American yoga is engaged in a battle of the spirit and body.

The Kensington, Md.-based Hindu American Foundation’s “Taking Back Yoga” movement aims to help people realize that yoga is rooted in Hindu philosophy. Despite the Westernization of the practice, it is still important to acknowledge yoga’s basic Hindu principles, said Sheetal Shah, senior director of the Hindu American Foundation.

“The idea of yoga as a largely physical practice is a very Western notion, and a lot of people who go into a yoga class ultimately find there’s something more to it beyond the physical practice,” she said. “Yes, there is something more to it, and the whole overarching philosophy is rooted in Hindu philosophy.”

But not everyone agrees.

Perhaps contemporary yoga and traditional Hindu yoga should be viewed separately, according to Gerald James Larson, professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of the 2008 book, “Yoga: India’s Philosophy of Meditation.”

Larson said there is a clear distinction between original yoga traditions in their classical formulation in Sanskrit text and contemporary yoga that developed in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Many popular contemporary yoga schools are a fusion of the ancient Hindu Mysore tradition and British gymnastic exercises, which developed when British imperialists lived in India in the 19th century. This infusion of gymnastics began the transformation of yoga from a purely spiritual practice into a fitness regimen.

Larson said it makes sense to separate contemporary yoga – largely a form of exercise – from traditional Hindu yoga, one of the oldest philosophies of India. In fact, there are two distinct yoga tracts that are practiced in India: One variety is “strictly philosophical,” Larson said, and the other was developed later and was called hatha yoga, which translates as “exertion.”

“They thought, ‘Do we really have to worry about all this philosophical stuff? What if we focused largely on breathing and postures, and went beyond or ignored the more technical stuff?” Larson said. “Some of this gets quite extreme and needs to be distinguished from the original classical yoga.”

Nowadays, the common yoga practitioner enjoys the spiritual and meditative elements of the sport but has very little knowledge of its roots and history. Yoga teachers know the basic Hindu names for certain poses and positions, but their understanding of the Hindu philosophy is basic and sometimes nonexistent.

Appealing to the average consumer, however, is important when it comes to contemporary yoga. Lisa Pickert, a yoga teacher at studios in Wicker Park, said a yoga teacher must be sensitive to the fact that each person has a different reason for attending a yoga class. She added that a teacher’s responsibility is to make sure each student’s goals are fulfilled.

“You know that some people [come to class] for the fitness component, and some people come for the mental component,” she said. “We use Sanskrit terminology as well as English terminology. We say it both ways to address the roots, but also to make it inviting and accessible to anyone.”

Still, Pickert said, spirituality is encouraged in the studio, even if religious history is not emphasized.

“You can look at it as a moving meditation, or as a way to get in touch with something inside you, which is in common with religion,” she said.  

Furthermore, yoga teachers can still convey the important spiritual messages of yoga without formal religious training, Pickert said.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to go the ‘extreme’ route,” she said. “There’s a teacher here who would say yoga works on its own: You teach people how to really breathe and find subtle sensations in places they didn’t know they had access to before.”

Larson said contemporary yoga, as a recreational sport, is perfectly acceptable, but it ought to be taken at face value. In other words, it’s a fitness regimen, and pretending it is something more is silly.

“If they try to pass off what they’re currently teaching as spiritual, then I think they need to go back to school and learn a little bit about the tradition,” he said. “If they’re going to use the tradition, they need a much more sophisticated understanding of the tradition.

“Yoga of the modern variety is like a sports program – it’s like volleyball or badminton or tennis,” he said. “It may have wellness values insofar as it’s a healthy exercise program, but it’s not the real thing.”

Shah said the goal of Taking Back Yoga is not to convince the Western world that it must alter contemporary yoga to fit ancient standards. The goal is simply to help people recognize where yoga came from.

“People are starting to put yoga and Hinduism in the same sentence, and we’ve never really seen that before,” Shah said. “We’ve planted the seed, and for some people, they may want to grow that.”

