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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: F.A.Q. 25
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How to become a Yogi QUESTION: How can I become a Yogi? ANSWER: In order to become a Yogi it is necessary to properly understand what Yoga is. Yoga is known worldwide as a system of physical postures which helps us maintain our physical and emotional balance and well-being. What is less well-known is that Yoga is an Ancient Spirituality whose time-honoured wisdom can help us understand the meaning and purpose of life so that we may find true happiness and fulfilment. Above all, Yoga teaches us how to correctly relate to ourselves and to our fellow humans in order to create harmony and unity both within and around us. In the confused and conflict-ridden World of today, this is of particular importance and urgency.
Who is Shiva? To correctly understand Yoga, we must begin by understanding the meaning of the Supreme Principle of Yoga. Yoga believes in a Supreme Being the essence of whom is Pure Goodness and who is therefore known as Shiva. Most people believe in a God who is good. According to Western Scriptures, however, God is not purely good. He can be angry, jealous, envious, vengeful, and so on. Yoga regards such concepts as man's unwarranted attempts to humanise God. The World is currently in a state of Spiritual and moral decline precisely because of this dysfunctional way in which man relates to God and fellow men. Instead of elevating himself to higher modes of thinking, man irrationally attempts to bring God down to his own level of understanding (or misunderstanding). This necessarily leads to a steady fall in the Spiritual consciousness of man with grave consequences for the whole Planet as recent events (natural disasters, terrorism, wars) clearly show. Therefore, the Enlightened Yoga Masters, from Buddha down to modern teachers, urge us to wake up to reality before it is too late. We must understand that God does not entertain such base emotions as jealousy, envy and anger, let alone act on them. Far from having anything to do with negative and destructive feelings, God is Pure Goodness (Shivam). This is the Message the Yoga Masters are bringing to the World: The sacred word "Shiva" which is the title held by the Supreme Deity, means "Good". Shiva is everything that is Good: Goodness, Beauty, Truth, Light, Wisdom, Happiness, Wholeness, Unity, Harmony, Friendship, Love, Compassion, Justice, etc. All that is Shiva. By contrast, jealousy, envy, vengeance, are not Divine but human emotions. They take us away from both God and fellow humans. When we experience a degree of any of the above Divine Emotions within us, we experience an aspect of Shiva. The practice of Yoga, however, enables us to experience not just a fragment of Shiva but Shiva Himself in His pure and unadulterated Majesty and Glory. We then enjoy a never-ending range of all the Divine attributes described above and are able to share them with our fellow humans, thereby bringing God's Goodness into the World.
Shiva and the World To understand how the Supreme Being is related to the World, we need no rigorous study of Scripture or lengthy philosophical or religious debates. A little knowledge of the Sanskrit language will enable us to analyse the sacred word "Shiva" into its constituent syllables or verbal roots, "Shi" and "Va". Shi (shee) means to lie or rest, which refers to the fact that all things lie or rest within Shiva, the ultimate Ground and Support of all things. Va (vah) means to move and refers to the fact that all things move and live their life within Shiva. Shiva, therefore, is the Supreme All-Encompassing and All-Embracing Reality in Whom all things exist and by Whose Power all things move. Because Shiva contains everything within Himself, He knows everything, just as a man knows all the thoughts and feelings he holds in his heart. And because He is the Power that animates all things, Shiva is All-Powerful. Hence He is Omniscient and Omnipotent. Moreover, Shiva is not just the Supreme Sovereign Who Creates and Rules over the World. He is also a Friend and Guide to the entire World. He is the Embodiment of Truth, Goodness and Compassion (Maitreya, the True Messiah). He is the World Teacher (Jagat Guru) Who descends upon Earth in times of need in order to save the World from itself. However, what is important to understand is that God doesn't save the World by sacrificing Himself or by suffering with and on behalf of man as some religions would like us to believe. Having somebody to share your suffering is a nice thought but is no solution to suffering! God, therefore, saves the World by telling man why he is suffering and how he can mend his ways to avoid suffering in future. He saves the World by reminding Mankind of the Original Teaching revealed by God at the beginning of time, which has become distorted and forgotten over the centuries. All man needs to do is follow His Eternal Teaching (Sanatana Dharma).
