So then it might be interesting for you to hear what Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI actually taught regarding Yoga and meditation practices from other religions:
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) once wrote:
Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI are both holy and intelligent men - the former is now a Blessed and the latter is beyond doubt the greatest mind in Christian theology for a long time.
we should never seek to remove or destroy ANYTHING that is good in other religions and/or cultures:
"The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men" *(Nostra Aetate) *
Yoga, as a purely physical exercise,
Zen Buddhism and Taoism are remarkably “dogma-free” religions which means that it would be very essay for a Catholic to take good meditative practices from them and orient them towards Christ. Yoga is the same as well, so long as you don’t worship Vishnu or any other Hindu God but use it as a useful body exercise or even bring some Christan spiriuality into the practice eg begin and end your stretching exercises with the Sign of the Cross, Hail Mary and a Our Father etc.
This is not “syncretism” btw rather its embracing the good, divinely inspired truths and practices in all cultures/religions. It does not concern Hindu cosmology or theology, which from our perspective as Catholics has teachings (ie reincarnation) which are NOT divinely inspired but which rather reflect the musings of wise, intelligent men trying to grapple with parts of the Hindu faith that ARE DIVINELY INSPIRED.
If you can practice as you propose and deepen your faith in Christ as you claim, then I owe you an apology. My comment both admitted ignorance of the actual statements of the Holy Father as well as was careful to use the word “practice” which denotes in Eastern terms a kind of conversion in progress.
Also, these cultures have a longer written history than ours. Archeology will verify that if you are inclined to verify it. China, Japan (which adapted Buddhism from the Indians in this order—>OM–>Tao–>Zen) and these other Asian cultures are remarkably different in their evangelizing wisdom than we are. This likely has resulted from their meditative practices, which reduce angst and attachment and thus sense of time urgency.
This sense of time (and its consequence reincarnation) has itself a consequence: you can be 1/2 Hindu, 1/2 Buddhist etc. They have no doubt in the veracity of their philosophical claims per their organizing precepts. So to them it’s no big deal if you don;t agree–cause you can’t change reality if you wanted to.
Have you ever heard of someone dying 1/2 Christian? We take it much more urgently and so I said if you practice with them do not be misled that you are just touching the surface and therefore it is OK. I don’t think this position contradicts you or the past Popes. By the way, John Paul II was often emphatic that Christ is superior.
If one knows that they have woven their beliefs into a teaching, and one “practices” that way, my opinion is that one might be in danger of apostasy. Jesus gave many examples of ‘foundation’ that can be taken figuratively to mean that if we build our happiness on something that is in turn built on a faulty foundation, we will crumble when the storms and wind come. If one builds his tranquility on a doctrine that hinges on reincarnation, what will his true beliefs be at the sacraments or when he faces judgment—Throw me back into the sea? I’m only suggesting, ironically, that the unconscious mind guides more of our beliefs than we give it credit and that if one consciously calls those systems “doctrine free” then one has been caught “hook, line, and sinker”, and, in fact, has possibly been converted unconsciously which could over this one lifetime cause problems of a faith in crisis.
I’m not really one for mixed cereal, pick and choose religion. Mine were only words of caution and assertion that the Popes are infallible–because ultimately there is only one God and we can in no wise avoid or worship any but he. The question of moral guidance on adjunct spiritual systems is very tricky. I would hope that the popes in all their sincerity, would not want to lose the flock to a group of contortionists or idol worshipers? That doesn’t mean you can’t exercise obviously or do isometrics in coordination with breath–you see what I mean, it’s difficult to even imagine those activities now without mental association to the Yoga. Soon enough we won’t be able to think without that association. That is alarming and dangerous, as we are free children of God and must remain so.
