When Strangers Come Knocking---Part 11

This is the next installment of my series to be published the first Monday of each month.

There are members of false sects, like Jehovah's Witnesses, that come knocking door-to-door hoping to convert you. Instead of ignoring them, it is we who should try and convert them. In 1 Peter 3:16, our first Pope writes, "But in thy hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks thee to give the reason for the hope that thou hast. But do this with gentleness and respect,..." Before the Great Apostasy, the Church would send missionaries to the ends of the Earth to make as many converts as possible.

Those in false religions don't always come (literally) knocking at your door. It may be a Hindu at work who wants you to try yoga. It could be a "Christian Scientist" who lives next door and invites you to come to their reading room. Each month, I will present a false sect. Unlike the Vatican II sect, I do not see them as a "means of salvation" or possessing "elements of truth" that lead to salvation. That is heresy. They lead to damnation, and the adherents of the various sects must be converted so they may be saved.

In each month's post, I will present one false sect and give an overview of:

• The sect's history
• Their theology
• Tips on how to share the True Faith with them

Yoga

As some of you are reading this post, you might be thinking, "Yoga isn't a false sect, why is this a topic for the 'When Strangers Come Knocking' series?" While yoga is not an organized sect, it nevertheless ensnares many into accepting the false religious ideas inextricably bound to it. Have no doubt about it; yoga is a religious practice--and a pagan one at that. Most people have been duped into thinking that yoga is just a "harmless form of exercise," and/or that any religious purpose can be divorced from the stretching, breathing, and meditation-like "mindfulness." Sadly, millions of Americans (and countless millions more worldwide) practice yoga. Vatican II sect churches promote it, and conduct classes on their property.

It can be said that there is no Hinduism without yoga and no yoga without Hinduism. Yoga influences (and has been influenced by) Buddhism and Jainism; that's three pagan religions. These facts strongly suggest that yoga is primarily spiritual in nature, which is the explicit understanding of its Eastern practitioners, and many Western devotees. In this post, the pagan roots of yoga and its inherent religious nature will be explored. My goal is that if your Vatican II sect neighbor ever asks you to accompany him/her to a yoga class at the local Vatican II sect parish hall or school, and assures you that it can't be bad because the Church (sic) allows it as harmless exercise, you'll be equipped to respond.

Pagan Origin

According to yogabasics.com: The beginnings of Yoga were developed by the Indus-Sarasvati civilization in Northern India over 5,000 years ago. The word yoga was first mentioned in the oldest sacred texts [of Hinduism], the Rig Veda. The Vedas were a collection of texts containing songs, mantras and rituals to be used by Brahmans, the Vedic priests. Yoga was slowly refined and developed by the Brahmans and Rishis (mystic seers) who documented their practices and beliefs in the upanishads, a huge work containing over 200 scriptures. The most renowned of the Yogic scriptures is the Bhagavad-Gîtâ, composed around 500 B.C.E. The Upanishads took the idea of ritual sacrifice from the Vedas and internalized it, teaching the sacrifice of the ego through self-knowledge, action (karma yoga) and wisdom (jnana yoga). 

Today, yoga has developed into five main types:

1. Bikram Yoga

This type of yoga is often practiced in a hot and humid environment, where the temperature reaches about 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). There are about 26 different poses in the Bikram Yoga and is perfect for those who are willing to lose weight: with only one class you can burn about 600 calories..

2. Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga's history dates back to the 15th century. Unlike other types, this yoga is practiced at a slow pace, relaxed, as it focused on meditation. Among the main purposes is to introduce beginners to the main relaxation techniques and asanas (postures or positions typical of yoga) and includes all kinds of styles of modern yoga.

3. Yinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa Yoga is also known as Ashtanga Yoga, and also for this variant, you can choose hot and humid environments as a place where to practice it. Vinyasa Yoga serves as a training to increase strength and helps to build lean muscle mass throughout the body. The advantage of using the Vinyasa Yoga as the primary method to build muscle mass is that all muscle groups receive the same attention, creating a careful balance thanks to a flowing and continuous movement. You may have heard of the Sun Salutation sequence or Surya Namaskar: it is a series of asanas performed at dawn, which incorporate and reflect all the sun's power and energy, worshiped and revered as God (sic) by ancient civilizations.

4. Kundalini Yoga

This type of yoga is also known as 'yoga of awareness'. In fact, this practice penetrates into your mind and has a strong spiritual tension. Its peculiarity is to use movement, sound, breath and meditation to relax and restore the mind and the body...