Yoga and other Faiths Just as the God of Yoga is an All-Embracing Reality, Yoga which is the living expression of that Reality, is an All-Inclusive Faith. In Yoga, nobody is required to abandon their own faith. All that is needed is to understand what Yoga is and how it relates to other faiths. This is all. All religions claim to possess the highest truth, and Yoga agrees that they all contain some truth. However, the fact remains that religions also contain errors. The following few examples will be sufficient to illustrate this important point. Islam: It is written in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, that those who commit adultery must be punished by flogging: "The adulterer and adulteress shall each be given a hundred lashes" (24:2). It is also written that "God is forgiving and merciful and he who repents and does good works shall have his sins turned into good deeds" (25:69-70). Islamic law, however, prescribes the stoning to death of those found guilty of the above offence, in particular female offenders. This clearly constitutes an extreme interpretation of Scripture which contravenes the general principles of justice and compassion. As another example, in criticising Christian beliefs, the Quran says that God cannot have a son because He doesn't have a consort. Christians, however, do not claim that God produced a son by means of a consort but by impregnating Mary, Jesus's mother, with His Divine Spirit. Mary was not the consort of God but of Joseph, Jesus's physical father. This criticism, therefore, is logically and factually flawed. It follows from this that the main errors of Islam are: (1) the extreme interpretation of the Quran and (2) the wrong interpretation of other faiths. The first error leads to injustice and conflict within the Muslim community and the second to injustice and conflict between Muslims and other faiths. As a result, in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, non-Islamic faiths are systematically persecuted and oppressed. Christianity: It is written in the Christian Scripture (Bible) that God is Light and that His Light shines within man whose body is the temple of God - an ancient Yogic teaching. One would expect Christians to take notice of this and attempt to find the Divine Light within themselves, just as Yogis have done for millennia. However, such an enterprise is conspicuously absent in the official teachings of the Church. Instead, there is an excessive preoccupation with Jesus who allegedly came into the World to suffer for man's sins and thereby save the World. If Christians admitted that Jesus was the leader of a local religious group, nobody could reasonably object. But if they insist that he saved the World, and therefore his followers are entitled to rule the World, this is contradicted by both reason and facts: the World has largely remained unchanged and continues to be as afflicted by sin and suffering as ever. Judaism: It is written in the Scripture of the Jews (Torah): "Blessed is the man whose delight is in the Law of the Lord and who meditates on His Law day and night". The Law of God is the Ten Commandments which are similar to the Ten Commandments of Yoga (the Five Yamas and Niyamas or Five Prohibitions and Five Obligations). One of the main Commandments which were given by God Yahweh to prophet Moses is "You shall not kill" (equivalent to Ahimsa or Non-violence in Yoga). However, soon after receiving the Law, Moses ordered his followers to kill thousands of men, women and children as a punishment for dancing round a gold calf. Since the actions of the prophet of Judaism stand in blatant contradiction of Divine Law, this constitutes a grave error. As another example, God Yahweh, the God of Israel, tells his disciples to desist from worshipping other Gods because he is a jealous God. Now it is a well-known fact that the Gods (or Angels as some call them) are nothing but manifestations of God's Powers. Indeed, they cannot be anything else. This being so, it seems preposterous to suppose that God could be jealous of His Own Powers. Moreover, we know on the testimony of Enlightened Yogis and the Holy Scriptures of India, that God is Pure Consciousness and Bliss. Such base sentiments as jealousy cannot therefore be reasonably attributed to God. It follows from this that the God Yahweh is not the Supreme God but only a minor deity or local spirit worshipped by the Israelites. In consequence, modern Judaism or Yahweism - as opposed to Ancient (pre-Mosaic) Judaism - cannot claim to be a World Religion but only a local cult. To believe anything else is a serious error. The same applies to other Western religions, such as Islam. For example, it is written in the Quran that God has sent to the Arabs "an apostle of their own who speaks to them in the Arab tongue, because before they were ignorant". Furthermore it is written that, "Every nation has its mentor" and "For every community God has ordained a ritual which they observe; let there be no dispute over this" (13:6 and 22:65). This means that different religions were given to different nations and Islam was meant as a religion for the Arab people - or Muslim Arabs - only, and not for the entire Human Race. Therefore, on the evidence of the Quran itself, the belief that Islam is a World Religion is an error and contrary to Divine Law. And yet this is precisely what many followers of Islam maintain. For example, it is written, "Wage war on the unbelievers that dwell around you" and "Fight the unbelievers to the end until the whole World belongs to God" (8:39). This is interpreted to mean that the World must be converted to Islam by any means. However, a more careful reading will show that this is not, indeed cannot be, the case. The World already belongs to God since He created it. No human action can make it belong to God any more than it already does. It follows that the only possible meaning of the phrase is "until the World is ruled by believers as opposed to non-believers". All we need to establish now is who is a believer. A believer is one who believes in God. The word "believer" therefore refers to a person's belief in God and not to his pertaining to a particular faith such as Islam. The believer can be a Jew, Christian, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Sikh or anybody who believes in God. Thus the Quran may arguably be cited in support of fighting atheists, communists and other non-believing persons but not those who believe in God. This is evidenced by the following Quranic verse: "Believers and Jews and Christians and Sabians and anyone who believes in God and does good, has nothing to fear nor to