Articles – Research on Hinduism -14

Articles – Research on Hinduism

Christians Trying to Hijacking Yoga

Dr. Subhash Kak has written: "For example, in the US, almost every YMCA teaches yoga, although it is a different story that some Churches are speaking of Christian yoga, without mentioning the origins of this tradition.

This yearning for wisdom was expressed by Zimmer over fifty years ago when he said, 'We of the Occident are about to arrive at a crossroads that was reached by the thinkers of India some seven hundred years before Christ. This is the real reason, why we become both vexed and stimulated, uneasy and yet interested, when confronted with the concepts and images of Indian wisdom.'

(source: Globalization and the Knowledge Industry - By Subhash Kak - rediff.com).

Note: This tendency of Christianity to absorb spiritually ‘dangerous’ practices is an old trick of theirs. To speed the assimilation of the European pagan religions in the Middle Ages, the church specifically chose dates for Christian holidays that coincided closely with pagan holidays. Why do you think we celebrate Christmas so close to the winter solstice every year? You got to love the hypocrisy of Christians. They deny the knowledge, wisdom and mere existence of pre-Christian practices, but as we’ve seen throughout history that doesn’t stop them from completely ripping them off. “Yule tide?”. Yule is a Germanic pagan holiday.

Modern Yoga Migrates to China

Google “Beijing Yoga” and, surprise – dozens of links to Yoga retreats and events in Beijing! Next, go to www.yogafinder.com, click on “Find Yoga classes” and city “Shanghai.” From the way the list reads you might think you were in California. What is compelling is not only the array of options but the degree of cross-national integration: Yoga teachers in California are holding programs in China in cooperation with Chinese yogis. China’s 1980’s policy to teach English in elementary schools, is paying off big time today. Political tensions still bristle between nations, but China’s youth are all open arms.

While US-style holistic health jargon dominates the website blurbs, we were happy to note in one article from Beijing’s www.cityweekend.com.cn a “full disclosure” that the “Vedas of Hinduism are the source of other teachings, including Upanishads and Karma. Modern Yoga is based on the four Vedic texts, the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Arthava Veda.”

(source: Hinduism Today - July/August/September 2005 p. 6).

According to Father Jeremy Davies, exorcist for the leader of Catholics in the UK, yoga puts people at risk from devils and the occult is closely associated with the scourges of “drugs, demonic music and pornography” which’re “destroying millions of young people in our time”. Father Davies has argued in his new book ‘In Exorcism: Understanding Exorcism In Scripture And Practice’ published by the Catholic Truth Society, that people who practice yoga may end up afflicting themselves by demons, British newspaper the ‘Daily Mail’ has reported.

(source: Yoga leads to possession by devils? - expressindia.com).

Chanting Om can cause Moral Deviations? says Vatican

The Vatican, in a letter approved by Pope John Paul II, warned Christians Thursday against spiritual dangers deriving from Eastern methods of contemplative meditation used in Yoga and Zen Buddhism.

It said the symbolism and body postures in such meditation ''can even become an idol and thus an obstacle to the raising up of the spirit of God.'' It warned that to give ''a symbolic significance typical of the mystical experience'' to sensations of well-being from meditation can lead to ''a kind of mental schizophrenia which could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations.''

(source: Pope in 1989 - Eastern Religions are Moral Deviations). Watch An Invasion through Conversion - videoyahoo.com

According to the Rev. Peter E. Prosser, who is both a priest at Galilee Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach and a Christian history professor at Regent University’s divinity school says,

“Yoga is designed to bring you into a spiritual realm of demonic powers.”

(source: Christians try to Hijack Yoga). Refer to The theft of yoga - By Dr. Aseem Shukla - Hindu American Foundation

Doctors study the health benefits of yoga

Yoga is one of the hottest fitness trends sweeping the country. Now many doctors think it can also cure what ails you. Physicians in the U.S. and abroad are conducting a variety of studies gauging whether yoga offers health benefits beyond general fitness and can relieve symptoms associated with serious medical problems. Early results suggest that a regular yoga regimen -- involving a variety of postures, deep breathing and meditation exercises -- can offer relief for patients suffering from asthma, chronic back pain, arthritis and obsessive compulsive disorder, among other problems.

(source: Doctors study the health benefits of yoga - By Tara Parker-Pope, The Wall Street Journal).
Is yoga bad for you?
The Islamic Fatwa council are in good company with the Christian fundamentalists in the United States.

