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The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Benefits of Hot Yoga › I am as confused as I can ever get…..
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Hello to all,
I consider myself a baby in diapers when it comes to the world of Yoga..Nonetheless,I am 54 years old in my world and,I have not been asleep all that time……I remember how impressed I was when I first read the meaning of the word “Namaste”.To me,the meaning of the word represented the cure for all bad behaviors that human beings practice all over this world..;While on the other hand,religion represents the source for all bad behaviors…..After having giving it much thought,I have come to the irrefutable conclusion that one can’t call himself or herself a christian,a jew,a muslim or a member of any religious organization while at the same type clinging to the yogi philosophy…When I claim that I recognize and respect the brotherhood or sisterhood which exists in everyone else,I am saying that I love all people unconditionally…Religion,does exactly the opposite by encouraging division and hate..Yet,I keep running into people who are much more advanced than I am who tell me that they see no conflict with being religious and saying Namaste…. I would love for anyone who thinks I am wrong to please explain to me why I am so..
EricAnonymous
GuestSeptember 13, 2009 at 6:47 pmPost count: 98Hi there!
Namaste is a word with alot of meanings, so it depends on the context in which you use it. In the context of a yoga practice, it simply means “I salute the divinity within you” or “the light in me honors the light in you”. If that particular light in you comes from Jesus or Mohammed or Mother Earth or Thetan, you can still honor and respect that spiritual source within another. Which is why the salutation Namaste is essentially religion-free. It is not recognizing a specific entity or deity with whom you may not be comfortable. Now, while it is a word or ritual that is important in the Hindu tradition, you gotta realize that it isn’t deity specific. It simply is a ritual/saying that means that I recognize your inner light which is shining through your specific belief system…
http://hinduism.about.com/od/artculture/p/namaste.htm
As for yoga being a religion, this is completely far from the truth. Yoga is NOT A RELIGION. It is a philosophy, a way of being, that enhances ones religious practice if one choses. One does not worship deities in a Yoga practice. See these for further discussion:
http://www.dlshq.org/teachings/yoga.htm
In particular:
Yoga is for all. Yoga is universal. It is not a sectarian affair. It is a way to God and not a creed.
The practice of Yoga is not opposed to any religion or any sacred Church. It is purely spiritual and universal. It does not contradict anyone’s sincere faith.
Yoga is not a religion, but an aid to the practice of the basic spiritual truths in all religions. Yoga can be practised by a Christian or a Buddhist, a Parsee, a Muslim, a Sufi or an atheist.
To be a Yogi means to abide continuously in God and to live at peace with men. Yoga is union with God. Yoga is union with all. God dwells in all.
Also http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/283In particular:
Perhaps it would be helpful to consider the difference between the word “religion” and another word commonly associated with it, “spirituality.” Spirituality, it could be said, has to do with one’s interior life, the ever-evolving understanding of one’s self and one’s place in the cosmos—what Viktor Frankl called humankind’s “search for meaning.” Religion, on the other hand, can be seen as spirituality’s external counterpart, the organizational structure we give to our individual and collective spiritual processes: the rituals, doctrines, prayers, chants, and ceremonies, and the congregations that come together to share them.Also http://www.americanyogaassociation.org/general.html
In particular:
Yoga is not a religion. It has no creed or fixed set of beliefs, nor is there a prescribed godlike figure to be worshipped in a particular manner. Religions for the most part seem to be based upon the belief in and worship of things (God or godlike figures) that exist outside oneself. The core of Yoga’s philosophy is that everything is supplied from within the individual. Thus, there is no dependence on an external figure, either in the sense of a person or god figure, or a religious organization.
The practice of Yoga will not interfere with any religion. Many American Yoga Association students who have practiced Yoga intensively for many years continue to follow the religious traditions they have grown up in or adopted without conflict.Finally, this may be of interest to you:
http://www.yoga.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=24253&posts=52&start=1Namaste
Freia
Hi Eric and Freia
Thank you so much Freia for that response. I really appreciate the time you took to put that together.
The world is full of inconsistencies and much hypocrisy. Everyone draws their line in the sand and believes certain things. The religious world and the world of yoga is as full of hypocrisy as any other. So I totally understand what you are conflicted about Jeff.
There are so many styles of yoga for example, with studios populated with folk from all walks of life, many different religions. One is supposed to approach their practice with equanimity, non-attachment and non-judgment yet strangely I have met some of the most judgmental people (there I go being judgmental 😉 ) in the yoga world.
There are folk that vehemently oppose one style of yoga and steadfastly back their own – perhaps in a way to justify their own decisions and choices. And there are others who say “oh great, you are practicing yoga” and don’t care what style. Everyone has an opinion and draws their line as to whether that opinion is to accept what others believe or whether they will judge the other and even oppress or be aggressive and violent in their words, deeds or actions.
My point: there are ideals in yoga and there are ideals in religion. Those ideals (of brotherhood, peace, love, non-violence and so on and so forth) tend to be quite common across the board. It is a quirk of nature, and indeed a reality that our ideal self may NOT be the self that we are projecting to the world. It is part of our path towards our own enlightenment and one of the reasons we even practice yoga or religion.
For the record, in my opinion, yoga is not a religion. We are each on a quest to find and project our ideal selves. And each of us, whether religious, or a yoga practitioner, or both, has some amount of inner conflict about humanity, the world we live in, and yes, our own inner world!
I have found as have many others have more inner calm and clarity through the meditative aspects of yoga. There are odd aspects of yoga that are at loggerheads with the ideals of enlightenment. For example I remember having a discussion with some of my students and what a lot of people reported was feeling quite egotistical and narcissistic while practicing yoga in front of the mirror. This pride and comparison is not the stuff of an enlightened yogi yet it is ever-present.