regret" (5:69). In conjunction with other verses (quoted above) to the effect that there should be no dispute over the practices of different faiths, it becomes evident that the Quran does not regard Islam as the only true religion or as a religion that ought to dominate (or even exterminate) others. To believe otherwise, as is advocated by certain extremist elements, is evidently an error. Had God wanted the World to be ruled by Islam, He would have accomplished this long ago. But He hasn't. This suggests that He is quite happy with people's following various faiths as long as they act in accord with Divine Law (Dharma). Moreover, there is no evidence that Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Pakistan are in any way superior to their non-Islamic neighbours. People in Islamic Pakistan, for example, are not more law-abiding, more prosperous, more intelligent, more compassionate, healthier or better-looking than those in Hindu India or Buddhist Thailand, so exactly what difference or improvement has Islam been able to achieve? If it is objected that Islamic countries are not yet truly Islamic but will one day become model nations if they adhere to Islam more strictly, then our reply or counter-objection is, if Islamic rule has been unable to create a perfect society in Saudi Arabia, the homeland of Islam, even after 1,400 years, how can we expect this to happen in the future? How many millennia does Islam require to turn a small population like that of Saudi Arabia (about 10 million people) into perfect Muslims, and how many millions of years will it take to accomplish this in all countries of the World? If a democratically-elected ruling political party failed to deliver what it promised even after a few years in office, it would justly be considered to have failed. The same must logically apply to any religion which has patently failed to deliver even after coming to power millenia ago, surely! Such errors therefore come into being as a result of human ignorance. Scripture may be given by God, but as it is written down (often over long periods of time) by man, there is no proof or guarantee that it represents an exact transmission of God's Word. We cannot even know whether a particular Scripture is definitely the work of God because there is no conclusive evidence: we have not seen God writing or dictating Scripture. What is evident is that some Scriptures are at least partly the work of man. Even if every Scripture were an exact record of God's Word, it would still be open to human interpretation. It follows that no guarantee as to the accuracy of Scripture or its interpretation is possible through ordinary means of investigation. This leads to misunderstandings and errors. One error leads to another. Errors that are not recognised and adequately redressed generate further errors and lead to ignorance, misunderstanding, conflict and suffering which is the exact opposite of what Scripture intended! The following case will suffice to prove our point. Western religions such as Christianity and Islam, began their existence as obscure Middle-Eastern cults founded by controversial figures. They were then imposed on the Western World partly through missionary work but mainly by military force. One would have expected Westerners to have learned a lesson from history. Unfortunately, this clearly isn't the case. The Western World continues to impose on the rest of Humanity its own redundant beliefs and practices which have largely failed the test of time: some two thousand years of Western culture have culminated in the Turkish Massacre of the Armenian population, two devastating World Wars, the Holocaust, Hiroshima, Vietnam, Tibet and many other unspeakable atrocities. The main victims of this cultural and religious imperialism today are Africa, India (including Tibet and Nepal) and South America. This systematic perpetuation of defective (or pathological) beliefs explains the current rise in materialism, selfishness, confusion, violence, mental disorder, disease and natural disasters in the World. All this is not due to negligence or ill-will on the part of God but is entirely the product of human error for which man himself is responsible. The World is the Creation of God, the Supreme Spirit. It is therefore a Spiritual place where life must be lived in accordance with Spiritual Laws. When these Laws are ignored, the result is chaos, confusion, ignorance and suffering. Material measures to improve the World are doomed to fail because the causes of wars, poverty, disease and suffering are not material but Spiritual. To believe that the problems of the World can be solved without a Spiritual solution, is a serious error. The World is in the present state because it lives in error. Because most religious, philosophical and political systems contain fundamental errors, they are incapable of solving the World's problems. Yoga is unique among World Faiths in that it possesses an inner mechanism whereby all errors are immediately identified and amended. This mechanism is called Meditation or Enquiry into Truth. It is an activity or state of consciousness whereby man detaches himself from his body and mind and establishes direct contact with God. The Ancient Scriptures of India define Meditation as that whereby Yogis see or perceive reality. It results in higher, Yogic Perception (Yogi Pratyaksha) which is undisturbed by any beliefs or mental processes. This direct contact with Truth is what other religions call "seeing God face to face", "seeing the Light", etc. For this reason, Enlightened Yogis are called Rishis (God Seers). The testimony of Enlightened Yogis is Mankind's unmatched means of knowing the Truth. Yoga, therefore, is in a unique position to guide the followers of other faiths so that they realise the truth of their own Scriptures. Yoga enables the followers of Islam to realise the Oneness of God and how to live a life in true Unity with Him and other faiths; it enables the followers of Christianity to realise the Light of God within themselves; it enables the followers of Judaism to realise the true Law of God and its correct application; it enables Hindus and Sikhs to attain Unity with God; and it enables Buddhists to discover the Ultimate Truth. In consequence, Yoga is a God-given unifying Bridge ("yoga" literally means unity) that brings all religions together and brings out the best in every religion that each and every faith may contribute to the establishment of the true Kingdom of God on Earth, that is, a World illumined and guided by a Higher Truth in the light of which all creatures may live in peace, unity and happiness for all time.
