- Carlington Wilmot/Freelance Photographer
Yoga instructor assists students during a class at Shakti Yoga Centre in St. Andrew.
WE OF the Ananda Marga Yoga Centre have been forced to respond to the two articles on Yoga written by The Rev. Dr. Donald K. Stewart. These articles appeared in the Mind & Spirit section of The Gleaner on March 27 and April 4, 2004.
Why is it important for us to respond? It is important because as founding members of the Inter-faith Council of Jamaica, which has striven to create an understanding and respect between all faiths in Jamaica, we feel it is better to light a candle to dispel the darkness of ignorance and superstition, rather than to hide behind a wall of ignorance which continues to divide humanity by perpetuating dogma.
After briefly speaking to Dr. Stewart by phone, it became clear to us that he has not had sufficient exposure to the philosophy and teachings on yoga, to write correctly with authority.
It is said "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing", and if an article creates misunderstanding due to error and superstition which will contribute to the division of humanity, then we believe this to be a dangerous thing.
Yoga is based on scientific principles. It is neither based on superstition nor dogma.
It was developed thousands of years before Hinduism appeared in India and the results thereof do not depend upon one's religion or belief. Rather upon the sincerity and discipline of one's practice. If one gives good food to a person, his or her body will respond positively irrespective of whether he or she believes in God.
So too with Yoga, if one does the exercises there will be a positive response irrespective of what religion one believes or not believes. Therefore, the fear complex that Dr. Stewart injected into his articles, by using words and phrases such as "diabolically insane, vile, wicked, perverted and deceptive" are totally unfounded and unfortunate.
Simply put, Yoga has two aspects, one is Crude and the other is Subtle. Under the Crude aspect we find Hatha Yoga which is a series of "innercises" or asanas which balance our endocrine system. It is very easy to tell if the exercises are helping or not. You either feel better or you don't.
The Subtle aspect includes the practice of meditation which helps the mind to concentrate in a focused manner on God. Gold, whether in the shape of a ring, a bangle or a broach is still gold. Thus to the yoga meditator God is God.
To the yoga meditator there are two things God cannot do. Firstly, God cannot make a second God and secondly He cannot send us away from Him, because all that IS, is within His Supreme Self. Thus the practice of yoga meditation only enhances the relationship and understanding we have with our Creator.
Dr. Stewart chooses to remark on reincarnation and the law of Karma, this too is unfortunate. Any student of the History of Christianity will know that the doctrine of reincarnation was familiar to the early Christians. It is well known that the official alliance of a single Christian group with the Roman Empire in the reign of Constantine was fatal to first the so-called Pagans and later to nearly all the other groups of Christendom.
It is well documented how the latter were persecuted, imprisoned or killed, and their writings burnt. The Emperor Magnus Maximus even put the Bishop of Avila to death for his beliefs. The Emperor Teodosius made death the prescribed penalty for all believers in Manichean Christianity which taught reincarnation.
The vigour with which the Emperor Justinian proscribed and destroyed heretical books and documents left little record for later generations to know what other Christians had taught and believed on this tenet of rebirth. Justinian slew more than a million heretics in the Near East alone. Several canons in the service of Orleans cathedral in France were, some centuries later, burnt alive for embracing these doctrines.
An impartial in-depth study of early Christian history may lead to some startling discoveries about what really happened not only to this tenet but to others of Oriental derivation which were stamped out ruthlessly. But we need not depend on history alone to dispel our ignorance surrounding reincarnation.
Every student of science is familiar with Newton's Third Law of Motion which states that: "to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". If this be true, then it will explain the principles surrounding the laws governing reincarnation. Every human action, whether physical, mental or spiritual have their appropriate reaction, which must manifest themselves according to this law.
If, however, during the course of a single life, the reactive momenta (in Sanskrit called Samskara or Karma in the West) have not been exhausted, then that human entity will have to undergo rebirths. This is based on the science of logical and rational thinking, not on faiths, beliefs and superstitions which inevitably lead to misunderstandings born out of ignorance.
If the teaching of rebirths is false then the Justice of God is false too. There is no other way in which tragic situations of human life can be equitably adjusted or reasonably explained in the human mind.
In this short response to Dr. Stewart's scathing attacks on Yoga, we hope we have shown that there is no wickedness, deception nor evil intent lurking behind each yoga posture (asanas) or mantra. Yoga is scientific. It is there to help us. The fruit is in the eating. It is not something you have to "believe". It is something you do. If the results are beneficial then surely it would be wise to continue.
The Ananda Marga (Jamaica) Ltd, may be contacted dadapara@yahoo.co.in