Olly Margry explores the yogic practice of Shankhaprakshalana – a popular discipline in Pokhara, Nepal

Published:

Nepal is in the heart of the Himalayan mountains

JANUARY is nearing its end, the Christmas decorations have been packed away and memories of 2010 are fading fast. It is a time for resolutions, fresh starts and hope for the year ahead.

At this time of year, the state of one’s health is also a common concern: the effect of countless Christmas dinners are still plain for all to see. It’s a time to detox, get back on the treadmill and feel good about ourselves again.

This year, why not combine a detox with a well-deserved trip away? Nepal, in the heart of the majestic Himalayan mountains, is considered one of the world’s top destinations for traditional health retreats, the ultimate detox Mecca.

The region is famed the world over for its yoga centres, meditation retreats and detox tea houses. However, this year, a new detox practice has emerged which firmly kicks the rest into touch. It’s gruesome, it’s tough, but boy does it work.

One of Nepal’s oldest and much-loved meditation and yoga retreats, the Sadhana Centre in Pokhara, Nepal, home of famous yoga guru Amur Puri, offers the ultimate Himalayan detox experience: shankhaprakshalana. If you can pronounce it you’re already well on the way to purification nirvana.

Based on ancient Nepali traditions, the programme involves between one and seven days of fasting and gastrointestinal cleansing, and is designed to relieve stress and cleanse body and soul.

Here’s a bit of history. The word shankhaprakshalana is derived from two Nepali words: shankha, meaning conch, and prakshalana, meaning to wash completely. The word shankha is used to represent the alimentary canal.

This practice is also known as Varisar Dhauti, and is part of the Kaya Kalpa method, an Ayurvedic technique dedicated to physical purification and transformation.

Shankhaprakshalana is based on the ancient Hindu tradition of cleaning a conch shell with water. The conch was used to “awaken the gods”, and had water passed through it to wash out impurities and create a clean sound. Hindu monks familiar with the tradition realised the same principle could be applied to the human body, and so the shankhaprakshalana detox was born.

It combines ancient Nepali yoga exercises, meditation and fasting, with eating fresh apples and drinking saltwater to flush out the system. The latter acts as a natural laxative which doesn’t irritate the digestive tract and provides a gentle method of evacuating and cleansing the alimentary canal. After this cleansing process, the body feels light and clean and benefits from a well-functioning digestive system.

The centre offers day courses as well as a special post-fasting, high-energy dietary programme, to be completed between one and three days after treatment. The total cost of a six-day course is £199 per person, including accommodation. Additional funds are required for meals and other personal expenses. The cost of a return flight to Nepal varies depending on the time of year.

So what are the benefits of shakhaprakshalana?

Shankhaprakshalana does not just concern the stomach and intestines, the process is also known to create a repair action which affects the lungs, nervous system, skin and sinus area, and continues long after the treatment has ended.

Various metabolic acids and chemical wastes which cause stiffness, lethargy and heaviness, such as lactic acid and uric acid, are also washed away during the process. The benefit for the serious yogic practitioner is a lighter, more flexible body. Fasting promotes a clearer and more alert mind, without the irritating feeling of an empty stomach.

As the programme stresses the negative impact of toxic substances on the body, many people who experience shankhaprakshalana also come away free of cigarette addiction, alcohol dependency and other bad habits.

So, with help from shankhaprakshalana, 2011 can be a year of revision where life changes direction and the foundations for a fresh and positive life are laid.

For more information about the Shankhaprakshalana detox contact Himalayan Footsteps on 0131 5100 522 or visit www.himalayan footsteps.com

Hindu scriptures are divided into three basic categories: Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas. There are differences about the age of those scriptures; some people believe that they go back almost 4,000 years.

One of the amazing prophecies in these Hindu scriptures is the one on the tongue of Maharshi Vyasa, a Hindu saint, that states that the land of Arabs will be corrupted by the evil doers — maybe a reference to the pre-Islamic pagans; and that Mahamad — a slight adulteration of the name Muhammad — will come and guide those who went astray. He will be circumcised, bearded, eloquent; he will create a great revolution; he will announce the call for prayers; he will eat of the meat of lawful animals but not of the swine; and he will fight against irreligious nations. All these descriptions meet Prophet Muhammad (Vidyarthi).

