I have been telling that a Christian minister, Albert Mohler, stated in his blog that yoga is not compatible with Christianity. He says "Christians are not called to empty the mind or see the human body as a means of connecting to and coming to know the divine. Believers are called to meditate upon the word of god."
Actually I really have a very strong opinion regarding this kind of advice. I am of the opinion that belief and religion is a personal thing. I am against religious leaders, from any religion be that Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or any other religion, telling people what to believe. That can be a Hindu priest or guru or also a man like this Mohler. We all should learn from this that everybody has his own way.
People in higher positions of religious institutions always try to direct believers to go a certain way. They do not only want to show them one of the many ways that are possible but they insist that the way that they suggest is the one and only. Then, if you said you walk the same way as they do, they believe that they have some kind of authority to tell you what you are doing wrong or right on your way.
Mohler says that Christianity and Yoga cannot be combined. Now this may be right for him. He thinks ‘meditating upon the word of God’ is something very different than connecting with God but for other people, as it is for me, meditating means always connecting with God. Even if you meditate upon something you consider as God’s words, you connect with him, don’t you? For me this means being in love, connecting with the love in you.
Everybody should be free to believe what they want. Nobody has a right to tell the other one he believes anything wrong. Leaders of all religions, all denominations have been doing this in history over and over again but time just showed that everybody has another way and that is his personal, individual way to think of or believe in God. Anybody, all priests, gurus, teachers, preachers and religious leaders who believe that they are the only ones who are right have to learn this lesson of tolerance. You should spread love, not confusion.
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Western religions in general are more dogmatic than those of the East. They tend to reject this kind of tolerant and open-minded attitude.
You are right. Thank you. I also felt same in my voyages. I think if everybody accepted your principles ‘My politics is friendship, My philosophy is happiness’ Then this tolerance would come and the responsible people would tend to spread Love, not confusion.