Alokali Zhimomi
The intersection of Yoga and Christianity raises important questions about their compatibility. In other words, is there any problem to add some Yoga-ish flavour into Christianity, and its beliefs and practices? With the International Day of Yoga coming up in June, it is timely to evaluate and explore pertinent aspects of the practice of Yoga. Since, Yoga is in vogue—from movies to magazines to gyms to schools and it is practised by people worldwide, today. As such, there seems to be a silent tug of war among Christians about the practice of Yoga. While some remain lukewarm, some are vehemently against its practices, while another section of people views it as harmless.
In the west, Yoga spread as a result of Swami Vivekananda’s speech to the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago on September 11, 1893. Then, in 2014, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi in his speech at the United Nations General assembly proposed the idea of International Yoga Day. Then, on June 21, 2015, the first International Yoga Day was observed by many countries. In 2015, the Nagaland Baptist Churches Council opposed holding International Yoga Day in Nagaland. Also, issued an official letter to Christians to refrain from practising Yoga in 2017. However, the International Day of Yoga has been consistently observed in Nagaland since its inception, with educational institutions and various organization promoting its practices as a means of enhancing overall wellbeing, despite the call from the apex Christian Organization of Nagaland to abstain from it. Still, a pertinent question arises: Does Yoga align with Biblical principles? Can Yoga be contextualized with a Christian framework? Can Yoga be Christianized?
A Brief History: Yoga and its Philosophy
Some Naga Christians have embraced Yoga with promptness. The reasons can be threefold— they are unfamiliar with the philosophy that forms its foundation or they see no association between Yoga with the Hindu religion. Also, thirdly, since the present Nagaland Government for the past two terms is in coalition with the RSS born BJP, the legislators belonging to the BJP must please their masters in the center. The reason is, they could get a place in Nagaland just because the Government in the center is ruled by the BJP. Otherwise, there is a very dim chance for the people of Nagaland to even favour BJP, even as a party.
The beginning of the practice of Yoga can be traced back to the Indus valley civilization—to the pre-Vedic and Vedic periods. Archaeological discoveries reveal the figure of a man seated in a yogic position among the ruins belonging to that period. Ishwar Basavaraddi (2015) in his article “Yoga: Its Origin, History and Development,” explains a mythological tradition that Lord Shiva is the first teacher of Yoga. David Frawley (2015) in his book “Siva: The Lord of Yoga,” states that the centrality of Shiva in Yoga is rarely utilized or understood. He explains that Lord Shiva is the originator of Yoga postures (asana), breathing, mantra, inner seeing and meditation.
In the Vedas, the concept of Yoga was evident, often in Homas (fire ceremonies) though the word “Yoga” was not used. The sages sit in straight, still, sitting positions along with breath control, concentration and other physical disciplines implying the practice and elements of Yoga (RV 1:18.7; 10:136; 114.9; AV 15). In the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, the meaning of Yoga is well defined and explained. For instance, in Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna spoke about three paths of Yoga leading to enlightenment to Arjuna. From this yogic tradition, many sacred texts emerged – one being the noteworthy Yogasutra. Yogasutra was compiled and organized by Patanjali in the 2nd century BCE, considered to be the mother and textbook of all Yoga (Oommen 2008, 2-4).
Today, what most people perceive as simply Yoga is Hatha Yoga. According to Singh and Pande, Hatha Yoga is a physical Yoga that teaches about controlling one’s body. It is a preparatory process so that the body can sustain higher levels of energy. It prepares the body for physical purification free from disease so that higher meditation could be performed. The process begins with the body, then the breath, the mind, and the inner self (Singh and Pande 2016, 57-58).
Hatha Yoga concentrates on Asanas (posture); Parnayama (breath control); Mudra (hand positions while practising Yoga); Bandhas (lock the energy in specific areas of the body and direct their flow into the spinal cord for awakening Kundalini); and Shatkarma (six processes) includes six purification practices (Saraswati 2008, 421-525). One need to understand that Yoga is much more than asanas or postures. And that, each posture or asana is significantly connected to Hindu gods. For instance, the Sun Salutation or “the Surya namaskar is a series of positions designed to greet Surya, the Hindu Sun god.” B. K. S Iyengar (1997, 24), clarifies in his book “The Illustrated Light on Yoga,” that, asanas are named after the god and goddess of Hinduism; legendary heroes; Hindu sages; animals and trees etc.
Interestingly, the popularity of Yoga has ignited the entire world as not religion. However, religion is derived from the Latin word meaning “to bind back” and Yoga means to “join.” Thus, both in its philosophy and essence, Yoga is undoubtedly a religion at its core, because the word Yoga itself is derived from Sanskrit yuj meaning “to unite,” “to join” and “oneness,” which exceedingly suggest religious implication with nothing left to be confused about. Now, those definitions mentioned above give rise to a quest, and that is, union with what or union with whom? As per Hindu teachings found in the writings of yogis and gurus, it is a union of mind, body, and soul; of one’s lower ego with higher selves; a union with the universe, that is, god.
