Yoga in philosophy and practice is incompatible with Christianity
James Manjackal MSFS 

As a Catholic Christian born in a traditional Catholic family in Kerala, India, but lived amidst the Hindus; and now as a catholic religious priest and charismatic preacher in 60 countries in all continents, I have something to say about the bad effects of Yoga on Christian spirituality and life. I know there is a growing interest on Yoga all over the world, even among Christians- and this interest is extended to other esoteric and new age practices like Reiki, reincarnation, acupressure, acupuncture, pranic healing, reflexology, etc. which are methods against which the Vatican has cautioned and warned in her document “Jesus Christ bearer of the water of life”.

 

For some, Yoga is a means of relaxation and easing of tension and for others is a form of exercise promoting fitness and health and for a few is a means of healing of sicknesses. There is much confusion in the mind of the average Catholic- lay and cleric- because Yoga as promoted among Catholics is neither entirely a health discipline nor entirely a spiritual discipline, but sometimes one, sometimes the other, and often a mixture of both.  But in fact, Yoga is primarily a spiritual discipline and I know even priests and nuns in the seminaries and novitiates promote Yoga as help to meditation and prayer. It is sad that now a days, many Catholics are loosing trust in the great spiritualities and mysticisms for prayer and discipline handed over to them by great saints like Ignatius of Loyola, Francis of Assisi, Francis of Sales, St. Theresa of Avila, etc. and are now going after the Eastern spiritualities and mysticisms coming from Hinduism and Buddhism. It is in this regard that a sincere Christian should inquire into Yoga’s compatibility with the Christian spirituality and the wisdom of incorporating its techniques into Christian prayer and meditation.

 

What is Yoga? The word Yoga means “union”, the goal of Yoga is to unite one’s transitory (temporary) self, “JIVA” with the infinite “BRAHMAN”, the Hindu concept of God.. This God is not a personal God, but it is an impersonal spiritual substance which is one with nature and cosmos. Brahman is an impersonal divine substance that “pervades, envelopes and underlies everything”. Yoga has its roots in the Hindu Upanishads, which is as old as 1.000 BC, and it tells about Yoga thus, “unite the light within you with the light of Brahman”. “The absolute is within one self” says the Chandogya Upanishads, “TAT TUAM ASI” or “THOU ART THAT”. The Divine dwells within each one of us through His microcosmic representative, the individual self called Jiva. In the Bhagavad Gita, the lord Krishna describes the Jiva as “my own eternal portion”, and “the joy of Yoga comes to yogi who is one with Brahman”. In A.D. 150, the yogi Patanjali explained the eight ways that leads the Yoga practices from ignorance to enlightenment – the eight ways are like a staircase – They are self-control (yama), religious observance (niyama), postures (asana), breathing exercises (pranayama), sense control (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), deep contemplation (dhyana), enlightenment (samadhi). It is interesting to note, here, that postures and breathing- exercises, often considered to be the whole of Yoga in the West, are steps 3 and 4 towards union with Brahman! Yoga is not only an elaborate system of physical exercises, it is a spiritual discipline, purporting to lead the soul to samadhi, total union with the divine being. Samadhi is the state in which the natural and the divine become one, man and God become one without any difference (Brad Scott: Exercise or religious practice? Yoga: What the teacher never taught you in that Hatha Yoga class” in the Watchman Expositor Vol. 18, No. 2, 2001).

 

Such a view is radically contrary to Christianity which clearly distinguishes between Creator and creature, God and man. In Christianity, God is the “Other” and never the self. It is sad that some promoters of Yoga, Reiki and other disciplines and meditations, had misquoted some isolated Bible quotations to substantiate their arguments such as, “you are the temple of God”, “the living water flows from you”, “you will be in me and I will be in you”, “it is no longer I that lives but Christ lives in me”, etc. without understanding the context and the meaning of those words in the Bible. There are even people who portray Jesus as a yogi as we can see now a days such pictures of Jesus in convent-chapels and presbyteries – Jesus presented in yogi postures of meditation!

 

To call Jesus “a yogi” is to deny His intrinsic divinity, holiness and perfection and suggest that He had a fallen nature subject to ignorance and illusion (Maya), that He needed to be liberated from the human condition through the exercise and discipline of Yoga. Yoga is incompatible with the Christian Spirituality because it is pantheistic (God is everything and everything is God), and holds that there is only one Reality and all else is illusion or Maya. If there is only one absolute reality and all else is illusory, there can be no relationship and no love. The Centre of Christian faith is faith in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, three persons in one God-Head, the perfect model of loving relationship. Christianity is all about relationships, with God and among men, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Mt 22: 37-39).

