Yoga and the West

[PVE1]

Hello,
I was just wondering how Hindus feel about yoga being so popular in the West as exercise rather as a spiritual practice? Personally, I would be bothered by the fact that potential Atheists are using something that my religion deeply believes in as a means for superficial reasons.

Peace be with all of you

 

[Vinayaka]

There are a couple of issues. Firstly, there is no overall belief. Hinduism is really vast, and there will be a variety of responses to such questions. I cannot stress this enough. Because of the western subconscious mind basically generalising that religions are relatively simple and based on one book, these kinds of questions do not do that vastness any justice. Many many different threads within Hinduism.

I can give you one Hindu's opinion. In no way do I speak for others.

It would be nice if yoga teachers and enthusiasts would credit the source: Hinduism. However, that is not necessary. Hatha yoga is just a small bit of yoga. Still it is a start. There is much debate on 'the theft of yoga' . I personally don't really care. If a saying is wise, I see the saying, and who said it really doesn't matter.

By doing and starting yoga, an individual is stepping towards the eastern path of self-reflection, and later character development through increased wisdom rising from within. That is why fear religions are against it in many cases. It leads away from fear and into love. So from a Hindu's perspective, this is a good thing as its a step in the right direction: the kindergarten class so to speak.

 

[thedope]

Hello,
I was just wondering how Hindus feel about yoga being so popular in the West as exercise rather as a spiritual practice? Personally, I would be bothered by the fact that potential Atheists are using something that my religion deeply believes in as a means for superficial reasons.

Peace be with all of you

Beliefs do not contend with the truth, only other beliefs.

 

[Satsangi]

Yoga is the path to the only Truth- this ia a fact and not a belief. I do agree that Yoga in the west is the commercial version which has a small bridge in common with the real Yoga purpose- realizing the Truth. I am not bothered by it, but at the same time I do feel that the West needs to know the "real Yoga".

Regards,

 

[Vinayaka]

Yoga is the path to the only Truth- this ia a fact and not a belief.

I'm a staunch Hindu and I also believe this, but I take exception to the last part, as it sounds too much like fundamentalism. Fundamentalists in all religions use this statement. So do politicians.

 

[zenzero]

Friend PVE1,

Yoga and the West
Hello,
I was just wondering how Hindus feel about yoga being so popular in the West as exercise rather as a spiritual practice?

That is what evolution is all about!

Love & rgds

 

[Satsangi]

I'm a staunch Hindu and I also believe this, but I take exception to the last part, as it sounds too much like fundamentalism. Fundamentalists in all religions use this statement. So do politicians.

To state a fact is NOT fundamentalism. I did not say Yoga is the ONLY path- that would be fundamentalism.

Regards,

 

[Vinayaka]

To state a fact is NOT fundamentalism. I did not say Yoga is the ONLY path- that would be fundamentalism.

Regards,

I didn't say it was fundamentalism. I said it sounds like fundamentalism. Haven't you ever been told that its a fact you're going to hell? I have. Of course I disagreed. Try telling a Christian fundamentalist that yoga is the path to the only truth, and that its a fact. Facts and hard-core beliefs are two different things.

 

[Satsangi]

I didn't say it was fundamentalism. I said it sounds like fundamentalism. Haven't you ever been told that its a fact you're going to hell? I have. Of course I disagreed. Try telling a Christian fundamentalist that yoga is the path to the only truth, and that its a fact. Facts and hard-core beliefs are two different things.

Christian fundamentalist may have their own path to the Truth and we have our own. We know people who attained liberation with Yoga- that is the reason I call it a fact and differentiate it from a belief. For example, Brahman is a fact- Shri Adi Shankara and Shri Ramana Maharshi knew it and I believe their statement.

Regards,

 

[Vinayaka]

For example, Brahman is a fact- Shri Adi Shankara and Shri Ramana Maharshi knew it and I believe their statement.

Regards,

So do I believe them.

 

[Nerthus]

I once heard an old woman say that she really dislikes the way the way the west is taking over Eastern/ Hindu principles and especially yoga - creating it to be a 'new, modern western fad'. I never come across any one else feel that way. For me, I know what I feel and believe and that should be all that matters.

 

[Vinayaka]

Old women can be pretty smart. My mother would have agreed with your picture.

Another problem with yoga in the west is this tendency to copyright things, or particular techniques. So its quite like stealing it,and then copyrighting it, but it wasn't yours to begin with. A variation on an old technique maybe. Here's an article: http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/.../2010/04/nearly_twenty_million_people_in.html

The same thing happens with some herbs or pharmaceuticals.

 

[One Tree]

Yoga is the path to the only Truth- this ia a fact and not a belief. I do agree that Yoga in the west is the commercial version which has a small bridge in common with the real Yoga purpose- realizing the Truth. I am not bothered by it, but at the same time I do feel that the West needs to know the "real Yoga".

Regards,

East has met West and there are those that know and can experience the "real Yoga". I am a yogin, under the teachings of Gurudev Shri Amritji. Amrit Yoga is an integration of Hatha and Raja yoga and is the classical Ashtanga yoga. Our practice is not just exercise, not just strectching to say the least, it is meditation in motion, dropping down from tne thinking center, mind, to the feeling center, to merge with the prana and sit in the seat of witness consciousness, prayer, sadhana, yoga nidra, yamas and niyamas, the Vedas and Gita are all intertwined.

So, yes the West is getting a taste of "real Yoga" but I do agree, though many yoga classes available and taught in the West are lacking the spiritual essence of true yoga, at least they provide a sort of doorway into the Self.

