Yoga- Can Christians practice it?
We must have heard this information conveyed about yoga and
it has been widely promoted in schools, colleges and offices:
The first thing that’s essential to understand is that
Yoga is not a philosophy or a religion. It is a technology to get the best out
of your body and mind in terms of creativity, peace, fitness and intuition.
Yoga is emerging as a way of life, not only from the aspect of health in the
conventional sense-increased flexibility, improved respiration, energy and
vitality, but also for spiritual liberation and overall wellbeing. Bhawesh
Khanal, Certified Yoga instructor says, “Spiritual liberation is about
understanding what we are in our deepest cores by getting rid of what we are
not, and yoga lets us do that by letting nature flow through us and helping us
find love, peace and freedom within ourselves.” It is a discipline that does not
restrict, rather allows, freedom in every walk of life. And contrary to popular
belief, yoga is not just about flexibility, everything you do from smiling to
helping someone is a form of yoga.
Some further facts:
1.
Yogis do not practice it during full or new
moon because of its direct effect on our body and emotions,
2.
Traditionally, yogis do not eat meat not
only because of vow of Ahimsha (non-violence), but because meat is dead, so
there is no pranic value (life force) within it,
3.
The Swastika is a yoga symbol that comes
from the Sanskrit term Svastik which means ‘that which is associated with
wellbeing’,
4.
The yoga symbol ‘Om’ is found in Hindu
and Tibetan philosophy which is said to be the primordial sound of the universe
and is connected to the Ajna Chakra (the Conscience) or ‘third eye’ region.
This piece of information was extracted from a news magazine
M&S issued on ‘Why Yoga?’
According to Gita 2:48,
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate
Meaning: Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O
Arjun, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called
Yog.
Lord Krishna defines yoga as “Samatvam Yoga Uchyate” –
Samatva – balanced state, Uchyate – said to be
Yoga is a balanced state. Yoga is a balanced state of the
body and mind. Yoga is a balanced state of emotions. Yoga is a balanced state
of thoughts and intellect. Yoga is a balanced state of behaviour. We are
excited in the situation of pleasure and we become sad when it is a negative
situation. Yoga is to maintain equilibrium of the mind in any situation. This
equanimity of mind is the ultimate objective of yoga.
Lord Krishna gives another definition of yoga. “Yogah
karmasu kaushalam” – karma – action / behavior / any change in time and space,
kaushalam – skill / efficiency / perfect or appropriate behavior
Yoga is perfectly skilled action or behavior. Perfect action
is positive action for our evolution and positive life. Perfect action leads to
positive health on a physical and mental level. All our actions should be to
avoid negative experiences in life, so any behaviour causing negative
experience should be avoided. For example, getting angry is harmful for our
body and mind, and therefore should be controlled. If stress and anxiety are
bad for health then our action should be such that stress and anxiety does not
disturb that positive state of mind.[1]
Thus, yoga has been popularized today worldwide and even
taught in schools and colleges as curriculum. There are many yoga centers
launched in Nepal where people go and practice for a healthy life. People have
experience of sound living because of daily yoga practice. They gain health
benefits, mental stability, psychological soundness and physical fitness. Yoga
is hence recommended for a healthy living and excluded as a religious practice.
Now, as a Bible believer, we have a deep curiosity whether
or not we can enroll in yoga. It is obvious that the church leaders, elders and
pastors wouldn’t recommend it by labeling it demonic practice. How should a
believer respond to the yoga then? Should we let our children, teenagers and
youngster to enroll in it? Should we ourselves practice it under recommendation
for healthy body, mind and spirit?
Let’s begin the journey.
What actually is Yoga?[2]
Analyzing Philosophically, theologically and Practically
Prerequisites: Yoga is a school of Orthodox Hindu
Philosophy. In Hindu philosophy some of the school form a couplet i.e. one
school give the metaphysics and other the ontology or one school agree with the
other school's metaphysics and ontology with/without minor differences. Yoga is
one such school and the other school here is 'Sankhya'.
"Yoga is intimately allied to Sankhya. The Gita calls
them one......Yoga mostly accepts the metaphysics and the epistemology of
Sankhya."[3]
Part 1: Philosophical and theological aspect:
"Yoga means spiritual action and Sankhya means
knowledge. Sankhya is theory; Yoga is practice."[4]
"It (Yoga) shows the practical path by following which
one may attain Viveka-jnäna which alone leads to liberation."[5]
“Efforts to separate yoga from its spiritual center reveal
ignorance of the goal of yoga.”[6]
Yoga shows the practical path of the liberation of Sankhya
school of philosophy. This fundamentally and theologically contradict
Christianity because believing in Jesus Christ alone and repenting from our
sins is the path to our liberation (Salvation).
