Yoga is not really “new age” but part of ancient Indic tradition. Patanjali’s Yoga sutras form a core textual basis for that tradition, not forgetting too the Samkhya-karikas of Kapila. And later, texts like the Bhagavad-Gita and much later the Hatha-Yoga Pradipika became important additions. Yoga has been appropriated by “new age” and secular fitness industry alike to become a product in our consumerist society. But we need to distinguish that from its authentic contemplative roots.
That said, if the Catholic Church (or any other tradition or denomination, for that matter) is interested in dialogue with non-Christian faiths as stated in post-Vatican II Nostra Aetate, and in learning from what is good and true in these traditions, perhaps one can adopt a more inquiring and open minded attitude to seeing Yoga as part of that interfaith engagement and learning, and to seek a deeper and more contextually grounded understanding of Yoga. Caricatures based on modern commodified expressions fail miserably.
Yoga is not merely a “Hindu” religious practice. In fact, Yoga is anything but. Yoga is an inner technology of transformation, originating in Indic culture but transcending all cultures. Also, the Eurocentric term “Hinduism” is a misnomer. Indic spirituality is too pluralistic to be oversimplified into a label like “Hinduism.” Let’s learn to view Yoga and non-Christian spirituality in their context, nuance, and richness.
Spiritual confusion does not come from mere participation in Yoga. It comes from spiritual illiteracy and the inability to think clearly, worsened by lack of proper knowledge. Let’s not be too quick to blame it all on Yoga or anything else that we do not understand just because we have not taken the trouble to enhance our knowledge of the new and the unfamiliar. If we avoid something simply because it does not conform to what we believe or that it feels unfamiliar, then we might as well stop pursuing truth. And forget about science for that matter. Dogmatic inflexibility blocks all inquiry and all science.
Let’s not repeat history — the history of persecuting scientists with their scientific discoveries that overturn our dogmatic beliefs about the universe. Yoga can be considered a form of contemplative technology rooted in contemplative science that transcends culture and religion, if only we bother to inquire more deeply and honestly without fear or prejudice.
- Wuwei Chan.
Image credit: Sadhguru.