The Path to Unity with Truth The following are the main Teachings of Yoga (the Path of Unity with the Supreme) which all Spiritual aspirants - irrespective of religious denomination - must be aware of in order to understand the true meaning of life: 1. There is One Supreme Being (Shiva or God) Whose Essence is Pure Goodness. 2. Though being Eternally One, the Supreme Being manifests Himself in many ways. 3. All things are created by the Supreme Being out of Himself and to Him they ultimately return. 4. All things have an Inner Soul who is essentially identical with the Supreme. ("Man's Soul is the light of God", say the Scriptures of the West.) 5. The Universe is governed by the Creator through His Supreme Eternal Law (Sanatana Dharma). 6. Salvation, Freedom from Suffering and True Happiness are attained by adhering to Divine Law (Dharma). 7. Supreme Salvation is attained when a Soul becomes God-like (Shiva-sama), that is, Good and Wise like God, and as a result experiences Unity with the Supreme. Becoming God-like - or "Isotheos", in the Greek language - was also the original teaching of Western Scriptures, which unfortunately has become lost in the official Church dogma. 8. The means of attaining Supreme Salvation are Spiritual Practice and the Grace of God. 9. The journey to Unity with the Supreme requires many lifetimes to complete. (The Bible similarly teaches that "no man can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again".) 10. The Practice of Yoga can shorten this Spiritual Journey to just one lifetime. 11. All living beings are responsible for their own actions and are capable of experiencing pleasure or pain as a result of such actions. 12. God shows Mankind the Path to Happiness and Freedom from Pain through Direct Revelation, Sacred Scriptures and the Teachings of Living Gurus. A person who embraces, understands and correctly follows these twelve principles, qualifies as a follower of Yoga irrespective of his religious beliefs. The purpose of Yoga is to create happiness for all through Spiritual means. In particular, it enables us to achieve the four main goals of life, which are: (1) Artha - Material Prosperity, (2) Kama - Love, (3) Dharma - Righteousness or Right Living and (4) Nirvana - Enlightenment. In the light of this, we may easily understand why the founder of modern psychology, Carl G. Jung, famously declared that "Yoga offers undreamt-of possibilities"!
Yoga - the way to a better Future As predicted in the ancient Scriptures of India, Mankind currently lives in Kali Yuga, the Age of Spiritual Ignorance, Materialism and Selfishness. It is a very dangerous time in which misguided human agency is upsetting the natural balance and order of the Planet with serious consequences for the entire human race. This being so, the worldwide practice of Yoga to redress the current imbalance is not a choice but a necessity which must be urgently acknowledged and acted upon by all thinking people. The Western World must give up the idea that it knows everything, or that it knows better, and humbly listen to the timeless Wisdom of the East. If it does so, it will understand that Yoga is a precious gift which man cannot afford to ignore or reject. Therefore, it is the duty of all Spiritual people to spread the teachings of Yoga. By opening up to the Truth of Yoga we encourage others to do the same so that the World may be guided towards a better future for all.
Become a follower of Yoga The essence of the Teachings of Yoga may be condensed into the following words: "Lord Shiva (the Supreme Principle of Goodness) is the Highest Truth and Yoga is the Path that leads to Him". The uttering of these words constitutes a declaration of faith (shraddha) or formal acceptance of the Teachings of Yoga and the person who utters them becomes a follower of Yoga. Wherever he goes, he will be recognised as a Spiritual Soul and welcome into the Universal Yoga Community (or Brotherhood of Unity). To further one's Spiritual Knowledge, it is advisable to study the Holy Scriptures of Yoga such as Shiva Rahasya, Shiva Purana, the Upanishads and the Vedas. Those who wish to learn more about the Higher Mysteries of Yoga, may receive initiation by a qualified Yoga Teacher or Master who has studied and is able to explain the above Scriptures. Note: For an explanation of the above 12 principles, see also Who is a Yogi? and Teachings and Practice. For more information please e-mail us on:
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