Not only this but Yoga is not just exercising but it is a
spiritual path which lead to salvation. Doing Yoga means that you are walking
on a different path of salvation rather than walking towards Jesus Christ.
Also:
"But God of Yoga is not the creator, preserver or
destroyer of this world.... He does not reward or punish the souls.......He
cannot grant liberation. He can only remove the obstacles in the upward
progress of the devotees."[7]
This again fundamentally contradicts Christianity because
God of Christianity is the creator of this universe. He alone can punish soul
and he grant us liberation through Jesus Christ.
Part 2: Practical Aspect
Conclusion:
Yoga is not just exercising. It is a spiritual path which
uses the means of body movement to lead you to salvation. At every step it
contradicts the basic and fundamental doctrine of Christianity.
Some position in the Yoga represent Pagan God. Therefore, it
is clear that Yoga is clearly a threat to a believer's spiritual life.
I would also like to attach here what a serious Bible
teacher has to say on its practice:
Yoga
A very brief and practical critique
PA Thomas
Yoga, literally is to add or combine. In classic terms, it
is trying to add, focus, concentrate, bring together all your life energy
centers (kundali) in your body so as to maximize your power to think and act,
or even produce supernatural power. Usually it is done with focusing on a point
in your body, or a sound like Om, a point in a picture or the centre of
concentric circles or even by connecting yourself to a spirit or guru. Now
popularly it is considered physical exercise enjoined with mental concentration
and meditation. Here I am not getting into a detailed or in-depth study of the
history of Yoga or its historic development and practice but just how that
challenges our basic understanding of human life and its functions. Also I will
try using layman's language and terminology.
The tapaswis in the ancient world were practicing yoga as a
part of their tapas, usually to acquire supernatural powers, divinity or
receiving vardan from some deities. It was not part of the natural human life
which went through the process of work, rest and religious meditation and
entertainment. Only those who wanted to get out of this, went to do the
unnatural process of becoming super humans so as to take advantage of the
ordinary humans by power, influence or extra religious ideas or actions. This
has been practiced in all the cults, religions and even social and cultural
cliques. Through the centuries, established and neo modern Christians
churches/groups also have used this technique in various ways. So it is trying
to acquire extra and super
power, knowledge and influence from within oneself or with the aid of an
outside source. Please note that I have underlined the word acquire with a
purpose. It is the aspiration of the humans to become little super human which
prompts him to add or yoga something which he naturally do not have. This is
humanism.
For us Christians, the source of our life and existence is a
gift from a personal God with a purpose (Eph 2:10) and hence we are accountable
for our lives and activities to Him. We are provided with all what we need to
fulfill that purpose and there is no need to acquire anything extra.
Education is a process by which we develop and utilize the potential we have
inherited in the best way possible, so are the careers. Whenever we have to do
something beyond we have or can, God is able and will provide the extra energy,
capability or capacity as a gift, we do not acquire it. We are given a limited
life with limitations- physical, mental and spiritual. Trying to go beyond by
acquiring something from within or without is a break of the law in which we
are created. If God wants to use us for something beyond, it is He who provides
that extra as His gift. This is clearly experienced by us Christians who have
received the indwelling Holy Spirit which is the power of God residing in us to
do that extra when He wants.
Do we have secret energy centers which can increase or
produce super energy by bringing them together or focusing on them? If so, why
did God hide it in His revelatory process of His purposes for humans and their
life in this world? He has given us works to do through physical and mental
exercise. Physical rest and exercise as well as mental concentration are
natural and necessary parts of life by which we mean that we eliminate the
distractions so as to function efficiently; it is not yoga- adding anything
from anywhere. As humans, we have become more active mentally than physically
in the modern world, emotional and psychological concentration has become
increasingly necessary for our efficient functioning. This is a paradigm shift,
not an evolution. Again it is only elimination of distractions, not adding.
With no secret energy centers in our body, we cannot bring
them together for extra energy by Yoga. But regular and periodic rest and
reflective thinking can bring better coordination between the body parts and
maximize the functioning of our limited mind. Exercising the body parts in a
balanced manner also helps and is a natural process of keeping healthy and fit.
Similarly exercising the mind in a balanced manner is also our responsibility
to keep ourselves sane and fit mentally. Reflective thinking and Bible
meditation helps this process. But this has nothing to do with Yoga.
