YOGA Article Taken From The Magazine: CORNERSTONE VOL. 13 ISSUE 70 Written By: VISHAL MANGALWADI Vishal Mangalwadi, regular contributor to Cornerstone, is a citizen of India and philosopher in his own right, and has long had a fruitful ministry among Hindus. As America increasingly turns to Hinduism and New Age gurus, we need to be prepared to counteract this counterfeit gospel. Man's basic problem according to Hinduism is not moral but metaphysical. It is not that man is guilty of having broken God's moral law, but that he has somehow forgotten his true nature and he experiences himself to be someone other than what he is. Man is not a sinner; he is simply ignorant of his true self. The problem is with his consciousness. His salvation consists in attaining that original state of consciousness which he has lost. Man's true nature or original consciousness is defined differently by monistic and non-monistic gurus. The monistic gurus, who believe that God, man, and the universe are ultimately one, teach that man is Infinite Consciousness or God, but has somehow become entangled in finite, personal, rational consciousness. So long as he remains in this state, he is born repeatedly in this world of suffering. Salvation lies in transcending finite, personal consciousness and merging into (or experiencing ourselves to be) the Infinite Impersonal Consciousness, and thereby getting out of the cycle of births and deaths. In different words, salvation is a matter of perception or realization. You are already one with God, you first have to perceive or realize this fact. Perceiving, in this context, is not a cognitive activity. It is not a matter of intellectually knowing or logically deducing that we are God, but rather transcending this cognitive, rational consciousness and experiencing a "higher" state of expanded consciousness which is believed to be God and our true self. The non-monistic gurus and movements, such as Hare Krishna, do not believe that man is or ever becomes God. God, according to Hare Krishna, is a personal Being - Krishna. Man's original state is Krishna Consciousness and his true nature is to be a loving servant of Krishna. But man has forgotten this and has become entangled in this material world. He has to re-establish his link with Krishna and gain Krishna-Consciousness. Only then will man get out of the cycle of births and deaths and live forever with Krishna in Goloka or heaven. Thus, to sum up, salvation in Hinduism consists in the realization, perception or experience of our so-called "true nature." This realization takes place when we are able to alter our consciousness and attain what is called a "higher" state of consciousness. How can we alter our consciousness? Through the manipulation of our nervous system, because the consciousness is dependent upon the nervous system. During the preceding millennia numerous techniques have been developed to manipulate one's nervous system in order to alter one's consciousness. These are generally called YOGA. Here we can discuss only a few of the techniques that have been popularized by the modern gurus. HATHA YOGA: SALVATION THROUGH PHYSICAL EXERCISES Hatha yoga, which consists of physical and breathing exercises, is a very ancient method. The belief that one can attain "salvation" through physical exercises rests on the fact that salvation is believed to be a matter of perception, which depends on the state of one's nervous system, which in turn depends on one's physical condition. By physiological manipulation of one's body, the nervous system can be affected and consciousness altered. The problem with Hatha Yoga is that it is a long and tedious process requiring much discipline and a competent teacher. The question is frequently asked whether a Christian can practice Hatha Yoga. Many Christians see nothing wrong in practicing it because it is often advertised as non-religious in nature and sold for its therapeutic values. But once a person experiences the alteration of consciousness and has a "vision of possibilities" (Mahesh yogi), he becomes open to Hindu philosophy on which Hatha yoga rests. There may be some teachers of Hatha yoga who are not interested in propagating its philosophical basis at all, but only in teaching it to make money or impart health. I am not qualified to pronounce on the therapeutic benefits of Hatha yoga, but it seems to me that if a person is practicing certain exercises developed in India for health reasons, he should not say that he is practicing yoga. For the physical exercises become yoga only when they are practiced to alter consciousness, or to merge into God. For yoga means union of soul with "God." It may be asked, "What is wrong with artificially altering consciousness?" By itself I do not think there is anything evil in an altered state of consciousness. Madness, sleep-walking, and hallucination are all "altered" states of consciousness which are not morally evil, even though they are undesirable. But to consider your own altered consciousness to be God is certainly evil from the biblical point of view. And to ascribe spiritual significance to physical exercises is to become prey to the deception of Satan. The use of hallucinogenic drugs too has been an accepted method of altering consciousness for ages in India. But many of the modern gurus discourage their use because their results are unpredictable, they are addictive, and can do harm. JAPA YOGA: "THE MECHANICAL PATH" TO SALVATION Japa is the repetition or chanting of a mantra (usually a name for God or an evil spirit). The Hare Krishna movement chants the names of Krishna and Rama: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama Rama Rama, Hare Hare The monistic gurus prefer to use a symbolic name of God, such as "Om," or a mantra whose meaning the meditator