 

In Hinduism, good and evil, like pain and pleasure are illusory (Maya) and therefore unreal. Vivekananda, the most respected icons of modern Hinduism, said “good and evil are one and the same” (Vivekananda. “The yogas and other works” published, Ramakrishna Vivekananda Centre NY 1953). In Christianity the vexing problem of sin as an offence against the Holiness of God is inseparable from our faith, because sin is the reason why we need a Saviour. The Incarnation, the Life, the Passion, the Death and the Resurrection of Jesus are for us means for salvation, that is to set us free from sin and its consequences. We can not ignore this fundamental difference in order to absorb Yoga and other Eastern meditation techniques into Christian Spirituality. The practice of Yoga is pagan at best, and occult at worst. This is the religion of antichrist and for the first time in history it is being wildly practised throughout the Western world and America. It is ridiculous that even yogi masters wearing a Cross or a Christian symbol deceive people saying that Yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism and say that it is only accepting the other cultures. Some have masked Yoga with Christian gestures and call it “Christian Yoga”. Here it is not a question of accepting the culture of other people, it is a question of accepting another religion which is irrelevant to our religion and religious concepts.

 

It is a pity that Yoga has been wildly spread all over from kindergarten to all form of educational institutions in medicine, psychology, etc. calling itself as a science while it is not a science at all; and they are sold under the label ‘relaxation therapy’, ‘self-hypnosis’, ‘creative visualisation’, ‘centering’, etc. Hatha Yoga, one which is wide spread in Europe and America for relaxation and non-strenous exercises, is one of the six recognized systems of orthodox Hinduism, and it is at its roots religious and mystical, which is the most dangerous forms of Yoga (Dave Hunt, “the seduction of Christianity” page 110)  Remember the words of St. Paul, “No wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light” (II Cor 11: 14). It is true that many people are healed by Yoga and other Eastern ways of meditation and prayers. Here the Christian should ask themselves whether they need healing and material benefits or their God Jesus Christ in Whom they believe, Who is the source of all healings and good health.

 

The desire to become God is the first and second sin in the history of creation as chronologically recorded in the Bible, “You said in your heart, I will scale the heavens, above the stars of God I will set up my throne; I will take my sit on the mount of Assembly, in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Is 14: 13-14). The serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God who knows what is good and what is bad” (Gen 3: 4-5). The philosophy and practice of Yoga are based on the belief that man and God are one. It teaches one to focus on oneself instead on the One True God. It encourages its participants to seek the answers to life’s problems and questions within their own mind and conscience instead of finding solutions in the Word of God through the Holy Spirit as it is in Christianity. It definitely leaves one open to deception from God’s enemy, who searches for victims whom he can take away from God and the Church (IPet  5: 8)

 

For last eight years, I am preaching the Word of God mainly in European countries, which once were the cradles of Christianity, producing evangelisers and missionaries, martyrs and saints. Now can we call Europe Christian? Is it not true that Europe has erased all its Christian concepts and values from lives? Why Europe is ashamed to say that it has Christian roots? Where are the moral values and ethics practised by Europeans from down the centuries and handed over to other countries and cultures by the bold proclamation of the Gospel of Christ? From the fruits we shall know the tree!. I believe that these doubts and confusions, apostasy and infidelism, religious coldness and indifference came to Europe ever since the Eastern mysticisms and meditations, esoteric and New Age practices were introduced in the West. In my charismatic retreats, the majority of the participants come with various moral, spiritual, mental and physical problems in order to be liberated and healed and to have a new life through the power of the Holy Spirit. With all sincerity of heart I will say, 80 to 90 % of the participants had been to Yoga, Reiki, reincarnation, etc of the Eastern religious practices where they lost faith in Jesus Christ and the Church. In Croatia, Bosnia, Germany, Austria and Italy I had clear instances where individuals who were possessed with the powers of darkness cried out “I am Reiki”, “I am Mr. Yoga”, identifying themselves to these concepts as persons while I was conducting prayers of healing for them. Later, I had to pray over them by the prayer of deliverance to liberate them from the evil possessions.

