Yoga and Religion

In the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions, the spiritual goals of yoga are seen as inseparable from the religions of which yoga forms a part. Some yogis make a subtle distinction between religion and yoga, seeing religion as more concerned with culture, values, beliefs and rituals; and yoga as more concerned with Self-Realization, i.e., direct perception of the ultimate truth. In this sense, religion and yoga are complementary. Sri Ramakrishna likened religion to the husk, and direct experience to the kernel. Both are needed, “but if one wants to get at the kernel itself, he must remove the husk of the grain.”

Some forms of yoga come replete with a rich iconography, while others are more austere and minimalist. Hindu practitioners of yoga are proud of their religious traditions, while non-Hindu practitioners claim that yoga may be practised sincerely by those who have not accepted the Hindu religion.

While the yoga tradition remains rooted in India, the fact that some modern yogis like Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda came to the West suggests that they saw hope the yoga tradition could also flourish there. Critics of yoga as practised in the West charge that it is sometimes watered down, corrupted, or cut off from its spiritual roots (e.g. the popular view that yoga is primarily physical exercises). The sheer number of people practicing yoga outside India suggests the need to define yoga both by its historical roots and its modern adaptations.

In Hinduism, Yoga is considered to be the ultimate way of attaining Enlightenment. The earliest written accounts of yoga appear in the Rig Veda, which began to be codified between 1500 and 1200 BCE. Some historians believe that this 5000-year-old sculpture is of a yogi.

Yoga and Buddhism

Within the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism yoga likewise holds a central place, though not in the form presented by Patanjali or the Gita. (For example, it is disputed that physical postures are rarely practised.) An example would be “guru yoga,” the union with the mind of the spiritual teacher which must be done at the beginning of the spiritual path and regularly throughout. In the tantric traditions a number of practices are classified with the name “yoga”, for example, the two of the four general classification of tantras -”Yoga Tantra” and “Highest Yoga Tantra”.

A system of 108 bodily postures practised with breath and heart rhythm timing in movement exercises is known as Trul khor or union of moon and sun (channel) prajna energies. The body postures of Tibetan ancient yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama’s summer temple of Lukhang.

As the whole Buddhist lineage transmission of Kagyu school came to Tibet over the Indian Yogis Naropa, Tilopa, Marpa then Milarepa, Gampopa, authentic old Buddhist yogic practices have been passed over to students still following these instructions throughout many Kagyu Monasteries and institutes worldwide.

Yogacara (”Yoga Adepts”), which is also known as Cittamatra (”Consciousness Only”) is an important philosophical school within Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.

Yoga and Christianity

Some Christians have changed the practice of yoga to accommodate their own approach to spirituality and out of concern for associating with spiritual practices of other non-Christian religions.

Some Christians oppose major components of yoga outright. According to Donal O’Mathuna, Ph.D., and Walt Larimore, M.D., in their book Alternative Medicine, they claim: “Yoga is an alternative therapy that is difficult to wholeheartedly accept or reject. As a set of physical and breathing exercises, it can improve general well-being. As a deeply religious practice with the goal of union with the divine, it is antithetical to biblical Christianity.”

Other Christians have embraced many aspects of yoga and have incorporated the practice into their ministry, including the Outstretched ministry of Susan Bordenkirche, author of Yoga For Christians. Another book is An Invitation to Christian Yoga by Nancy Roth.

An Introduction to Yoga and Online Yoga Lessons

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