Wednesday, June 10, 2015

If Yoga is Hindu , then is internet and Electric bulb American , .. and how about Zero .. Indian ??

   Traversing through this century , where the exposure quotient of the young generation is growing exponentially, the lines between ethical and unethical thinking are becoming blurred . For young teen ' being cool' in the gang will stand out as a life definition.

In this evolving mindset of children, for me as a parent  ( and I vouch its for every parent ) ,how strong,the mind and the physical health of the children are is a critical factor. Keeping them under our wings is not the solution, they should learn to be strong and then fly from within - self defense of the body and self defense of the mind is what will help them sail through life . In this era of shifting waters , a calm mind will definitely surf with ease and not get damaged in the process 


   One of the first decisions I took as a parent was that , Yoga meditation and any self defense mechanism like karate, is too be mandatory for my kids.I have been doing yoga for the past few years and knowing personally how much it helps , I try to motivate as many people as possible.

  It was indeed good news when June 21'st was declared as the international yoga day because at least from an awareness point of view , it would trigger a few . Then the proposal that Surya Namaskar ( a  form of Yoga postures ) was to be made mandatory in school,  was indeed a step in the right direction . This is something which done on a daily basis , helps the body to such an extent ......and I am talking about the human body, the human body alone - the person can be a Male , Female, Transgender and is   irrespective of which religious practice they follow ....yesterday I saw an article in the news paper  where some religious committees are against the Compulsory yoga in School because its ' Hindu ' !

 I grew up  a house hold where my mother is very religious and in our Pooja room we had so many pictures of the all the Hindu Gods and in the midst was also the Moon and Star ( for Mohammad ) and Revered Mother Mary with Baby Jesus. 


Drawing boundaries in the name of religion or caste has always been incomprehensible to me . Every religion is about appreciating the creation and the creator. Its about tuning into it for the enhancement of the human body and mind. Etching enemy lines between religions only serves to reduces the Omnipresence of the Creator. Religion is not about a set of rules that shows one human being to be a superior to another . So when I read that Yoga cannot be taught in schools because its ' Hindu' , it really makes me wonder about everything we use in our daily life ?


Is the religion of the inventor or the culture of the place where every gadget or invention we use being analysed ? If Yoga is Hindu , then is the Internet American , The train Scottish , paper Chinese ? what about the number zero - Is it also Hindu ? Can we restrict their use 

As long as something is complementing your life , its origin does not matter. 

By making Yoga in schools compulsory , it would benefit thousands of children. Many of them, who have never had access to Yoga classes or are from families whose parents are not aware of its importance will get a chance to blossom.,, and for all we know , they might motivate their parents - Yoga is an investment for life.


Will you enroll your child in a school which does not support sports or do we analyse where each sport originated from . 

Yoga is not about Hinduism . If India can come together for cricket why not for Yoga ?

Let us not curb it in the name of Religion - All religions and their Prophets have been only showing pathways to  elevate the human - lets not make into a sword which hurts others.


Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake."

- Rabindranath Tagore







4 comments:

Sreeanand said...

Yoga is a science. Its an art of living. Trying to keep it under the clutches of religion is the most stupid thing one could ever do. If that be the case, Sun is one of the nine planets as specified in the Vedas. Does that mean they are going to ignore sunlight ?

God is one, and each religion's path in attainment towards him is different. No one can afford to grade god as we do in our appraisal system ? Same is the case with any of the findings from any religion.

As they say, let Yoga belongs to Hinduism for Arguement sake. what's wrong in following it ? Lets take the best practise irrespective of the religion.It is a way of discipline.

I could sit in Cologne Church and do meditation peacefully becoz of its energy level. Just could pity these people who do all such nonsensical activities, for the benefits of the individual.

Madhangalai kadanthu manithargalai paarkum samudhayamai, intha idam maara vendun.

Unknown said...

well said AS. I agree that Yoga is a must for every human being, one point that I always think is that whether it is taught correctly or wheher the children leanrs it's essence and do correctly..???

Sujatha said...

Excellent Feed back SreeAnand !! . So true - how can God be different . He can only be perceived differently

Sujatha said...

Manju - Thanks for your feedback !! . In case the concern is the quality of the teaching , then well trained yoga masters are the solution.

Thrilled, excited,joyful etc.

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