yoga practices and religion

[micro27]

Hi all.I am new here,and i have few questions,i want to ask.Can i practice yoga,like pranayama,asanas,opening chakras and kundalini,and developing siddhis,being catholic?In other words,can i practice those things,and still remain in my current religion,which is catholism?.Another question is,does yoga is the only way to enlighment?And last thing,does yoga is the only way,to attain siddhis?thank you

[Guruvani]

Siddhis?

You gotta be kidding?

Even the big kundalini gurus from India don't have siddhis or they would be millionaires doing tricks instead of writing books and opening yoga centers.

 

There are no mystic siddhis in this age except for a very rare few who have cultivated them for many lifetimes.

 

Siddhis are most usually desired by people who want to abuse them for personal purposes.

You don't need siddhis to serve the Lord.

 

Learn devotion to God and forget about all this siddhi nonsense that some fake guru who himself doesn't have any siddhi is trying to make a buck teaching.

 

Cultivate love of God and leave aside all this nonsense about siddhis and magical powers.

 

It won't save you from the cycle of karma and reincarnation.

 

Read the Bhagavad-gita of Lord Krishna.

 

http://asitis.com/

[nitai16108]

Hare Krishna

All Glories to Srila Prabhupad

 

What ever religion you are that doesn't matter. Simply By Chanting the holy name of the Lord Krishna. one can get liberation and become an eternal servant to the Lord Krishna.

 

"Kali Kalera Dharma Krishna nama Sankirtana"

 

The occupational duty of the human in this kali yuga (age of darkness) is to Chant the Holy name of the Lord Hari. This is just very simple. only sixteen words.

Hare Krishna HAre Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare HAre

HAre Rama HAre Rama Rama Rama Hare HAre

 

in the above mantra there are three words i.e Krishna, Rama & Hare

Krishna-All Supreme beautiful

Rama- All Supreme Enjoyer

Hare- Energy of the Lord

 

Anybody can chant this

At anytime

Any situation

Anywhere!!!

 

The practising of yoga system is good. Now these days nobody is to teach proper yoga. the dharma is to chant the holy name of the lord.

Some breathing practises is ok. but not much time in spending for yogas and asanas. Real aim is to know who you are ?

Are you this body? or Beyond this body?

Why you have taken birth here and why you are suffering here ?

This questions are very important.

 

You might be a christian, Muhamadin, hindu, buddhist, or what type of beliver you may be but chanting is for anybody may be any living entity.even for tree, dog, etc...

No loss in practising Chanting the holy name of the Lord.

So please follow this yoga system which is very easy

 

please chant the holy name

 

Hare Krishna

[theist]

 

Hi all.I am new here,and i have few questions,i want to ask.Can i practice yoga,like pranayama,asanas,opening chakras and kundalini,and developing siddhis,being catholic?

 

Certainly you can practice yogic arts while being Catholic. But in doing so you must selective and practical. Pranayama and asanas are the paths to superior health and a peaceful mind. With a peaceful mind one can meditate better then with a mind in turmoil. We all know this. As a Catholic you would want to then use that peaceful mind to meditate on the Lord and his instructions. Accept only that which is usefull to gaining devotion to God. That is an example of being selective.

 

At 55 yrs. now I can say I wish I had stuck to yoga practice. I did well in '75 , took classes and practiced for a year but then let it slide. Spent too much time using weights and missed out on the benefits that come from being flexible and calm. Yoga makes one strong in a way that is different from weights training. They compliment each other and yoga is even an antidote for some of the negative results of weight training. But as a stand alone I believe yoga is superior. So can Catholics lift weights and still be Catholic? Of course, and so they can practice asanas and pranayama as well.

 

But to be practical 99.9% of what people call chakra opening or balancing these days is a new age bluff. To raise the kundalini force takes more concentrated effort than we can even imagine. There is a vedic text called hathayogapradipika which explains that first the yogi must seek a secluded place, he must be prepared for a solitary life. The yogi would then perform asanas 3 times everyday. The purpose was to prepare his body for pranayama. The purpose of the pranayama was to get him in touch with the prana and learn how to direct it through it's channels in the body by his will. Then he would start trying to raise the kundalini up the sushumna and as it passes through each chakra the chakra is said come to life like a flower in need of water being watered. The petals lift up and display a new and beautiful radiance.

 

Along the way siddhis appear and the yogi is advised to remain fixed on the his goal of obtaining the opening of the crown chakra and obtaining liberation in the Brahman.

 

It is something like an elevator ride in a deptarment store. Each chakra is like a level or floor. The door opens and one sees racks and shelves of new clothes and electronics. But if he leaves the elevator to enjoy them then he is no longer on the ride to the top floor. So he is to remain detached from the desire to enjoy the siddhis as they present themselves.

