Yoga - It's great.

[LDNCatholic]

People spew out all sorts of mindless dribble on this forum every day. Why should people who go to yoga have to learn all about the meaning of the chanting (Note: most yoga classes have no chanting anyway)???

You seem to know quite a lot about what the meaning of all these Sandskrit is. Maybe you can enlighten me?

I have a basic (very basic) knowledge of Sanskrit, and some other Indian languages, and am familiar with Indian customs, I couldn’t hazard a guess at what the chanting meant unless someone actually told me what they were chanting.

 

[SedesDomi]

I have a basic (very basic) knowledge of Sanskrit, and some other Indian languages, and am familiar with Indian customs, I couldn’t hazard a guess at what the chanting meant unless someone actually told me what they were chanting.

What if the ‘chant’ is a simple ‘Aum’?

 

[LDNCatholic]

What if the ‘chant’ is a simple ‘Aum’?

The Aum is a sacred sound in Hinduism. The Aum represents the ''Spark of Life and is a recognised Hindu ascetic practice. The symbol, written in the Devanagari script is recognised as a symbol of Hinduism as the Cross is for Christianity.

 

[chris_molter]

Aiki-do is the primary martial art that poses problems to believing Jews and believing Christians…because Eastern religion is very deeply woven into the practice of it.

Very true, and the following comments re: tai chi are in a similar vein. The “interior” or “soft” martial arts (like aikido or tai chi) generally will present more spiritual and religious (or quasi-religious) instruction and trapping than the “hard” or “exterior” arts (jujutsu, kempo, tae kwon do, etc)

Although I’m sure it’s possible to find instructors of soft forms who do not include or emphasize the more mystical aspects. Again, knowledge of the faith and smart discernment is key.

 

[SedesDomi]

The Aum is a sacred sound in Hinduism. The Aum represents the ''Spark of Life and is a recognised Hindu ascetic practice. The symbol, written in the Devanagari script is recognised as a symbol of Hinduism as the Cross is for Christianity.

True, but Aum is not monopolized by Hindus. Buddhists, Jains, and (I think) Sikhs also utilize Aum, and they give it slightly different meanings compared to the Hindu meaning. In fact, “Aum” is also a part of some Indian-Catholic practices, too.

“Aum” itself is not restricted to any one religion. In Christian terms, “Aum” might be analogous to “Amen”, or “Logos”, depending upon the context.

 

[Sepharad]

You don’t need to chant what they do. I have been reading a book entitled “Jewish Meditation” by the late Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. He advises Jews to meditate on the Divine four-lettered Name of God, or if they want to chant something, chant one of God’s Names.

In Christian meditation, the name of Jesus is often meditated on, or chanted.

 

[Valke2]

Chant away:

yahwehyoga.net/churches.htm

 

[elvisman]

My point is that God knows what you are thinking. You can’t “accidently” reject him by saying some words in sandskrit.

Anyway, the exercises are a spiritual as you want to make them.

And MY point is that the bodily exercises of yoga are fine - it’s the Eastern Spiritualism that the Church has a problem with.

**I used the example of the rejection of Jesus as hyperbole to make my point because you spoke so lightly of dabbling in this sort of thing. **

The bottom line is that exercising is fine. Once you introduce the Hindu spiritualism, it becomes questionable to the Christian.

 

[Sepharad]

Chant away:

yahwehyoga.net/churches.htm

Oy, the name of that site, to me, is just…weird!

 

[LDNCatholic]

True, but Aum is not monopolized by Hindus. Buddhists, Jains, and (I think) Sikhs also utilize Aum, and they give it slightly different meanings compared to the Hindu meaning. In fact, “Aum” is also a part of some Indian-Catholic practices, too.

“Aum” itself is not restricted to any one religion. In Christian terms, “Aum” might be analogous to “Amen”, or “Logos”, depending upon the context.

Sikhs do not meditate with the Aum sound to the best of my knowledge. Just because the religions of India utilise it, does not mean it is OK for all religions to use it. Christians have been in India for nearly 2000 years, and to my knowledge, Yogic techniques and Hindu mysticism (or mysticism from any other religious tradition for that matter) was never integrated into their spirituality in a mainstream way.

Most of my friends are Hindus and Sikhs, and nearly all of my martial arts students are Hindu, Sikh, or Jain. I do not feel the need to worship the way they do. They do not feel the need to incorporate Christian worship into their way, well, most don’t.