Several years ago, I developed something called arthrosis in my knees. This is a first cousin to arthritis, and is extremely painful. After a few months on painkillers, I enrolled in a yoga class out of desperation. Initially, contorting my out-of-shape body into the positions required by our teacher was very difficult, but soon I managed to bully my joints into approximating the postures our elegant instructor assumed so effortlessly. A few months into this routine, I began to look forward to the thrice-weekly yoga classes. In our darkened room, soft music would play, while we were encouraged to empty our minds and hold the positions for just a little longer each time. My body became suppler, and crucially the pain in my knees disappeared. Unfortunately, the timings of our class were changed, and I could no longer pursue my new interest. Nevertheless, I have nothing but pleasant memories of the year-long experience. Now, as my creaking body protests each time I lower myself to pick up something from the floor, I wish I could have continued my yoga lessons. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Malaysia 's top Islamic body recently issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from practising yoga due to elements of Hinduism the ancient system is supposed to contain.

According to The Island, a Sri Lankan daily, the Malaysian National Fatwa Council's chairman, Shukor Husin, has said that "many Muslims fail to understand that yoga's ultimate aim is to be one with a god of a different religion". I had no idea that when our yoga teacher told us to empty our minds, she was doing so with the aim of making space in that limited cavity for a foreign god.

But the members of the fatwa council are in good company, for Christian fundamentalists in the United States have long opposed yoga classes in schools, arguing that it violates the secular principle of separating church from state. According to them, yoga's Hindu roots conflict with Christian teachings. And apparently, Egypt 's highest theological body banned yoga for Muslims in 2004. So what planet are these fundamentalists on? And what century do they live in? Surely everything that's good for us, or is fun, cannot be declared un-Islamic on a whim?

And if this kind of retrogressive mindset can hold sway in a relatively modern Muslim country like Malaysia , just think what is going on in nations like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan .

Whatever the reason, such desperate and ultimately futile measures only serve to further marginalise Muslims. Already viewed as a backward community by much of the world, Muslims risk withdrawing from the rest of mankind at a time when globalisation is breaking down barriers at a frenzied pace. Where will this madness end? It will end if and when Muslims decide that enough is enough, and that they do not want to live in the sixth century. Unfortunately, there is much confusion in the Islamic world, with the result that uneducated mullahs issue half-baked edicts on everything under the sun, and ordinary people, unsure of themselves, pay lip service to these teachings. How long will it take to yank fundamentalist Muslims like Abdul Shukor Husin into the 21st century?

(source: Is yoga bad for you? - By Irfan Husain - dawn.com). Refer to Is Yoga a Religion - By Georg Feuerstein.

Beware the Yoga Demon! The Christian Right’s fear of self-realization and spirituality

They’re still at it. Those paranoid Christian fundamentalists are again attacking yoga.

On On June 15, 2006, Agape Press carried this article: Author Wants to Enlighten Christians About Yoga's Demonic Influence Christian author Dave Hunt, co-founder of the Oregon-based ministry, The Berean Call, has written a new book called Yoga and the Body of Christ. In it, he contends that yoga is a spiritually dangerous practice designed to expose people to demonic influences.

Why would Mr. Hunt fear “self-realization”? Why would he advise “Christians” to avoid it?

Could it be that if people achieve self-realization they will recognize the sinister mind-control techniques of “ministries” such as The Berean Call? Could it be that they would also realize that if they develop a “personal relationship with God,” there is no need for ministries? The clergy would become little more than “middlemen” who, like all middlemen, leech off others for their own self-aggrandizement. In fact, the clergy would become “demonic influences” interrupting, twisting and poisoning one’s personal relationship with Divinity for their own power and profit. It must be noted, however, that the Eastern spiritual philosophies that spawn yoga do not advocate hatred toward or the murder of gays, or anyone else. Fanatical Rev. Fred Phelps has much in common with other dogmatic monotheists, such as Muslim cleric Yusuf Qaradawi who couldn’t decide whether gay people should be “throw[n] from a high place” or whether “we should burn them.” Not surprisingly, Yusuf Qaradawi is also a vocal supporter of suicide bombers.

So feel free to join the estimated 30 million Americans who practice yoga, and beware those who argue against self-realization and thinking for yourself.

(source: Beware the Yoga Demon! The Christian Right’s fear of self-realization and spirituality - By By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D. - onlinejournal.com).

Yoga violates Islamic Law: Cleric - The growing enthusiasm for yoga in Egypt has received a setback with a mufti reportedly issuing an edict declaring it un-Islamic. The edict signed by mufti Ali Gomoa, considered the highest theological authority, says: "Yoga is an ascetic Hindu practice that is forbidden for use in any manner - neither for exercise or for worship", local media reported quoting an Al-Hayat report. "It is an aberration" whose practice in any form is "forbidden under Islamic law", the edict says. Yoga centres are said to have sprung up at all the tourist resorts in Egypt and is said to be very popular among western tourists.

(source: Yoga violates Islamic Law: Cleric - sify.com).

Indian Christians Protest Yoga in Schools

The practices of a majority religion should not be imposed on other minority religions, said an Indian archbishop, reacting sharply to a decision of an Indian state government. A Jan. 15 interview with the Indian Catholic, the Internet news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Archbishop Pascal Topno of Bhopal said that he had nothing against “Surya Namaskar” or other Hindu rituals, but questioned the Madhya Pradesh government's decision to make the practice compulsory in all government schools and colleges.

