Around the world, we’ve seen intolerance and violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to be standing up for their faith, but, in fact, are betraying it. And as part of Michelle’s work as First Lady, she’s met with women and girls around the world, including here in India, to let them know that America believes in them, too. And we have some great role models, including here today the former speaker of our House of Representatives -- Nancy Pelosi -- -- the first woman speaker of the House, and my great partner. It's remarkable, and it's a sign of great strength and great progress. Across our two great countries we have Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, and Jews and Buddhists and Jains and so many faiths. Many countries, including the United States, grapple with questions of identity and inequality, and how we treat each other, people who are different than us, how we deal with diversity of beliefs and of faiths. And if we do that well, if America shows itself as an example of its diversity and yet the capacity to live together and work together in common effort, in common purpose; if India, as massive as it is, with so much diversity, so many differences is able to continually affirm its democracy, that is an example for every other country on Earth.

I have heard occasionally of people damaging their knees while pushing themselves too hard (like can happen in intense Zen retreats) for much too long. This should give you a genuine feeling of the effect that meditation can have on the mind. Many people try to teach themselves meditation by reading books etc., but I can't remember ever meeting an enthusiastic self-taught meditator. Because one other thing we have in common Indians and Americans are some of the hardest working people on Earth. Three years ago in our state of Wisconsin, back in the United States, a man went to a Sikh temple and, in a terrible act of violence, killed six innocent people -- Americans and Indians. Yoga has for years been trusted as one of the best ways to keep yourself healthy and young. Anti-aging yoga is known to reduce the impact of age on the body. Inhale and draw the shoulders and thighs upward; pull the lower body upward. Chaturanga aligns the body and gives strength to the erector spine. Many yoga practitioners claim that yoga can prevent most of the illnesses, thus preventing the ageing of our body.

Yoga also helps in having a peaceful nights sleep. Until this is established by additional research, yoga is said to be a compliment to drug treatment rather than a substitute. It’s better to practice yoga at least once a week to stay young and fit for a lifetime. Your Article 25 says that all people are "equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion." In both our countries -- in all countries -- upholding this fundamental freedom is the responsibility of government, but it's also the responsibility of every person. And in that moment of shared grief, our two countries reaffirmed a basic truth, as we must again today -- that every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free of persecution and fear and discrimination. And so even as we live in a world of terrible inequality, we’re also proud to live in countries where even the grandson of a cook can become President, or even a Dalit can help write a constitution, and even a tea seller can become Prime Minister. Matsyasana and Urdhva prasarita padasana, are two asanas (exercises) among a long list of asanas that help in easing pain.

A number of meditations are collected in the List of Sample Meditations. And the young women who are here today are part of a new generation that is making your voice heard, and standing up and determined to play your part in India’s progress. And I’ve seen that -- Michelle and I have seen that in a family here in India. And India is on track to become the world’s most populous country. And nowhere is that more important than India. Nowhere is it going to be more necessary for that foundational value to be upheld. When girls go to school -- this is one of the most direct measures of whether a nation is going to develop effectively is how it treats its women. In the United States, we’re still working to make sure that women and girls have all the opportunities they deserve, yoga helps stay young and that they’re treated equally. And we want him to have the same opportunities. Every daughter deserves the same chance as our sons. We are all "beautiful flowers from the same garden… And we remember the wisdom of Gandhiji, who said, "for me, the different religions are beautiful flowers from the same garden, or they are branches of the same majestic tree." Branches of the same majestic tree.