Yoga and Christianity

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello! I have a bit of an inner-dilemma and I am wondering what everyone has to say about this.

I am very interested in Yoga and Zen and meditation and these sorts of things. However, I was raised very strict {Christian Tradition} … and my parents do not approve.

I am 32, and this really shouldn’t matter to me, I have not lived in their house in 14 years … but it does. They are my family after all - and I love them, and desire their approval.

I know that the Dalai Lama believes we should respect the Religion of our upbringing, but I am so drawn to Yoga, and really want to be an instructor of yoga. I have signed up for instructor training in February, and went to a Zen meditation class this morning, but all I can think is - my parents would spazz if they knew what I was getting into.

I also decided to check out the Unitarian church a few Sunday’s ago - and while I don’t know if it’s for me - my parents would absolutely freak if they knew this about me. I am a seeker.

I do try to be respectful, but I can’t seem to embrace Christianity the way I am “supposed” to. Half of the things that I’ve been told are bad and wrong, I just can’t see why they are bad and wrong - Yoga being one of them!

I am wondering if anyone else has had to deal with this - where something you desire and are so curious and interested in … is basically “wrong” in the eyes of the people you love the most.

I don’t know how to Respect my family … AND Respect myself in this situation … I don’t believe this is something I’m pursuing out of Rebellion, but out of a genuine desire and curiosity and interest. I was raised in a very “extreme” environment. I love my family, but they are very prone to Religion-bashing {other than their own} and I, by contrast, have a strong value of Religious Tolerance.

I’m just very confused and maybe broken-hearted that it is without their blessing that I pursue this … and also, maybe a bit scared that I will burn in the embers of Hell for doing this {but I don’t really think I believe in the Biblical Hell as it’s been presented to me}.

Alright - I’m done rambling. Just being very honest at this point, and wondering if there is any wisdom out there for me.

~Madeline

#2

Dear Madeline,

What is christanity ? Chritanity is based on the teachings of jesus christ.
Jesus christ was a realised yogi i.e. a soul who has realised God and taken birth in the middle east to establish dharma on divines will.Like lord Rama, Krishna, Swami Nityananda , sai baba of shirdi he too has realised God.A soul who has realised God after hard practice of Astanga yoga and preach of vedas. The eternal knowledge of yoga is based on vedas esp samaveda. vedas and yoga is the eternal dharma of god nobody has made it which is called sanatana dharma.

There is lot of misunderstanding about christanity. Jesus taught this knowledge of vedas but he could not preach in full as souls in that region were not spiritually emancipated instead of teaching in sanskrit he taught in local language.Jesus was not God but a soul who realised God, he should be respected. a soul once liberated is free from laws of karma for 3600 times the creation.There are many souls who have realised God by vedas and yoga. i request you to read vedas, yoga and meditation.

Jesus further travelled to India too after taking birth in middlle east as this land is called the land of ved vani and yoga, which is pious because of tapasya, spiritual purity of many great sages and dignataries like lord rama, Krishna, Siva, sai baba, swami sammarth etc to follow eternal rules as told in vedas to again geta a guru.
Present day christanity propogates hatred towards other religion, conversion which is going on in India and elsewhere.But christ never taught that, He never told he was God he was brahmaleen ie one with God.Devoid of actual self realisation on the name of brahmaleen Jesus christ men has caused havoc and blood shed. Because to understand God first you have to read vedas and that knowledge is to be realised by hard practice of astanga yoga.Chritian missionaries are devoid of self realisation which jesus had. Thats the cause of hatred .

So you can safely follow yoga , veda and realise God the way Jesus had. Man is borne as per the eternal laws of God and nature, so follow the eternal veda and yoga, religion/sectarinism is man made.

In course of history bible has been changed many times, further it is not written by people who have control of five senses, intellect and indriyan.

Respect Jesus and follow eternal path.Parents are to be respected as per vedas as they are among five alive God as told in vedas.

Jesus lived for others and had set an example for others but history has proven the highest ideals he has taught was not lived by christian missionaries and saints.On his name enough bloddshed has happened. Now we should live by the path he has shown.

By doing yoga and reading vedas you are following his footsteps.

OM

#3

Dear Madelaine, I’ll try to contact you in a private message, later this day. I am a yogi who’s christian faith has been strenghtened by yoga practice.

#4

Dear Madeline.

This indeed is a genuine problem for a lot of people in christian countries.

But, you see, even though one of the commandments is to respect you parents, Jesus also said, according to Matthew: “Every one therefore that shall confess me before [U]men[/U], I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. 34 Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword. 35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.”

