Has yoga strayed from its core?

>
> Question: There is so much information about yoga and meditation. I
> am so confused and do not know which path to take. What then is
> the truth? How do I attain it?
>
> Answer: Silence on Self
>

Has yoga strayed from its core?
Douglas Todd, Religion News Service [U.S.]
Aug. 11, 2007

Yoga has lost its moral compass as a result of its rapid rise in popularity in North America, says a book by one of the world's leading yoga scholars.

Georg Feuerstein, author of Yoga Morality: Ancient Teachings at a Time of Global Crisis, is worried that in the process of becoming so many things to so many people, yoga has lost its ethical, philosophical and spiritual roots.

Confined just four decades ago to the hippie or ethnic fringes in Western culture, yoga has become, especially in the past five years, thoroughly mainstream.

Yoga now forms the heart of a $4 billion-a-year industry and is practiced by almost 10 percent of North Americans, with much higher participation rates on the West Coast, according to a poll by Yoga Magazine.

Dr. Feuerstein says most of today's yoga practitioners don't care about, or don't understand, the tradition's moral teachings, which could offer guidance on sexuality, war, corporate greed, racism, politeness, gluttony, financial debt and pollution.

When tens of millions of North Americans find their identities in saying they "do yoga," he says, widespread ignorance about yoga's ethical traditions represents a tragic lost opportunity.

What would a traditional Hindu yoga teacher, steeped in modesty, think of those revealing outfits women and men wear to classes, Dr. Feuerstein asks. He worries that many yoga practitioners focus obsessively on mere physical health.

"It should not require much imagination to appreciate that a person can be superbly fit but mentally lethargic, emotionally insensitive, morally corrupt and spiritually bankrupt," he writes.

Dr. Feuerstein, author of dozens of other books, loosely structures Yoga Morality around the five virtues taught by Patanjali, a pseudonym given to the early authors of the Yogasutras. He translates Patanjali's ethical values as "nonharming," "truthfulness," "nonstealing," "greedlessness" and "chastity."

He places the five virtues under the umbrella Hindu principle of "interconnectedness," which teaches that we need to develop a sense of kinship with all human beings as well as with nature.

Dr. Feuerstein talks about how yoga opposes all violence - harming - from unjust wars to calling people "stupid" or "losers."

Dr. Feuerstein says we live in a world saturated with lies and spin instead of "truthfulness."

"Nonstealing" is a crucial ethic from yoga tradition, according to Dr. Feuerstein, who considers the growing gap between rich and poor a form of theft, as CEOs make in a few hours what minimum-wage earners receive in a year. He says sweatshops and child labor also are forms of institutionalized theft.

He believes the U.S. national debt of nearly $9 trillion is a form of greed.

Decrying the fashion parade and sexy outfits in yoga classes, he laments how "modesty, once a highly valued yogic virtue, is considered old-fashioned." He is especially appalled at the concept of nude yoga classes. And he says ancient tantric yoga, which often deals with sexual energy, has been abused by exploitative teachers. It's a criticism he shares with Buddhism's Dalai Lama.

Dr. Feuerstein does not interpret chastity as total abstinence from sex, but he warns that "we cannot indulge in sex and [at the same time] hope to liberate ourselves from the shackles of the unconscious and the instinctual habits it favors."

"Ethics is the foundation of yoga," Dr. Feuerstein contends, asserting that virtue can open the gateway to spiritual liberation.

Has yoga strayed from its core?
www.dallasnews.com/

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

"The Self is the Spirit. This Spirit resides in the heart of every human being and is in a witness-like state. The Spirit is the projection of God Almighty, while the Kundalini is the projection of the power of God, of His desire which is the Primordial Mother, or you can call it Adi Shakti, Holy Ghost or Athena. So the Kundalini is the projection of the Holy Ghost, while the Spirit is the projection of God Almighty. The All-pervading Power of love is the power of the Primordial Mother, which creates and evolves, and does all the living work." - Shri Mataji Nirmal Devi

