Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga’s Soul

Who Owns Yoga? It surely is not just a physical exercise although many Americans and Christians would like to believe that.


For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
-Isaiah 2:6a


Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. - Proverbs 29:18 (ESV) [Prophetic vision comes from the Word of God, i.e. the Scriptures]


My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...
- Hosea 4:6a


"At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.`
-Matthew 24:10-13


NEW YORK TIMES [NYTimes Group/Sulzberger] - By Paul Vitello - November 27, 2010
Yoga is practiced by about 15 million people in the United States, for reasons almost as numerous - from the physical benefits mapped in brain scans to the less tangible rewards that New Age journals call spiritual centering. Religion, for the most part, has nothing to do with it.
But a group of Indian-Americans has ignited a surprisingly fierce debate in the gentle world of yoga by mounting a campaign to acquaint Westerners with the faith that it says underlies every single yoga style followed in gyms, ashrams and spas: Hinduism.
The campaign, labeled “Take Back Yoga,” does not ask yoga devotees to become Hindu, or instructors to teach more about Hinduism. The small but increasingly influential group behind it, the Hindu American Foundation, suggests only that people become more aware of yoga’s debt to the faith’s ancient traditions.
That suggestion, modest though it may seem, has drawn a flurry of strong reactions from figures far apart on the religious spectrum. Dr. Deepak Chopra, the New Age writer, has dismissed the campaign as a jumble of faulty history and Hindu nationalism. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has said he agrees that yoga is Hindu - and cited that as evidence that the practice imperiled the souls of Christians who engage in it.
The question at the core of the debate - who owns yoga? - has become an enduring topic of chatter in yoga Web forums, Hindu American newspapers and journals catering to the many consumers of what is now a multibillion-dollar yoga industry.
In June, it even prompted the Indian government to begin making digital copies of ancient drawings showing the provenance of more than 4,000 yoga poses, to discourage further claims by entrepreneurs like Bikram Choudhury, an Indian-born yoga instructor to the stars who is based in Los Angeles. Mr. Choudhury nettled Indian officials in 2007 when he copyrighted his personal style of 26 yoga poses as “Bikram Yoga.”
Organizers of the Take Back Yoga effort point out that the philosophy of yoga was first described in Hinduism’s seminal texts and remains at the core of Hindu teaching. Yet, because the religion has been stereotyped in the West as a polytheistic faith of “castes, cows and curry,” they say, most Americans prefer to see yoga as the legacy of a more timeless, spiritual “Indian wisdom.”
“In a way,” said Dr. Aseem Shukla, the foundation’s co-founder, “our issue is that yoga has thrived, but Hinduism has lost control of the brand.” ...
Like Dr. Chopra and some religious historians, Ms. Desmond believes that yoga originated in the Vedic culture of Indo-Europeans who settled in India in the third millennium B.C., long before the tradition now called Hinduism emerged. Other historians trace the first written description of yoga to the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred Hindu scripture believed to have been written between the fifth and second centuries B.C. ...
Loriliai Biernacki, a professor of Indian religions at the University of Colorado, said the debate had raised important issues about a spectrum of Hindu concepts permeating American culture, including meditation, belief in karma and reincarnation, and even cremation.
“All these ideas are Hindu in origin, and they are spreading,” she said. “But they are doing it in a way that leaves behind the proper name, the box that classifies them as ‘Hinduism.’ ”
The debate has also secured the standing of the Hindu American Foundation as the pre-eminent voice for the country’s two million Hindus, said Diana L. Eck, a professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at Harvard. Other groups represent Indian-Americans’ interests in business and politics, but the foundation has emerged as “the first major national advocacy group looking at Hindu identity,” she said.
Dr. Shukla said reaction to the yoga campaign had far exceeded his expectations.
“We started this, really, for our kids,” said Dr. Shukla, a urologist and a second-generation Indian-American. “When our kids go to school and say they are Hindu, nobody says, ‘Oh, yeah, Hindus gave the world yoga.’ They say, ‘What caste are you?’ Or ‘Do you pray to a monkey god?’ Because that’s all Americans know about Hinduism.” ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/nyregion/28yoga.html


FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

As in the Days of Lot: The growing acceptance of Homosexuality in the Church

Church of Scotland moves closer to accepting more gay clergy
ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL - By Martin Revis - May 24, 2011
London --  The church of Scotland, which has been threatened with schism since it confirmed the appointment of an openly homosexual minister two years ago, voted at its general assembly yesterday to move toward the acceptance of gay and lesbian candidates for ordination.
Members of the general assembly, meeting in Edinburgh, voted by 351 to 294 to "consider further the lifting of the moratorium on acceptance for training and ordination of persons in a same sex relationship."
The ban was put in place in 2009 in the wake of the controversy which followed the church's appointment of Scott Rennie, who was living with a male partner in Aberdeen. A special commission was established to explore the issue, and the recommendation for further examination of the matter was contained in the commission's report to assembly yesterday.
The assembly also voted to allow ministers and deacons in same-sex relationships ordained before 2009 to remain in the church and move parishes if they wished.
A statement issued by the church after a lengthy debate on the interpretation of scripture relating to same-sex relationships and the moral implications said: "A theological commission will be set up to bring recommendations to the 2013 general assembly, as well as considering whether ministers should have freedom of conscience to bless civil partnerships and the possible liturgy for such occasions." ...
As seen in live Web coverage of the assembly, The Moderator called for unity despite the contentious issue they faced. "We very much hope that people who disagree with what has been decided will nevertheless remain in the church and work with us as we seek a way forward."
In a spirited debate yesterday, the Rev. Andrew Coghill, said presbyteries would be forced to accept gay ministers and homosexual inductions would multiply the length and breadth of the country. The Rev. Lesley Stewart described such talk as scaremongering, saying she did not expect a rush of openly gay ministers to come forward. Such people had been gracious in maintaining their silence during the two year moratorium.
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=4918