Bhavishya Purana, one of the most important Puranas, includes another prophecy that states that in a foreign country a spiritual teacher whose name is Muhammad will come; he will be a dweller of Arabia; he will gather a large force to fight or kill the devil; and God will protect him from his opponents.   Prophet Muhammad Mentioned in the Upanishad Some Hindu scholars consider the Upanishads scripture to be superior to the Vedas, because they impart divine knowledge and teach how the human soul can get nearer to its Maker and Master.

The most important  prophecy in it is the one that mentions the coming of Prophet Muhammad by name, and the Muslim testimony of faith — there is no God but Allah — is repeated more than once in it.

As a result of the clarity and explicitness of that prophecy, some Hindus actually enter into Islam, which has led some Hindu scholars to claim that perhaps this prophecy was written by a Hindu pundit who converted to Islam. But this is refuted because this prophecy was referred to in some of the ancient Hindu books that predate the advent of Islam or Muslims to India (Vidyarthi). In the Allo Upanishad, the following description of God is given: the name of the deity is Allah, He is one, the King of all the world, He is the Magnificent, the Greatest of all, the Best, the Most Perfect , the Holiest of all, the Nourisher of the whole world, the Manifester of the earth and the space, and the Lord of all creation.

He created the sun, the moon, the stars, and the heavens. He is the Nourisher of all the birds, beasts, animals that live in the sea and those that are not visible to the eye. He is the remover of all evils and calamities, and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah.

Prophet Muhammad Mentioned in the Vedas The third basic category of Hindu scriptures is called the Veda. In the Atharva Veda, it is mentioned that the praiseworthy among people shall be praised; it is known that the name Muhammad in Arabic actually means “the praiseworthy.”

It also states that the promised prophet will be a camel rider, which is interesting because Indian prophets were forbidden to ride camels. Prophet Jesus, according to the New Testament, rode on an ass but not on a camel, but it is well known that Prophet Muhammad rode a camel.

The seventh mantra also speaks about someone who is going to be a guide to all people, and Prophet Muhammad always emphasized that he was not sent to a particular people, like Israelites alone or Arabs alone, but to the whole world.

The sixth mantra speaks about some of the brave people who vanquished without a battle and that the number of their opponents was 10,000, which could be a reference to the battle of the allies or the trench that took place during Prophet Muhammad’s time. The number of the people who put a siege around Madinah were indeed 10,000, and they were vanquished without a battle because God sent a hurricane that finally, after a long siege, forced them to leave.

In the Rig Veda, it speaks about a person who is described as truthful and trustworthy, powerful and generous who will be famous with 10,000. All these are the characteristics of Prophet Muhammad, and the number 10,000 could be a possible reference to the number of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad who entered Makkah victoriously. Works Cited Vidyarthi, Abdul Haq. Muhammad in World Scriptures. New Delhi: Adam Publishers, 1990.

Ben Silva

I wrote this article following the interesting, well researched article by Mahinda Weerasinhe, who exposed how vulnerable Buddhists in the silk route were. Millions of decent peace loving people, living in harmony with nature, around the globe have been murdered by greedy hostile aggressive but more technically able nations.

There are about 40 organised religions and faiths in the world. ref :http://www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm

Religious practices often involve rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life. There are many Buddhists, Christians and Muslims, who follow the code of ethics given by their respective religions, who are kind, good human beings. At the time Lord Buddha formed Buddhism, there were other religions such as Jainism and Hinduism that also had evolved concepts of Karma, rebirth, Nirvana etc. It is possible that cross fertilisation of concepts may have taken place between religions.

There are common features in Jainism and Buddhism which amazed me.

Religion has been a creation and a main part of the ancient world. Indians, Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayans and many other groups practiced religion, generally to do with betterment in the life after death. Some people, such as those following the Muslim faith, believed in one creator God whilst some believe in many Gods. Many religions had concepts of heaven and hell. The equivalent concept of heaven in Buddhism appear to be Nirvana and that of hell appear to be Sansare. The concept of Nirvana is an ancient Hindu concept, along with the cycle of death/rebirth. The man made concepts of heaven, hell, God, Nirvana, Sansare, rebirth appear to have no verifiable evidence, yet billions believe in such concepts Many science thinkers say religion is a thing of the past, ancient world.