Now a mantra or sound or object on which we concentrate, can
bring us extra energy or increase our capabilities? If so, God would have been
happy to give such a mantra or sound or object to humans from the beginning.
Instead, He has given humans a free will and has shown ways by which they can
fulfill their life purposes on this earth which do not need any extra energy.
They have to live properly and use all that they are provided with wisely to
achieve that. They do not need to acquire anything extra. When God wants
to do something extra, beyond and use a human to do that, He will always provide
the means to achieve that, no yoga, no tapas. This is true with all the
miracles in the Bible, in the Old as well as the New Testaments. None of them
did yoga or tapas to acquire that extra power; God provided it as a gift.
The present yoga tantrum is a part of the hidden agenda to
show the world that ancient India had better knowledge, better techniques and
better ideas. It is an egoistic effort to revive the corrupt and discredited
ancient religious tenants. If the above was true, why do we need any
development, or science to make the world modern? It is essentially making man
think backwards telling them the lie that they have hidden energy inside them
and then get them into a rut where they feel that they are able to achieve
themselves what they want. It is a kind of opium which Carl Max referred to
corrupt Christianity in his days. It is basic humanism making man god which is
the basis of all human religions, gods they made are being manipulated by their
own yoga, pooja, yangya or tapas.
We Christians do not try pleasing God by giving or praying
or even worshipping so as to acquire something we do not have. If we do so, it
is a kind of yoga. We worship Him to express the appreciation of our
relationship with Him achieved by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, and pray so
as to enable us to fulfill our God given responsibilities. We do not use God for making our life
better, stronger or successful but surrenders our will and life to Him so that
He can guide and use us to fulfill the plans and purposes He has for us. This
is usually done through the natural setting and activities of our lives except
in situations when something unusual is necessary and demanded. Then as I said
before, there is always supernatural provision, not for us to acquire but
receive and use as a gift. This can be power, knowledge, healing, miracle,
revelation or anything as the situation and the need demands.
If somebody thinks that he is not able to do regular and
proper physical and mental exercise necessary for a natural healthy life and
yoga helps him to do that, it may be ok but do not join that with inner or
hidden powers from within or without. God does not allow us to acquire anything
extra ourselves as this was considered evil and cursed as the spiritists and
diviners did in the Old Testament and now all over the world today in various
names and ways. It is the same subtle poison to make man rebel against God by
acquiring extra power and energy but in modern packages. Please do not become a
part of it. It seems communists are clear on these than Christians, shame for
us.
Reverend Elder PA Thomas has also precisely navigated the
hidden reality behind the yoga and it is indeed a serious matter for us when we
think to enroll in yoga just for exercise. The fitness and mental regeneration
aspect maybe preferable but again yoga isn’t alone an option. There are games,
sports, arts, etc. The tremendous focus on this practice is also a part of
human boast to acquire something.
Yes, we do not live an ascetic life detaching ourselves from
everything but we must not forget whom we belong to and how should we wisely
react while living in this world. There is always a need of correct lens,
selection, decision and determination. Whatever or wherever we enroll, we must
concern on its motive, purpose and goal. We still live in a triggered
environment where the devil can trick us. It is hence essential to always be
prepared spiritually to resist such challenges plus considering the suitable
environment to fit and enroll.
I have attached a link to a video by Jerry Thomas, a member
of Sakshi Apologetics Network, who has done a detail analysis on the yoga and
its alleged health benefits. This video can help you more to wipe your dirty
glass frame and clearly see where triggers lie.
Further recommended video more on Yoga: https://youtu.be/Ssq4UrM9GMg
[1] https://www.yogapoint.com/info/what-is-yoga.htm#:~:text=Bhagavad%20Gita%20–%20Lord%20Krishna%20defines%20yoga&text=Yoga%20is%20a%20balanced%20state%20of%20the%20body%20and%20mind,state%20of%20thoughts%20and%20intellect.&text=Yoga%20is%20to%20maintain%20equilibrium,the%20ultimate%20objective%20of%20yoga.,
accessed on 11:32, 4/19/2021
[2]
This section has been added later in 10/2/2021 at 9:39 AM
[3] Critical
Survey of Indian Philosophy
[4] Critical
Survey of Indian Philosophy
[5] Critical
Survey of Indian Philosophy
[6] Subhas Tiwari, Professor of Yoga Philosophy and
Meditation at the Hindu University of America in Orlando, FL (Hinduism Today –
Sept. 2009).
[7] Critical
Survey of Indian Philosophy
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