(source: Don’t impose religious practices, Indian archbishop says of yoga measure - catholic.org).

There is no Christian Yoga - Not found in the bible

It was quite astonishing to see on the flyer “Christian Yoga! This Thursday night….” I could feel the wheels spinning in my brain. “Christian Yoga”, I thought. Now while Christians can practice yoga, I am not aware of any Christian teachings about yoga. Yoga is not a Judeo/Christian word! It is not a part of the Roman Catholic teachings and certainly not a part of protestant teachings. It is not found within the King James Version of the bible. It is a Hindu word, or more correctly a Sanskrit word from the Vedic civilization. So how did we get “Christian Yoga”?

From this I could conclude that “Christian Yoga” could only indicate one of two possibilities:

1) Christianity is threatened by yoga and is attempting to take over this system that “invaded their turf” pertaining to spiritual teachings and techniques.

2) Christianity is subconsciously attempting to return to the spiritual roots of civilization—the Vedic civilization.

I thought to myself, “why would they want to take over yoga?” Could it be due to the decline of members within the Christian church within the last 60 years? Is this an extensive marketing plan cooked up in some New York marketing guru’s head? Is it an attempt to water down the teachings of yoga and import their own teachings into the system? Or is it that they cannot stand not to own everything spiritual?

I think the best reason might be that yoga, and eastern spirituality, offered answers to the spiritual questions that the spiritually hungry masses had. It offered a practical, rational, logical, and truthful approach to spirituality. It did not contain any form of self-righteous condemnation, but offered love and acceptance to all. It did not prey upon victims with terms such as “Sin” and “eternal damnation”. But most importantly, it had answers! It offered a practical approach to cultivating a relationship with divinity. It offered a systematic approach and an abstract approach to meet the varying temperaments of the spirituality hungry.

(source: There is no Christian Yoga - conversionagenda.Articlesspot.com).

A Hindu Yogi Speaks: "There is no Christian Yoga."

Yogi Baba Prem, who is a Hindu Yogi, a Vedavisharada trained in the traditional gurukural system.

"It was quite astonishing to see on the flyer 'Christian Yoga!" I could feel the wheels spinning in my brain. 'Christian Yoga,' I thought. Now while Christians can practice yoga, I am not aware of any Christian teachings about yoga. Yoga is not a Judeo/Christian word! It is not a part of the Roman Catholic teachings and certainly not a part of protestant teachings. It is not found within the King James Version of the bible.

It is a Hindu word, or more correctly a Sanskrit word from the Vedic civilization.

So how did we get 'Christian Yoga'? From this I could conclude that “Christian Yoga” could only indicate one of two possibilities:

1) Christianity is threatened by yoga and is attempting to take over this system that “invaded their turf” pertaining to spiritual teachings and techniques.
2) Christianity is subconsciously attempting to return to the spiritual roots of civilization—the Vedic civilization.

I thought to myself, “why would they want to take over yoga?”

Could it be due to the decline of members within the Christian church within the last 60 years? Is this an extensive marketing plan cooked up in some New York marketing guru’s head? Is it an attempt to water down the teachings of yoga and import their own teaching. I think the best reason might be that yoga, and eastern spirituality, offered answers to the spiritual questions that the spiritually hungry masses had. It offered a practical, rational, logical, and truthful approach to spirituality. It did not contain any form of self-righteous condemnation, but offered love and acceptance to all. It did not prey upon victims with terms such as “Sin” and “eternal damnation”. But most importantly, it had answers! It offered a practical approach to cultivating a relationship with divinity. It offered a systematic approach and an abstract approach to meet the varying temperaments of the spirituality hungry.

The second possibility was that Christianity was itself looking for answers. A small book filled with judgment, inflexibility, and condemnation was no longer fulfilling the needs of the masses or the leaders of the church. Offering yoga classes allowed the Christian to secretly practice Hinduism without having to renounce their Christian tradition. Possibly by embracing the technology of yoga and meditation, the Christian church could finally return to the idea of love and acceptance that it believed it was founded upon. It is ironic that one religion would need to look to another religion to teach them about love, peace, harmony, and forgiveness. If successful, it could embrace these ancient teachings and save itself from the fate it planted over the last few thousand years.

But possibly in their wisdom, the current fathers of the church realized that their time was coming to a close. So within America they must absorb yoga before they are absorbed by it. This is a common religious view that has appeared numerous times within world history. Then they would immediately move their resources to India. Taking over the country would allow them to own all the spirituality, and then ‘pick and chose’ which tasty spiritual treats they would share. After all they have 2000 years practice with this. Indians being a loving, peaceful people, openly embraced their brothers from the west. They looked the other way as their temples were torn down. They accepted it as karma as their families were torn apart over differing religious beliefs. The Indians thought it was thoughtful of the missionaries to dress up just like swami’s, to be “just like them” and to share in their kindred spirit.

