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Must self proclaimed 'yogis' impose their

religious belief's on their students ?<br><br>I'm sorry [if

i've offended anyone] but I have to ask this question

as in doing so I hope to bring to light the fact

that not all of us who practice yoga want a religious

conversion to Hinduism.<br><br>Awright you gurus, please

respondez, s'il vous plait ?<br><br>Pehala Shanti

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In India, the goal of a Yogi is to do the asana

while "unifying" oneself with God. here in America,

Yoga is seen as a workout or even worse, a competition

on who is more flexible in the yoga class. Even

though the westerner might see yoga as a fitness

practice, sooner or later the chakras will open up and they

will eventually have to accept the "spirituality" that

yoga offers. Originally, asanas were performed to

prepare the body to do sadhana or spiritual practice.

Just as Shiva cannot be without Shakti, sooner or

later the yogi or yogini will realize that yoga without

God is no yoga at all but a fruitless display of

contrived poses.<br><br>Namaste.

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Granted, but seriously, if we are to believe in

gods we need something more tangible than feelings to

support our beliefs. You may believe if you want to

believe, but in the end you have just a feeling to back it

up, which is just about worthless as a proof.

Thoudands of years of religious tradition wont make these

feelings any more valid.

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If you look closely at the mind you will find

that it is atomic - the prime element of ALL creation.

The mind is unstable and constantly changing, but

with some spiritual practice you can evolve the

dualistic, moving between opposites, mind.<br>You can move

from the general field of consciousness that exists in

the plant kingdom, beyond the ego, into the buddhi or

conscious mind.<br>And, if you are god within and this mind

is directed inwardly it will manifest pure

consciousness.<br>Look at your chakras....you move from earth, the gross

element, to the pure ether of the soul.<br><br>I wouldn't

discount those jivas from thousands of years of religious

tradition just yet. Your material world is not the

answer.<br>twochant

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The things you say may be true in some sense, but

none of them implies that there are gods, bodyless

spiritual beings, afterlife, reincarnation, etc. All of

them are most probably illusions, i.e.

misinterpretations of one's religious experiences. We are just

starting to understand religious experience and the human

mind...<br><br>'Pure consciousness' might be a state of mind where one

has learned to still the brain-structures that create

the sense of self, nothing more and nothing less...

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The Essence of Yoga by Bouanchaud: Reflections on

the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali page 42 and I quote

"Yoga should respect the beliefs, customs, and religion

of each one who practices it". Therefore a

Christian, Jew, Budhist, Muslim etc. can practice yoga. In

yoga God is one. Om

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In Bouanchaud's "The Essence of Yoga: Reflections

on the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali " page 42 and I

quote "Yoga should respect the beliefs, customs, and

religion of each one who practices it". Therefore a

Christian, Jew, Budhist, Muslim etc. can practice yoga. In

yoga God is one. om

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So what? Why are you so hell bent in forcing your

atheism on this board? Some people believe in god than

leave them alone for chrissakes! I know that when I do

my asanas and I think of the lord I feel an extra

sense of joy in it. I really feel that one-ness that I

don't get in any other workout let alone church or

bible study. I think yoga has shown the world that you

can be physically fit and still be in tune with god.

Working out with Jesus, now that's what I call union.

Amen!<br><br><br>Namaste.

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<So what? Why are you so hell bent in forcing

your atheism on this board?><br><br>I consider

myself only a minor nuisance on this board. These are

just questions that I've pondered for a long time so I

like to talk about them. I could make some comments

about 'working out with Jesus' and 'union', but maybe

it's better to just let it be.

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Barbie-yoga,<br>I agree with you that people need

to seek union with their own personal god. Yoga IS

meant to be a spiritual practice and one of the reasons

I think it has gained popularity in the West. Many

people are lacking a spiritual aspect in their life and

yoga brings it to them.<br>twochant

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Barbie Yoga Wrote:<br>" I think yoga has shown

the world that you can be physically fit and still be

in tune with god."<br><br>Wrong. The inverse is

correct. You CANNOT be in tune with God unless you are

physically healthy.<br><br>And I have yet to find a better

means of maintaining optimum health than Astanga

Yoga.<br><br>Cheers, DMcG

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<You cannot be in tune with God unless you are

physically healthy><br>Is anyone else out there as tired

of this elitist claptrap as I am? I'm sure being fit

does help you feel closer to God, and that's good, but

why is it that some people think only the beautiful

people can have a relationship with God? Up to your

eyeballs comes to mind. That's like saying only Catholics

can get into heaven or only Hindus can practise yoga.

And I suppose only blond blue-eyed people over six

feet tall can be spiritual. It only perpetuates the

myth that some are superior by virtue of how they

look. It seems to be the antithesis of what yoga was

originally intended for and only creates competition, which

we already have more than enough of in this world

thank you very much.

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<You cannot be in tune with God unless you are

physically healthy><br><br>I too have a problem with this

statement. I've worked with people who have various types of

disabilites, & some of them are more in tune with G-d than

physically healthy people whom I've met throughout my life.

In fact, some people who are physically healthy have

egos that are so big, there's no room left to be in

tune with G-d. Where on earth did you come up with

that one?

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Based on the numerous posts in the past by the

Mighty Students of Guruji, only THEY can be saved. We

don't stand a chance because: 1) We cannot afford a

roundtrip ticket to India to see his Highness perform. 2)

Who has got a month long vacation time from their

job? Certainly not poor hicks like me who only make

minimum wage. Damn those trust fund kids! 3) We just

aren't worthy, period. Only the blessed few can ever get

the darshan of the Guru so we ain't it. 4) Lastly,

according to funkybuglady, there isn't ANYWHERE in these

United States that a "qualified" Ashtangi teacher can be

found EXCEPT of course in Mysore, India.

Sorry.<br><br>So there you go. I guess I better stick to my Yoga

Zone tapes and do my practice at home away from the

famed Ashtangis of Mysore. For some reason, I prefer it

that way.<br><br>Yep.

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<You cannot be in tune with God unless you are

physically healthy><br><br>Put me down as one who

disagrees as well. It seems that any physical disability

could have the potential to actually bring someone

closer to GOD b/c someone would be much more open to

seeing that they are not this body and they are not this

mind. The absolute beauty of god-realization is that it

is accessible to all. All that is required is a

sincere and open heart. After his stroke, RAM Dass said

his illness brought him closer to God and he is

thankful for it! And I think we'ver all seen people who

have EVERYTHING -- money, good looks, healthy bodies,

status, etc. etc. - and it often seems to pull them in

the opposite direction and further away.... RAM DASS'

book STILL HERE sheds some light on this subject and

is now available in paperback.

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