It is easy for the Indian/Hindu community to be seen as too orthodox or traditional when they criticise the constant repackaging of yoga and meditation in western cultures. However, daily, western societies are vomiting out modern ‘gurus’ trained in their ‘sacred’ yoga studios in the heart of the metropolises whose sacrifices boil down to fasting with sips of blended green tea and coffee kibble.
Yoga and meditation should be seen as symptomatic of the human condition and one’s way of tuning in to the divine frequency, which is as natural to the human being as love, prayer, devotion, humility, compassion and so on. Lately, yoga has lost its true essence because of a lack of understanding. To many, it is seen as a trendy, exercise-based practice that helps with weight loss. However, at the same time, some non-Hindu religious leaders are punishing their flock for following this “Hindu” trend. This is the resulting problem of poor marketing on the part of Hindu and Indian religious leaders and Gurus. Do not allow the excitement of a western celebrity converting to Hinduism or doing yoga to be the sole reason for the acceptance of Sanatan Dharma in the wider world. Their message is insignificant and can be detrimental to the future understanding of Hindu scripture and philosophy since the western world may not use or digest our oriental instruments properly.
Western society has always and will always look to the Orient for new and exotic fixes to modern-day problems and, as quickly as they are adopted, they are thrown aside for the next best thing. As leaders and ambassadors of our Indian and Hindu traditions, we must make it our responsibility to reject any attempt to remove the spiritual aspects of these practices. How many yogic gurus know the ‘mantras’ or correct names of each ‘aasana’ they teach their disciples? How can we allow our great practices to be degraded by ‘downward dog’ and other such ridiculous labels. Why are we so complacent? Even those who practise yoga incorrectly are attacking our religion. This is unacceptable and we cannot allow our practices to be degraded by being considered useful for health and stress-related benefits only. These practices are first and foremost spiritual! Isn’t that our sole purpose in life? Reconnecting to the Divine? Ram Naam Satya hain!
By Pt. Varistha Persad