Sikhism also had its roots in Hinduism, but later Sikh Gurus, learnt from Muslim threats and developed the militant version of Sikhism, where followers were guided to become soldiers to defend their faith physically.

Followers of various religions believe that their religion is the truth. Christians believe that the Bible is telling the truth, whilst Muslims believe it is the Kuran and Buddhists believe that Buddhism is the truth.

Many ancient believers made offerings at the temples to Gods. This practice can be seen in Kovils and Temples even to day in Sri Lanka. and in other Buddhist countries in the world. Some ancient South American tribes even made human sacrifices. People made offerings to Gods to get various favours from Gods. Religion is associated with Spirituality. A spiritual person may be described as some one who is more aware of things that are not simply physical. Ancient people, who did not have an understanding of nature wanted answers to questions such as “Why I am I here “,“ Where did I come from? “ , ‘Who created the earth ?“and so on. Ancient Indians believed in rebirth and sought ways to end the cycle of life and rebirth. It was a fashion, at the time of Buddha to seek means of salvation.

Religion has many uses such as it brings tranquillity and a peace of mind at times of distress, provides therapy, provides hope, provides possible answers to why some one is disadvantaged, disabled or ill, provides hopes of after life and so on. Religion also perform the useful function of providing guidance on morality and values to its followers. Many religions, specially the Christian and Muslim faiths, promote social interaction and provide a support network to its followers. The community spirit provided by Christians and Muslims appear to be a source of great strength to the followers of the respective religions. I observed that such organised community activity lacking in Buddhist organisations in Sri Lanka, but found in Buddhist orgs in Malaysia. Buddhism has good guidance on morality, such as the precepts. Further, meditation, mindfulness and the middle path are good things in Buddhism. However, concepts such as Nirvana has become questionable for its usefulness in a modern highly competitive world.

Religion has negative effects such as being treated as the opium of the people, its effect as a mind virus and so on.

I would like to respect peoples beliefs, provided religion is not used as a weapon. Muslims have killed Millions of Buddhists. Muslims have killed even fellow Muslims belonging to different sects, on the belief that killing non believers will enable them to go to heaven. Clearly in such circumstances, it would be fair to challenge such beliefs. In fact for non Muslims in Lanka, it is a time bomb, wafting to explode! and both Christians and Buddhists need to be aware of the threat from Muslims who believe that non believers should be killed.. Religious tolerance is important for peaceful co existence in Sri Lanka.

It is also well known that imperialists used religion as a weapon. Imperialists on a grabbing spree for land and resources, used the bible in exchange for land and as a means of subjugating the natives. Again it is fair to challenge beliefs, when religion is used as a weapon. We also have Buddhists who are brain washed to seek extinction and encouraged to give up desires. In a nutshell, we have one group, say group A, who will kill non believers and get their land, we have another group, say group B, who exchange a bible for land. We have a third group, say group C, seeking extinction and encouraged to give up desires. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to work out who will be the loser and who will fight against each other. Evidence shows that Buddhism has been wiped out from most of the previous Buddhist countries. Further evidence is that group A and group B have waged war for dominance.

Buddhism has certain things common with Hinduism, such as Nirvana and rebirth, although Buddhist version of Nirvana is different to that of Hinduism. Sikh religion also has roots in Hinduism. When Sikhs found that Muslims were threatening them, they modified their beliefs to deal with threats from Muslims. Sikhs are now developed as soldiers to fight physically for the faith. This development is due to Muslim aggression. Buddhists could learn from Sikhs.

