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.

Click Here to continue reading this article.