Questions that are on my mind...
- In order to practice yoga, does one have to believe in God (or, at the very least, some sort of "higher power" that is in some way responsible for the fact of our existence)
- If one does not believe in some sort of higher power, such as "God", then how does one read and apply Patanjali's Yoga Sutras?
- If one DOES believe in "God", then where does religion fit into Yoga?
- If one's religion is "monotheistic" (for example, Judaism), then where does worshipping idols of Hindu Gods fit in?
- Is the worship of Hindu Gods the practice of religion?
- Can one practice more than one religion?
Enlighten me...
YC
7 comments:
for questions one, two, and, three:
u dont have to believe in God inorder for u to practice yoga. Actually, the real aim of yoga, is to make u believe in God because u have experienced the sense of his existance and not because society or fear forces u to believe in him.
for question 4, idols of hindu SHOULD NOT BE WORSHIPPED but should be highly respected because they had enlightened their lives through worshipping only one God.
For question 5, i ask, what is religion anyway?
for question 6: exactly! true religion is practicing all religions, thank u.
last but not least, i recommend that u read Maturity by Osho...
Have an enlightened life
The Yoga Sutras are quite consistent with Zen Buddhism, which does not involve a god.
Yoga, like zen, involves stilling the mind. And when the mind is still, questions seem to resolve without discursive thought.
YC great post! Here is my 2cents worth.
1.Nothing is absolute but it seems like it would be hard to not believe in something having a serious yoga practice, no?
2.[limited knowlege warning] Cannot the Sutras be independant of belief in a Higer Power and be applied to ones own conscienceness?
3.I believe that there is only one true God people just interpret it differently so in my belief all religions are the same its the people that make them all different and opposing.
4 and 5.This was a big one for me being raised in a Christian household, but for me they arent 'idols' as much as reflections of certain aspects of God [a smaller piece of a larger truth] that are more accessible.
6.If all paths lead to the same destination are they really different paths? [But I know what you mean.]
As far as worshipping Hindu Gods, they are all manifestations of the same God.
Also in the Hindu religion, they actually encourage the seeking of truth from all religions,as all paths lead to god.
I like this quote from the Shrimad Bhagavatam (a Hindu Purana) "Like honey bee gathering trickles of honey from different flowers, the wise man accepts the essence of different scriptures and sees only the good in all religions>"
Here ARE (IS? BE?) my two cents worth:
Judaism is monotheistic. Stay with it. It allows for flexibility. Have fun with yoga. Enjoy it, but you don't have to convert to some other religion, do you YC? What happens to your kids' Hebrew School and all that jazz if you become a combo-religionista!
You know who.
P.S. Two bad that our educational system is so deficient that cingular and plural are not distingished. I tink that along with yoga some peple should apply themselves too the study of basic English. That are my 2 cents.
Thanks everyone...I think these are all great thoughts...thanks for contributing!
Lauren
Hey Anon
Kind thanks and many blessings to you!
Jody
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