Yoga Belongs to All of Us

Although Prof. Aseem Shukla has got the bit between his teeth, I doubt that there’s much enthusiasm for his ideas. If there is a movement to return yoga to its Hindu roots, it speaks in a whisper. I’ve never encountered it in India. Having loaded his quiver, what target is Shukla firing at? Nobody is stopping Hindus from claiming yoga as their own. Christians can claim prayer as their invention if they want to. It wouldn’t make the claim less false — sensible people accept that prayer is universal. (more…)

Daily Inspiration

When I recognize and acknowledge my personal power, I no longer need to feel superior or inferior to anyone else. -Deepak Chopra

Corruption of the Body and Soul

For some time, something has been intriguing me and I am sure that you will be able to clarify this for me. I have come to believe that we are all spiritual beings with an occasional human experience. Then it must also be the case that the very basic nature of ‘soul’ is spiritual in nature. We also know that we (‘souls’) have found a place in this material body for our journeys through the time and space. Our body is merely a reflection of our soul and is governed (all its actions) by the very nature of the soul. So my question is that why when the basic nature of soul is spiritual, some ‘bodies’ do the worst things imaginable (the things that are unacceptable in the general society such as violence against other humans etc). Does that imply that those very ‘spiritual’ souls have been corrupted – here I am thinking that the soul is and will always be spiritual. I think that the body (symptom) cannot be corrupted by the source (originator or the soul). I am failing to connect the dots here. Who and What is then corrupting the soul (if in-fact it has been corrupted). Please advise.

Reincarnating Toward God

Hi Deepak! What is reborn? I get the hit that there’s only God and that God is being each one of us and everything there is. So when our bodies wear out will “I” be reborn or will I just blend/expand back into God and perhaps only my mind will be reborn in another body?

Sorry, Your Patent on Yoga Has Run Out

In his recent article for On Faith, Prof. Shukla laments the disconnect between Yoga and its origins in Hinduism. He’s certainly right that the practice of Yoga has become a “spiritual discipline” that is open to anyone of any faith. But it’s strange to find him disapproving of this fact, for several reasons.
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