does not know, so that the name or mantra may not create any thoughts or images in the mind by association. Constant repetition of a sound eliminates all other stimuli, thus concentrating the mind and eventually itself becoming a non-stimulus. This induces a state where the mind is aware or conscious, but is not aware or conscious of anything or any thought. One may say that it is only conscious of consciousness. This is what is called Pure Consciousness or Trancendental Consciousness. In order for this technique to be effective in "God-realization, " one has to practice it for three to four hours a day. Maharishi Yogi, the popularizer of Transcendental Meditation in the West, prescribes it only for forty minutes a day to the new initiates. This is meant to give them a taste for it and to help them have a "vision of possibilities." In advanced stages the Maharishi prescribes as much as one full week of silent meditation. "In the final state of Unity Consciousness one perceives oneness of himself with the universe. This is liberation." Because the initiation into TM is a private affair, many Christians consider it to be some mysterious thing. Actually it is very simple. A seeker who is interested in taking initiation is asked to bring flowers, sweets, a white handkerchief, camphor, etc., along with a substantial amount of money as fee for a puja ceremony. During the ceremony the teacher worships a photo of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's own guru and also asks the initiate to bow before this photo. The teacher invokes the blessings of various gods and goddesses and then gives a mantra to the initiate. Usually the mantra is a short word, a name of some deity such as Ram, Om, Hrim, Sring, Aing. The disciple is asked to sit in a comfortable position, close his eyes, and silently repeat the mantra, like, "Ram...Ram...Ram..." for twenty minutes. He is told that he will first forget the rest of the world and be aware only of the mantra. Then he will forget the mantra too and transcend all thoughts and feelings and become aware of the awareness. This is the Transcendental state of consciousness. After some time, the meditator reaches a higher state of consciousness, called Cosmic Consciousness, in which he is aware both of the world and of the Pure Consciousness. Then, after some more years of meditation, one can attain God Consciousness, in which he comes to perceive the subtler levels of the objective world, which appear as personal. In this state, it is said that one can even communicate with birds, animals, plants, and rocks. After this state comes the final state of Unity Consciousness, in which one perceives oneness of himself with the universe. This is liberation. Mahesh Yogi calls this path the "Mechanical Path to God Realization." He says that it is possible to realize God in a mechanical way because "God Realization" is a matter of perception and "the process of perception is both mechanical and automatic." In order to perceive the external objects, we just "open our eyes and the sight of the object comes automatically without the use of intellect or emotions." Likewise, in order to perceive the inner consciousness, we just have to turn the attention inside and we automatically come to perceive it. "Whether perception is outward or inward, " writes the Maharishi, "it is automatic and mechanical. Perception in the outward direction is the result of a progressive increase of activity of the nervous system. And perception in the inward direction is the result of diminishing activity.. until the entire nervous system ceases to function and reaches a state of stillness, a state of restful alertness. This brings the realization of `Be still and know that I am God." THE SURAT-SHABD YOGA: THE PATH OF SOUND OF SOUND AND LIGHT "God is light, " many gurus affirm, and add that this light is within us. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, " declare many sects, and add that this word is within us. When the soul establishes a contact with this word, the word takes it back to Godhead, its original home. The Divine Light Mission and Radha Soami Satsang (Beas) have been chiefly responsible for popularizing Surat-Shabd yoga in the west. Surat means soul and Shabd means Word or Sound; so Surat-Shabd yoga is union of soul and the Word. The sects that teach this path try to keep their techniques completely secret. The techniques are called by various names, such as Nam (name) and Updesh (knowledge), to deliberately mislead non-initiates. The "name" and "knowledge" actually refer to techniques of physiological manipulation of the senses and meditation on one's breathing. Unlike TM, the sects that teach the path of sound and light do not initiate everyone who asks for it. One has to be spiritually "ready" for initiation. There is no definite criterion for judging whether or not a person is ready; it depends on the arbitrary feelings of the initiator. Some sects stipulate a few objective conditions, too, such as giving up liquor, non-vegetarian food, drugs, etc. After one has been chosen for initiation, he is taken into a closed room, where the initiator explains the importance of the "knowledge," Satsang (the weekly gatherings for fellowship and teaching), and the Satguru (the True Teacher). The would-be initiate takes a vow of secrecy and to follow no other guru except his own. Then he bows, kneels, or generally prostrates before the guru or his photo, and worships him/it. Then the initiator teaches him the techniques of meditation. In order to see the "divine light, " the initiator asks the devotee to close his eyes; then he places his middle finger and thumb on his eyes and, starting from the corner of the eyeballs, he presses the eyeballs up from the bottom, so that in actual fact if the eyelids