Question: How does one discard all the organization and useless activities (of Sahaja Yoga) and seek her (Holy Spirit/Adi Shakti) only in the Sahastrara (Kingdom of God)?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I am still unable to rid myself of catches and other chakra problems despite years of daily (Sahaja Yoga) footsoaking and treatments. What do I do now?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I am far from a Sahaja Yoga collective. How do I continue practicing Sahaja Yoga?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: My collective leader has told me to leave Sahaja Yoga due to some personal problems. What do I do now?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: Despite being years in Sahaja Yoga I do not agree with what our leaders are doing. I am thinking of leaving my collective. Can you suggest something that will help me continue on my own?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I am a Muslim who absolutely am against worshipping of any idol or image. How then is Sahaja Yoga and Shri Mataji compatible with Islam?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: We are devout Christians who are very uncomfortable with Hindu rituals, and see the same in Sahaja Yoga. Is there any way we can do without such rituals?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: You loudly claim on your website that all religions and holy scriptures preach the same message. I don't see such evidence. What have you got to say?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I do not want to meditate on anything non-Christian but agree that the Holy Spirit is feminine. How do I only worship the Holy Spirit but not the Adi Shakti?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: My parents and husband are against worshipping Shri Mataji. How can I solve this serious family problem but still continue to practice Sahaja Yoga without their knowledge?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I completely agree with your belief that if you have to take a single step in any direction to seek the Divine you are going the wrong way. How and why did you reach this incredible conclusion only now despite spending so many years meditating, checking the scriptures and listening to Shri Mataji's speeches?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: How can we spread Shri Mataji's message successfully? So many have failed all these years and Sahaja Yoga is very slow. Most of the seekers have never heard of Shri Mataji. Other than Her Divine Message what can we teach new seekers that will attract them?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I do not want to follow any religious organization or yoga teacher but still am interested in spirituality. You think that is possible?
Answer: Silence on Self

Question: My mother-in-law is totally against Shri Mataji and regards Her as just another false guru. But I know Shri Mataji is the Adi Shakti and want to continue. However, i do not want to antagonize my mother-in-law. Any suggestions?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I am a Sikh. I am completely against any Hindu ritual or worshipping of their idols and gods. Sikhism is completely against such practices. But Sahaja Yoga is also so full of such rituals and gods. What have you got to say, being a Sikh yourself?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I am getting somewhat ridiculed for my own spiritual experiences regarding the crown chakra and the divine feminine. People think I'm weird by emphasizing that the Devi is the true nature of brahman and it is creating doubt about my path (despite my own experiences). Should I continue with my meditations and ignore them or try to explain to them? What do you suggest?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: There is so much information about yoga and meditation. I am so confused and do not know which path to take. What then is the truth? How do I attain it?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I have been in Sahaja Yoga for years but still do not know what is Self-realization. Can you tell me in detail what you understand by it?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I have been a SY for many years and some of us find shoe- beating and some rituals quite absurd. You also are against them. How then can we solve our subtle system problems without such treatments?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I am a Muslim living in Pakistan who want to practice Sahaja Yoga. But there are no centers here. How can I continue?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: What will happen after Shri Mataji passes away? Will She still be in the photograph? Where will the vibrations come from then?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I have just started meditating on Shri Mataji in the Sahasrara but find it very difficult. Is there a better way?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I do not want to join Sahaja Yoga but believe in a number of Shri Mataji's teachings. Can you help me?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I am an established SYogini who am concerned at the way the organization is heading. However, I still want to spread Shri Mataji's teachings. What do you suggest I tell others?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: I want to practice meditation but find it impossible to stop the thoughts. I value you opinion. If you don't mind my asking, but how do you do it?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: What is the shortest and surest route to realize God?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: Some religions claim that humans are divine in nature and that liberation is from within. Can you tell me how all this is realized in such a hectic and materialistic world?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: As a SY I am concerned that after Shri Mataji takes Mahasamadhi there will great grief and sense of loss. How can I cope with this eventuality and continue my faith and devotion? Do I continue to meditate on Her photo even though She is not physically present anymore?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: Jagbir, you are already telling us to discard Shri Mataji's photo and meditate on Her is the Sahasrara. A number of SYs have been offended by this and have left the forum. What makes you so sure you are right?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: What is the most profound and deepest enlightenment you have discovered after all these years, based on the teachings of Shri Mataji? She also claims that all religions teach the same truth about the spirit. How is that so given all the religious differences and centuries-old rivalry?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: Hi, man-made religions, sects and denominations are wide spread. So much misdeeds and divisions are committed and blood is shed in the name of God and religion. Is there a way to make humans realize that they are all worshipping the One and same Creator, no matter how different religious organizations have made God to be?

Answer: Silence on Self

Question: It seems that religions are all preaching about a God that is to be found only in their organizations. Why then is it that the Divine can only be realized through one's own experience? What and where is God then?

Answer: Silence on Self

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