“LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD” for Prof MADANMOHAN
A report by Yoga Thilakam Prof Dr Meena Ramanathan, Vice-Principal, School of Yoga therapy, ISCM of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth, Pondicherry.
The School of Yoga Therapy (SYT), Institute of Salutogenesis and Complementary Medicine (ISCM) of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV), Pondicherry organised and conducted the SBV Yoga Mahotsav in commemoration of the International Day of Yoga. This event was supported by the Ministry of Ayush through its MDNIY.)
This year SBV Yoga Mahotsav 2023 was a month long celebration with an array of events such as International Faculty Development Program, online Yoga quiz, online Yoga essay and Regional Level Yogasana competitions, along with a Mass Yoga Demonstration of more that 350 faculty and students on the Promenade Beach of Pondicherry.
The culmination of the long list of events was the National Conference conducted on Holistic Health and Healing through Yoga Therapy on 16 and 17 June 2023. This unique opportunity empowered the Yoga and healthcare professionals to gain knowledge as to how Yoga Therapy is introduced and integrated in a modern health care and educational setting.
It’s a matter of great pride and honour that we were able to felicitate Yogaratna Prof Dr Madanmohan, Hon Advisor ISCM with the Lifetime Achievement Award. This was bestowed upon MMT Sir by the Pondicherry Yoga Community consisting of the ISCM in association with Indian Yoga Association — Puducherry Chapter, Siddhar Bhoomi Puducherry Yogasana Sports Association and the Pondicherry Yogasana Association.
MMT Sir (as we fondly call him) is our Bhishma Pitamah, a colossus in Yoga Research and Yoga Therapy, with close to five decades of teaching experience. He is above all a true humane being and a cherished and dear mentor to all of us. Sir has the credit of pioneering the inclusion of Yoga in the medical curriculum (way back before anyone even thought about it) and implementing it in JIPMER, then MGMCRI and then AVMC.
Another additional but notable fact is that MMT Sir has been associated with Swamiji (Swami Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj) in various capacities and has conducted research studies in collaboration with Ananda Ashram (ICYER) and coordinated many times with Pujya Swamiji and Ammaji. In fact one of the pioneering studies in Yoga was on Savitri Pranayama that was published in the beginning of the 1980s.
We feel truly blessed that this was awarded to him during the Inaugural session of the National Conference in the esteemed presence of Prof NR Biswas, the Vice Chancellor of SBV along with Dean Faculty Prof Ananthakrishnan N and other eminent people on and off the dais. It was an emotional moment when our dear MMT Sir was awarded — a child-like person, epitome of simplicity, an authority in physiology and Vedas and so on (we can go on adding to more to this as the list is never-ending) yet such a down-to-earth personality. With greatness comes humility and our dear MMT Sir is a living example of that dictum.
We pray to the almighty that he continues to be blessed and that we all may be blessed through him.