 

There are some people who say, “there is nothing wrong in having the practices of these, it is enough not to believe the philosophies behind”. The promoters of Yoga, Reiki, etc, themselves very clearly state, that the philosophy and practice are inseparable. So a Christian can not, in any way, accept the philosophy and practice of Yoga because Christianity and Yoga are mutually exclusive view points. Christianity sees man’s primary problem as sin, a failure to conform to both, the character and standards of a morally perfect God. Man is alienated from God and he is in need of reconciliation. The solution is Jesus Christ “The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. Through Jesus’ death on the Cross, God reconciled the world to Himself. He, now calls man to freely receive all the benefits of his salvation through faith in Christ alone. Unlike Yoga, Christianity views Salvation as a free gift, it can only be received and never be earned or attained by one’s own effort or works. Today what is needed in Europe or elsewhere is the powerful preaching of the message of Christ coming from the Bible and interpreted by the Church in order to remove the doubts and confusions wildly spread among the Christian in the West and to bring them to the Way, the Truth and Life : Jesus Christ. Only Truth can set us free.  http://www.jmanjackal.net/eng/engyoga.htm

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Welcome to St Pier Giorgio Frassati Young Adult Group.

Come on out every first and third Saturday of the month!

We meet on the first Saturday of the month for a social. We will sometimes meet at the rectory for a bbq, go bowling, watch a movie, go on a picnic or a hike. Be sure to check our web site for the location or call the parish office.

If you wish to be on our mailing, email Fr. Geddes at assistant(at)holyfamilyvancouver.ca

On the third Saturday of the month we meet at the Church. The evening begins at 6:30 pm with the Holy Rosary in the Church, followed by a talk by one of the priests with a debate and discussion. We then have a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament exposed with both priests hearing confessions. The evening ends at 9:00 pm.

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We have a new name! We are now called “St. Pier Giorgio Frassati Young Adult Group”

Come on out Saturday June 2nd. If it is raining we will meet here otherwise we will go Barnet Marine Park.

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The Answer to What about ‘Going-Steady’?
by Rev. Daniel Egan, S.A.
I have no statistics to prove this, but I venture to say that the very pagan and immoral custom of going steady too early in life is responsible for more juvenile delinquency, more sins of impurity and more unsuccessful marriages than any other single cause. I venture to say, also, that it is responsible for most of the unwed fathers and mothers and, consequently, most of the forced marriages.

It therefore follows that there is something far more at stake here than a mere custom or crazy fad. Some customs, like wearing red stockings or pink stockings or green stockings involve no sin. Some styles of haircuts or teen-age clothing may make a kid look a mess, but of themselves these very “goofy” fads are not sinful. But when we come to the custom of high school kids going steady without a reasonable hope of entering a happy, holy, successful marriage in a reasonable period of time — this is a sinful custom. And because it concerns God’s glory and the very salvation of souls, it is something we can never condone, no more than we can condone or compromise with anything else that is sinful — no matter how many people do it!

The Meaning of ‘Going-Steady’

Before we explain the moral theology of going-steady, let’s first agree on what it means.

First, it means that a boy and a girl are going together exclusively. And it’s still “exclusive” even though they “occasionally” (when they’re forced into it!) date someone else. It’s “exclusive” as long as . . .

Second, they see each other “frequently” — two or three times a week. By this we don’t mean just walking home together or having a “coke” together. We mean that . . .

Third, they frequently visit each other, alone, in a “cozy situation,” like in a car, parking, at a “drive-in,” baby-sitting, places where they are unobserved by other humans. And it doesn’t change the occasion of sin simply because there’s another couple present. The danger is still there if . . .

Fourth, they engage in frequent kissing. Though they usually claim to be “in love,” it doesn’t really matter for this discussion whether they are or not. Many teen-agers frequently kiss their steady, and yet admit there’s no “love” between them. So, as long as they engage in frequent kissing, then they come under the category of “going-steady” — if the other conditions are also present.

The Morality of ‘Going-Steady’

Now if any boy and girl are dating this way, then they’re “going-steady.” What, then, is the teaching of moral theologians about such courtship? They all agree that this type of steady company-keeping in itself is always some occasion of sin, and, because it is, the only reason that will permit it is the reasonable hope of marriage in the near future. Even then they must observe all the proper safeguards to avoid sin. Noldin-Schmitt insists that:

“Familiar associations which are called company-keeping per se contain an occasion of sin. If they take place in view of marriage they are lawful. But care must be taken lest lawful meetings become a proximate occasion of sin. The hope of a future marriage is the only reason why these visits are rendered licit.1
Furthermore, “going-steady,” as we have defined it, is not just an occasion of sin. Theologians usually define it as a proximate, dangerous occasion of sin. Father Connell, C.SS.R., of Catholic University hesitates to declare that juvenile courtships are always proximate occasions of sin, but he does agree with the theologian Damen that “company-keeping is generally a proximate occasion of grave sin (and consequently forbidden under pain of grave sin) when it is practiced without any intention of entering marriage or when there is no hope of marriage in the near future.” Therefore, says Father Connell,

if a boy or girl have proved that this manner of association is a proximate occasion of sin for them, they are guilty of mortal sin by continuing this type of companionship without any expectation of marriage in the near future. The fact that they have committed grave sin together is a sufficient proof that their steady company-keeping is a proximate occasion of grave sin, and hence must be given up.2
Here let’s insert a note to priests who hear the confessions of high school students “going steady.” It is the commonly accepted theological doctrine, as explained by Noldin-Schmitt, that

when boys and girls accuse themselves of external sins against chastity with a person of the other sex, they are to be asked if they are keeping company (in our language, “going steady”) with this person. If they answer in the affirmative, they are to be asked further if there is any hope of a future marriage. If there is no such hope, and if, a fortiori, there is no intention of matrimony, it is absolutely necessary that they break off the company-keeping, since they are in a proximate occasion of grave sin without a just cause.3
What if they insist on “going steady” in a way that is a dangerous, proximate, unnecessary occasion of sin? “In that event” says Connell, “the priest must forbid the company-keeping and must deny the absolution if this condition is not accepted. At most, a date in the future could be permitted on rare occasions on condition that they are not alone at any time.4

Admitting that “going-steady” is, at least, always some occasion of sin, when does it become a proximate one? The theologian Wouters insists that “as soon as the company-keepers have sinned gravely, the occasion has become proximate, and must be treated as such by the confessors.”5 Now once the “going-steady” becomes the proximate occasion of grievous sin, then “whosoever does not want to give up a proximate free occasion of sin cannot be absolved. This is true even if the penitent is willing to try to make the occasion remote by means of prayer, etc.”6

So there you have it! Now it was necessary for me to line up the opinions of all these moral theologians to show that the Church is not mixed up. If some few of her very human teachers are confused, it is only because they are not following the best opinions of her moral theologians, or, knowing these approved teachings, they water them down in the face of growing custom.

‘Pagan’ Thinking and Acting

I said earlier that “going steady” as we have described it, without reasonable hope of marriage within a reasonable period of time, was “pagan.” Any solution to a moral problem like “going steady” that is based on the opinions of the “crowd” and not those of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is a downright “pagan” solution! But the shocking thing is that practically all our Catholic youth who “go steady” in a way that is sinful look at the problem just as if they were unbaptized pagans! Simply because “everyone else does it,” it’s o.k.! Simply because some careless, ignorant or stupid parents “think it’s cute,” it’s o.k.! Simply because it’s “an easy and convenient way to get a date,” it’s o.k.!

When St. Paul said “let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus,” he meant just that! He dared us to be different. But in the solution to this problem too many of our youth would rather be wrong than different. Is their thinking in tune with the thinking of Christ? Must they “go-steady” simply because spiritually stupid “specialists” in teen-age problems assure them that it’s normal and natural? Don’t they recall what Christ said about avoiding occasions of sin? “If your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out! If your arm scandalizes you, cut it off! for it is better to go into Eternity without an eye or without an arm than to go into Hellfire with both!” By this Christ didn’t mean we should ever cut an eye out or an arm off. Rather, we should have such deep hatred and fear and disgust of sin that we would cut out of our lives any and all occasions of sin that are dangerous, proximate and unnecessary. “Going-steady,” as we have defined it, is just that — unless there’s a reasonable hope of a happy marriage in the near future.

Popular Objections

But suppose a young couple were to claim that “going-steady” is not a proximate occasion of sin for them — then what? My first reaction would be to judge that they’re not normal. How could two normal teens see each other frequently, alone, in cozy situations, kissing, and not experience the physical effects of such lovemaking? Those natural, physical sensations of sex pleasure that normally accompany frequent kissing are rewards that God intends only for marriage, as a sacred “bonus” for parental burdens of dishes, diapers, bills, sicknesses and burping the baby at two in the morning. But to deliberately seek or consent to the slightest degree of sex-pleasure outside of marriage is always a mortal sin.

Even if kids do not seek or consent to such pleasure, moral theology states very clearly that no one may even run the risk of consenting to passion without a proportionate grave reason. Now “going-steady” because “everyone’s doing it,” or because “we don’t mean no harm to nobody,” or because “it’s a sure way to get a date,” is not a proportionate grave reason of entering such danger. And as far as girls insisting that “nothing else happened, Father — we just kissed a few times and that’s all” — you wonder how utterly stupid some girls can be! “That’s all?” Most normal boys experience physical reactions to kissing that might shock an emotional, romantic girl! Charity and justice demand that girls do all in their power to avoid arousing passion in a boy. They must do this because the darkness of the intellect and the weakness of the will that resulted from Original Sin makes it very difficult for a boy not to consent to such pleasures. From God’s point of view, the only reason that would permit a boy and a girl or a boy or a girl to experience such pleasures (they may never seek or consent to them in courtship!) is the reasonable hope of a happy marriage in the near future.

