New York: Indian spiritual leader Swami Avdheshanand Giri has been invited to lead the International Yoga Day celebrations’ grand event at the iconic Times Square in New York.
International Yoga Day has been celebrated in the US on June 21 every year since 2015.
“It is my distinct pleasure to invite you as Guest of Honour at “The Solstice Yoga”, the largest yoga festival in New York on the occasion of the 8th International Day of Yoga ….,” Randhir Jaiswal, Consul General of Indian Consulate in New York said in an invitation to the seer of the Juna Akhara, based in Haridwar.
“It would be an honor for us if you could join thousands of yoga enthusiasts from around the world and prominent members of the Indian American community of the dynamic and vibrant city of New York for the momentous celebrations of wholesome life at IDY 2022 “Yoga for Wellness”,” Jaiswal said.
Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji, who is very popular among the Hindus globally and has a large following in the US, is slated to arrive on a week-long tour of North America next week, New York-based community leader Prem Bhandari told PTI news agency on Tuesday.
Bhandari has established a 21-member organizing committee to oversee the stay of the spiritual leader in the US.
Apart from the grant function at the iconic Times Square, the seer will also have an interaction with the community members in New Jersey and in Long Island, New York, following which he will be spending three days in Canada, Bhandari said.
Since its inception in 2015, several Indian spiritual leaders have led International Yoga Day celebrations in the US, prominent among them are Baba Ram Dev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.
Over the past week, the Indian Embassy here has held a curtain-raiser for the mega event at the National Mall, which is expected to be attended by thousands of yoga enthusiasts.
This year’s International Yoga Day will be celebrated in cities across the US, with preparations in full swing in New York and other major cities such as Boston, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami.