Arabs have been credited with he development of Al gebra, an important branch of maths. As for the so called Arabic numerals, which were used by Arabic traders, the origin is now thought to be India, along wit development of Zero. The invention of zero is a major event in science, maths and business. Arab scholars are also credited with documenting knowledge originating from Europe and Asia. It has to be acknowledged that modern day scientific knowledge originated from Europe and United states and a large contribution coming from Jews. Vast bulk of discoveries and inventions have been made in the West (Europe and USA). In comparison, the contribution by Arabs is tiny. Europeans advanced in science and technology and the Arabs didn’t. Neither did the Chinese nor the Indians, as long as they hung on to ancient belief systems. The moment, Indians and the Chinese became secular, they have made tremendous progress The progress of Europeans is thought to be due to their better thinking methods and better proving methods..

Is this lagging behind the West due to the influence of religion?. In the ancient world, China was the main source of discoveries and innovation. The reason why China lagged behind the West was researched by Needham, an Oxford academic. Needham accused the belief systems in China, which included Buddhism, for the decline of China.

Since the dumping of religion by both India and China, they have made tremendous progress. This phenomenon cannot be surprising as religions create a biased mind and stop people thinking rationally.

As the law of nature is “survival of te fittest “, it would appear that those seeking extinction, do not want to compete, want to kill off ambition, and will automatically not survive as a result. Nalanda Buddhists did seek extinction and thought it was karma and did not even fight back. They got the extinction they wanted. I hope the Sinhalese think twice before seeking extinction. If Prabakaran had his way, we would have been pushed to the sea and had our extinction. Tamil problem has been there for the past 2500 years and unless we have a strategic survival policy and means to survive, then the future may be bleak. Further those Norwegians and Tamils promoting Buddhism, probably want the Sinhalese to do their own extinction without the assistance of Muslims, Tamils or even without the help of the Western imperialists. Western imperialists have killed millions of natives around the world, made natives extinct and it is crazy to seek extinction ourselves, instead of developing survival skills and fighting spirit..

Many scientists are of the opinion that religion n is a thing of the past. The views of well known thinkers are given below.

The famed science fiction writer, Arthur C Clark, who once denigrated religion as “a necessary evil in the childhood of our particular species. He was so anti religion that he did not want any religeous rights at his funeral.

Russell:. I regard it as a disease born of fear

Einstein: A man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary

Buddhists in the silk route have achieved their objective of seeking extinction, as now only a few Buddhists are left in the silk route. The Muslims that killed the Buddhists may have thought that they are doing the Buddhists a favour as the Buddhists did not fight back or run away. Do Sinhalese in Sri Lanka want to follow Buddhists in the silk route and seek extinction so that Tamils and Muslims can have Sri Lanka ? Seeking extinction (Nirvana) has a number of disadvantages in a highly competitive world, such as making a person less competitive (Why bother to compete if one is seeking extinction), less ambitious, more passive, more meek, an easy victim as a sitting duck, an easy push over and so on. I believe, this Nirvana is a suicidal dangerous concept and should be avoided. In the modern world, which is highly competitive, when organisations fine tune processes to win, seeking extinction appears to be suicidal. If we ourselves seek extinction, it will be less effort our enemies will have to spend on eliminating us. Further, Nirvana seekers may end up being poorest of the poor due to their lack of competitive spirit. Extinction seeking may be attractive for cowards who are afraid to face the challenges in the real world. Smart people will take Nirvana with a pinch of salt. Unfortunately, blind followers may end up as the most economically weak group. There is a grave danger that, whilst the Sinhalese aim for extinction, the rest aim for survival and winning. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to predict who the losers will be. There are good things in Buddhism that could be used and dangerous things such as Nirvana that could be dropped, just as Sikhs did to their religion. There are already several versions of Buddhism in the world.

If people learn to think rationally, instead of seeking extinction, then the potential is enormous. For the success of anything, clarity of the mission is vital. In life, the mission should be to overcome obstacles and win and not to seek extinction. If Sinhalese continue to seek extinction, then it is likely that they will automatically reach their target. They were nearly there before MR saved them from Praba. If the Tamils make another attempt, we may not have MR to save us, and we have to think for ourselves on how to survive. After all ,Sri Lanka is the only home country we have and we have to save our selves from going extinct, rather than seeking extinction.

References

1. ‘Religion is a mind virus’ “http://home.comcast.net/~plutarch/MindVirus.html”

2.http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p0038x9m

3.“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o”

.4..http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab38