asked whether the students of the yoga school will exercise their franchise, Swami Gyanbhikshu a senior swami at the school, said, “We are citizens of this country and for sure we will exercise our franchise, but apart from that you will never see us participating in any political process.”
Those joining the school for its residential yoga programme, which may extend up to four months, are not allowed to keep even their phones with them. Their routine includes, spiritual chanting, performing yoga, and helping out the school, among others.
“Politics in our nation and especially in the state has been always caste-driven which is just opposite to what is being practiced in the school. Secularism, which is the essence of our democracy, has lost its presence in the current picture where political parties still talk about reservations, discrimination among others which leads to negativity,” says the swami.
The Bihar School of Yoga was established in 1963. It conducts several residential courses, teaching yoga to students coming in from all corners of the world.
The United Nations General Assembly had on December 11, 2014, declared June 21 to be observed as International Day of Yoga across the world. This also brought a lot of international attention to Munger which hosts the world’s first school of Yoga.