Now, what that means to me is: everyone is personally responsible to his/her relationship with the divine. You have to do what you think is right, and what feels right for you, as we have this capacity to discern what is good and what is bad, and this often means that we come to conflict with others.
(Some christians, perhaps your parents understand this in a restrictive way: if you do not believe in the name of Jesus Christ, you will not be saved. - I think it is the apostle John who says this in one of his letters - but let us think a bit. Yeshua, Jesus, Gesu … hebrew, english, italian … what is the Lord’s real name ? Because there are differences, as they are pronounced or written. Who is The Christ anyway ? Moses asked the name of God, Who appeared to him in that burning bramble bush, and the answer was: Tell them, The I AM sent you.
And what says Jesus when his asked by the pharisees ? Before Abraham was, I AM. There is no other name for him. The name Jesus was given by Jospeh and Mary, a common name at that time, the name Christ (the anointed in greek) was given by those who beleived in the prophecy of his coming.
Paul says, not I, but the Christ who lives in me. Find that Christ in you, by whatever means. Find who you are, fiind The I AM.

You now are in the clash of powerful traditions, you are in the frontline. You have to expect casualties, on both sides. What are these ? Concepts, or rituals, what became rigid, and dead on their part, the attachment to family, the need of their approval aso, on your part.

Fight with love. Respect does not mean total surrender. You are already respectful by being concerned abot your relationship with your parents. You do not want the conflict. But it has to be fought. The religious practice of your family is not viable anymore, at least not to you. (It may be viable for them, though, so be careful- damage what has to be damaged, but try to reduce the casualties, do not fall in their mistake trying to convert them to what you think)
Now, the quote from Matthew says it all. You are responsible for your own salvation, your own personal relation to God. No one can tell you how to seek and love your God, The I AM. No one ! They can help, but you have the freedom to think, to feel, to relate personally, with your heart, your soul, your being.

You must hit hard to reach humanity, heart and soul beneath concepts and dogma. You really have no choice. Half steps will not suffice.

On the other hand, all this it is not black and white. You want to throw out christian tradition for yoga and zen. I assume you are familiar with their cultural, historic and philosophic background. You need to go on this way of yoga and zen, as you feel the urge. Later on, if there is any value in the tradition you were raised up in (and I am sure it is), you will learn to appreciate it even more, and to reach new depths of their understanding.
You see, the conflicts and different views, concepts, rituals are just the surface. The goal is the same.

#5

Dear Madeline,

I’m coming from a small country with a strong catholic tradition. My parents don’t know anything else and also don’t want or need anything else. At the beginning yoga sounded for them something strange that is coming from India, their first association was that I will become a member of some sect or something. With other words they were affraid that I will abandon everything what they teached me and that they will start loosing me. But I rather connected with them more strongly since practicing yoga. Beacuse that is what yoga does. It connect more. You feel and open towards others more. So they are completely calm and fine with my decision. And if they see an article about yoga they for sure read it beacuse they want to understand more. Your parents love you, believe me all they need to feel from your side is love and understanding and that makes a lot easier for them to compromise and accept something new. Keep patience and don’t be affraid.
For some people a simple belief in an existence of God is enough, for some people a fear of God is enough. For some people a belonging to a religion and to conform with the laws, commands and prohibitions is what they need to keep the right direction. And at the certain level of consciousness that is enough to progress. But at the certain point those commands and prohibitions become a limitation. We realize that we don’t need an agent (religion) to communicate with God…
Be strong but loving and I think everything will be just fine:-)

#6

thank you very much for the replies. This is all very helpful and useful to me :slight_smile: I appreciate the kindness in the responses!

Namaste!

#7

Hello Madeline,

I’ll try to be brief.

As you mention, you are of an age where you are responsible for your own life and its crafting. In that responsibility comes respect for your parents and family. However respect is not synonymous with you living a life they choose. There is a reason you were given life, no matter what religion is involved (or not involved).

It is to you to explore your purpose for being here and in that exploration others may be uncomfortable. That is the case no matter what path we choose. Others may be this or that. Following our purpose has very little to do with others and their level of comfort. Rather it is the deepest sort of honoring in which we nurture an inner harmony by living outwardly who we are inwardly.

When we follow a path that is the path of another and not our path, it creates a disharmony in the body. This disharmony can manifest as illness or dis-ease.

To me it does not matter if you follow this path or that path as long as it is the path you are actually here to live out. And only you could know that. What will ultimately speak volumes in your life is how you live it, not the practices you do on the Zafu. When you delve into your purpose it will be apparent to all around you that this pursuit is working in your life as your relationship with your self, with others, and with the planet will speak for themselves.