5. Anusara Yoga

Anusara Yoga is a relatively new form of yoga (1997), and it was founded by John Friend. This form of yoga is known as one of the most spiritual, and it focuses on your inner self, your mind, and soul. It can be considered one variant of Hatha yoga mixed with tantric philosophy. It's organized into three categories: attitude, action, and alignment. Anusara is a Sanskrit word that means "flowing with grace" and is based on the principle that all beings have an intrinsic goodness present in them.

(Source: See https://www.beamodels.it/news-en/5-different-types-of-yoga; Emphasis mine).

In all five forms of yoga, the following is present; postures/positions, breathing exercises, meditation,  and a "spiritual component" which is seeped in the pagan beliefs from which it came.

Yoga is synonymous with Eastern meditation and pantheism, the idea that reality is identical with Divinity, and that all-things compose an all-encompassing, immanent "god." The goal of the yoga practitioner is to unify himself/herself with the "Divine-self" or "God-Self." Through yoga meditation, the person tries to lose contact with the conscious mind for an altered state of consciousness. This disassociation is meant to allow a person to become "one" with "the Divine." Even those who do not get to such altered states, have unwittingly opened themselves up to a decidedly pagan worldview and possible demon possession. The idea of being "divine" is the opposite of Christianity which tells us we are sinners in need of Redemption by the God-Man Jesus Christ.

When yoga techniques are labeled as "relaxation techniques" or "ways to reduce stress," it is misleading. Traditionalist Catholic meditation is the conscious, focused, reflective, cognitive attention to God, such as when one meditates on the mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary. Yoga meditation results in an altered state of consciousness; really a form of self-hypnosis.

To Exercise or To Exorcise

The basic premise of yoga theory is the fundamental unity of all existence: God, man, and all of creation are ultimately one divine reality. An editorial in the Yoga Journal declares this basic premise:

We are all aware that yoga means "union" and that the practice of yoga unites body, breath, and mind, lower and higher energy centers and, ultimately self and God, or higher Self. But more broadly, yoga directs our attention to the unity or oneness that underlies our fragmented experiences and equally fragmented world. Family, friends, the Druze guerrilla in Lebanon, the great whale migrating north—all share the same essential [divine] nature. (See Yoga Journal, May/June 1984, p. 4).

This is why physical yoga and Eastern paganism are mutually interdependent. Two aspects of the  kinds of yoga (asanas: physical exercises; and pranayama: breath work) are purported to be the third and fourth step of an eight-step discipline leading a participant to Samadhi (enlightenment, God-consciousness). These eight steps are:

• Yama (self-control, restraint, devotion to the gods [e.g., Krishna] or the final impersonal "God" [e.g., Brahman])

• Niyama (religious duties, prohibitions, observances)

• Asana (proper postures for yoga practices; these represent the first stage in the isolation of consciousness and are vital components for "transcending the human condition")

• Pranayama (the control and directing of the breath and the alleged divine energy within the human body [prana] to promote health and spiritual [occult/pagan] consciousness and evolution)

• Pratyahara (sensory control or deprivation, i.e., withdrawal of the senses from attachment to external objects)

• Dharana (deeper concentration, or mind control)

• Dhyana (deep contemplation from occult or pagan meditation)

• Samadhi (occult enlightenment or "God [Brahman] realization" i.e., "union" of the practitioner with "God")

The eight steps are interdependent, the steps of "postures" and "breathing" cannot logically be separated from the others. Thus, the interdependence of all eight steps reveals why the physical exercises of yoga are designed to prepare the body for the spiritual (occult) changes that will allegedly help one realize "godhood status." (See, e.g., Swami Nikhilananda, The Yogas and Other Works, New York: Ramadrishna and Vivekananda Center, 1953, p. 592). The postures are thought to "open up the body's chakras." These chakras are alleged energy points going from the base of the spine to the head. At the bottom of the spine is your power which must be released by bringing it up to the head. The whole idea of an "energy-force" that can be awakened is based on the Hindu belief that "Ultimate Reality" is an Impersonal "life-force" that flows through the entire universe ("Brahman"). 

By the very fact you engage in this practice, you are giving credence to the pagan ideas that the "energy force" that "heals and strengthens you" also brings you to a pantheistic "godhood status" with the "ultimate reality."  Whether conscious of it or not, you have adopted pagan beliefs while claiming the title of Traditionalist Catholic. A person's ignorance does not purify yoga from its spiritual falsehood. Most people are familiar with the famous "lotus position" (sitting cross-legged like a statue of Buddha) used by yoga practitioners with an erect back, having their index fingers curled around touching the thumbs while breathing and/or meditating. Yoga instructors will tell their students its a way of keeping focused, and the position is conducive to strengthening certain muscles.

