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written by ryadav, September 01, 2007

Guys - Here is a response to some of the queries posted on Daily mail. Not sure if it get published, but here is it anyways.

Yoga is scientific. You can do all the research but will not be able to discard this fact. Calling Yoga a pure religious practice is like Eastern citizens discarding use of penicillin because it came from the West! It sounds ridiculous to a guy like me who grew with Yoga in India and US. If you look deep into Indian scriptures, you will be hard pressed to find the word "Hindu". It just isn’t there. Hence, the reverse logic is that Yoga is not just for Hindus only. Wouldn’t you agree?

The spiritual context is there, sure. Yoga literally means "Union” or “to join”(Yuj). It signifies union of body, mind and soul, which is universal in practice and cuts across all religions and boundaries. The sage, Patanjali, who put together the teachings in a systematic shape, described it as ‘control of mind and its modifications or thoughts’.

Remind you that sage is not only a saint but is also a scientist. We in India have a clear distinction between a sage and saint. And a true sage will never copyright a knowledge that promotes spiritual enlightenment of a human being. It’s primarily for all humans because of the presence of a developed mind (hopefully). Taming the mind is the ultimate game of Yoga. You can apply any spiritual mode that suites you to achieve the same. Just credit Sage Patanjali for putting it together and use it to your physical and spiritual advantage. If you do not want to use is to tame the mind by applying the spiritual context then just use it for physical benefits, like many in the West have done. Other religious heads feel insecure because they know deep inside that once a fellow starts on the physical path and gets in the groove, ultimately he or she will change the spiritual path as well. Well, so be it. Let them experience and decide it for themselves. Containing such a growth, if you ask me, is like putting an animal in a cage and feeding only the food master want it to consume. Hence, there is a reason why Indians have so many forms of realizing spiritual paths. One size does not fit all. It’s all personal experience.

In short, none of us in the East say lets not use penicillin because it originated from West. It is proven that it works, has it benefits and has no room for doubt. Similarly, why can’t you just use Yoga on scientific basis as a minimum without giving it any religious color!? If the physical road does lead it further into spiritual mode (in whatever form), who are you to contain the same? Let the individual be the judge.

--Raj Yadav