Modern day scholars from India frequently present the attitude of “let them have yoga, I am interested in protecting Hinduism.” I have heard this sentiment on numerous occasions, but the reality is that yoga is a part of Hinduism. Allowing one part to be taken from Hinduism opens a door for the distortion of the teachings. We must remember that the roots to modern day yoga comes from Vedic Yoga. The same Vedic Yoga that is the authority of Hinduism. Allowing one branch to be severed from the tree of knowledge will not necessarily kill that tree, but it can produce strain and have an unbalancing effect upon the tree.

Hinduism should reclaim its full heritage and not allow other groups to rename its sacred teachings under their banner, especially when they have no history of those teaching within their own system. If they wish to ‘borrow’ and say this comes from our brothers and sisters in Hinduism, then that is another thing. But frequently groups attempt to privatize the information and present themselves as the original authority. Hinduism should guard against its sacred traditions becoming distorted and taken away. Scholars at universities should take the stand that yoga is part of Hinduism, though one is one required to be a Hindu to practice yoga. It is important to acknowledge the roots of the tradition; after all we are expected to give credit to the orginial sources within books and research papers, but yet Hindu scholars have ignored this fundamental western view when it comes to their own heritage.

(source: A Hindu Yogi Speaks: "There is no Christian Yoga."). We hope that Thomas Nelson, who publishes Yoga for Christians, American Family Association, who sells Holy Yoga, and emerging leader, Doug Pagitt, who offers it at his church, will all read this article by Yogi Baba Prem.

Vatican sounds New Age alert: The Roman Catholic Church has warned Christians against resorting to New Age therapies to satisfy their spiritual needs. Publishing the results of a six-year study of practices such as yoga, feng shui and shamanism, the Vatican said that whatever the individual merits of such therapies, none provided a true answer to the human thirst for happiness. "I want to say simply that the New Age presents itself as a false utopia in answer to the profound thirst for happiness in the human heart," Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said at the news conference. Many people, the report acknowledges, have rejected organised religion because they feel it fails to answer their needs. Our correspondent says that the report makes clear that the Vatican basically dislikes fuzzy spirituality.

(source: Vatican sounds New Age alert - BBC news.com - Feb 4' 2003). Watch An Invasion through Conversion - videoyahoo.com

Church protests, Croatia dumps yoga: Croatia’s education ministry has withdrawn its recommendation that teachers take yoga classes after the Roman Catholic Church accused it of trying to sneak Hinduism into schools. Croatia’s bishops issued a fierce protest of the planned yoga classes, calling it “unacceptable to introduce into the schools topics that are in contradiction with the generally accepted system of values and the European cultural tradition.” “Hindu religious practice will be brought into the schools under the guise of exercises,” the bishops said.

(source: Church protests, Croatia dumps yoga - timesofindia.com). Watch An Invasion through Conversion - videoyahoo.com

Yoga for Teachers Rouses Ire of Croatian Bishops - The Croatian Bishops' Conference said the program would "make an unacceptable favor to an organization and its founder who wants to introduce Hinduistic religious practice in Croatian schools." It said everything was being done under the guise of exercise. A Croatian yoga activist, who asked not to be named, said the bishops were "irritated by anything related to disciplines of oriental origin."

(source: Yoga for Teachers Rouses Ire of Croatian Bishops - reuters.com).

Fundamentalist Christians in Georgia stopped the Toccoa-Stephens County Recreation Department from offering a Yoga class. They claim that Yoga could lead to devil worship. Christian conservatives and other rigid and dogmatic religious sects have some serious issues with Yoga.

An English (Reverend Derek Smith) vicar who is in charge of St Michael's Church in the parish of Melksham in Wiltshire, decision to ban yoga classes from his church hall has underlined the fragility of Britain's continuing experiment with a multi-cultural society. Yoga is one of the fastest growing extra-curricular activities in the United Kingdom with a following among all sections of society.

A decade ago, it was actively promoted by one of India's most popular diplomats in Britain, High Commissioner H C Apa Pant, who delighted his friends by balancing on his head. In London a spokesman for Britain's Anglican Church backed the right of clergymen to take a stand against any practices which "do not square with Christian teachings". "Yoga is used as a kind of generic term for exercise and stretching, but there are many different types of yoga. Some have a more spiritual basis as handed down from Eastern religions. Last November another vicar in a different part of the country in Henham, Essex, took the same step. The British Wheel of Yoga, the governing body recognized by Sport England, condemned Rev Smith's action as "ignorant". "We Hindus are broadminded and it is surprising for us to hear a Christian vicar say he will ban yoga classes. "Most people practice yoga for health benefits, but even if they were aware of the links with Hinduism, what is the harm? There are many paths to God." The 50-year-old vicar said he had no regrets about his church hall's ban on the weekly yoga classes, which were incompatible with Christianity. Rev Smith said that even if followers in the West used it just for fitness, spiritual leaders in the East insisted it was inseparable from Hindu devotional practice.

