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Thread: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

  1. #1

    Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Over the past few weeks, I have gone on a yatra of research and googling. This should explain to the members of HDF of why I have been absent.

    On this yatra, I have come upon a few things that make me very depressed as well as outright ravenous.

    The one that I have the biggest problem with is thus:

    Sanatana Dharma ........................... Yoga
    --------------------------------------------------------------

    I believe that S.Dharma is not the property of Indians. But, yoga is the property of Hinduism and Hinduism is the property of yoga.



    The point or question of this posting and the starting of this thread is:

    Why can't they accept yoga for what it is? Why can't they recognize the origin of yoga?

    If I went to Vatican City and said that Christmas is Hindu or Jesus is a Hindu deity, I would be in a heap of trouble. If I went to Mecca and said Allah is Hindu God I would be jailed or even get beaten up.

    Why are they so ashamed with yoga being a part of Hinduism and Hinduism being a part of yoga?

    Hindus need to have a dharmayuddha to not reclaim (reclaim yoga? Are you joking? Yoga is part of Hinduism; to reclaim yoga would be similar to a Hindu trying to reclaim Shiva) Yoga but to get the facts spread.

    I need help from the moderators and the great contributors to this website to help me with the questions I have asked. Please give me ease and comfort to my ailing mind that has become saddened due to blasphemies like "Christian Yoga", "Praise Move", etc. If you are going to do Surya Namaskar and say verses from the Bible at the same time, please note that you are going down a dead end and insulting a Vedic deity that has been recorded and worshipped older than Jesus and is thousands of years older than the Bible.

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    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Namaste
    I agree...such co-opting is terrible. I also read an article recently about someone who noticed a girl wearing sandals with Om charms on them...meaning she was defiling the sacred syllable with her feet and knew nothing of it. At the same time as mainstream Western culture is taking our traditions and marketing them as "exotic" and "alluring" it is also showing deep disrespect to the true meanings and significance of them.

    I don't understand the motivation behind it. Pure ignorance? Greed? Racism? Christian exceptionalism?

    Sorry for not offering any actual suggestion to correct the problem...
    "Faith is to believe what you do not see. Faith's reward is to see what you believed." -Swami Chinmayananda

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    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Vannakkam: You can make your own protests by writing to anyone who you feel is dissing Hinduism. You can also let organisations like HAF know. But to be honest, more recently I have seen more yoga students start realising the truth about where it came from. The other night at our temple (I wasn't there but Boss related the story) a yoga teacher brought her whole class. Almost to a person they said they'd be back too. So keep doing PR whenever the opportunity arises.

    Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Take comfort in knowing that most "co-opting" of this nature comes and goes. What happens is people initially adopt aspects of another culture because it is new and "exotic" without understanding the deeper significance of it. This happens simply because it's easy. Most people don't care to dissect things because most fads are done in the name of vanity anyway.

    However, the next wave is more positive. Those that are intrigued and curious about the origins of certain cultural aspects, start to dig deeper, and ask questions. I see it as an inevitable process. We can't run before we crawl as they say. Some people care, and some don't. Those that don't - heed them no mind. Those that do - help them. These are people who are looking deeper and they want to know, so make the knowledge available to them.

    Don't be disheartened. Know that buried amongst the 'fadsters' are individuals who have a deep respect for Hinduism -they just aren't sure where to begin.


    Shanti
    Last edited by Jodhaa; 27 June 2013 at 08:01 PM. Reason: typos
    "God will not have his work made manifest by cowards."
    ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


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    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jodhaa View Post

    However, the next wave is more positive. Those that are intrigued and curious about the origins of certain cultural aspects, start to dig deeper, and ask questions. I see it as an inevitable process. We can't run before we crawl as they say. Some people care, and some don't. Those that don't - heed them no mind. Those that do - help them. These are people who are looking deeper and they want to know, so make the knowledge available to them.

    Don't be disheartened. Know that buried amongst the 'fadsters' are individuals who have a deep respect for Hinduism -they just aren't sure where to begin.
    This is certainly a more positive and encouraging view and I do believe this will come true. Sometimes I forget that my own journey to Sanatana Dharma was a bit like this...an initial superficial attraction to cultural aspects that deepened into a full spiritual awakening and complete adoption/conversion.
    "Faith is to believe what you do not see. Faith's reward is to see what you believed." -Swami Chinmayananda

  6. #6

    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    I want the Westerners to convert to Hinduism.

    Can this be possible?

    This will usher in peace for the remaining years of the Capricorn Era.

    It would be a blessing if the World started the Aquarius age (a long time from now) as Hindus.

    Also, if they convert, Dharma will spread. And, Islam will be kept in check.

