Is Yoga Hindu?

On Nov. 22 2208, an authoritative national Islamic body in Malaysia issued a decree, or as they call it a 'fatwa,' banning muslims in Malaysia from practicing yoga. A week later a higher council revoked this decree. The rightness or the wrongness of this decree does not concern me. To me, this is a purely islamic affair. As long as it effects only muslims, and does not impinge on the freedoms of non-muslims, particularly in Malaysia, the council can come up with whatever fatwas they see fit. 

What interests me more on this issue was the international coverage that this piece of news got and the responses to them. This news even made the CNN World News Headlines. The subsequent rebuttals this news received from some yoga experts in Malaysia and from other parts of the world, claiming that yoga was 'just an exercise,' that it has nothing to do with spirituality, is a misconception that I would like to address in this presentation.

Every exercise system has a goal. If I want to build muscles, I will pump iron. If I want to build stamina, I can jog or get on a tread mill. If I want to stimulate spiritual awareness through exercise, then, I will do hatha yoga.

One may take yoga out of religion but not its inherent spirituality.Yoga is part of Hindu religious tradition and teachings, however yoga itself is a universal practice that is not the monopoly of Hinduism or any other religion. 

This is why Hindu gurus have never restricted the teaching or practice of yoga exclusively to Hindus. You will never hear a Hindu guru claim that a student has to be Hindu to learn and practice yoga, or that yoga will only work if the yogi is a Hindu. This universality of yoga comes from the spiritual philosophies behind it.

The word yoga means union. This union refers to the oneness of consciousness that is achieved when a yogi's awareness merges with God. Yoga is a method through which this oneness is achieved. 

The word yoga is an abbreviation of the path to enlightenment known as Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtanga Yoga consists of eight steps that take an aspirant of yoga from the basics, to achieving enlightenment or oneness with God. 

Of these eight steps, which are, 1. yama; 2 . niyama; 3. asana; 4. pranayama; 5. pratyahara; 6. dharana; 7. dhyana; and 8. Samadhi, yoga exercises are the third step, which is asana. More specifically yoga exercises are called Hatha Yoga. 

When the word yoga is used by Hindu gurus they generally refer to this entire system of Ashtanga Yoga. When they want to specify yoga exercises they will refer to it as Hatha Yoga. In mainstream usage yoga usually refers to the exercises.

Coming back to the spirituality of yoga, even if a yogi practices only hatha yoga and not the entirety of Ashtanga Yoga, one cannot divorce hatha yoga from spirituality and equate it to 'just exercise' like jogging or doing jumping jacks or situps. This is because hatha yoga postures were designed by spiritual masters primarily to enhance the spirituality of the individual and only secondarily physical fitness and muscle toning.

This is where the philosophy behind exercise systems become important. The main philosophies behind yoga exercises are:

Thus for yogis who are actively seeking God Realization hatha yoga is primarily a means of stimulating spiritual awareness as a preparation for meditation and also a tool for relieving negative karmic burdens while being a secondary tool to stay fit and physically healthy. 

For those who are doing hatha yoga 'just as an exercise,' they too will get the benefits of stimulation of spiritual awareness and relief from negative karmic burdens though they may not recognize these as such and instead call it 'wellness' or 'being at peace with oneself' or just feeling stress free. One does not have to believe in the theories behind yoga for it to be effective. 

Just like one doesn't have to understand why medicine works to cure an ailment, yoga is an universal practice that doesn't descriminate one's beliefs for it to be effective.

Thus anyone may take yoga out of its Hindu or Indian heritage (power yoga, yogalatese, hot yoga etc. are all modern innovations based on yoga exercises that are different from classical hatha yoga) but one can never separate yoga from the spirituality that is inherently built into the postures.

Yoga exercise is first and foremost a spiritual exercise. No matter whether one accepts this fact or not, does not erase the basic spiritual benefits as well as the physical well being one gets out of practicing Hatha Yoga.