(source: rediff.com).

Gods in New Age film: The seemingly innocuous devices used range from Yoga meditation to a belief in reincarnation. We are given an extraordinary inside glimpse into an eerie world of cult mentality and mindless obedience, and we see how an outright attack against traditional American beliefs has been successfully launched, not only from Hindu missionaries, but from unsuspecting Americans who have accepted the surface manifestations of this religion as trendy and fun. Many of these concepts, amazingly. have found their way into American churches which, themselves, are the very target of the attack. The film covers the chilling parallels between the belief structure in today's New Age subculture and that in Hitler's Third Reich two generations ago.

(source: Gods in New Age - http://www.marianland.com/newage01.html).

Yoga in Aspen Public Schools Draws Opposition - Yoga has become as trendy as this glamorous ski hamlet, so it would not seem surprising that some local schools have added it to the students' day. But some parents and religious leaders here are objecting, saying that teaching yoga in school violates the separation of church and state. "We anticipate that the yoga classes will provide them with some skills to learn how to better focus and be more attentive," said the Aspen Elementary School principal, Barb Pitchford. "More and more kids seem to have trouble with their attention spans — which is about as long as TV commercials." Leah Kalish, an author of the curriculum being used in Aspen, said opponents took issue with any Sanskrit words. One was "namaste," a word that she said was used in yoga classes to say, "The light in you is the light in me," or more generally, "to acknowledge our common humanity." The students end class here by saying "peace" rather than "namaste." Mr. Grant said yoga had become so commercialized that it no longer was truly yoga. "Yoga has become an enormous fad and is completely adrift from its mooring as an ancient and classical tradition that has always been taught face to face with a master," he said. A Roman Catholic priest in Aspen also objected to yoga in the schools. "The ultimate goal of the yoga is to balance the body, the mind, the soul and the spirit," said the priest, the Rev. Michael O'Brien of St. Mary's Catholic Church. "When you are talking about the soul and the spirit, then aren't you in the realm of religion? And if so, which religion?" Mr. Woodrow, a father of four, said that even watered-down yoga incorporated aspects of Eastern religions that believe in reincarnation and pluralism, which conflict with his beliefs. "It's not fine, it's Hinduism, and it's a completely different value system," he said.

(source: Yoga in Aspen Public Schools Draws Opposition - by Mindy Sink - NewYorkTimes.com).
Shal-ohm! Jews who yoga in Kansas City

Despite its deep roots in Hinduism and Buddhism, yoga is popping up as a trend not just among Jews in greater Kansas City, but among people of many different religions all over the world as a form of physical fitness and a means of finding balance in life. So how do the traditionally Hindu beliefs of yoga and the Jewish belief system fit together? According to Colbert, Jaffe and Kahn, Judaism and yoga fit hand and hand with each other. In fact, yoga can fit with just about any religion. In her book, "Anatomy of the Spirit," Caroline Myss explores how the seven chakras, or energy centers that Hindus believe exist as an ethereal part of the body, connect to basic principles of Judaism and Christianity.

BKS Iyengar, one of the greatest yoga masters, said that yoga was given to the human race, not just to Hinduism. After the meditation, Kahn and Colbert both end with a gentle, "Namaste," a traditional Sanskrit greeting meaning "I honor the divine within you."

(source: Shal-ohm! Jews who yoga in Kansas City - Kansas City Jewish Chronicle - February 4 2005).

Christian Yoga - The new appropriation Strategy of delinking Yoga from Hinduism

Jan Markell wrote an article titled 'Eastern Mysticism and Christianity are Incompatible' to counter the increasing interest Christians are taking in 'Yoga'. Christian Strategists are worried that Christians who benefited from Yoga may further explore Hinduism and start appreciating that. This sense of respect for other religions would play doom to the evangelical Christianity which survives on generating ill will and hatredness towards the 'lost people', i.e., the term used for non-Christians.

(source: Christian Yoga - The new appropriation Strategy of delinking Yoga from Hinduism - christianaggression.com). Also Refer to Yogaunveiled.com
Let's Take Yoga Back

I have become keenly aware of an alarming trend that disassociates yoga from its Hindu origins.

I regularly read Yoga Journal at my gym and am continuously amazed at how many times its editors blatantly avoid using the word "Hindu." As I perused the April 09 issue, I found the Upanishads described as "Tantric yoga texts." Exactly one year ago, HAF Hindu American Foundation wrote to the editors of Yoga Journal about the clear disregard for Hinduism. Our letter was never published, and upon following up with them, HAF was informed that the journal does intentionally avoid using the word "Hindu" because it carries too much baggage, and ultimately, their goal is to sell magazines! I immediately requested my parents to discontinue their subscription.

