Is Yoga a Religion?

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Yoga was introduced to the West as a universal tradition that could benefit all. It was presented as a system of enlightenment to anyone who seeks. However, Yoga was not promulgated as a religion because its disseminators did not want to compete, offend, or separate seekers from their religion of origins. This eased the dissemination of Yogic practices as people could join Yoga communities and embrace Yogic wisdom without becoming apostates. As a non-religion, Yoga did not threaten anything that was already in place, and people could be open to it without guilt, shame, or conversion from their religion of origin.

I think it is fair to state that many who turn to Yoga practices seek spiritual nourishment because they have not found their religion of origin sufficient in this respect. Some may have actually been hurt by their religious institution or are disenchanted about specific failures to serve their needs, going so far as to find their traditional practice superficial, fake, insincere, or forced. Yet by keeping Yoga outside the canon of a religion, those dissatisfied could still be free of conflicts and avoided the ultimate “no-no” of adhering to more than one religion at a time.

We may, at the same time, want to challenge this “comforting” loophole. It is true that defining Yoga as a “non-religion” enables seekers to learn Yoga without conflict or guilt – but it may also not serve their full human potential for freedom. At the core of all religions is a key desire for true freedom. The language and mythology in each tradition are different (i.e. salvation, Exodus, Jesus the Savior, the Resurrection,) but each speaks of the human desire to be whole and free. One thing standing in our way to reaching such personal (and social) freedom and peace in each tradition is fear of crossing a boundary. What is mine and what is yours? What is Judaism and what is Christianity? What is this nation and what is another? What is East and what is West? The price of the loophole may be considerable.