"For thousands of years Satan has been experimenting upon the properties of the human mind, and he has learned to know it well. By his subtle workings in these last days he is linking the human mind with his own, imbuing it with his thoughts; and he is doing this work in so deceptive a manner that those who accept his guidance know not that they are being led by him at his will. The great deceiver hopes so to confuse the minds of men and women that none but his voice will be heard." — Letter 244, 1907, Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1
The definition of Yoga is found in various websites, however, the Ministry of External Affairs, of the Government of India, has published this definition,
“Yoga is essentially a spiritual discipline based on an extremely subtle science, which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body. It is an art and science of healthy living. The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’, meaning ‘to join’ or ‘to yoke’ or ‘to unite’. As per Yogic scriptures the practice of Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness, indicating a perfect harmony between the mind and body, Man & Nature.”
This “spiritual discipline” presented for the wellbeing of “body and mind” is now a worldwide practice, except in a few Islamic countries, because those countries don’t want Yoga to be an entering wedge for Hinduism in their countries!
Does this “Spiritual discipline” have a religion? By the way, the word “Religion” is from a latin word called “ligare”, which – like the Sanskrit word “Yoga”, also means “to link”, “to bind”.
In other words, the meaning of the word “Yoga” and the word “Religion” are one and the same! However, to which religion does the practice of Yoga belong to?
“Hinduism contains within it six major schools of thought, or darshana: Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta. The underlying thread between these six darshanas is that they are inspired by the Vedas and other Hindu concepts. Thus, Hindu philosophy is often described as Vedic or the Vedic tradition.”
The Sanskrit word, “Veda” means “knowledge”. This ancient Hindu knowledge, Yoga, is very popular in the West! In fact, is it more popular in the US than it is in India, the birthplace of Yoga, according to Google Trends. Here is an article for reference.
If Yoga is “to link”, “to unite” – then the question should be, with whom?
“The goal of yoga is to unite oneself with God; the practice of yoga is the path we take to accomplish this.”
But to unite/link with which “god”? Shiva! Who is shiva? Shiva is called, “the energy”, “the universe”, “the destroyer.” He is also called as the first guru (teacher).
There are many forms of shiva. Here are a few:
Nataraja – lord of dance, acting and music
“In the Hindu religion, this form of the dancing Lord Shiva is known as the Nataraj and symbolizes Shakti, or life force. As a plaque alongside the statue explains, the belief is that Lord Shiva danced the Universe into existence, motivates it, and will eventually extinguish it.” – CERN Document Server
The Bible
In Genesis 3:15, The Lord said,
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
However, look closely at the Nataraja statue , you will notice that there is a serpent under his two right arms and he has his right feet on a man-child! Nataraja statue/idols are the most popular in the west, especially found in most Indian Restaurants.
Ardhanarishwara – The Androgynous One
“The Ardhanarishvara, is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati. Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle.”
Yashaswaroopa – Alien / Celestial being / not one of the Human race. It is claimed that shiva came to planet earth with his friends – who were also not of the Human race.
“The ganas, Shiva’s friends, were not like human beings, and it is clearly said that they never spoke any of the human languages. They spoke in utter cacophony. When Shiva and his friends communicated, they spoke a language that nobody understood, so human beings described it as total, chaotic cacophony. But the ganas were the ones that he was really close with.”
Does this sound familiar?
A celestial being who came to this earth, desires godship, and leads humanity to unite with him through worship of the Creation, rather than the Creator. In fact, this being is not described as a Creator, but a destroyer.
Through the use of the term “Science”, many regard the practices of Yoga as something to be studied deeply, yet it is also taught as a form of exercise to be mastered, especially in the Western Countries. Adding in the Spiritual element which cannot be separated, man is taught that they are their own gods, all through the practice of Yoga.
The first human pair were seduced into the same lie. In Genesis 3, we read of the serpent speaking this lie to Eve, accusing that God had warned them not to eat of the fruit, lest they become as gods, knowing good and evil. Of course, the second half was true; deception is truth mixed with error, and after the pair’s disobedience to The God Of Heaven, their Creator, they certainly knew the difference between good and evil, and were overcome with fear. This same deception is found in Yoga, as well as many more… As worship is being offered to “the universe”, “shiva”, and the many gods of Hinduism, peace cannot be found, true rest cannot be achieved, and though supernatural effects are experienced, none of these can compare to the True Rest and Peace that Jesus Christ offers us:
If such a “peace” existed, with the rise in Yoga and decline in Christianity, this world would be a much better place to live. However, there is an increase in unrest and confusion all over the world, as Yoga has become more widespread!