These issues plagued me, but it wasn't until I began furthering my own yoga practice that I found this disassociation so stark. When I look around the yoga studios I frequent, I am almost always the only Indian Hindu in the room. If I lived in a small mid-Western town, this observation may not be so surprising. But I reside in Manhattan, one of the most diverse cities in the US, where Hindus abound and yet, I can't seem to find any in my yoga classes.

So, perhaps it's time for the Hindu community to look inward and accept our share of the blame in losing the affiliation between Hinduism and yoga. How can we maintain and promote the Hindu origin of yoga if the majority of yoga studios don't have Hindu students, forget the idea of Hindu yoga teachers? Our Hindu forefathers understood the unique benefits of yoga and shared yoga with the Western world. The West understood, fell in love with yoga, morphed it into a physical and "spiritual" practice - thereby removing any religious association - and proclaimed their expertise.

In an effort to avoid such a catastrophe, I urge you, as a Hindu American, to reclaim yoga by once again becoming an expert in its practice. We cannot lay claim to a practice if we as a community don't follow it ourselves. As a proud Hindu, it is a humbling experience to learn a practice originating in Hinduism from so many non-Hindus.

(source: Let's Take Yoga Back - By Sheetal Shah - hinducurrents.com).

The Theft of Yoga - Delinking yoga from Hinduism

The Los Angeles Times last week chronicled this steady disembodying of yoga from Hinduism. "Christ is my guru. Yoga is a spiritual discipline much like prayer, meditation and fasting [and] no one religion can claim ownership," says a vocal proponent of "Christian themed" yoga practices. Some Jews practice Torah yoga, Kabbalah yoga and aleph bet yoga, and even some Muslims are joining the act. They are appropriating the collective wisdom of millenia of yogis without a whisper of acknowledgment of yoga's spiritual roots.

Not surprisingly, the most popular yoga journals and magazines are also in the act. Once yoga was no longer intertwined with its Hindu roots, it became up for grabs and easy to sell. These journals abundantly refer to yoga as "ancient Indian," "Eastern" or "Sanskritic," but seem to assiduously avoid the term "Hindu" out of fear, we can only assume, that ascribing honestly the origins of their passion would spell disaster for what has become a lucrative commercial enterprise. The American Yoga Association, on its Web site, completes this delinking of yoga from Hinduism thusly:

"The common belief that Yoga derives from Hinduism is a misconception. Yoga actually predates Hinduism by many centuries...The techniques of Yoga have been adopted by Hinduism as well as by other world religions."

(source: The theft of yoga - By Dr. Aseem Shukla - Hindu American Foundation).



Yoga in the Modern World

The ground for its introduction to the West was laid in 1893, with the arrival from India of Swami Vivekananda, who gained notoriety when he represented Hinduism at the world Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Soon after, the West's awareness of Indian philosophy grew, through the work of such groups as the Theosophical Society, founded in the US by Madame Blavatsky. The Society translated most of the ancient Indian philosophical texts available at the time, including an interpretation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by the English novelist and playwright Christopher Isherwood, a member of the Society. Other members of the Society included some of the most prominent intellectuals of the day such as Aldous Huxley, Frank Lloyd Wright and W. B. Yeats. For the next few decades, the West's interest in Indian philosophy continued to grow. An important voice for the universality of these teachings was the great philosopher and teacher J. Krishnamurti. With awareness of the philosophy grew an interest in the practice with which it was so closely linked – yoga. In 1935, the eminent Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung even described yoga as 'one of the greatest things the human mind has ever created.'

One of his most distinguished pupils was the violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who wrote the foreword for Iyengar's book Light on Yoga, published in 1966. It wasn't long before people from all over the world were travelling to India to discover yoga and the Vedic philosophy from which it emerged. Then with the Beatles' journey to India in 1968, to study Transcendental Meditation with their Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi that was Indian became firmly part of the hippy culture. In his memoirs, Unfinished Journey, he wrote: "On our first evening in Delhi, challenged by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to show what I could do, I stood on my head in a somewhat rickety fashion, under the critical gaze of his daughter Indira, his sister "Nan" Pandit, and a few members of the government. "Oh, that's no good!" said Nehru in his sharp way. "I'll show you." He took off his little Gandhi hat and very elegantly - although not more elegantly than I can manage it now - upended himself on the drawing room carpet. Dutifully I did my best to emulate my first guru, and we were both on our heads when the splendid turbaned and sashed butler threw open the door to announce that dinner was served."

(source: Unfinished Journey - By Yehudi Menuhin p. 250 - 268).

