Dangers of Yoga

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You are speaking of one school of yoga, are you not?

Something like Ramanuja’s qualified Non-dualism is very different, No? Seeing the reality of our plurality yet all having its being in the One. Not totally different than our own view that we exist as individuals but derive our existence from and in God. And someone was talking about “opening to Chakras”. My understanding is that Chakras are centers of energy that we all have already. It is just a matter of unblocking them.

Of course there is not scientific evidence that such centers exist.

What I am seeing here seems like an confusion between our own being, our own potential and some outside forces or beings. I think even yogis will warn of practicing without a qualified guru for things like pranayama. It all depends on how intensely one goes about it. These days I just do a few stretched for my legs that resolves restless leg syndrome. Sometimes I will do an inversion that also helps my legs. That is very different from someone who is holding their breath and repeating a mantra thousands of times.
 
Do we really have to do this all over again??

(I know. I know. Shut up and go find another thread if you don’t like it. 🤣 )
 
It wouldn’t hurt some here to do some reading on comparative religions. They are not all demon worshippers.
 
I spoke of two schools of thought, dvaita and advaita…Ramujacharya’s vishishtadvaita isn’t much different. When we get to the heart of the matter we find a particular philosophy that pervades all the schools, i.e. transcending the body. This is Gnosticism. This is something that all the schools teach, regardless of the minor details of each. God did not intend for us to leave our bodies. Do I need to dive into this further? We should know our own theology being Christians and all (I would hope).

Can you tell me what entity is at the end of Ramanujacharya’s school of thought? Tell me, who is Ishvara for Ramanujarcharya? Is it Jesus Christ?

Again, we are talking about the whole of YOGA here, not gymnastics. Hatha yoga is one minor aspect of the whole of yoga, for one to call hatha yoga the whole of yoga is utterly delusional. Again, this is a Western, pseudo-yogic mindset.

The sampradaya of Ramanujacharya is parallel to the sampradaya I followed as a former Hindu (Brahma-Madhva sampradaya) so I am very familiar with him, he is not preaching anything out of the ordinary, he just brings a certain amount of literary eloquence to the matter that the other two (Madhvacharya and Shankaracharya) don’t.
 
I agree that yoga is primarily a form of Gnosticism. One works hard to attain a higher consciousness. Although there is also room fro grace, prayer and help from above.
MatthaiosX said:
Can you tell me what entity is at the end of Ramanujacharya’s school of thought? Tell me, who is Ishvara for Ramanujarcharya? Is it Jesus Christ?
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You probably know that concept of “Isvara” can have all sorts of meanings. For Ramanuja I believe is represents the highest consciousness, synonymous even with Brahman. I wonder if a Vishishtadvaitist would identify Isvara with Jesus Christ. They might very well view Christ as Purusa. I like to read Aurobindo who believes that the body is an expression of the divine consciousness and that consciousness needs to be brought down into the body to it is a more effective instrument. Kind of reminds me of the descent of the Holy Spirit.

In both Christianity and Yoga we struggle with this understanding of diversity in unity. Is the body an evil illusion, the realm of the devil? Something to be transcended and left for the true spiritual reality. Aweful dualism both traditions can fall into. Or is it sacramental? a vessel of the spirit and expression of divine creativity?
 
You are drawing on the many external similarities of these two traditions and you are not incorrect in your findings, there are many EXTERNAL similarities one can find if they look hard enough. But notice how I said EXTERNAL. The heart of the matter, the ETHOS of each tradition is VASTLY different. Again, I say this from personal experience as a former Vaishnava. By the way, Ishvara for Ramanujacharya is undoubtedly Vishnu especially in the form of Lakshmi-Narayana. You are right, Ishvara has many different meanings, none of which denote ONLY Jesus Christ. Yes, a yogi may say Jesus Christ is an avatar or an elevated guru or some other enlightened being, but they will never call him the Second Person of the One Godhead known as The Holy Trinity who became the God-Man to save mankind. And even if a yogi were to perform some agile, mental gymnastics in order to get to that conclusion he would NEVER say that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way, like us Christians assert.