Yoga is fundamentally a spiritual practice that seeks to attain union with Brahman, the Hindu concept of god. Consequently, Yoga cannot be reduced solely to a physical exercise aimed at promoting physical and mental wellbeing without acknowledging its inherent spiritual dimensions and theological underpinnings. Ishwar V Basavaraddi, director MDNIY, Ministry of AYUSH Govt. of India, in his article (2016) “Yoga: Modern Lifestyle and International Acceptability,” commented that, many people today have misunderstood Yoga as only physical and breathing exercise, without understanding that Yoga has a holistic approach which can transform one’s life from ordinary to extraordinary personality. Thus, the transformative potential of Yoga can be seen as a means of spiritual deception, wherein individuals become fascinated in its practices, abandoning biblical principles, leading to a profound shift away from the Truth and towards spiritual confusion and darkness.
It is not astonishing to hear testimonies from Nagas who were instructed by their Yoga trainer to focus on Jesus while doing Yoga, but that is problematic when one recalls the Hindu concept of god. Also, it is susceptible that Yoga offers physical healing when its dangers are remarkably unalluring. Yoga, when not done appropriately brings more harm than healing. Iyengar (1997, 23-24) worries that improper practice of asanas and pranayama leads to respiratory diseases and damage to the nervous system though it prepares one to be free from diseases. Shree Purohit Swami, a Hindu teacher recalls his encounter “... In India and Europe, I came across some three hundred people who suffered permanently from wrong practices …” (as cited in Wilson and Weldon 1980, 72). Besides, it affects the spiritual life of a practitioner as it has spiritual implications, and this reason is more than enough for the Christians to not embrace Yoga with alacrity before examining the underlying factor.
As previously noted, Yoga is trending and is practised worldwide. Some Christians have adopted Yoga and have termed it Christian Yoga. However, it was not encouraged by Hindu yogis as they see the problem with the term “Christian Yoga.” Baba Prem expresses his view about Christian Yoga in his article “There Is No Christian Yoga,” that—
It was quite astonishing to see on the flyer ‘Christian Yoga! This Thursday night....’ I could feel the wheels spinning in my brain. ‘Christian Yoga,’ I thought. Now while Christians can practice Yoga, I am not aware of any Christian teachings about Yoga. Yoga is not a Judeo/Christian word! ... It is a Hindu word, or more correctly a Sanskrit word from the Vedic civilization. So how did we get Christian Yoga?... Christianity is subconsciously attempting to return to the spiritual roots of civilization—the Vedic civilization…offering Yoga classes allowed the Christians to secretly practice Hinduism without having to renounce their Christian tradition…It is ironic that one religion would need to look to another to teach them about love, peace, harmony and forgiveness…but the reality is that Yoga is a part of Hinduism. Allowing one part to be taken from Hinduism opens a door for the distortion of the teachings. We must remember that the roots to modern day Yoga come from Vedic Yoga. The same Vedic Yoga that is the authority of Hinduism…Hinduism should reclaim its full heritage and not allow other groups to rename its sacred teachings under their banner, especially when they have no history of those teaching within their own system. If they wish to ‘borrow’ and say this comes from our brothers and sisters in Hinduism, then that is another thing...Hinduism should guard against its sacred traditions becoming distorted and taken away (Baba Prem 2005).
Roger Oakland in his article “Is there Christian Yoga?” suggests that Baba Prem detesting Christians taking Hindu’s spiritual practice and calling it Christian is understandable. Oakland further says “How would we feel if there was suddenly a new craze called Hindu Communion. We’d say, ‘Communion is about Jesus Christ. It can’t possibly be called Hindu.’ How tragic that a Hindu guru sees the problem, but Christian leaders don’t?” (Oakland 2009).
Considerations
Things to ponder before indulging in the practice of Yoga—
If Yoga is not a religious activity, then why is there a concept of Yoga taught in the Hindu scriptures such as Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita?
Can we Christianize Yoga through linguistic substitution? — Can we replace the word Yoga with any Christian word/ Bible passages and make it Christian Yoga or Holy Yoga?
Yoga teaches self-worship and that is idolatry—focusing within to seek peace. It teaches life’s problems can be solved by focusing on one’s consciousness. Bhagavad Gita states “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” Yoga is the search of the self, the god within us. Do Christians need Yoga to ease life’s problems? Have we, as Christians, unknowingly emphasized self-absorption rather than embracing the Biblical call to self-denial and Cross-bearing in our walk with Christ?
