Harmed by Yoga Classes of All Parts of Society - Essay Example

Yoga es Harm All Parts of Society 3 It would not be a mistake to point out that yoga es have been extremely popular in our society. Indeed, if one takes a look at almost every topic in the modern America, one can help noticing that there will be at least once studio that offers such lessons. While people treat it as a positive activity, I am strongly convinced that yoga classes harm all parts of the society. First of all, it must be noted that this kind of classes violates separation of church and state: the latter appears to be endorsing activities that belong to the former. Indeed, yoga can hardly be called a religion; however, it is absolutely clear that it heavily relies on the spiritual tradition that was developed by the Hindu. In other words, yoga should be regarded a disguised religious practice and if it is really so, should not it be regulated by other rules and regulations that are different than those which are applicable at the moment? In addition to that, one of the biggest negative aspects of the influence of the above mentioned activities is that they eliminate the difference between ordinary citizens and believers: people who take up yoga classes end up operating a large array of terms that are used in Hindu tradition. It is quite obvious that the state should be concerned that a considerable part of the population is being converted into religious followers. Secondly, one would make no mistake arguing that yoga glasses have a negative impact on Christianity as a religion. Indeed, no matter how sorrowful it may be, but most people tend to go to church once a week – on Sundays. Contrary to that, yoga classes are at least twice or even three times a week. As a result, people tend to be in this religiously filled environment more often than they would be in the church that they associate themselves with. It is my strong belief that this distorts spiritual outlook of the people and does not allow them to be good Christians. In addition to that, it is quite obvious that the religious traditions that are being promoted in the course of yoga classes are quite different from the religious traditions that are preached in churches. There may be no doubt that if a believer spends one day in one religious environment and three days in a different one, the chances that his or her faith will become less strong are quite high. Finally, the greatest threat lies in the fact that the views in yoga as well as in Christianity are incompatible. The latter is largely based on faith in Jesus Christ which is considered to be the cornerstone of salvation. Contrary to that, people who have advanced in yoga rarely focus their attention on the Christian dogma since yoga teaches the value of introspection and suggests that a person is able to cure one’s health conditions without grace of God. Another point that should be mentioned is that yoga classes also harm Hindu, not matter how surprising this might seem. To begin with, one may point out that the practice in question does not allow people to develop a correct as well as objective understanding of their national identity and religion. Indeed, a considerable number of people embrace the idea that in India everyone is doing yoga on a daily basis and can easily perform even the most difficult exercises. What is more important is that yoga diminishes the system of beliefs of Hindu. One might argue that Hinduism is a highly developed religious system that consists of various practices, with yoga being only one of them. In other words, yoga is not able to show people all the riches of Hindu religious tradition, forming a wrong as well as distorted attitude towards their spiritual legacy. That is why, it would be rather logical for Hindu to protest against the spread of yoga classes as well. Finally, one would make no mistake that this activity contributes to formation of a feeling of despair in Hindu: they might think that their civilization which is known to have emerged prior to European one has developed into some sort of a source of fitness classes. In other words, it may be rather offensive for them that yoga, once being a sacred teaching for the chosen ones, is being taught almost in every city. That is why yoga classes class Hindu as well as their cultural legacy. Being a Christian, I can not help indicating that this activity also mentions ordinary Christians. First of all, I find it very difficult to tolerate that people to take up yoga feel obliged to adopt a considerable number of new beliefs. It is clear that no instructor says that explicitly. However, there are numerous concepts that are characteristic to Hindu spiritual tradition and are not shared by the Christian church. I perceive this as a mild, yet firm conversion into new religion. Secondly, the above mentioned point results in diluting significance of faith inside lives of the people. Indeed, if it is generally acceptable to be a Christian on one day and follow the guidelines that were produced by a different religious tradition on others, the whole concept of devotion as well as commitment are no longer seen as significant. In other words, a person no longer follows one particular path in the spiritual development, but tries to follow multiple of them at the same time. Finally, what is the most sorrowful for me is that yoga classes divert people for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It would be a mistake to suggest that this is done deliberately. No, people who train yoga might think that their activity does not have any religious load. However, in reality a person gradually develops a different perception of the world, where Jesus is not longer the center. I think that this is an indirect attack the targets of which are Christians. Apart from believers that belong to different religious systems, yoga classes also harm people who simply want to be fit. Indeed, yoga encourages people to perform a set of different exercises that have a positive influence on one’s body. However, quite a few people can not understand why their desire to train their body has a spiritual context to it. In other words, is not it possible to achieve a similar result without promoting some spiritual ideas or using related terms? In addition to that, it is quite difficult for a person to take up yoga on one’s own. In spite of the fact that there are numerous publications about it and the Internet is full of videos, teaching yoga exercises, it is a common sense to start with a real life coach. Nevertheless, a coach will still be a representative of this particular system of beliefs so their interaction will not be completely free of this, even if a person chooses to practice yoga individually, not in a group. What is more important is that it is virtually impossible to focus on performance of yoga exercises only without involving other activities. Thus, meditation is an important part of yoga training. While psychologists might view it as an effective tool that allows a person to regain the state of inner stability, mediation is regarded as one of the primary tool of spiritual development in Eastern religions. That is why a person who is only interested in fitness is pushed towards religious principles. Finally, I would like to point out that yoga classes harm the society on the whole. There are several aspects that should be analyzed in great detail with this regard. First of all, yoga classes make unnecessary bridges between different areas of social life. Indeed, as has been noted before, there is a religious addition to the physical activities which makes sure that a person is not able to follow one without the other. In addition to that, yoga classes go beyond the generally accepted scientific ideas. Indeed, the latter should not be considered to a way to explain everything, but there is some knowledge that is self evident or that is based on evidence that can not be rebutted. However, deliberately tries to replace various approaches that are based on common sense and scientific discoveries with religious outlook of a different nation. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that this is likely to have a negative outcome in the long run. As one is able to see, yoga classes harm virtually every part of the society: they harm people who belong to a particular religious, regardless whether they are Hindu or Christians; they violate the long establish separation of church and state as well as attach Christianity as a system of religious beliefs; they have a negative impact on people who just want to stay fit would not like to adopt any kind of religious beliefs; that is why one might conclude that yoga classes are harmful to the society on the whole. Word count: 1500 Read More