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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Christian Yoga?

All Hindus worship one Supreme Reality, though they call it by many names. There is no eternal hell, no damnation, in Hinduism, and no intrinsic evil--no satanic force that opposes the will of God. Hindus believe that the cosmos was created out of God and is permeated by Him--a Supreme Being who both is form and pervades form, who creates, sustains and destroys the universe only to recreate it again in unending cycles. Each soul is free to find his own way, whether by devotion, austerity, meditation, yoga or selfless service.

Yoga is the salvific practice of Hinduism; in other words, it is the Hindu form of "salvation." But Hindus have no concept of sin against a holy God....instead, it teaches that man's greatest problem is his ignorance that he is "God" (or Brahman). Obviously, this is very different from the Christian understanding of what salvation is: Jesus's atoning death for the forgiveness of sins, and being made right with a holy God.
Just a few reasons why yoga cannot be separated from its occultic origins are:

(1) The mantra meditation lowers mental barriers and opens one up to the demonic realm (though it often doesn't "feel" demonic at first...it feels "good" and "spiritual".....even holy);

(2) The yoga positions themselves are all prayer postures designed to honour one of the millions of Hindu gods; each and every one of the Yoga positions.
So, if you are going to a yoga class, just for the exercise alone, just by the mere fact that you are at a Yoga class, you are doing the exercises to a Hindu god.
(3) The yoga positions themselves are not only for the purpose of honouring and worshiping Hindu gods, but they are done in a very specific order for the purpose of aligning and opening up the"chakra" system. It is believed that this alignment will not only enable one to meditate more deeply, but will also awaken something called "kundalini," also known as "serpent power." In the yoga tradition, it is believed that a "serpent" lies coiled and sleeping at the base of the spine until it is "awakened" and begins to uncoil, slowly moving its way up the spine, and allowing the practitioner deeper meditation and union with "Brahman."

Brahman is supposed to be this infinite, transcendent reality from which all things came - including the millions of Hindu gods. The aim of yoga is to attain union with Brahman......basically, the ultimate purpose of yoga is to release people from the Wheel of Life, and their karmic debts, and to prepare its practitioners for death.


However, the response I often hear from Christians is this: "But as a Christian, I can 'do' yoga unto the Lord!" My question would be: How is that any different from the golden calf incident, recorded in Exodus 32:1-6, in which Aaron tried to claim that they were honouring the Lord with their man made golden calf religious worship?

God is quite clear on how we are to worship and approach him - and it is not through blending our worship of him with pagan practices. I recognize that it is very hip and cool and popular in today's global, multi- culture to meld different things together. We are most certainly an experience-driven culture, always seeking the fresh, exciting, "new" thing. But we have clear mandates from Scripture about how we are to worship and approach God. We are to be set apart from the world – not be “as unto it” - so that's God's truth will shine like a beacon in the darkness.

Bottom line? Christians must not be tempted to "borrow" practices from false religions and fool themselves into thinking that they can honour the Lord in this way. And if they have done so, they should repent.....or they might just end up drinking ground calf juice.
from http://solasisters.blogspot.com/
Bless you...
Yaddy