Yoga aims to awaken kundalini-shakti by arousing each chakra until it reaches the head where one acquires spiritual bliss, and samadhi or salvation follows. The Bible never teaches spiritual connection via arousing divine energy force. In fact, the Bible teaches us to focus on Jesus, the “author and perfecter of faith” (Heb. 12:2). Spiritual fellowship comes through a personal relationship with true God, who is the fountain of life (Psm. 36:9), not chakras. Do Christians need Yoga to strengthen their spirituality or to connect with God?
Yoga is beyond the physical realm. The main objective of Yoga is to get liberation from rebirth, and pain and it teaches how to control and empty one’s mind to gain salvation/Samadhi. Yoga says only when you realize you are divine or experience god, you can be free from pain, sadness or suffering and attain inner peace contrary to what the Bible teaches. Do Christians need Yoga to get salvation?
Biblically speaking, Christian Yoga is an oxymoron—both are contradictory. Yoga and Biblical teaching present different worldviews as seen in the following—
a) Creation: According to Yoga philosophy, the created world is the result of the union between Purusa and Prakriti (Giri 2006, 109). Contrarily, the Bible says that God created everything out of nothing (Gen. 1:1; Heb.11:4) and that the universe, including all matter, came into existence through the will of eternal God.
b) Evolution of the World: The order of creation in the Bible teaches that God created human beings from lower components like the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). In contrast, Yoga teaches that creation is a descent from the above. Human intellect was first to appear, and his body comes at the end (Oommen 2008, 53).
c) God: According to Yoga philosophy, god is considered an impersonal, spiritual substance, coextensive with all of reality. This doctrine is called pantheism, the view that everything is god. Thus, it differs clearly from the theism of Biblical Christianity. In the Bible, God reveals Himself as the personal Creator of the universe (Gleghorn 2002).
d) Salvation: Yoga puts very little value on the Grace of God, for salvation comes as a result of the prolonged effort on the part of the yogi which makes salvation through work. Christians focus and trust in the love of God and that salvation is a free gift, which is a result of the Grace realized through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary that gives way to salvation by faith. According to the Bible, only by faith in Jesus, we are justified (Jhn. 6:35). God is the Creator; humans are one of His creations. As such, human beings are certainly unique, for unlike any other creatures, we are created in the image of God. Nevertheless, Christianity differs from Yoga in that God and human beings are distinct. Human beings are created beings and there is not an iota of doubt that they can have fellowship with God, yet, are distinct from God (Oommen 2008, 51, 53).
e) Human’s Fundamental problem: Yoga regards human problems primarily in terms of ignorance that is— human beings simply do not realize that he/she is “god.” The solution is union with “god” through personal strife and effort. However, Christianity sees human’s primary problem as sin, a failure to match both the character and standards of a morally perfect God. Human beings are, thus, separated from God and in need of reconciliation. The solution is Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world (Eph. 1:7; Rom. 3:23-25; 1 Cor. 6:2). Through Jesus’ death on the Cross, God reconciled the world to Himself. He now calls human beings to freely receive all the benefits of His salvation through faith in Christ alone. Unlike Yoga, Christianity views salvation as a free gift. It can never be earned; it can only be received (Gleghorn 2002).
f) Emptying the Mind: The Bible talks about the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2; Eph.4:23; 2 Cor. 10:5), which means transforming one’s thoughts, perspectives, and attitudes to align with God’s will and Truth, leading to a Spirit-filled life. Intense focus on the object leads to meditation resulting in emptying the mind according to Yoga. The Bible teaches us to meditate on the Word and to fill our minds with the Word of God (Psm. 1:1-3;119:27; Heb. 8:10).
g) Jesus, the only way: Yoga believes that a person can attain salvation through work such as performing asanas/postures, meditation, knowing or realizing he/she is god, arousing kundalini through chakras etc. However, the Bible declares in John 14:6 that “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus stresses that salvation, in contrast to what many believe, is not obtainable through any other way. Jesus is not “a way” but “the way” implying that only one way exists. Thus, according to the Bible, Jesus is the only way to get salvation. Jesus is “the Way” because He is “the Truth” and “the Life.” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, 322). 1 John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” I Timothy 2:5 reads, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Acts 4:12 also echoes this truth “There is salvation in no one else! Under all heaven there is no other name for men to call upon to save them.”