I would love to hear what others have to say about the confusing aspects of their practice and how it fits in with their model of the world. Fascinating stuff.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello,
That feeling of urgency that most of us felt during the last presidential campaign was not something imaginary….It was real back then and is stil real today..The change we felt we needed had a lot to do with getting closer to the truth that lies inside each and everyone of us..We are a people who have learned that it is much nobler to embrace a lie over the truth….For that reason and that reason only,we are on a collision course with what may become our doomsday….If students of the Yogi philosophy are too scared to call a lie a lie when necessary,what sense does it make to claim to be of a different mindset?…I am very disappointed in those of us who are willing to give a free pass to the professional liars and con artists of the religious world..Yoga is about truth and honesty..The practice teaches one to strive to reach the highest point of spiritual connection between one’s self and the rest of the world.Religion on the other hand,uses books full of fairy tales,lies,deceits and false promises to trick us into being confused and crazy peoples….I like to tell people that I have never seen a group of Atheists put on uniforms and armed themselves to the teeth to go kill another group of Atheists…..Religious freaks(I am being mean on purpose)on the other hand,have been killing each other and destroying this beautiful earth ever since one cares to remember..Hell,the bible even calls for the destruction of the planet in order for there to exist a more peaceful life.If such a book was written by a Muslim,I am sure it would be referred to as a terrorist manual calling for the destruction of America…It is my opinion that those of us who are searching for that inner place of strength and courage will never find it until we find the courage to stand up against liars and manipulators,no matter where they come from or what they call themselves….Unless we are willing to do that,we should stop talking about Yoga as a different set of ideas and only think of it just as another form of sweating activity….
Thank you for giving me chance to share my ideas and all direct criticisms are welcomed.GuestSeptember 14, 2009 at 8:37 pmPost count: 98Hi there!
Those who study Yoga have no claim to any particular “truth” by virtue of the fact that one studies Yoga. Nor should it form the basis for a “rallying cry” against others who profess and act differently to ourselves. Perhaps the overlying tenent of Yoga is to find peace within yourself; to project your ideal self; to search for inner peace and those truths you hold to yourself. It is not a judgemental practice. So, your points are, well, interesting, but clearly not of a Yoga mindset. By pitting the study of Yoga as a rallying cry against those with religious beliefs is in fact distorting the philosophy of Yoga.
My personal truth and personal ideal encompasses peace, love and understanding towards those who do not share my ideals.
Namaste,
Friea
Beautifully put Friea.
Non-judgment (or non-attachment) is a way of life that humanity would greatly benefit from and one that yoga could play its part in, while still achieving some of the ideals expressed by sayno.
🙂
Great discussions … tnx.
Robert
Therein lies the problem Freia,
As long as one finds peace and happiness for one’s self,the rest of the world can go straight to hell.(I know that’s not what you said)…..What does it mean to have learned anything meaningful if not to put it to good use for humanity?….I am no more passing judgment over religion than anyone of us who would want to see the man who robbed him or her sent to jail..There is a difference between passing judgment and seeking the truth…..
Thanks for responding and Namaste,
EricGuestSeptember 15, 2009 at 4:05 amPost count: 98If we ALL find peace and practice being our best selves, there would be no need to impose our self-truths on the rest of humanity as we ALL would be content within ourselves and would be able to live in harmony. After all, there really is no overall singular “truth” to be found. There is only the truth is as we define it according to our own experiences and interpretation of experiences, hence the yogic emphasis on self-examination and clarity of our individual values and truths as we experience and live them. It may very well be that your self-truth involves the evaluation and desire to “correct” the inconsistencies that you see in various religious beliefs. That may be YOUR truth. But it isn’t EVERYONE’S truth.
As I said, my personal truth and personal ideal encompasses peace, love and understanding towards those who do not share my ideals. Others’ personal truths may not match mine. This demonstrates that there IS no one, singular truth applicable to all irrespective of culture, upbringing, and individual societal norms. What may be one “truth” in one’s cultural and societal context may NOT be another’s “truth” in a different context.
Perhaps the desire to define and “share” or impose one’s singular truth as applicable and relevant to ALL of humanity regardless of these factors is indeed the source of much of the conflict that you identify in your earlier post.
I hope you find peace. And as I fear this thread is destined to become a debate about religion, “correctness” of relative societal/cultural norms, and the validity and enforcability of a singular “truth”, I choose to bow out of this thread.
Best of luck, and namaste:
Freia
Do I sense a bit of frustration Feia?No need to bow out at the moment that you are at your best…At the risk of sounding sexist,I must admit that your feminity was about to win me over…(isn’t the way women win most arguments)…..I truly appreciate your input and ,I’ll bow out also and allow someone else to start a new thread.
GuestSeptember 15, 2009 at 5:13 amPost count: 98:hug:
Freia
I think that as human beings it is very hard of us not to go to a “my truth is better than your truth” place. In my opinion it is that underlying and human inclination which leads to strife. And as human our truths can be religious, political, physical, ethnic, racial, etc. Take away religion and humans will still in my opinion find ways to be divisive. It’s the underlying bent towards duality and “Truth” which is in my opinion much more the issue.
Springtime just brought me out of my shortetirement…..
Since religion is the elephant in the room,why not at least think of removing it and see if it’s true that our world would be as messed up without it being there…….Every bad behavior of humans can be excused away or justified by religious teachings……Child abuse,,,,spousal abuse,,,,,enslavement of others,,,,,,racial superiority…..murder,,,,,torture…..;The list goes on and on.I ,personally finds it very difficult to find peace and quiet in the middle of all these wars and massacres being waged by our government under our names….I am new here so,if there are any rules against discussing politics and religion,please advise me so i can act accordingly….
By the way,who am I exchanging with and where do you guys practice yoga at ?
Namaste
Eric -
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