I guess you went ahead and just whacked down the olive trees, didn’t you?
I personally don’t enjoy being called a liar Mr. Surya Deva. Please refrain from that kind of attack.
I have to agree…Yoga belongs entirely to the Hindus…Sorry but it is true
Perhaps the question that needs to be asked at this point is…Where do people… think… it comes from??
Sorry, been there done that way too many times.
I’m banning myself to the 'Non-Religious" forum.
[QUOTE=kareng;39639]I have to agree…Yoga belongs entirely to the Hindus…??[/QUOTE]
Not anymore. Now it belongs to me and I dare anyone to try and take it from me.
Is the issue really one of semantics?
Are we using the same word to mean different things?
And is a gymnast who is doing a handstand doing a Hindu asana? Can Hindu’s claim they originated every body position that looks like an asana?
I’m perfectly happy doing stretches, twists, and inversions and in calling them something different than yoga. I just know they work, and I really don’t think Hindu’s or anyone else can claim a monopoly on any particular body position.
Ha…your back!!..come on then biff biff
[QUOTE=lotusgirl;39605]Oh Surya, I certainly don’t want to engage in that again! There was no “winner” in the discussion. Many people have agreed with what I stated and there were those who agreed with you. Many sides of the coin! But really, I don’t want to rehash this again. I’ll confine myself to the “Non Religious” forum if we go there again![/QUOTE]
Well, I have just posted a great source about this in the thread “Is Yoga
Hinduism ?” It is the book Yoga: Freedom and Immortality, by Mircea Eliade, a famous scholar in yoga and religions.
It looks like the things are a lot more complicated. Definitely, a thorough study is necessary before forming one’s opinion.
I trust that everybody interested in this topic will take the time to study it.
Bottom line is that if lotusgirl isn’t convinced, and if she has good reason to believe otherwise, she’s not “lying” if she states what she believes, even if it’s wrong. She made her statement in good faith, and it’s not fair to call it a “lie.”
Yes Thomas but Lotusgirl does understand Surya a lot more than is realised.
[QUOTE=thomas;39057]
But I am also unclear as to what yoga is, since there seem to be so many varieties and so many interpretations.
[/QUOTE]
Glancing through the Internet memoirs (older posts) I have seen that even the Jesuits are teaching yoga:
http://christianyogamagazine.com/category/jesuits-and-yoga/
Also I have “rediscovered” a post of Pandara about Liberal Catholics, who are
different from the Roman Catholics. Pandara himself is a Liberal catholic, if I remember correctly.
[QUOTE=thomas;39057]
But I am also unclear as to what yoga is, since there seem to be so many varieties and so many interpretations.
[/QUOTE]
You are quite right about it. This diversity comes also from the fluidity in the meanings of the word.
Yoga sometimes means “method”, sometimes means “force” , sometimes means “activity”, sometimes means “meditation” , sometimes means “renunciation” etc.
There were -and probably still are-countless ascetic and popular traditions, each with its own “yoga.”
Yoga means many things becauser yoga IS many things.
[QUOTE=oak333;39732]Glancing through the Internet memoirs (older posts) I have seen that even the Jesuits are teaching yoga:
http://christianyogamagazine.com/category/jesuits-and-yoga/
Also I have “rediscovered” a post of Pandara about Liberal Catholics, who are
different from the Roman Catholics. Pandara himself is a Liberal catholic, if I remember correctly.[/QUOTE]
There’s no such thing as a “Liberal Catholic.” Catholicism is one faith.
I hope to have the opportunity to look at that info this week about the Jesuits.
[quote=thomas;39735]There’s no such thing as a “Liberal Catholic.” Catholicism is one faith.
I hope to have the opportunity to look at that info this week about the Jesuits.[/quote]
Yes, I am a Liberal Catholic and also a priest in training in the Liberal Catholic Church, I am also a yoga teacher and although Thomas your are right that Catholicism is just one faith there are many different expressions of the one faith within itself of which the Liberal Catholic Church is but one of many. And may just add, the apostolic succession in the Liberal Catholic Church is one of the few that is actually acknowledged as legitimate by the Vatican, not that we need it, but there it is there.
In the Liberal Catholic Church it’s members are encourage to explore other religions, many of our priests are even freemasons or ex-freemasons, many members as well as priests are encourage to explore the many mystery schools such as the Astara School of Wisdom, Sufism and Theosophy and many are yogis. In fact half of the congregation in Pretoria are yogis. The concepts of karma and reincarnation as well as other eastern philosophical beliefs are integrated freely into the Liberal Catholic Church and there are no conflict. Many of our priests and congregants are highly psychic and this gift is encourage in the church to be used. These are some of the expressions that do make the Liberal Catholic Church different from the Roman Catholic I belief.
So, yes there are such a thing as a liberal catholic, you are speaking to one! 
The Liberal Catholic Church then is not a part of Roman Catholicism, and it’s unfortunate that the name “Catholic” is used, which is very misleading, and gives the impression it’s part of the Catholic Church.