were open the center of the pupils would be looking at the point between the two eyebrows on the forehead just above the nose, which is supposed to be the location of the "third eye." If the initiate concentrates on this point he can see a light. Some people see only a small point, others see a blinding light, some others see a psychedelic movie of moving patterns and brilliant colors, and some do not see anything at all. In order to hear the "divine music" or "the sound, " one is asked to block his ears with the thumbs so he cannot hear any external sounds. When one listens long enough to his inner silence he can eventually hear noises. To some devotees this sounds like celestial music, whereas others think they are hearing their favorite tune played on a heavenly instrument. The third technique in Divine Light Mission is a difficult yogic exercise: tasting the "divine nectar." Usually one experiences the nectar only after much practice. You have to curl your tongue to come up to the back of the throat and then swallow the tongue in such a way that it points upwards. Here the tongue is supposed to hit a point and make contact with the "divine nectar" that is constantly flowing through one's body. It is claimed that this nectar is the "living water" of which Jesus spoke and it is indescribably tasty. Some devotees claim this nectar is the "bread of life, " and after making contact with this ever-flowing stream of nectar, one can live without water or food. The main meditation is a breathing exercise called hearing or contacting "the word." The devotee is asked to sit in a lotus position (if possible) with both hands on the knees, and concentrate on his breath going up and down. This is supposed to tune one into that "primordial vibration, " the Word or Logos, which has created the universe and sustains it. By constant meditation one reaches Samadhi, or the expanded state of consciousness. According to the Divine Light Mission, when you achieve Samadhi, you become full of the divine light. At initiation the light may appear as a small dot, but in Samadhi, it overtakes you and you feel (or perceive) that you have become that Light. The other sects which teach salvation through this path describe their experiences differently. According to some sects, such as the Radha Soami Satsang, during meditation the "third eye" is opened, the soul leaves the body through this eye with the Sound Current (Logos), and travels up to heaven. On the way it has many wonderful experiences, and finally it merges into God. KUNDALINI YOGA: SALVATION THROUGH THE "SERPENT POWER" Hindu psychology teaches that in the human body three centimeters above the rectum and three centimeters below the genitals at the base of the spine is a beautiful triangle in which lies the Kundalini Shakti, or the "Serpent Power." What Kundalini really is, nobody knows, but it is supposed to be red and white in color. It is also described as "coil power" or the "creative sex energy." Normally, it is taught, the Kundalini lies coiled and dormant, but when it is awakened, it arises and begins to travel upward. In its journey from the base of the spine to the top of the head, it passes through six psychic centers called chakras. When it passes through a chakra it gives various psychic experiences and powers. When at last it reaches the top chakra, called the sahasrara chakra, one can supposedly attain the power to perform miracles and achieve liberation. Many means are used to awaken the Kundalini. They range from breathing exercises, like Pranayam, to the homosexual handling of the genitals. The most influential guru in the last decade who preached Kundalini yoga was Swami Muktananda of Ganeshpuri, near Bombay. He described Kundalini yoga as "Maha yoga" (Great yoga) or "Siddha yoga" (Perfect yoga), for he said it was the only yoga in which the aspirant does not have to do anything. He just surrenders to the guru and the guru's grace does everything for him. Thousands of people have testified that Muktananda had awakened their Kundalini, but the method he used is still a secret. Often it gives the impression of being demonic. Kundalini yoga has not been very popular in India because many of the experiences it gives are what William James calls "diabolical mysticism." It gives pain, makes people depressed, and even produces madness. Describing his own experiences, Muktananda said: On reaching my destination I sat for meditation. Soon after sitting for meditation I started feeling restless and uneasy. Within moments strange things were happening to me. I could not understand it. I was perturbed mentally and emotionally. My mind seemed deluded. By the time evening came this delusion became worse. Generally, I am a man of great courage but that day I was overcome by fear. I felt I would soon become insane. My mind was terribly agitated. That evening, at about 9 o'clock, Muktananda sat again for meditation. I felt there was great commotion around. My entire body started aching and automatically assumed padmasana, the lotus posture. The tongue began to move down the throat and all attempts to pull it out failed as I could not insert my fingers into the mouth. My fear grew; I tried to get up, but I could not, as my legs were tightly locked in padmasana. I felt severe pain in the knot (manipur chakra) below the navel. I tried to shout but could not even articulate. It seemed as if something was stuck in my throat. Next, I saw ugly and dreadful demon-like figures. I thought them to be evil spirits. I then saw blazes of fire on all sides and felt that I too was burning. After a while I felt a little better. Suddenly I saw a large ball of light approaching me from the front; as it approached, its light grew brighter and brighter. It then entered unobstructed through the closed doors