 

A real yogi does not concern himself with siddhis. It's like gathering pennies and neglecting the diamonds. A true Catholic or follower of Christ, is taught to resist the tempation of siddhis and concentrate his self on doing the will of God. Remember the tempation of Christ in the dessert when the "devil" offered him wordly power and so forth and he taught us by example to reject those desires and concentrate on pleasing the Lord. For sure Christ already possessed siddhis but only if they were usefull in the service of the Lord did he employ them. And then only to the extent that was needed for a given situation. Like disappearing suddenly when the religionous fanatics sought to stop his teaching and do him harm.

 

So keep the asanas and pranayam and forget the rest. If you do this it will dovetail nicely with Catholc life and for all styles of devotional life.

 

 

 

 

 

In other words,can i practice those things,and still remain in my current religion,which is catholism?.Another question is,does yoga is the only way to enlighment?And last thing,does yoga is the only way,to attain siddhis?thank you

 

Chanting the names of God is the highest yoga called Bhakti-yoga .Any name of God that refers to the one and only Supreme Being is ok to chant. nitais post above nicely explains this. Like nitai I am most attracted to chanting the Hare Krsna mantra. Please reread his post.

 

Yoga means union with God. The highest union is one of love and devotion. When you pray you are doing yoga. When you praise the name of Christ you are doing yoga. Christ is the good son of Krsna or the the Father. So for worship of Christ to be complete it must include worship of his/our Father as well.

 

*Jaya Yeshua! Jaya Krsna!

 

* jaya is a glorification as in 'all glories to Yeshua! All glories to Krsna!'

[micro27]

Can i say mantra,to jesus and krisna at the same time?

[Avinash]

 

Can i say mantra,to jesus and krisna at the same time?

Usually if we try to recite two different mantrans together, then we are often not able to concentrate on any one. For this and only for this reason, I do not think it good two recite mantras to Jesus and to Krsna together. However, if you are able to recite both mantras and can concentrate on both, then I do not see any problem. If there is some other reason as to why this should or should not be done, then I am not aware of it.

BTW, which mantras are you talking about?

[Avinash]

You might be wondering why I labelled the previous post as "No end of such questions". I did not answer completely otherwise it would have been clear. Anyway, let me complete the answer now.

In this site, I am finding many such questions - Can I do this? Can I do that? Should I do this? Should I do that?

Let me mention some of questions which I have seen though the exact wordings may be different:-

Is it better to worship Gauranga or Krsna?

Should we pray to Rama or to Krsna?

I am not able to chant 64 rounds. Is it OK if I chant less?

Is it OK to worship Radha before Krsna?

I like meditating only on Krsna and not on Radha. Is it OK?

etc...

 

As such there is nothing wrong with these questions and may be quite genuine as per those who ask them. Howeverm, there is no end to such questions. If we keep asking such questions, then we will not get enough time for prayer, chanting etc.

[micro27]

I want to develop myself spiritually thru yoga practices,i mention before,but at the same time,i want to be connected to Jesus.If i will chant mantras to Krishna,and not to Jesus,its like i am pushing away my religion and Jesus.

I read on some website,about Krishna and Jesus,and i would like to copy text,that i dont understand too much.:

"If one loves Krishna, he must love Lord Jesus also. And if one perfectly loves Jesus he must love Krishna too. If he says, "Why shall I love Krishna? I shall love Jesus," then he has no knowledge. And if one says, "Why shall I love Jesus? I shall love Krishna", then he has no knowledge either. If one understands Krishna, then he will understand Jesus. If one understands Jesus, you'll understand Krishna too"

(Srila Prabhupada - Room conversation with Allen Ginsberg, May 12, 1969 / Columbus - Ohio)

Is this true?If i chant mantras to Krishna,its like the same thing,if i chant them to Jesus?

[theist]

 

Can i say mantra,to jesus and krisna at the same time?

 

It is important to understand the relationship between Them as we worship. Christ taught that we must worship in spirit and in truth. That means with reverence and love(spirit) and understanding the relationship correctly. They are not the same Person just as a human child is not his own father Jesus is not God. But at the same time they are both one in the sense that the child issued from the father and they share the same characteristics. Like Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" and later in the same chapter "The Father is greater than I".

 

In the Bible we have very little information on Christ and even less of the Father. Where it used to say Jehovah or Jah they have translated as God. This is a big mistake. Christianity as a whole needs to rediscover the name of the Father. To reunite us fallen souls with the Father was the sole purpose of Jesus coming to earth. So to chant the names of the Father and perfect Son together is perfect. Jesus did not want to be worshiped at all by us but to teach us to love the Father (Jehovah/Krsna) and to glorify His name. The Father naturally loves the good Son and is pleased to see him worshipped and honored. So we please Jesus by chanting the Fathers name and we please the Father by chanting the Son's name.