So I still insist, if they’re normal, it’s a rare thing that any young couple can make “going-steady” for six months or more, as we have defined it, a remote occasion of sin. But suppose it really is? Suppose they do not engage in repeated prolonged kissing (“necking”), which theology considers to be usually a mortal sin, suppose it is pure and chaste, and there’s very little danger of it becoming a proximate occasion of sin? America’s leading moralist, Father Connell, insists that

even in this case, where there is no hope of marriage within a reasonable period of time, the company-keeping must be reckoned a venial sin, inasmuch as the couple are frequently a remote occasion of grave sin without a sufficient reason. Furthermore, such steady company-keeping helps to promote a custom that is surely dangerous to the younger generation in general.7
This is the opinion of most moral theologians.

Confusion on the Issue

It is difficult to understand, then, how anyone knowing their theology and knowing human nature could ever teach youth that going-steady is an indifferent act. How could it be an indifferent thing to freely enter an avoidable occasion of serious sin? Whether they have sinned or not, it is still a remote occasion of sin to go steady without a sufficient reason. But the only sufficient reason, as we explained before, is the reasonable hope of a happy marriage in the near future.

And yet in the face of all that moral theology teaches, I have been in cities where priests themselves were adding to the confusion by telling kids there was “nothing wrong in going-steady as long as no sin is committed.” No wonder parents are confused! And no wonder kids are confused! Are our spiritual instincts becoming so dead that we think nothing of venial sin? Even the most “innocent” type of going-steady without a reasonable hope of happy marriage in the near future is a venial sin. Is venial sin something trivial? The Bishops of Canada considered it so serious that they openly condemned the practice in their pronouncements of 1953. But kids from Canada tell me it’s far worse here in the States than in their country.

Making a Virtue of Necessity

We have stated repeatedly that the only reason that can permit going-steady is the reasonable hope of entering a happy and holy marriage in the near future. If this reason is present the “going-steady” becomes, as it should be, an immediate prelude to engagement and holy marriage. It then becomes an unavoidable, necessary occasion of sin. Yet, even here, the young couple must prudently avoid those places and situations that are dangerous and unnecessary. Prayer, sacraments, and devotion to Our Lady will never go against human nature. Therefore, even though a young couple are going steady, they are still bound to do all in their power to make the courtship a remote occasion of sin.

Again, it may be necessary to go steady, but it is never necessary to enter dangerous, avoidable situations — like parking, “drive-ins,” “baby-sitting” — that usually result in sin. If, then, the couple are prudent, and if they frequently pray, receive the sacraments and cultivate a strong and tender devotion to Christ and His Mother, they will remain chaste. Though temptations often assail them, and they feel more and more their human weakness, they will find all their strength in frequently, daily if possible, receiving together Our Lord’s Own Body in Holy Communion. Though “three’s a crowd” when dating, the couple always will bring Our Lady with them as the third party on every date. In her presence, they will make every kiss a reverent expression of pure affection. It will well-up from heart and soul, and never become just physical lust that is chained to the body.

A Call for a United Front

Here then is one issue about which we must present a united front. For those who are necessarily going steady, because they have the reasonable hope of entering a happy and holy marriage in the near future, we must do all in our power as parents, priests, and marriage counselors to encourage them with the highest ideals of modesty and chastity in courtship. In our lectures, teachings and pre-marriage forums we must help youth to ruthlessly guard against “falling in love” until they have some degree of moral certitude that once they’ve fallen it will end up in a successful marriage.

For those who are “going steady” without the reasonable hope of successful marriage in the future, we must spare no hurt to force them to their senses. Parents, priests, educators — all who in any way work with youth are bound to know the true teachings of moral theology and make no compromise in applying its principles to such a sinful custom.

Discussion Questions

Describe the type of “going-steady” that is condemned in this article.
How can parents help their children withstand the present-day current which makes “going-steady” an acceptable, even a laudable, practice?
Why is the custom of “going-steady” without a sufficient reason morally intolerable?
What is the sufficient reason which justifies steady “company-keeping,” and, even where that is present, what precautions must be taken by the young couple?
© Family Life Bureau

This item 7855 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org

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