of my kutir and merged into my head. My eyes were forcibly closed and I felt a fainting sensation. I was terrified by the powerfully dazzling light and it put me out of gear. TANTRA: SALVATION THROUGH SEX Tantra is often said to be the opposite of yoga, but they both aim at the same end. It is opposite of Hatha yoga because the latter is the path of great discipline and effort, whereas Tantra is the way of free indulgence. The tantrics claim that Tantra is the original and easiest way of salvation. The possibility of Samadhi or Unity Consciousness must have appeared to sages during sexual intercourse, for in orgasm you transcend rational consciousness in a pleasurable experience of oneness. Tantra is, in part, a system of techniques of prolonging orgasm in order to experience "God" or Unity Consciousness. St. Paul writes that when men suppress the truth in unrighteousness and begin to worship the creation instead of the Creator, God gives them up to a base mind or, "in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves." (Rom. 1:24) And their base minds and lusts lead them to unbelievable depths of filth and foolishness. Before the spread of Christianity in India and the consequent Hindu renaissance, Tantricism had sunk to such levels of crudity and cruelty, witchcraft and superstition, that in any sophisticated society the descriptions would appear unthinkable. But now that the Christian influence has diminished in India, the old Tantric cult is coming back openly on the surface. The number of centers in India where Tantra is being taught and practiced is rapidly increasing. In it crudest forms it includes worship of sex organs, sex orgies which include the drinking of blood and human semen, black magic, human sacrifice, and contact with evil spirits through dead and rotting bodies in cremation grounds, etc. In its more sophisticated forms it is being advocated by gurus like Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and authors such as Professor Aghenanda Bharati, an Italian convert to Hinduism who lectures in anthropology at Syracuse University in America. Both Rajneesh and Professor Bharati are among the most brillant of Hindu thinkers. Before becoming a guru, Rajneesh was a professor of philosophy for nine years. His writings have been at the top of the bestsellers' list in India for many years, and he has published over two hundred books. This, to me, is an indication that the sexual path of salvation will be one of the most popular paths in the coming days. In his lectures, Rajneesh asserts that Jesus taught the way of salvation was through sex. His discourse on the "new birth, " published in his book The Mustard Seed, would be a typical example of his thesis. Reality is one, he says, but we perceive other things to be different from ourselves. This is our fundamental problem: we perceive reality as dualistic. The ultimate duality is sexual. We see everyone either as a man or woman. We realize Oneness only when we transcend this duality. Jesus taught that the way to enter the Kingdom of God is through the new birth. And we experience this new birth, or the Kingdom of God, when the two "become one flesh." He writes, "When you make the male and female into a single one...then you shall enter the kingdom" (p.140). THE ROLE OF THE GURU IN GRANTING LIBERATION The role of the guru in the liberation of a devotee is described differently in different sects. Generally speaking, the guru's task is only to teach the technique of achieving liberation. The devotee has to achieve liberation be his own efforts in practicing the technique. However, some sects also teach that at initiation the guru will take the karma of a disciple himself. Karma is defined as "action, " or the sum of one's good and bad deeds. Without getting rid of his bad karma, the disciple must face repeated rebirths in order to repay his karmic debt. According to the law of karma, each person must reap the consequences of his actions through continual reincarnations into this world. But if the guru takes the karma, the need for a future reincarnation vanishes and one can be delivered from the cycle of repeated births and deaths. The guru claims to take the disciple's karma upon himself out of love and grace. And therefore, it is believed that without the guru's grace, one cannot be saved. This concept of grace and the guru taking the disciple's karma is a recent development in Hinduism directly borrowed from Christianity. The only difference is that Jesus took our sin and its consequence (death) upon himself. The guru says he takes our karma upon himself, but he does nothing about it. The devotee is acquitted of his karma without anybody paying the penalty or reaping the consequences. Thus, the law of karma is not satisfied but simply set aside. It is not fulfilled but broken. The Hindus do not see the need for atonement or the necessity for Christ's death because they do not view the law of karma to be an absolute moral law, rooted in God's character, whose demands have to be met. They believe God is not a moral being, man is not morally guilty, and therefore, the need for propitiation does not arise. THE TALKING POINT The Hindus often consider our "one way" preaching to be narrowmindedness because if salvation is what they think it is, then there truly are many ways to alter consciousness and thus attain "salvation." Therefore, a meaningful conversation about salvation must come to grips with two questions: What is man's problem, and what is salvation? Once we can help a Hindu to see that man's basic problem is moral, that we are guilty of breaking God's law and deserve punishment, it will be easier for him to see that Christ is the only way to salvation - i.e., forgiveness and reconciliation - because he is the only one who has died for sin.