A friend of mine informed me a few years ago that there was a lecture in University Malaya (a primere University in Malaysia) titled: The Islamization of Yoga. Neither he nor I were able to attend the lecture, though the idea seemed intriguing. Perhaps it might have been about the correlation of Sufi Muslim practices and Yoga. Sufi Islam or Sufism, to my understanding has certain mystical expressions in belief and practice of connecting with God within oneself. However Sufism is officially banned in most Muslim countries, Malaysia included.  I would be hard pressed to try to find anything more than a basic correlation between Yoga (mainly in the importance of virtuous conduct) and other sects Islam which clearly forbid mystical practices and expressions of Oneness with God. Whatever the content of that lecture, the issue of rationalizing Yoga for practice by Muslims in Malaysia has been around in the background for awhile now. 

When the fatwa on yoga was first announced this issue exploded into mainstream discussion and the media. Is it right or wrong? Shouldn't it or should it? Petty or important? Much has been written about it in the Malaysian newspapers and one article in particular drew my attention. I want to make it clear that I am not concerned about the rightness or the wrongness of this fatwa. I am certainly no expert in Islam to give any properly qualified opinion on this matter. Instead, in this article, I am responding to misconceptions that have been written about Hinduism pertaining to yoga philosophy quoted from Dr. Abdullah Haron Ibrahim, a professor of Islamic Theology and Philosophy at University Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The article I am refering to appeared in the New Sunday Times (NST) dated November 30, 2008 on Page 30 and 31 in the newspaper's FOCUS section. It is titled "Read it, think about it and then make up your mind." In the article the writer quotes Dr. Abdullah extensively. It mainly discusses the differences in the philosophies behind Hinduism (which are the basis of yoga practices) and Islam. The article concludes open endedly by allowing the reader ( I assume directed mainly to Muslim readers) to decide whether the fatwa should be in place or not.

I am not in any way questioning Dr. Abdulfatah's credentials as an Islamic Theologian or on any matter pertaining to Islamic philosophy and beliefs in this article. He is the expert on this. However, he has aired certain misconceptions about Hinduism in this article which I want to address, clarify and rectify.

This is the first quote from the article that needs to be put into proper Hindu perspective. 

NST Quote (Dr.Abdulfatah says about Hinduism): "It is only by removing the material barrier between them (God and Man) that man can be reunited with God. The objective of man, therefore is to fight to destroy the material world.

My Rebuttal: First of all this quote seems to be closer related to Buddhist philosophy more than Hindu philosophy. There is certainly no such thing as a "material barrier" between man and God. In Hinduism man or more specifically his soul is in perpetual union with God. The Vedic exclamation, "Aham Brahmasmi," which means 'I am God' reflects this Hindu truth. The goal of a Hindu, while living on Earth is not to unite with God (no need), but rather to realize his pre-existing union with God. That is why the goal is called God Realization and this is where yoga comes in.

The barrier between man's awareness of his One-ness with God is not the material world, but his ignorance (lack of knowledge).

The basis of yoga philosophy is not to fight and destroy the material world. It is instead, to live in harmony with the material world by living according to God's law, which are prescribed in Dharma. While living in harmony with the world there are four legitimate goals of life to be pursued. These are called the Purusharthas. These goals are: 1. Virtuous Living (Dharma) 2. The Pursuit of Wealth (Artha) 3. The Pursuit of Pleasure (Kama) 4. The Pursuit of Liberation (Moksha). 

Infact Hindu gurus teach that one cannot attain God Realization until one has fully experienced the material world. Reincarnation is in place because no human can possilby fulfill all his or her worldly desire in one lifetime. Thus we reincarnate. Having fulfilled the basic desires of life, in a very natural process, the soul will yearn for God Realization. This is the final desire to be fulfilled while living on Earth. Once fulfilled the soul will then be liberated from the cycle of reincarnation on earth. There is no fighting or destroying or forcing involved in this process. It is all very natural and in harmony with nature. 