What God created is good. He created man as body and spirit-soul, the separation of the two is evil. It’s called death. Death comes by the wages of sin, not by God’s design. Yoga teaches that we are not the body and that we are only truly spirit and that we are to transcend the body (essentially discarding it). Yoga is basically a death cult. This is traditional yoga I am speaking about, doesn’t matter whether you are a Vaishnava, Shaivite or Shakta. Some erudite yoga scholars like Aurobindo may praise the body as a temporary expression of the divine consciousness, but no yogi worth his salt would ever assert that the end goal is to remain here. Now, the end goal for the Christian is resurrection of the body, albeit in a glorified state. And yes we do die and are separated from the body for a time, but it is only through Christ that that death becomes glorious for us, not through any other way. For He trampled down death by death, bestowing life upon those in the tombs. Any other death outside of Christ is certainly destined for Hell. Furthermore, there will be a general resurrection of the dead at the Second Coming/Final Judgment and we will be re-united with our bodies. The goal is total redemption of all creation, not a separation of parts. Why would Christ rise in the body if the body was to be discarded and seen as a lower, illusory, possibly even evil substance?

I assume you are a Christian, but maybe you like to keep one foot in one tradition and one in another. I don’t blame you for seeking and I agree with one of your previous statements where you mentioned that others would do well to explore other religions and traditions. I think you are correct in this in so much as you mean for the purposes of research and comparative study. But we have to be careful when it comes to actually immersing ourselves in another tradition. God saved me from yoga, I don’t say this from an intellectual standpoint, I say this as one who has had extensive personal experience and has actually made contact with demonic entities (I won’t go into anymore detail on that for now as that is not the purpose of this thread).
 
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If you like to stretch for good health, then so be it, just know that that’s not what yoga is all about. It sounds like you already know that though. I would encourage you to look into Eastern Christianity if you like yoga so much. I think you would find your appetite for the mystical completely sated in Eastern Orthodoxy. I know for someone like me, a former Vaishnava, when I knew I had to become a Christian, only the East could satisfy me. This is because they do have a very mystical tradition, especially when it comes to the monastic life and we start talking about things like hesychasm. However, the fact of the matter is it is 100% Christian and has nothing to do with any other tradition (i.e., yoga). This is important if we are to truly call ourselves Christ-followers. We are to have nothing to do with anything outside of him. He is the Only Way, brother. God bless you and keep you 🙏
 
I have a strong affinity for ther Eastern Orthodox spirituality but there ar eno local communities near me. My studies of other religions has helped me to return to Christ with fresh perspectives and appreciation. I agree that yoga as taught at the local YMCA is only a scratch on the surface. More of a danger to your body than your soul. I have never tried the Kundalini stuff. That can be a complete danger, not because of demons but shear physiological/mental damage.
 
MatthaiosX said:
Some erudite yoga scholars like Aurobindo may praise the body as a temporary expression of the divine consciousness, but no yogi worth his salt would ever assert that the end goal is to remain here. Now, the end goal for the Christian is resurrection of the body, albeit in a glorified state.
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This is where I think Aurobindo would agree with us. The body is an expression fo the divine, destined to be fully aligned and in harmony with it. His is an “Integral Yoga” and by that he mean encompassing all aspects of our being. He is very neoplatonistic, all came from the One and all will return to the One. I think it is fun to read all the many varieties fo theology and spirituality to compare and contrast. It is far mor complex than we admit here. Some are close (in some ways) while distant (in other ways).

When we talk about Christ though, we talk as if there is no mystery about Him, who he is (Sone of God, right? Savior), as if we really know what that means. We as Christians seem too satisfied with the simples words, definitions, and symbols without acknowledging that they only tell us part of the story; like parables that have many levels of meaning beyond the literal.

Who and what is Christ? The anointed? The Messiah? What does it mean to be “eternally begotten” of the Father? What does it mean to be "The Word’? I find explorations of other religions helpful in approaching these questions with other languages, others terms. But of course the real knowledge comes from direct encounter with Christ. That is what awakened my to the spiritual journey some 50 years ago.
 
And in some cases just plain nutz. ALthough the camera angle probabaly makes it look worse.
 
I don’t know how dangerous yoga is, but I think that 20-story woman could cause a lot of havoc.
 
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