“Despite 126 countries improving their positive peace from 2009 to 2020 the 2023 Global Peace Index (GPI), reveals the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated for the ninth consecutive year, with 84 countries recording an improvement and 79 a deterioration.”
But why doesn’t the increase in Yoga practices for “inner peace”, help world peace?
Here are the statistics for the increase in Yoga Practices,
Shiva, the hindu deity who is the source of Yoga is also called “the destroyer”!
“Shiva is the quintessential destroyer. His duty is to destroy all the worlds at the end of creation and dissolve them into nothingness.”
So, Yoga claims that when one is unites/yokes with shiva (aka “the universe”) then he or she will realize that he or she is a “god” or “goddess”, and their individual identity dissolves into the universe!
A well-known Yoga Guru teaches “We are all part of the One Spirit. When you experience the true meaning of religion, which is to know God, you will realize that He is your Self, and that He exists equally and impartially in all beings.” Paramahansa Yogananda
But what about the Christians or Adventists who say, “I practice Yoga only for stretching. It helps me. I don’t involve in the spiritual aspects of yoga”?
First, Yoga asanas/postures cannot be separated from the Hindu spirituality! Although there are certain poses which are not owned by Yoga alone. For example: Planks! It is called “Phalakasana” which is done as a ritual with reverence. Unlike a regular plank done as an exercise.
Here, is a video where the yoga teacher explains about the Hindu spiritual meaning for the warrior 1, 2 and 3 poses!
Next, Yoga is a physical expression of worship in Hinduism! Even Islam has 9 postures as their physical expression of worship which involves stretching!
“'Salat' is a Muslim prayer mandatory for all Muslims five times a day. It is comparable to performing a mild intensity exercise, because most of the joints and muscles undergo exercise during different positions and movements adopted in Salat.”
Physical expressions of worship are common in religions. Below are couple of examples found in The Holy Bible.
Daniel 6:10
"...And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days."
1 Kings 8:54
“And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.”
Let us look at another example: EZEKIEL 8
15 “Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” 16 So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.”
According to Lexicon, the actual word for “worshiping” here is “to bow down”. The elders did not practice any chanting here, all they did was to have an asana/posture (i.e physical expression of worship) facing the sun and The Lord called this sun worship or in other words, “Sun Salutation” as the greatest abomination.
The very popular pose, “Downward Dog” is part of the Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskara) in Yoga. HERE is the link where you can read the meaning of each of the postures involved in Sun Salutation/worship.
The Lord told us that “no man can serve two Masters” (Matthew 6:24)
Yoga’s origins are rooted in Hinduism. And Hinduism teaches that Yoga originated from within shiva who is also called as Dakshinamurti (South Facing teacher/Master) and he teaches under a Banyan tree. Here is an architecture from India showing Dakshinamurti under the Banyan tree. This tree is part of the “Ficus” species. “Ficus” is the scientific term for “fig”. So, according to Hinduism, Shiva as the south facing teacher taught under a fig tree. The core teachings of Yoga are two fold, “a human can be divine” and will be “reincarnated”. The fruits from this tree look like apples (picture can be see in the above Wikipedia link).
Another ficus (Fig) tree associated with shiva is called the Bodhi tree. The word “Bodhi” means “enlightenment” or “knowledge”. And, Hinduism teaches that the leaves in this tree of knowledge represent “shiva”.
The Bible Speaks
On the other hand, there is another teacher, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the author and finished of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) has promised us His peace! And he has promised to those who obey Him, Tree of Life (Revelation 2:7)
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
To address our health issues: Physical, Mental and Spiritual, he had to shed His blood.
Isaiah 53:5 "...And by His stripes, we are healed.”
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
"God has provided in His word the means for mental and spiritual development. The Bible contains all the principles that men need to understand in order to be fitted either for this life or for the life to come” - (Education, pg. 123).
With whom will you yoke?
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Ivan Raj is the producer of YogaUnboxed.com. A series of educational videos designed for ex-Christians who have abandoned Christianity through Yoga, to re-consider true Christianity! The videos can be accessed on a rental basis at www.yogaunboxed.com
Article: No, There’s Nothing Holy About Yoga.