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    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Your worry is not without any reason, but then lets not overdo it anymore. The popular stated cause to delink Hinduism from yoga is that hinduism carries a lot of ‘baggage ‘ with which all non hindus and non born hindus are uncomfortable with. You can make a good guess of what I am talking about here. As a matter of fact if you analyze some threads started here by some and bolstered by some others, you can pretty quickly understand what the baggage we are slapped with. Most born hindus are facing a barrage of accusations of discriminations allegedly ingrained in our faith, in the name of caste and what not. The noise gets deafening at times.
    Vigraha aradhana (murthy worship) remains another contentious issue for the outsiders, simply because they don’t get it, the symbolism and the underlying purpose (of meditation or upasana) eludes their scrutiny once they visualize a murthy. These are shallow waters they wade in,they need to peel off the outer layers, these people must cross over and plunge into the ocean of wisdom hinduismm offers. Who has the time? They want religion packed in a lunch box, alas with Hinduism it wont work, one has to make effort (sadhana) and read and introspect oneself, no short cuts unfortunately.
    There is hope, lets take comfort in the fact at least the term YOGA is still retained by those who take a dig at Hinduism, the link will be reestablished once again when these individuals acquires MATURITY in their quest for SAT (truth). As one starts exploring YOGA, one has no where to go but to Patanjali and some other, who are all Hindu sages. Namaste.

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    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Namaste Sudas and everyone else,

    Yeah, I do find the co-opting of yoga into Christian practices quite reprehensible. And I say that as a convert. Thing is, though, I personally think it's a combination of both racism and white guilt that's contributing to this. If I may explain...

    It's quite the conservative and racist thing to do (not saying conservative and racist are necessarily the same, but I'm lumping them together just for the sake of making this argument) to reject outside cultures and impose Christian/Abrahamic values on the masses. So in response, liberals try to fight back by trying to get rid of religion from everywhere except private places - i.e. no prayer in schools, not even a hint of religion in government functions, etc. But when said liberals try to bring in values from other cultures, for example Hindu yoga, conservatives/racists then cry hypocrisy - "if you're so against religion, why are you bringing in religion from other cultures?" And then they use that as an excuse to re-impose Abrahamic religion on the masses.

    So it could be said that trying to make yoga Christian is an attempt to appease the conservatives and/or racists. And it goes downhill from there.

    I do want to say in my opinion that practicing yoga in and of itself without converting to Hinduism isn't inherently blasphemous - after all, non-Christians sing Christmas carols all the time, and that doesn't necessarily make them Christian! That said, I agree with Sudas that yoga needs to be recognized for what it is across the board, as being fundamentally tied into Hinduism and Hindu beliefs.

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    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sudas Paijavana View Post
    I want the Westerners to convert to Hinduism.

    Can this be possible?
    Vannakkam: This has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen.

    Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: Why the hate or refusal to accept?

    Namaste,

    I remember taking part in a discussion on "Christian yoga" a good while back. There was pretty much unanimous agreement amongst the members that this was sheer ludicrousness. I introduced this concept to my sister a little while later (she's agnostic, by the way), and she nearly laughed aloud at hearing that it was a real thing after I Googled a few sites for her. I'm still trying to picture an extreme Christian reciting versus from the Bible whilst trying to do a Natarajasana. Surely even basic research would let them realize they are performing poses that invoke Hindu deities?

    Might I also refer back to my thread I posted back a few months ago where a rather conservative Christian co-worker of mine was involved in a chat with a group of people at work on the merits of spiritual healing through meditation, etc. Somebody mentioned working through the chakra system and immediately her tone switched along to a line of: "Well, I don't know - that's a Hindu belief system isn't it? Who knows what kind of demons or evil you'd be stirring up there."

    Another small thing to relate. I was browsing on youtube the other day for my favourite bhajans. I love listening to the hymns online, and it's a quick and easy way for me to access beautiful songs of devotion to the Devas that I otherwise would not ever be able to hear. Some of these videos sadly are filled with the vitriol poison of either evangelical Christians or fundamental Muslims spewing their filth on videos that are merely trying to express love to the Divine source. With Christians I have found that they are an insidious, pontificating crowd who are part of a religion that is so insecure of its own beliefs, that it relies on recruiting as many souls as it can to "save" mankind. Endless quotes from the Bible on idolatry and not having strange gods before Yahweh (why is some Israeli-Judean deity being referenced before Vedic gods that easily predate his posturing as the One Almighty God?). With Muslisms, I can't even repeat some of the things I've read from them. One day after listening to a particularly beautiful bhajan to the Divine Mother, I came across a comment that was so shocking and disgusting that it nearly brought tears to my eyes. Is their religion so vile and base that all they can think is to insult by referring to sexual depravity? I'm just glad there is a spam button available.

    Om namah Shivaya
    "Watch your thoughts, they become words.
    Watch your words, they become actions.
    Watch your actions, they become habits.
    Watch your habits, they become your character.
    Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."

    ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
    Om Gam Ganapataye namah

    लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ।
    Lokaah SamastaaH Sukhino Bhavantu

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