Photo by Lululemon Athletica via Flickr.
Yoga studios are springing up everywhere in the urban West. They help people relax and stay in shape. In the United States alone, some 15 million people practice yoga on a regular basis. But for most of these practitioners, yoga is merely a kind of gymnastics. They will vaguely know that yoga has its roots in ancient India, but they don’t see a connection with religion. According to a campaign initiated by a group of Indian-Americans labeled “Take Back Yoga,” that has to change. The Hindu American Foundation wants American yoga practitioners to become more aware of yoga’s relationship with India’s ancient and still predominant faith.
The campaign is causing a stir, with strong reactions from figures far removed from one another on the religious spectrum. Celebrated American author Deepak Chopra, who was born and raised in India, has dismissed the campaign as “Hindu nationalism.” At the same time, Baptist ministers have argued that Christians who practice yoga imperil their souls.
Having lived in India in the past, I know what an inspiration the country can be. But Hindu nationalism has never been part of that for me. It is like all nationalistic sentiments – shortsighted and petty. Yet I feel sympathy for the “Take Back Yoga” initiative. For one thing, yoga is so much more than a set of stretching exercises. It is a philosophy, and I’m sure many people who practice yoga in fitness studios would benefit from a better understanding of the meaning of the tradition.
Indeed, as Jagdish Parikh, managing director of the Lemuir Group of Companies in Mumbai and author of Managing Your Self, wrote in Ode a few years ago:
“Real yoga is actually much more than the relaxation technique touted in the West. Yoga, an Indian life path that’s been around for thousands of years, is about experiencing your self. Yoga points the way toward self-realization, which helps you see passed identification with the ego to a consciousness more integrated with that of humanity and nature.”
Yoga is practiced on eight levels. Hatha yoga, the physical yoga that’s so popular in the West, is only the first stage. Hatha helps relax you and promotes good health. These are nice side benefits, but not the core of yoga. The other, deeper levels of yoga guide people on the path to get to know themselves. That is the path of yoga, according to Parikh. He argues that yoga can help transform our societies:
“When we learn that we are connected to our fellow human beings and nature, we become capable of making the transition from the current social model based on competition to a harmonious society based on cooperation. That transformation begins within us. Then, based on it, we can reform the way in which work is organized in society. Work should enable us to develop our talents.”
And he adds, “Books about what needs to change and why abound. We know. Lack of knowledge isn’t the problem. What we’re missing is the courage to convert that knowledge into a behavioral shift. That courage can only be found through inner experience. Which is why yoga is so important.” Something to think about while bending and stretching next time in the gym.
By Jurriaan Kamp, Editor-in-Chief, Ode Magazine