NST Quote: "Since material things are the cause of man's unhappiness, man is told to leave all material things, and then he will achieve happiness."

My Rebuttal: The material world is not the cause of man's unhappinness, instead it is wrong action against the laws of nature. Wrong action creates bad karma. This is the cause of unhappiness. Man is also not 'told' to leave all material things to achieve happiness. There is no such commandment in Hinduism. One only renounces the world when one desires it. This happens when all other pursuits in the world seem pale in comparison to the spiritual quest of God Realization, the goal of yoga. Again, this is a very natural process. Hindu scriptures describe a state of the soul known as Malaparipakam, which when attained makes it natural and easy for the soul to renounce worldly pursuits. 

I also need to point out that the God Realization is not so much about achieving happiness. Happiness or santosha in sanskrit is recognized as a basic experience of life. Instead God Realization is about achieving a state of ultimate contentment and supreme bliss which is known as Ananda.

NST Quote: "The method of the yogis to overcome unhappiness is unsuccessful, because it goes against the nature of human kind (to have desires)."

My Rebuttal: I think it is perhaps rather presumptuous of Dr. Abdulfatah to claim that the method of the yogis is unsuccessful (not being a true yogi himself), though I will give him the benefit of the doubt since he is speaking from an outsider's point of view. 

As explained earlier, the process of yoga is natural and about fulfillng desires contrary to what is written about going against the nature of human kind.

NST Quote: "Yoga also contradicted the teachings of Islam because in the Hindu tradition it was aristocratic and discriminatory. This is because Asana yoga, the exercise form of yoga that most people are familiar with, can only be practiced by the two top castes in Hinduism, the Brahmins (priestly and scholarly class) and the Kshatriyas (warrior class)."

My Rebuttal: Seriously! This is news to me. Never have I ever read in any Hindu Scripture - The Vedas, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali Yoga Sutras or Tirumantiram such a preposterous ruling to the teaching of any type of yoga. Neither have I ever heard or read of a Hindu guru who posed such a restriction on the teaching of yoga. Hindu gurus have always, ever since in ancient times, taught yoga to whomever who came with the sincere desire to know God, even to non-Hindus, thus maintaining the universality of yoga teachings.

NST Quote: " 'Aum' is also not innocent of meaning. 'A' stands for the Creation within Brahma, the God of Creation. 'U' symbolises Vishnu, the Preserver of the Universe, while 'M' symbolises Shiva, the God of Destruction. So, 'Aum' symbolises the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity."

My Rebuttal: Aum is actually known as the first vibration issued forth from God that started the process of Creation. There is no such breakdown that connects each syllable to one of the Hindu trinity in such a way that is suggested by Dr. Abdulfatah. The symbol of Aum can be used to represent any form of God in Hinduism, though from a pure symbolic point of view, it is generally used to represent the Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed God.

NST Quote: "Hinduism also practices reincarnation, an endless cycle of life and death. It has world which has no end. It is only when an individual is extremely pious that he will become one with Brahman. But even so, it is only the individual, and not the whole humanity."

My Rebuttal: Reincarnation is not an endless cycle. It ends when the soul achieves God Realization and all worldly karmas are fulfilled. In Hinduism the world does have an end. It is called Mahapralaya. It is part of a vast time cycle, the most vast ever conceived of by any civilization in the world. Mahapralaya is a time when the entirety of Creation is absorbed back into God, from whence it came, and only God remains. At the time of Mahapralaya all souls will merge with God (Brahman), no one will ever be left out (this means the whole of humanity regardless of religion). This is why there is no concept in Hinduism of a lost soul or an eternally damned soul. All souls will eventually reach and attain complete One-ness with God, shedding even their individuality as souls. This is also why in Hinduism there is no drive to convert people of other persuasions into its fold.