 

[Satsangi]

East has met West and there are those that know and can experience the "real Yoga". I am a yogin, under the teachings of Gurudev Shri Amritji. Amrit Yoga is an integration of Hatha and Raja yoga and is the classical Ashtanga yoga. Our practice is not just exercise, not just strectching to say the least, it is meditation in motion, dropping down from tne thinking center, mind, to the feeling center, to merge with the prana and sit in the seat of witness consciousness, prayer, sadhana, yoga nidra, yamas and niyamas, the Vedas and Gita are all intertwined.

So, yes the West is getting a taste of "real Yoga" but I do agree, though many yoga classes available and taught in the West are lacking the spiritual essence of true yoga, at least they provide a sort of doorway into the Self.

It is great to know that you are following the eight limbs of the Ashtanga Yoga. Actualy, I meant even a broader definition of the Yoga in my post. The founder of the Yoga is considered Lord Himself and was then passed on to Hiranyagarbha Rishi- he was the first human to pass on the Yoga to the mankind. That Yoga of Hiranyagarbha Rishi includes the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali Rishi. But, the prime reason for a Yoga practitioner is not to get a good health or a good body or spiritual powers. The prime reason is the realization of the Supreme. To realize the Supreme, mind has to become stable (chitta vritti nirodha- definition of Yoga). Anything that lets the mind be engrossed in the Supreme is Yoga.

Wthout realiztion of the Supreme as the only purpose, Yoga is just an exercise.

Regards,

 

[zenzero]

Friends,
*YOGA* or *YOG* means *ADDITION*or *MERGING*
So, yoga is a process and not an end.
Process for what??
ADD.
Add what??
Adding/merging the individual energy with the universal energy.
The form that each individual is in is only a part of that *whole* or existence or by whatever label one uses to understand it and the mind having created the divide between the two it is by the process of *YOGA* can again the mind be stilled and the Oneness of the form and its source is regained.
Love & rgds

 

[DogmaToxin]

On related topic, here is what I had said on Huffington Post [just google my name, or go to my profile and on to my blog, dogmatoxin(dot)wordpress(dot)com]:

Yoga is to Hinduism, what heating is to baking. You are the oven, yoga is the heat, jnana is the cake. Any one can practice the Yoga Asanas (postures, streches) – it doesn’t matter who you are or what you happen to believe. You can say I don’t need all that Hindu mumbo-jumbo nonsense, let me just stretch my back. Fine. But when the oven is heated, it starts to bake, and the kundalini starts to tingle and buzzzzz your chakras, your ‘Christian’ priest is not going to give you any answers. Zilch. Nada.

The Asanas are the process – when it actually starts to go to work on you, bake you, you better be prepared. You will need help.

Baba Ramdev (I think. Can't remember now.) said, "West is like a child in kindergarten. We don't get angry or upset when a child does not understand advanced concepts. This is just its first step, though first step is a very important step." Please correct me if got this wrong, don't remember now. But it was in Science Channel "What the Ancients Knew" program I think.

 

[One Tree]

But, the prime reason for a Yoga practitioner is not to get a good health or a good body or spiritual powers. The prime reason is the realization of the Supreme. To realize the Supreme, mind has to become stable (chitta vritti nirodha- definition of Yoga). Anything that lets the mind be engrossed in the Supreme is Yoga.

Wthout realiztion of the Supreme as the only purpose, Yoga is just an exercise.

Regards,

Yoga is more in tune to a way of life, than religion, a way of living life in balance and union, as yoga means onenes or union, union of body mind and spirit or with the Supreme, as atman, the individual soul is one with the Supreme soul. Dropping down from the thinking center, the mind of ego, the mind that judges in duality, to the witness that observes actions and results and does so with complete acceptance.

There is much to say and describe with regards to yoga but it the experience of the individual that matters and no two have the same experience or will have the same description. It is the fast track to the divine and is a miracle in itself that it exists to practice.

Kripalu Yoga, also known in the West as Amrit Yoga, is in the lineage of Shaktipat Kundalini Yoga. The lineage is short, as Amrit Desai recieved his teachings from Swami Shri Kripalvanandji, who was the chosen disciple of Lord Lakulish, the 28th incarnation of Shiva.

So true that yoga is not just exercise and physical condition is not an issue. One does not judge the ability of the self internally or in comparison to others, this happens only with the ego and in duality. No effort is needed, as one does not try to reach something that is already there. You can read and study all scriptures, to the minds content, but the practice of yoga by any means is a path to be considered.

Thank you East for the practice and the conditioned mind for the suffering it causes.

 

[bhasinusc]

Hello,
I was just wondering how Hindus feel about yoga being so popular in the West as exercise rather as a spiritual practice? Personally, I would be bothered by the fact that potential Atheists are using something that my religion deeply believes in as a means for superficial reasons.

Peace be with all of you

Firstly a few points:

1. Experimentation is the very basis of existence of Hinduism. The Vedas were revealed to the various rishis by experimentation by respective rishis.
The various Yoga asanas are obtained by thorough experimentation. So the spread of Yogas is a good thing because it opens out to a wider audience who will involve in their own experimentation and discover new asanas.

2. Yoga is a wronly misused term. The real meaning of Yoga is Yog - or to merge or to Unite. There are different types of Yoga . The one which is taught in the west is Hatha Yoga and it is not much concerned with spirituality except the Pranayama. But even the Pranayama taught in the west is not the spiritual higher levels but just the lower level or the preperatory stage for higher pranayama.

The real yoga such as Raja Yoga etc are not taught in the west or in India as it needs the person to be qualified or Pure to even get a chance to start learning it.

 

[K.Venugopal]

In the words Yoga and Dharma (and Karma) are encompassed the entire teachings of Hinduism. Given the increasing number of Yoga enthusiasts the world over, Hinduism's increasing influence is inevitable.