According to Alan Watts:(1915-1973) a professor, graduate school dean and research fellow of Harvard University, drew heavily on the insights of Vedanta. He well known in the 1960s as a pioneer in bringing Eastern philosophy to the West.

"For the intellectual type there is the Gnana Yoga, the way of thought; for the feeling type there is Bhakti Yoga, the way of love; for the worker there is Karma Yoga, the way of service. But for those exceptionally gifted, there is a fourth which comprises the other three – Raja Yoga, the royal way, and this contains not only the trinity of thought, love and service, but also that mainly psychic form of yoga known as Hatha…..so great are the powers which it develops that they are only safe in the hands of those of the highest moral discipline, those who can be trusted to use them without thought of personal gain."

(source: The Wisdom of Asia – by Alan Watts p. 27-28).



Sage Patanjali. North facade garbhagraha - Melakkadormbur. South Arcot. Sri. Amrtakatesvam temple.

(image source: French Institute of Indology. Pondicherry. India).

 

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In a moving letter written to Yoga Journal magazine Ukrainian yogi Andrey V. Sidersky tells how yoga is ameliorating the effects from radiation exposure when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant melted down. Sidersky writes, "Everything is soaked with radiation. The immune system is undermined. One who practices yoga can fight it. That is why yoga is so important here. My blood is still impure, due to radiation, but not as much as it could be. We are approaching death much more quickly than the rest of humanity. Those who practice yoga have a much better chance to get ready."

In recent times, Sri Aurobindo saw a new vision and possibility of advance in spiritual life. He realized that it should and could be possible for a human race as such to rise to a new and higher status of living, a supramental in place of the mental which it now commands, but which is subject to partiality, fragmentaries and division. A supramental status of wholeness, sure of truth, is the development called for and needed in the present situation of human life. This, Aurobindo called "The Integral Yoga", the yoga which should lift the integral nature of man, by a wide integral process of growth to a new integral consciousness. Integral Yoga was Aurobindo's answer to the fragmentation of Yoga that it has suffered since its classical period.

(source: Yoga in Hindu Scriptures - By H. Kumar Kaul p. 6).

Yoga and Science

The one central insight into Truth to which all Indian wisdom points is the oneness of all that exists. This truth has been stated in myriad ways in the long history of India. In the Rig Veda, the earliest text we find this in a cosmlogoical-theological form as the various gods and natural forces transform themselves into each other. In the Upanishads, the supreme identity of Atman and Brahman discovered in meditation indicates the oneness of the deepest level in a person with the subtlest level of the cosmos. From Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita one hears that those who truly know realize that all there is is Krishna. It is one and the same Divine Energy that manifests itself in the various forms engaged in the various forms engaged in the wonderful dance of Prakriti (Nature, both manifest as well as un-manifest).

Ravi Ravindra observes: "Over a period of at least four thousand years - as reckoned by western chronology - the sages in India have repeatedly said that there is an underlying unity of all that exists, including everything we call animate or un-animate, and that the cultivation of wisdom consists of realization of this truth. Modern science is not the only avenue to truth. The great spiritual traditions have perspectives on reality, based on more direct and and intuitive perception in purified states of consciousness, which are either ignored or denied by science. Among the examples of such insights in the spiritual traditions is an acknowledgment of levels of being higher than the mind which can be experienced but cannot be known by any mode of knowledge that separates object and subject. The state of consciousness in which the unitive insight is possible requires a radical transformation of being brought about by spiritual disciplines such as Yoga."

"Yoga is as much religion, as science, and art since it is concerned with being (sat), knowing (jnana) and doing (karma). The aim of Yoga, however, is beyond all these three, and beyond any opposites that they imply. Yoga aims at moksha, which is unconditional and uncaused freedom, by its very nature this state of freedom is beyond the dualities of being-nonbeing, knowledge-ignorance, and activity-passivity. The way to moksha is Yoga, which serves as the path or a discipline for integration."

(source: Yoga and The Teachings of Krishna - By Ravi Ravindra p. 157-165). Also Refer to Yogaunveiled.com



Conclusion

Yoga, as a 'science' of achieving this transformation of finite man into the infinite One, has to be recognized as something intrinsically Indian. Yoga has been called a living fossil. It has had five thousand years of glorious history. It belongs to the earliest heritage of India's humanity. The Indian liberation teachings - the great Yogas of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism - clearly represent an invaluable resource for contemporary humankind.

The path ahead is difficult and dangerous, but that is inevitable in any great undertaking. The goal of individual salvation and collective transformation may be far away, and may need man generations to arrive. Let us recall that immortal verse from the Katha Upanishad which exhorts us to arise, awake and move onwards across the sharp and difficult razor-edged path laid out by the great spiritual beings of the past ages:

Uttisthata jagrata prapya varan nibodhata,
Ksursya dhara nisita duratyaya
Durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti.

