Namaste. Good evening, Budapest.

Respected Swami Avatar Puri Ji, distinguished guests, dear friends of India, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a privilege to stand before you this evening at this gathering organised by the Yoga in Daily Life Association, and I thank the Association for inviting me to offer a few opening words.

The theme before us- “The Power of the Present Moment: How to Quiet Our Thoughts? A Meeting of Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science”, is at once simple and profound. It is the very question that India’s sages asked beside her rivers thousands of years ago, and that a scientist asks in a modern laboratory today. That the same question should echo across millennia and continents tells us something important: the human search for stillness, clarity and inner peace is universal, and it is timeless.

Yoga is India’s gift to the world. It is not merely exercise, nor a passing fashion, but a complete science of the self, a discipline of body, breath and mind refined over thousands of years. India has never sought to keep this treasure to herself. Ours is a civilisation that lives by “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, the world is one family, and so we share yoga freely, as a gift to our common humanity.

The very heart of yoga is captured in a single, luminous line from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः

Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah.

“Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.”

(Yoga Sutra 1.2)

In this brief sutra lies the theme of tonight’s lecture. Yoga does not begin with the body; it begins with the mind. To quiet the thoughts, to rest fully in the present moment, is to touch the deepest purpose of yoga. And this is precisely where ancient wisdom and modern science are now meeting. Modern research into meditation, mindfulness and the human mind is confirming, in the language of the laboratory, what our rishis understood intuitively long ago: that a settled mind is the foundation of health, of compassion, and of clear action.

Under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India has worked to carry this invaluable gift to every corner of the world. It was on India’s initiative that the United Nations declared the 21st of June as the International Day of Yoga, and today it is observed in more than 190 countries. From the banks of the Ganga to the Danube here in Budapest, millions unroll their mats on the same day, a quiet, global affirmation of our shared humanity. For in the vision of the Prime Minister, yoga is not only a path to personal well-being but a bridge between nations: a gentle instrument of unity in a world that has seldom needed one more.

Hungary’s embrace of yoga has been remarkable, and deeply heartening. Here, yoga did not arrive as a novelty; it was received as wisdom. What moves me is the open-mindedness of the Hungarian people, your readiness to look beyond yoga’s physical benefits, beyond even its mental calm, towards its deeper, almost spiritual dimension. Hungary understands that yoga is, in the end, a path of self-knowledge. Such depth of engagement is rare, and India values it.

This receptivity grows from the soil of a warm and friendly relationship between our two nations, a friendship that now spans more than seven decades, rooted in mutual respect and in shared democratic values. Our ties are steady and our horizons are widening, with business and investment links between India and Hungary growing year by year, and with our peoples increasingly connected through culture, education and enterprise. The presence of so many friends of India in this hall this evening is itself a sign of that closeness.

Organisations such as the Yoga in Daily Life Association deserve our sincere appreciation. Their work has made authentic yoga more easily accessible to people across Hungary, not diluted, not reduced to mere gymnastics, but faithful to its roots and to its deeper purpose. In doing so, they serve not only health, but understanding between our peoples.

The Indian Embassy in Budapest, together with the Amrita Sher-Gil Cultural Centre, works consistently to promote yoga in Hungary, through yoga classes, outreach and yoga promotion programmes and the annual celebration of the International Day of Yoga.

Let me close with a hope. May this evening’s lecture open a little more of that inner quiet which yoga promises, the still centre within each of us, untouched by the noise of the world. May you leave this hall a little calmer, a little clearer, and a little closer to that peace which is our truest nature.

I wish Swami Avatar Puri Ji a most rewarding session, and each of you a truly enriching experience.

Thank you. Namaste.