#8

Madeline, many Christian denominations are wary of anything that suggests something other than God being in control. I am Christian, and I have been practicing yoga for several years now. They are not mutually exclusive.

Perhaps it would ease your parents minds if you told them that when you meditate, you ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. Most of the issues I have seen stem from semantics. If you call meditation “prayer”, it then becomes more acceptable to those who worry about that sort of thing.

God wants every person to be true to themselves and to find their own path. He has given gifts to all of us and it is up to us to understand them and use them correctly. How better to do that than to fully understand oneself? Be at peace Madeline, and find the path that works for you. Your parents will see your peace and grace and perhaps you can open a dialogue about how you achieved said peace and grace. Most parents just want what is best for their children and if they see evidence of your happiness, that should do the trick.

Good luck on your journey.

#9

Dear Madeline,

My own mother once called me a satanist because I do yoga, but love endures all, the most important teaching of the Christ, eventually my mother had to see that yoga is not bad or “satanistic”. Anyway, I am not going to try and answer your original question, I think you have received many wonderful and insightful responses sofar.

What I would like to offer you is the following: In time yoga will help you to understand the teachings of the Christ far better that you could ever imagined, because the Christ was one of the greatest yogis who walked this earth. Those with eyes to see and ears to hear will understand His message far better and in a completely different light. I think many of the christain yogis on this forum here will bear witness to this.

#10

As many here have noted, your problem is less one of philosophical conflict and more of living and defining your existence. Ultimately you can’t live your parents’ life, and they can’t live your’s for you. Defining a worthy and well-lived life is truly only in your hands. So either following that which calls or fitting into parameters you pull from others is your decision - either is as valid as you accept them for yourself.
AS often noted, but never better stated than Will did here:
“This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Often when I’m not feeling real clear on what might be important to me, I pick up Mildred’s bookand what’s important becomes real clear. To thine ownself be true.

#11

Madeline,

here is a link to a christian yoga site that should help you out. I am Catholic and practice yoga. The two go together just fine. Usually people who are hostile to yoga don’t really know anything about it other than pictures from the 60’s/70’s of long haired “hippie” types who are sitting around preaching something that has nothing at all to do with yoga.

here is the link:
Yahweh Yoga | Christ-centered yoga & teacher training

northernyogi

#12

Certified Christian Yoga Teachers?

#13

http://www.monasticdialog.com/a.php?id=330

I see that the Vatican is against some yoga, as it says that the human consciousness cannot be absorbed into God.

In former times, say until the year 1,600, many Christians actually practised yoga meditation. You can see the desert saints.

Religion became then institutionalized. Beginning with St. Ignatius de Loyola there were introduced canonical laws re meditation.

Basically what happened was that it was considered that the soul and mind were only passive in Christian meditation, unlike yoga.

It is a lot to say about it. I do not know the answers, but I feel great with yoga as practised by the yogi.

#14

…And we know what a marvelous record the Vatican has over the years :slight_smile:

#15

I’m a Catholic and I practice my own Yoga Nidra. I believe in all the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church.

#16

Hi,
I would like to add that i’m a muslim american woman practicing and loving yoga. I think that as long as you are keeping sincere to your religion and not going into the spiritual part of yoga than you may feel better. I don’t do any of the chanting.
I was also struggling for a little bit but soon passed that feeling, I just increased my reading of the Quran(Holy book of Islam) and praying to God.
Made sure i was staying true to my faith first and foremost, everything else is second.
Peace. :smiley:

#17

hi KasaVoky,
Going into the spiritual part of Yoga is like going into the spiritual part of your own religion, what ever that is. Yoga gets you in touch with your deep spiritual beliefs…
Best WIshes,
Love,
Fin

#18

[QUOTE=KasaVoky;14143]
Made sure i was staying true to my faith first and foremost, everything else is second.
Peace. :D[/QUOTE]

Yeah, why take the risk of losing our place in Jannat (heaven).

#19

This is a reply to the post of Albert 15-Nov-08 04:12 pm

I posted a site with the extreme measures taken by the goverment in Romania against yoga practitioners.

You ask for confirmation of the validity of the report.

Perhaps this question should be adressed to Hubert, as his location is Romania. You can go to his message of 01-06-2008.

#20

The word Yoga has the same like the western word religion.
In india a lot of yogis call Jesus christ a Yogi.
If you are looking onto religions finaly they are all one.
You can be a chistian, a hind, a moslem or none of them and still benefit of Yoga.
Is?nt that wonderfull
Lars