All the above passages are the claims that resonate with the claims of Jesus; in fact, the specific teaching of Jesus (Jhn 14:6). If human beings could have reached God through any other way, then Jesus would not need to die. His death illustrates the fact that there is no other way. Jesus is the only one without sin (Heb. 4:15); the only sacrifice for sin (1 Jhn 2:2; Heb. 10:26); the only one who came to earth as God’s only Son and returned to heaven (John 3:13); the only one ever to die, conquered death and rose again (Heb. 2:14-15; Jhn. 11:25-26); the only mediator between God and human beings (1 Tim. 2:5) and the only one whom God has raised to the highest place and gave Him a name above every other name (Philip. 2:9). Jesus is unique and He is the one whom He claimed to be (Rom.1:4), the unique Son of God and the only way by which a person can have a personal relationship with the true and living God.
h) Yoga Postures worship Hindu Gods: In Romans 12:1 it says, “...offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship.” Thus, Christians are expected to live a holy and pure life with total surrender to our living God and not worshipping gods in any form or manner. God had commanded in the Bible not to have any other god or to worship any other rather than Him (Exo. 20:4; 23:13; Psm. 81:9).
i) Yoga’s benefits come with a cost—Yoga may give health benefits and calm stress, but its dangers are a deathtrap when not practiced appropriately. Moreover, Yoga cannot offer true peace because true peace comes from God. The apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6-7 exhorts, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
While cultural adaptation is a natural human tendency, followers of Christ need a counter-cultural approach, as new creations, born from above and changed from within, with values and lifestyles that are contrary with those of the world (1 Cor. 3:19-23). True believers do not blend in easily without checking God’s Word. True believers are not lukewarm. Believers have freedom in Christ, but this freedom does not mean to do whatever one desires; rather it means freedom to follow God faithfully, knowing that our salvation is not due to good works or rules, but by the free gift of God (Eph. 2:8,9).
Yoga is a strictly religious and a spiritual activity rooted in Hinduism. Christians do not need Yoga to connect with God or to hydrate spiritual dryness episodes. Yoga aims to unite with the ultimate reality/truth; but for Christians, Jesus is the truth, our reality. Yoga focuses on oneself and happiness, but Christians are called to live in holiness. Yoga and Bible are poles apart, their contradictions are evidently perceived, and hence, as a follower of Christ, I do not buy the tagline of “Christian Yoga” no matter how trendy and catchy it may sound.
On a recent occasion of International Day of Yoga, 2022, State President, BJP Nagaland, Minister Temjen Imna Along tweeted “Yoga indeed has the power to purify the mind and body and eliminate negative energies from the body.” I hope he knows the fact that eliminating negative energies through Yoga is connected with the chakras. Also, practicing asanas stimulates the chakras, activates and awakens the kundalini shakti. Once all the negative energies are eliminated, the result is the release of dormant energy; the body becomes full of strength, and the mind becomes light, creative, joyful and balanced/enlightenment (Saraswati 2008, 10-11). The Bible clearly speaks of ‘sin’ rather than ‘negative energies,’ and the problem of sin can be solved only in Jesus Christ, and not by human works or efforts. In fact, in Jesus, Christians have the ultimate/supreme solution to sin.
The Bible teaches us to reject anything that claims to come from God but teaches different gospel than the one presented in the Bible. As Galatians 1: 8 confirms “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” The teachings of Yoga oppose Biblical teachings, hence whatever is contrary to the Bible should be fervidly rejected and condemned.
Nagaland is a Christian majority state, and it is saddening to see Naga Christians being influenced by teachings that are totally contrary to the Bible. It is heartbreaking to see Naga Christians being influenced by the world, rather than exerting a positive Christian influence. It is painful to see our Naga Churches becoming silent when there is an urgency to voicing out Biblical standpoint. It is agonizing to see our people following the trend, the pattern of Yoga with alacrity. It is traumatizing to see Naga Christians trying to Christianize Yoga. One may think, that as long as one does not delve deep into the spiritual aspect of Yoga or into the higher limbs, it is okay and safe.
Another issue is that we do see and read in the News Media of Government servants having to do Yoga on International Yoga Day, be it by choice or not. I remember a story being told to us about Dr. Talimeren Ao, who was the first captain of the independent Indian National Football team. It seems there was a football match in England, slated to be played on a Sunday. Dr. T. Ao refused to play that match because it was a Sunday, and when interviewed, it is told, he responded that Christians do not play on Sundays; and the match was postponed just because the spectators demanded to watch Dr. T. Ao playing. Can there be anyone among Christians in the Nagaland Government willing to stand for the truth?
As mentioned, Yoga cannot be separated from its physical and spiritual aspects; it is interconnected, a cluster of various techniques aimed to attain enlightenment. The saying of Billy Ray Hearn (founder of Sparrow Records) mirrors our present Naga Christians state when he says, “When something new comes along, the Church usually rejects; then they tolerate it; then it becomes acceptable; and finally, it becomes traditional.” As I read and retrospect, I cannot help but identify Yoga as a sin. For, Sin is anything we do, think, or say that displeases God. Consequently, idolatry is sin, self-worship is sin, focusing on oneself is sin and hence Yoga is sin.
The choice of whether to practice Yoga is an individual one, and Naga Christians can prayerfully consider/choose what is most precious to them as we cannot serve two masters. As 1 Corinthians 10:21 warns, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.” May we prayerfully discern what honors God in our lives.