Actually, the position represents a spiritual concept called Gyan munda, which "symbolizes the union of Self with the universe, the unification of one's soul and the supreme soul. The thumb symbolizes the supreme soul, and the index finger refers to the practitioner's soul." (See https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/6444/gyan-mudra). 

The theology of yoga should be apparent. It is not separate from the exercise. 

Four Inherent Dangers in Yoga

1. Demonic possession. Those who take yoga very seriously will often desire something called shaktipat (an instructor/"master"/"guru's" power to transmit a spiritual awakening of the kundalini or "serpent power"in the student's bottom energy chakra). Yet this is a pagan attempt to allow a demon to enter the practitioner's body. It can result when the word "OM" is chanted leading to an altered state of consciousness, or by assuming various yoga postures that are dedicated to the evil Hindu "deities."

2. Apostasy.  People who get involved in the basic physical exercises often get intrigued by the deeper philosophical aspects of yoga and become lukewarm in their faith or even end up leaving the One True Church for pagan mysticism. 

3. Indifferentism. Even if a yoga class seems harmless, with no spiritual emphasis, and no outward Hindu trappings, there is still real danger. By participating in a yoga class, you are endorsing a non-Catholic belief system which is incompatible with Church teaching. You implicitly accept the heresy of Indifferentism; the false teaching that one religion is as good as another, and it matters not what you believe or do. Worse yet, are Protestants or members of the Vatican II sect who pray and/or play hymns before, during, or after yoga. This is syncretism, the attempted "blending or amalgamation" of all religions into a One World Church; it is the logical outcome of ecumenism which is at the heart of many Protestant denominations, and it fuels the Vatican II sect. Do not believe there is such a thing as "Christian yoga." Certain things can be "baptized" so to speak, and put in the service of God. For example, the use of certain true axioms and concepts employed by pagan philosopher Aristotle was put to use for the Church thanks to the great St. Thomas Aquinas. However, things that are evil per se can never be made "Christian." Can you imagine these same people saying you can have a "Christian abortion" by praying and singing hymns during the murder of the child in the abortion mill? Equally ludicrous is the idea that performing pagan rituals created in honor of false gods and heretical ideas suddenly become "Christian" if you pray to the same God Who commands "Thou shalt not have false gods before Me." 

4. Association with pagans. By going to yoga classes, you will be influenced by all the people who buy into paganism, are pagans, or who perhaps even fall victim to demonic influence. It's one thing to go somewhere with the purpose of converting people to the Faith, and its something altogether different to join in with pagan exercises and philosophy. Why expose yourself to such spiritual danger? Play with fire and you will get burned. 

Tips for Proselytizing Those Who Practice Yoga

There are three types of people who practice yoga: (1) pagans (mostly Hindus and Buddhists), (2) those who think it is simply a harmless form of exercise, and (3) those who think yoga can be made "Christian." Each will be covered below.

• Hindus and Buddhists. For the outright pagans, do not attack yoga directly. Strike at their false religion. See my post on Hinduism at https://introiboadaltaredei2.blogspot.com/2020/05/when-strangers-come-knocking-part-9_4.html, and my post on Buddhists here: https://introiboadaltaredei2.blogspot.com/2019/11/when-strangers-come-knocking-part-3.html

• Those who think yoga is harmless exercise. Gently explain to them the connection to paganism. Also remind them there are many different exercise programs that work wonders and have no religious underpinnings

• Those who believe in "Christian yoga." Once more, explain the pagan connection, and how you cannot serve two masters. Yoga is a pagan religious activity. You cannot believe in the God of Christianity and the demon-gods of the pagan pantheistic worldview. An inherently evil act, like paying homage to pagan ideals can never be Christian, any more than you can make abortion "Christian." Yoga cannot be separated from its pagan aspects and just be used as exercise. Experts in yoga agree that you cannot do so. Swami Prabhupada  states, "Yoga is full of surprises. The first surprise was that it is not simply exercise. Yoga is a moving meditation, a system for developing the mind, the body, and the spirit in unison. This holistic approach makes yoga feel different from Western sports training." (See A.C. Bhaktivendanta Swami Prabhupada, The Quest for Enlightenment, Bhaktivendanta Book Trust , Los Angeles, [1977], pg. 3)

Conclusion

Yoga, while not in itself a false religion, is bound to a pagan metaphysical worldview. It is, in many ways, more insidious than a false sect because it is presented to the unsuspecting as a "harmless way to exercise," or even a "Christian way" of exercise. Do not be fooled. Any physical benefits that may be obtained are insignificant compared to the spiritual danger it poses to your immortal soul. Yoga is neither harmless nor Christian. Anyone who says otherwise is more than "stretching the truth" to rend you from the Mystical Body of Christ.