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Yoga is an independent tradition, not bound to any religious faith, dogma or ritual. It is a philosophy that has endured over 3,000 years, with physical and meditative processes free from any one religious system. Yoga is universal, and guides us to follow a path of individual self-knowledge based on our own experience. It encourages each of us to establish a relationship with the divine in our own unique way. As a yogi, you may choose to belong to a religion or choose to not be part of any religion at all.
Many millions of people practice some form of yoga for its numerous health and life-enriching benefits, including spirituality. Yoga is practiced by people of widely different faiths, religions, and beliefs. Some are deeply religious while others are atheist or agnostic. Yoga doesn’t have religious obligations or one particular statement of belief. It has a much broader teaching than any nationality, race, or religion. It is not necessary to surrender or adopt any religious beliefs to practice yoga. What is essential to the practice of yoga is an unwavering commitment to conscious awareness. In yoga, direct personal experience trumps any theory or conceptual system.
The goal of all forms of yoga is to put us in touch with our divine nature – our spiritual core. The various schools of yoga have their own distinct forms of practice and meditation, and each seeker is generally inclined to one path more than the others.
But because yoga’s roots began in India, and the many forms of yoga grew from ancient civilizations that were part of religious-cultural philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, some people have the incorrect idea that yoga is part of one of these religions. It is not. Ideas such as karma and reincarnation do originate from these ancient roots, and yoga philosophy sometimes interweaves those concepts into its teachings. However, it is important to understand that although these ideas are often incorporated into yogic spiritual thought, it is not necessary to adopt a belief in those views in order to practice yoga.
At its heart, yoga is a practical spiritual discipline that emphasizes personal experimentation, personal effort, and personal authentication. No theological system defines yoga itself. At a conference in 2005, yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar noted, "There are two kinds of religion, God-made and man-made. Man-made has branches and demarcations. God-made has none. And that is yoga."
Additionally, according to yoga master T.K.V. Desikachar, “…yoga was rejected by Hinduism because yoga would not insist that God exists. It didn't say there was no God but just wouldn't insist there was…yoga is not a religion and should not [be associated] with any religion."
Yoga provides a discipline that leads to a balanced nervous system and a more peaceful mind. The practice of these disciplines will deepen the faith of one who belongs to any particular religion. And for the one who does not practice a religion, yoga delivers a unique path to self-realization.
In 1920 Paramhamsa Yogānanda arrived in Boston under the sponsorship of the American Unitarian Association. His purpose was to transmit "a definite, scientific technique" of yoga and explain the Raja Yoga encompassing it. During his life, Yogānanda always referred to yoga as a "science," for among all the world's belief systems, it is one that can be "tested in the laboratory of meditation, and proved in the direct experience of God."
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