By some estimates there are more than 10,000 different religions in the world today. Could yoga be one of them? Countless books and DVDs espouse the spiritual benefits of yoga practice, and there are certainly some enthusiasts who find it to be a religious experience. Others though, insist that yoga is no more a religion than jogging. What does yoga truly represent?
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Yoga Is Not Just A Good Physical Exercise
Yoga is a part of religion
I agree with Rabbi Brier's argument that Yoga is not just a physical exercise. That being said it is certainly not a religion in its own right. It is a part of several religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, and has even been incorporated with some success into Western religions such as Christianity. It is not and cannot be a religion in its own right.
- richardsonkr
October 28, 2008 7:45AM
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Official and Unofficial
I believe it an error to reserve the word "religion" for those only officially recognized as such. It is my conviction that there is the official "list" of religions many individuals dance around and praise, however, each of us is genuinely a religion of one and can only ever truly be such. I'm quite certain you can pick any two Christians, any two Jews or Muslims, any two Buddhists or Hindus or Pagans and no two believe or practice quite the same. There is no escaping individuality and therefore any officially-recognized organized religion is and only can be a very narrowly defined ideal in a world where every one tailors their own beliefs and practices.
Quite frankly, I find the "official vs. unofficial" argument a distasteful one because it lacks respect for the individual, divisive and denigrates the notion one must find one's own path to enlightenment and fulfillment. There is no doubt many will find commonalities in belief and practice, however, to turn those commonalities into "us vs. them" is as anti-spiritual, anti-enlightenment and anti-happiness as I can imagine for human beings.
Yoga can be and is a religion ... if the individual practicing it says it is in their own lives. They need not turn to others for that determination. Those beliefs and practices feed their idea of what is their "spirit" or they do not.
That is all. Legal or community sanction are quite unnecessary. Authentic spirituality is discovered, not mandated or rubber stamped.
- Naumadd
November 2, 2008 1:52AM
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A strong point, but a flawed one.
I completely agree that the "officiality" of a religion is completely irrelevant to whether or not it is legitimate. We really need to define terms. I would define a religion as a complete spiritual system, with several definite components, including, but not limited to, a moral code, theological beliefs, ritual, a legendary/mythical component, etc. While it is not necessary to have all of these components, yoga really only has the ritual element of religion. It doesn't have a moral code, it certainly does not put forth any theological truths, I have heard no stories of legendary yogi. Yoga is a spiritual exercise, but is not a complete spiritual system. That being said, it can be incorporated into a complete spiritual system with a great deal of success.
- richardsonkr
November 2, 2008 6:14AM
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yoga does have those religious components
I don't agree that yoga is a religion, nor that a religion needs to fit your definition in order to be a religion, but yoga does have:
1. a moral code, for example, ahimsa, do no harm
2. many legendary yogis - buddha is just one of them
- Santa Cruz Mom
November 4, 2008 9:00AM
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Interesting
I'll be the first to admit my ignorance on this issue, of course I am not one of the experts put forward in the main articles. That being said, I'm not so sure that ahimsa is part of yoga when standing alone, so much as it is a part of Buddhism and Jainism. The same could be said for the legendary yogis, are they yogis only, or are they Buddhist heroes admired by yogis? If yoga is a religion, it could be argued that many martial arts, such as Karate, are religions.
- richardsonkr
November 21, 2008 3:56PM
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Yoking
Yoga is a term which means yoking, and in itself is not a religion , but is a practice of Hinduism.
It is hoped that through yoking with the god Brahma that one can break free from the circle of reincarnation and come to a place of eternal peace instead of needing to keep coming back to raise ones level of Karma.
It is a practice from a specific religion with different types of yoga as in Hatha yoga for exercise , Kundelini yoga for sensual heightening, to sexual semen retention and orgasm control as in Tantra yoga.
- Me2
March 25, 2009 5:17PM
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