Given Over: Anti Israel Presbyterian Church Now Officially Pro Homosexuality
Presbyterians vote to clear way for 'gay' clergy
ONE NEWS NOW [American Family News Network] - By Jody Brown - May 11, 2011
Prominent pro-homosexual groups are applauding a decision by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that opens the door for churches in that denomination to ordain individuals who identify as lesbian, "gay," bisexual, or transgender.
PC(USA) has struck down a requirement that unmarried clergy remain celibate, removing a key barrier for homosexuals who want to be ordained. Ordination standards under the new policy remove the constitutional requirement that all ministers, elders, and deacons live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness" -- and replace it with "joyful submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life."
Delegates to the PC(USA)'s general assembly endorsed the new policy last year, but the change still required ratification from the majority of its 173 regional districts, known as "presbyteries." The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area in Minneapolis provided the deciding vote Tuesday night.
Unedited :: Link to Original Posting
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1345032


Tenn. Baptist exec: Belmont abandons Christian roots
BAPTIST PRESS [Southern Baptist Convention] - By Michael Foust - January 27, 2011
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Less than two months after facing a controversy over the departure of a lesbian soccer coach, Belmont University's trustees Jan. 26 added "sexual orientation" to the school's nondiscrimination policy, a landmark move that is being criticized as a major departure from its Christian founding.
Located in Nashville, Belmont had ties to the Tennessee Baptist Convention (TBC) for more than 50 years until the university's board, in 2005, voted to move away from a TBC-elected board to a self-perpetuating board. Two years later, the two sides reached a settlement in which Belmont would pay the TBC $11 million over 40 years.
"For decades Tennessee Baptists poured themselves into making Belmont what it is," Randy Davis, executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, told Baptist Press. "We did sever ties in 2007, but many of us never dreamed that the school would walk away so rapidly from their Christian heritage and roots. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=34527


Gay man leads N.C. church association
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, Charlotte, North Carolina [McClatchy] - By Yonat Shimron - December 27, 2010
RALEIGH As the newly elected president of the N.C. Council of Churches, Stan Kimer is typical of those who served before him: a retired business executive, longtime churchgoer and member of several nonprofit organization boards.
He's also openly gay. And that sets him apart.
Only one other of the country's 33 similar church councils has elected an openly gay leader. In California, a lesbian was elected president in the late 1990s. That makes Kimer's presidency of the N.C. Council - a coalition of 17 Christian denominations and eight individual churches that work on social issues - historic in the South.
It also signals an acceptance among member denominations - Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics - that even if they have theological differences about homosexuality, they are OK with a gay man at the helm. Or at least, they don't see it as an issue worth fighting.
"A lot of our member denominations have internal battles about this," said the Rev. George Reed, the council's executive director. "But the governing board felt the fact that he is a gay man was not a disqualifying factor."
As president, Kimer leads a 35-member governing board that sets the council's direction on a host of social issues, including racial equality, health care, immigrant rights and environmental conservation. He was elected to a one-year term and could run for a second one-year term. ...
"I have a strong belief that as a Christian I'm called to make the world a better place," he said. "I like to spend my time with groups where I can see an impact."
He cited the council's efforts to educate churches about immigration, obesity and disease, as well as about the need for diversity in public schools. ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/12/27/1936344/gay-man-leads-nc-church-association.html


Open doors await them
HOUSTON CHRONICLE [Hearst Corporation] - By Jeannie Kever - February 19, 2011
Ebie Hussey's first reaction when her son announced that he is gay was to offer unconditional love.
Finding a new church was a close second.
"His first question was, 'Am I going to hell?'" Hussey said of that conversation with her son, Jaxn. "Mainstream Christianity and fundamental Christianity really pushes that homosexuality is a sin, and he had caught on to that."
Jaxn, now 15, knew his parents didn't think that. "But I had always heard people saying that kind of thing," he said.
In an effort to counter the message, almost two dozen Houston-area churches have designated Sunday as Bring Your Gay Teen to Church Day.
"We think it's important for families to know there's a safe place to go to worship," said Jim Bankston, senior minister at St. Paul's United Methodist Church. "Families who have gay members want to make sure they feel welcome in church and aren't bashed in any way." ...
Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7435364.html


FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.