I do not need to chant Aum, as I do not believe it to be the spark of life, the primordial sound from which all other sounds come. I would be lying to myself and mocking the traditions in which the Aum is venerated. I know the poses of Yoga and practice them within my martial arts class. They provide me with flexible and supple joints.

If I want liberation from the material and commune with the Divine, I have Mass, the Rosary, just two examples among many forms of prayer and meditation.

 

[SedesDomi]

Sikhs do not meditate with the Aum sound to the best of my knowledge.

“Aum” is part of Sikh prayers (see “Omkar”), even if Sikhs don’t meditate exclusively on “Aum”.

If I want liberation from the material and commune with the Divine, I have Mass, the Rosary, just two examples among many forms of prayer and meditation.

I don’t think that one of the aims of Christianity is “liberation from the material”.

 

[LDNCatholic]

I don’t think that one of the aims of Christianity is “liberation from the material”.

Forget self.

Sell everything you have and give it to the poor.

Carry nothing with you.

That is what I meant be liberation from the material, not attaining Moksha.

Yes I realise that Aum and the Ek Onkar are the same, however Sikhs do not sit meditating upon the mysteries of the original sound. Their prayers involve hymns particularly recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib.

 

[SedesDomi]

I do not need to chant Aum, as I do not believe it to be the spark of life, the primordial sound from which all other sounds come. I would be lying to myself and mocking the traditions in which the Aum is venerated.

True, but for someone who was raised Hindu or Buddhist and later became Christian, s/he might continue to find “Aum” as a fruitful element of spiritual practice.

 

[LDNCatholic]

True, but for someone who was raised Hindu or Buddhist and later became Christian, s/he might continue to find “Aum” as a fruitful element of spiritual practice.

If they became Christian, it is more likely they would abandon the particulars of their original faith. I mean if they truly converted to Christianity, not adopted it’s beliefs in a syncretic faith alongside their own.

I’m not mocking belief in the Aum, just pointing out that it can’t be put into Christianity without thinking seriously outside the box.

It is a Hindu belief, and saying things like ‘‘oh but it could represent Jesus, or the Trinity’’ doesn’t take away from it’s Dharmic origins. If I’m going to meditate on the Holy Name of Jesus, I shall do so. I would not chant ‘‘Aum’’ and think ‘‘Christ’’.

I think we might be going a wee bit off topic here…

 

[Muzhik]

Hi,

You know I am really alarmed when I read or hear about Catholics/Christians who are scared of doing yoga because they might “get sucked in” to some kind of cult, or get brainwashed and start calling on demons etc.

OBVIOUSLY if you start to believe in the spiritual philosophy behind it then yeah…you’re probably not really “catholic” anymore, as…you belive in something else. But do people really have such a weak faith that as soon as they are exposed to the concept of another religion they will be all confused and fall to pieces worshipping false gods…I think not…

I do yoga. It’s a fantastic stress reducer and great for your body and mind. That’s it.

I took yoga years ago in college, when I needed extra stretching to help me in my Tai Kwan Do. There were classes in both Hatha Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. The Kundalini Yoga class filled up quickly, so I had to take the Hatha Yoga class. I was OK with that, though, because I figured …

(…wait for it…)

Hatha Yoga’s Better Than None!

(The Mad Punster strikes again! )

<><

 

[chris_molter]

Hatha Yoga’s Better Than None!

(The Mad Punster strikes again! )

<><

:banghead: :clapping:

(in that order. well done, sir.)

 

[Hlafdige]

“what if I gave you chocholate cake which had anti-Jesus flour in it”…

…one either follows Jesus and his teachings or one doesn’t. No amount of yoga or chanting in a language which you don’t understand, or eating anti Jesus chocholate cake is going to change this…

What if I give you some meat and tell you this is anti-Jesus meat? Don‘t eat it. Why not, if there‘s no such thing as anti-Jesus meat? Because the problem isn‘t the meat, it‘s what you would be communicating to me if you ate it in my presence after being told that. (free paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 10: 28-29)

The exercise aspect of yoga isn‘t anti-Jesus in itself, but yoga is closely associated with Hindu spirituality. If, having being told this, we participate anyway, we are reinforcing the religious indifferentism which is already our culture‘s default mode.