 

My favorite name for the son is Yeshua and for the Father it's Krsna.

 

You can also chant the Hare Krsna mantra as Nitai posted as well along with Chanting Yeshua krsna or Jesus Jehovah. There are no hard and fast rules for Chanting the names of God and he has hundreds and millions of names. We are free to chant the one's we like.

 

I would recommend prayer beads to aid in chanting Hare Krsna. My favorit beads are the medium sized beads made from Tulsi wood. You can get them on-line by clicking on the Matchless Gifts ad which I think is on the bottom of most forum pages.

 

PS Many of your catholic friends may think you are going off the path by adding the Fathers name but how can chanting the Fathers name ever be "off path". And for sure they won't go near as crazy as some pentecostals I've met over my chanting Hare Krsna. But we can't worry about that micro.

 

Jaya Yeshua !Jaya Krsna!

[micro27]

I posted a message#8.I dont know,if you miss it.Anyway,my friends sometimes ask me,if i go to church,And i answer,i used to go,but not now.And here comes another question:If i dont want to go to church,to pray to Jesus,but instead chant mantras at home to Krisha,which is Jesus son,will it be ok?

[bija]

 

I want to develop myself spiritually thru yoga practices,i mention before,but at the same time,i want to be connected to Jesus.If i will chant mantras to Krishna,and not to Jesus,its like i am pushing away my religion and Jesus. quote by micro27

 

As your spiritual understanding develops you may not find conflict or contradiction between the name of Jesus and Krsna.

 

Micro, I was born catholic, and in many ways still have attraction for my roots. But have found that the Hare Krsna mantra has actually deepened my original faith.

 

There are some good traditions in the catholic faith, that have implemented in some ways eastern practice. Check out the Benedictine Monk, John Main at http://www.wccm.org/splash.asp?pagestyle=default for christian meditation.

 

But saying this, please also look into chanting the Hare Krsna mantra.

[theist]

 

I want to develop myself spiritually thru yoga practices,i mention before,but at the same time,i want to be connected to Jesus.If i will chant mantras to Krishna,and not to Jesus,its like i am pushing away my religion and Jesus.

I read on some website,about Krishna and Jesus,and i would like to copy text,that i dont understand too much.:

"If one loves Krishna, he must love Lord Jesus also. And if one perfectly loves Jesus he must love Krishna too. If he says, "Why shall I love Krishna? I shall love Jesus," then he has no knowledge. And if one says, "Why shall I love Jesus? I shall love Krishna", then he has no knowledge either. If one understands Krishna, then he will understand Jesus. If one understands Jesus, you'll understand Krishna too"

(Srila Prabhupada - Room conversation with Allen Ginsberg, May 12, 1969 / Columbus - Ohio)

Is this true?If i chant mantras to Krishna,its like the same thing,if i chant them to Jesus?

 

I posted that quote and it was Prabhupada speaking. I feel and it is confirmed by Srila Prabhupada that if I turn away from Lord Jesus Christ after he rescued me then I would simulataneously be an offender to Krsna and he would not reveal Himself to me.

 

Saying that I have never been attached to the present Christian religion. Other than the teachings of Christ the Bible does not inspire me very much. So I accept Jesus Christ and his teachings but reject Christianity. That is me.

 

It is not a question of accepting Krsna and rejecting Jesus. One simply needs to add Krsna to his worship and love for Jesus.

 

Krsna refers to the Supreme revelation of Godhead. Jesus is one with Krsna. He is not the Supreme Father nor does he want to have a relationship with anyone exclusive of the Father. So if you want to get closer to Jesus you need to accept his Father also. And if you want to get closer to Krsna you must accept his good son also.

 

It is a little tricky at first to understandbut the Holy Spirit is your heart( what others here call Supersoul) will grant us this understanding if we pray for it. So always ask the Lord to guide you in the name of Jesus Christ. Hw ill surely reveal Himself to us as we learn to be sincere.

[theist]

Hey micro...Are you still with us?

[micro27]

Sorry.I was busy to read more information about Krishna and Jesus,mantras,asanas,and pranayamas.I wanted to thank you for your answers.

[Kanaka]

Just chant the Holy Name.

[theist]

 

Sorry.I was busy to read more information about Krishna and Jesus,mantras,asanas,and pranayamas.I wanted to thank you for your answers.

 

Oh good. I feel your sincerity and was just hoping you would stick around this forum.

 

Hare Krsna