Reply to A Hard Hitting Column From the Net

[Guest guest]

Hello Everyone,I could not be more in disagreement with the article posted on the site some time ago entitled “Modern Christianity: A Flock of Lost Sheep,” and I have been meaning to reply to it for some time, but my daily work schedule has kept me from doing so. Thank you to Christoph Eberhard who did give a very insightful reply, especially with his differentiation of the exoteric church and the esoteric church and, in response to“sadhu’s” comment that, “A single religion fragmented into many splinter groups and sub-groups has obviously lost its way,” his statement that “According to this definition "Hinduism" should be dead since milleniums!”  Although there is some truth to parts of the article, whoever this “sadhu” is, only asserts his own overweening biases and egotism through his words as well as giving very superficial opinions. I find such prejudice no more acceptable coming from someone lambasting the Christian religion than I do from a fundamentalist Christian who denounces all non-Christian religions as contemptible idol worship! I am a convinced, i.e. not born into the faith, practicing Quaker who was raised Lutheran, and I also have been practicing Rishiculture Ashtanga yoga as taught by Swami Gitananda in his Step-by-Step Correspondence course since the early 1990's. As a human race, we should be building each other up and finding areas of agreement, a viewpoint which is central to Quaker teachings, but is also universally essential to the practice of peace, both outer and inner.One statement I agree with from "sadhu's" article, however, is that “Living religions survive only as long as they continue to focus on a Living Deity who guarantees constant renewal, regeneration and transformation.” There are still groups of Christians, like Quakers, who practice meditation and believe in the divine within, who go back regularly to the Living Well for sustenance.  This is also true in the more orthodox churches where there are people (my parents and brothers are good examples) who live by high values and have a deep and abiding living faith. I think it is only when that faith becomes so fundamentalist that it denounces all others, and openly or unconsciously promotes violence against people of other faiths, that it becomes warped and dangerous. This, however, is true of all or most fundamentalism, not just Christian. As far as the author’s criticism of the term “Christian Yoga,” used by some practitioners here in the West stating, “The title “Christian Yoga” is a contradiction in terms or the unwitting union of two disparate religions,” I can only requote a quotation from Dr. I. K.Taimni (appearing in  Ananda’s excellent article “Yoga-Vidya: The Science of  Yoga”) in which Dr. Taimni states: This science of sciences is too comprehensive in its nature and too profound in its doctrine to be fitted into the framework of any particular philosophy – either ancient or modern. It stands in its own right as a science based upon the eternal laws of the higher life and does not require the support of any science or philosophical system to uphold its claims. Its truths are based in the experiences and experiments of an unbroken line of mystics, occultists, saints and sages, who have realized and borne witness to them through the ages.”  To that I would only venture to add that those truths have been experienced and described by saints and mystics of all philosophical and religious backgrounds including Christian. If I have any objection to the term “Christian Yoga,” it is only that it seems to be misappropriating yoga for Christians alone. “Universal Yoga” would be a more apt term, but I think the use of the term “Christian Yoga” is mainly to counteract some of the mistaken view in the West that yoga is purely Hindu and that to practice it, you need to be a Hindu. To many here, that seems spiritually dangerous, and unfortunately serves to keep them from experiencing this valuable art. To me, any religion including Christianity in its purest and most universal sense along with yoga in its purest aspect as taught by a qualified teacher, are a wonderful and dynamic combination which will unfailingly, with Divine grace, lead us to the state of moksha and self-realization.Respectfully to All in Love and Light,Marina Dutzmann KirschOn Apr 29, 2006, at 11:50 PM, Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Bhavanani wrote: namas te   here is something only for those who enjoy and tolerate hard hitting columns that sometimes have quite a bit of truth through it may be bitter   http://cleaves.zapto.org/clv/newswire.php?story_id=207   warm regards   Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani Chairman : Yoganjali Natyalayam and ICYER 25,2nd Cross,Iyyanar Nagar, Pondicherry-605 013 Tel: 0413 - 2622902 / 0413 -2241561 Website: www.icyer.com www.geocities.com/yognat2001/ananda     Talk is cheap. Use Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. "Health and Happiness are your birthright, claim them through Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga" -Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri