Disclaimer for 2012

The past year I have held back in writing about deeper yoga philosophy for fear of alienating students with discussions which to an outsider would appear to be about religion. I have since seen the error of my ways. Today, I will try to explain that although Yoga may be in Religion, Religion is not in Yoga. My hopes are that with this explanation, I can delve deeply into the science of uniting the body, mind, and soul and show that Yoga is about finding the true you, your unblemished soul, your Self.

If one day I say I am a Buddhist, the next a Christian, the next a Hindu, the next a Jew, the next a Muslim, and the next something else, has the "I" actually changed, or only the opinions of the mind? Who am I? That cannot be answered with a mere opinion of mind. It can only be experienced in the stillness and silence of direct experience, wherein these divisions evaporate.

Yoga systematically deals with all levels of your being. leading you to a place of deep stillness and silence. From within this stillness and silence, you can more fully experience spirituality in the context of your own religion and personal beliefs. When we are not experiencing such a deep stillness and silence, it is because our world, senses, body, breath and mind have become obstacles to inner peace and spiritual awareness. It is in the spirit of observing, accepting, understanding, and training ourselves in Yoga Meditation that these obstacles are gently, systematically removed. It is somewhat like gradually thinning out a cloud bank that is veiling the spiritual serenity that is naturally there. In this way, our world and the aspects of our own being can become tools rather than obstacles. This spiritual focus is the entire purpose of Yoga. Through this spiritual focus of Yoga, one may come closer to their own religious roots, although the practices themselves are not necessarily religious.  (Source: swamij.com)

O man, realize that the kingdom of God is within you, the Lord of life is the highest of all. Anyone who has realized this, would like to go to his innermost self. And there is a way for that. I am not talking about Hinduism, I am not talking about Buddhism, I am not talking about Christianity, I am not talking about Islam. I am talking about something universal. The moment you realize that the absolute truth which is not subject to change, death, and decay is within you, then you attain a freedom, freedom from fears, all fears. That is called the state of enlightenment and that can be considered to be a state of perfection. Therefore, learn to go to the deeper aspect of your being. Everyone should learn to meditate so that he’s free from many, many diseases. That meditation should be simple, a purely scientific technique, without putting any brand, like Hindu meditation, Buddhist meditation, Zazen, Zen meditation, Christian meditation or Jewish meditation. These teachers have destroyed the whole philosophy of meditation. Meditation is a simple method.

Swami Rama, Conscious Living