“Liberal Catholicism” is not Catholicism as the word is understood by Catholics and most outside of Catholicism, and would be an entirely separate religion.
I am raised wholly Catholic and I get Pandara’s expression of Catholicism. This must be a regional thing. My version was very inclusive and even assimilative. That’s why I always felt yoga is a natural progression.
[QUOTE=FlexPenguin;39824]I am raised wholly Catholic and I get Pandara’s expression of Catholicism. This must be a regional thing. My version was very inclusive and even assimilative. That’s why I always felt yoga is a natural progression.[/QUOTE]
Catholicism is not a pick and choose religion, and it’s not a “roll your own” religion either. There are no “versions” of Catholicism. The faith is exactly the same in Japan, The United States, Italy, Canada, Mexico…anywhere and everywhere.
Anyone can be a Catholic, of course, and all are welcome, but that means accepting all that the Church teaches.
If you have two wives, you can’t keep them both when you become a Catholic. If you use contraception, you must stop using it when you become a Catholic. If you are an abortionist, you must stop killing babies when you become a Catholic. If you don’t like going to church on sunday, you have to learn to like it or at least make yourself go every week. It’s not an option.
You believe that the Pope is the vicar of Christ and the head of the Church along with all the bishops and they have a teaching authority when it comes to faith and morals.
You believe that when you receive Holy Communion, you receive the real Body and Blood of Christ. You believe that sins must be confessed. You understand your obligations to the Church, to the poor, to defending the faith.
Etc. etc. etc. It’s all in the Catechism and Church documents.
It’s clear what a Catholic is and should be.
To use the name “catholic” does not mean to be part of the Catholicsm, as most understand what it means.
No, and nowhere have I or the synod of the Liberal Catholic Church claimed it to be part of the Roman Catholic Church. In fact we view ourselves very much separate and apart from the Roman aspect.
What is unfortunate is that you are ill informed about what catholic means and represents. The “catholic” family of churches are very large and diverse. Please note that the Roman Catholic church doesn’t own the term “catholic”. The word “catholic” is a very broad term that is used to refer to the Catholic faith, which in cludes many expressions, of which Roman is just one of the many and doesn’t have exclusive right to be “catholic”.
So the Liberal Catholic Church together with the Old Catholic, Eastern and Othodox Catholic Churches, some of the Lutheran and Anglican Churches and many others are all part of the Catholic family of churches.
Your sentence should actually read: “Liberal Catholicism” is not [I]ROMAN[/I] Catholicism as the word is understood by [I]ROMAN[/I] Catholics and most outside of [I]ROMAN[/I] Catholicism, and would be an entirely separate religion.
So yes while the Liberal Catholic Church is not ROMAN, it is catholic in that it has all the rituals and broad characteristics ascribed to the catholic faith in general.
I trust this clear some of the catholic history for you, if not there are many good books available that will explain it to you.
[QUOTE=thomas;39825]Catholicism is not a pick and choose religion, and it’s not a “roll your own” religion either.[/QUOTE]
The Roman Catholic church is more pliable than is widely believed. I am old enough to remember when large bits of the missal was in Latin, and I was required to attend at least one mass per month where mass was entirely Latin. I also remember the great controversy when the Vatican allowed Latin to be removed from mass. Divorce, unless under specific conditions, was grounds for excommunication (this remains in certain sectors of the church). I remember allowing electric guitars and drums - songs from J C Superstar and Godspell - into the church to make it more appealing to the young.
When I attended Roman Catholic school those many eons ago, it was boys only and I was taught by the Brothers (the girls by the Nuns). Now, my kids go to Roman Catholic school and it resembles nothing from my day (Mrs Lee has amazing legs!).
So, the church has changed in many, many ways. The tenets and credos remain unchanged of course, but it has shown that it can be a bit “roll your own” to accommodate the times, and situation, and the community it serves.
When I look at yoga - and I mean look past the asanas to the other limbs - I see nothing that prevents me from adhering to the practice and remaining Roman Catholic. There is nothing in there about worshipping blue gods with elephant heads and way too many arms. It speaks about attaining ever-higher levels of consiousness through many means, like meditation. It doesn’t tell me ON WHAT I SHOULD MEDITATE. Maybe I could meditate on the Apostle’s Creed, for example.
But, although Roman Catholicism remains the largest sect, it is not the only Catholic sect out there.
Namaste and Benedicite.
Does this accurately reflect the teachings of the Liberal Catholic Church?
When I look at yoga - and I mean look past the asanas to the other limbs - I see nothing that prevents me from adhering to the practice and remaining Roman Catholic. There is nothing in there about worshipping blue gods with elephant heads and way too many arms. It speaks about attaining ever-higher levels of consiousness through many means, like meditation. It doesn’t tell me ON WHAT I SHOULD MEDITATE. Maybe I could meditate on the Apostle’s Creed, for example.
Spoken like a true Hindu 
Now you know how us Hindus think. It does not matter what you meditate on, just meditate. We have 330 million different objects to choose from. We don’t mind adding Jesus, Allah and Moses into the mix