The Indian Institute of Management Ranchi inaugurated a 3-day Yoga Camp at the Vivekananda Auditorium, Permanent Campus in Prabandhan Nagar, Ranchi from 3rd to 5th February. The camp is being organized under IIM Ranchi initiative, the “Human Connect” - A flagship Event for Promoting Mental and Emotional Well- being, under the leadership of Prof. Deepak Srivastava, Director, IIM Ranchi. This initiative aims to foster a deeper sense of connection and community among the members of the IIM Ranchi family. Under this initiative, three events as episodes - Drum Circle, Collective Dance and Blood Donation camp have already been organised.

Episode 4 of the Human Connect initiative, IIM Ranchi, the 3-day Yoga Camp has been organized in association with Department of Sports Science and Yoga, Ramkrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research institute (RKMVERI), Belurmath.

The event started with the lighting of the lamp and soulful prayer, followed by the chanting of Vedic hymns performed by the students of RKMVERI.

The event was graced by the presence of Prof. Deepak Kumar Srivastava, Director, IIM Ranchi; Swami Atmapriyananda, founding Vice Chancellor RKMVERI; Swami Bhaveshananda, Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Morabadi and the Administrative Head of RKMVERI Faculty centre; Swami Samarpananda, Faculty, RKMVERI; Swami Kaleshananda, Faculty, RKMVERI, and Prof. Manish Kumar, Chairperson, Student Affairs IIM Ranchi.

Prof. Deepak Kumar Srivastava, Director, IIM Ranchi, addressed the students. He started by welcoming the guests. He stated how the 3-day yoga camp is an integral part of the ‘Human Connect’ initiative of IIM Ranchi. The aim of 'Human Connect' is to spread happiness, and Yoga is a powerful medium to connect & achieve happiness. He emphasised the importance of taking a break from the busy MBA life and how Yoga is the way to do so, as it allows us to connect and be one with nature. He advised the students to refer to ancient Indian knowledge to care for physical and mental health.

Swani Bhaveshananda started the session with spiritual Vedic chanting. He educated the students on how Yoga's end goal is to unite one’s personality with the real personality. Swamiji also explained how personality and values keep changing as we evolve with our different experiences over time. Still, our real nature or our soul remains the same. He advised the students to use their skills and resources to give back to society, "dharmo, artho, karmo" is the way to happiness.

Swami Atmapriyananda joined the session through an online medium. He talked about the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and how he emphasised incorporating spiritual learning with modern education to provide students with diverse and holistic learning. Quoting Swami Vivekananda, he said, "When ‘I’ and ‘my’ are erased, Yoga begins".

Br. Ajatachaitanya in his address explained that man is a physical, mental, and spiritual being, and yoga helps promote a balanced development of all three. He further stated that yoga brings down the agitation and restlessness in us and sets us on the path of a calm, meaningful, and focused way of living. 

The participants including students, faculty and staff members of IIM Ranchi then practiced yoga under the guidance of disciples of the RKMVERI. Some of the asanas practiced by students were: Hastapadasana, Vrikshasana, Padmasana, Paschimottanasana, and Ustrasana.

The session was followed by a talk on mind power and personality development by Swami Samarpananda, where he emphasized the power of yoga in personality development. He elaborated on the conceptualization and development of yoga and meditation. He explained that silence helps with introspection, and introspection helps in identifying who we are. 

The session was followed by Sukshmavyama: Basic stretching exercises and Guided Meditation. Swami Kaleshananda took the participants through guided meditation techniques. The camp witnessed huge participation from students. The sessions will continue till 5th February and will take forward IIM Ranchi’s Human Connect Initiative.