Karel Werner writes: "The uniqueness of Yoga and its great value for our time lie in the fact that it is based on a living tradition that has remained efficient since ancient times; that it has developed systematic methods for pursuing and reaching its aim; and that these method can be applied and studied today both on the popular level by people with personal inclinations towards following a spiritual path and on the academic level by research workers in various fields such as comparative religion, philosophy, psychology, psychotherapy, and physiology. All other forms of mystical practice are, by contrast, largely a matter of the more or less distant past (eg. the ancient Greek mysteries, Egyptian magic practices, Gnosticism, various forms of shamanism, and medieval Christian mysticism) or if they are partly alive, which some might claim to be, they are closed systems accessible only to believers."

(source: Yoga and Indian Philosophy - by Karel Werner p. 98-99 ).

George Feuerstein remarks: "But nowhere on Earth ahs the impulse toward transcendence found more consistent and creative expression than on the Indian peninsula. The civilization of India has spawned an almost overwhelming variety of spiritual beliefs, practices, and approaches."

(source: The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice - By Georg Feuerstein p. xxv).

Karel Werner has observed:

"Unlike in Europe, philosophy in India has always been concerned with the individual, his existential situation, his destiny and salvation, i.e. with the final solution to the riddle of man's existence. The world or the universe - although the question of its origin is the theme of one of the earliest Indian philosophical texts (the hymn of Creation, RV 10, 129) - soon appears to be viewed mainly as the stage on which the drama of life is going on. The important and central problem of philosophical investigation is the nature of man and the means of transcending his present limited situation."

“According to the Indian tradition, the ancient Vedic religion is not a product of the imagination of primitive minds reacting to natural phenomena by personifying, worshipping, and dreading them, but on the contrary, is the creation of exceptional individuals who had reached the fullness of mystical vision, which gave them an understanding of and insight into the problems of life and existence that may have amounted to the final knowledge of the truth itself.” And some hymns of the Rig Veda and Atharva Veda, if studied carefully, lead us to admit that only deep experience based on efficient Yoga technique could have produced the profound insights that we find in them.”

"There is a spirit of discovery about Yoga that is similar to that often found in modern scientific research. In this field of activity of the human mind Yoga also shares with science the characteristic of a methodical and systematic approach to its task."

(source: Yoga and Indian Philosophy - by Karel Werner p.97 and 101 - 103).

L Adams Beck has written: "This subject of Yoga is a high and difficult one. At points there is symbolism that only the instructed can piece and reach the truth behind. Remember also that Yoga is in many respects a key to the highest teachings of the Indian philosophies, including that of the Buddha." He has endorsed Yoga as a gift to the West. We are only beginning to realize what great gifts India brings us, gifts not to be feared but welcomed.."

"The philosophy of Yoga, though inchoate, was ancient when the Upanishads were comparatively young. The Svetasvatara Upanishad says: "Where fire is churned or produced by rubbing sacrifice, where air is controlled (by Yoga practices) then the mind attains perfection."

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan who had a great respect for Yoga wrote: "It is good to know that the ancient thinkers required of us to realize the possibilities of the soul in solitude and silence, and to transform the flashing and fading moments of vision into a steady light which could illumine the long years of life."

(source: The Story of Oriental Philosophy - By L Adams Beck p. 10w -107).

Yoga is to transform the whole man, to discipline his body, to purify his mind, to touch the very foundations of his being.



Books used for this chapter:

1. Yoga and The Teaching of Krishna - by Ravi Ravindra
2. Yoga As Philosophy And Religion - By Surendranath Dasgupta
3. Yoga and Indian Philosophy - by Karel Werner
4. Essays on Hinduism - by Karan Singh
5. Yoga and The Bhagavad Gita - By Tom McArthur
6. Philosophy of Hinduism - By Galav
7. Yoga: The Technology of Ecstasy - By Georg Feuerstein
8. The Hindu Mind - By Bansi Pandit
9 Yoga and the Hindu Tradition - By Jean Varenne
10. Divya Chakshu Yoga - By Bhim Sen Gupta
11. Yoga and Ayurveda - By Satyendra Prasad Mishra
12. The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice - By Georg Feuerstein
13. Yoga: A Vision of its Future - By Gopi Krishna
14. Yoga Samhita - by Swami Sivananda
15. The serpent power: being the Sat-cakra-nir¯upana and P¯aduk¯a-pañcaka, two works on Laya yoga, translated from the Sanskrit, with introd. and commentary by Sir John Woodroffe aka Arthur Avalon
16. The Yoga and Its Objects - By Sri Aurobindo

For more refer to The Magic of Yoga - By Jahnavi Sheriff - rediff.com). Also Refer to Yogaunveiled.com and Kayayoga.net

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

(My My humble salutations and  gratefulness  to   Ms. Sushma Londhe ji  and humble thankfulness to  Hinduism online dot com Swamijis, and Philosophers com  for the collection)

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