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Sikhi & Yoga

Akaali

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Akaali Grand Master

Akaali

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Sikhi And Yoga

By Chan Chen

www.sikhe.com

I looked up the word "yoga" on the Sri Granth website. I am interested in yoga because I practice yoga. There are 129 search results on the word "yoga" and I have to say that this has been a wonderful and inspiring learning experience for me just to study the practice of yoga from a whole different perspective.

I first learned what yoga is not about from the Sikh points of view:

Yoga is not the patched coat, Yoga is not the walking stick. Yoga is not smearing the body with ashes. Yoga is not the ear-rings, and not the shaven head. Yoga is not the blowing of the horn. By mere words, Yoga is not attained. Yoga is not wandering to the tombs of the dead; Yoga is not sitting in trances. Yoga is not wandering through foreign lands; Yoga is not bathing at sacred shrines of pilgrimage. - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Pg 730.

It seemed very abstract to me at first because it doesn't sound like the yoga I am practicing. And in the same page, I found the Sikh's way of attaining yoga:

Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga.

One who looks upon all with a single eye, and knows them to be one and the same - he alone is known as a Yogi. O Nanak, remain dead while yet alive - practice such a Yoga.

My understanding is that in Sikh, yoga is more like a one's point of view, it representing how one sees the world; yoga is a life style, it is how one connects himself or herself to the world; yoga is more than physical postures and the way of breathing, it serves as a spiritual media to praise and contact the True Guru, like it says in the scriptu

re:

And that breath which is drawn without thinking of God, that breath goes in vain.

O Nanak, that body is of no use at all, if it does not enshrine the Name of the True Creator.

As I read on, I started understanding how the yoga I am practicing is different from the yoga according to a Sikh. The approach of yoga that I practice is Hatha yoga and my teachers used to tell me that Hatha yoga means physical yoga and it concentrates on doing physical postures, practicing the technique of breathing and using the power of opposition, and eventually combing all these into a wholesome physical practice of body movements that is initiated by breathing.

But, according to the scriptures, yoga is more like a meditation, it was written that:

Practicing restraint by Hatha Yoga, the body wears away. - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Pg 905.

The many Siddhas and seekers, silent sages and demi-gods cannot satisfy themselves by practicing restraint through Hatha Yoga. - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Pg 906.

This further indicated the restraints of merely practicing Hatha yoga from the Sikh point of view. As I continued exploring the scriptures more, I found out more about Raja yoga. Surprisingly, Raja yoga was described as an approach to perfection:

Perfect is the penance; perfect is the Raja Yoga, the Yoga of meditation and success. - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Pg 188.

In later pages, there were more descriptions of the ways of attaining yoga, for example,

Sitting in Yogic postures in the City of God, through the Word of the Guru's Shabad, you shall find Yoga. - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Pg 909.

He is the Way of Yoga, the Life of the World. - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Pg 931

Nanak speaks: the Gurmukh understands; this is the way that Yoga is attained. - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Pg 939.

O Nanak, without the Name, Yoga is never attained; reflect upon this in your heart, and see. - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Pg 946.

Yoga was discussed in many places in these scriptures and it was really an eye-opening learning experience for me to look at it from a different point of view.

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Ryu Hayabusa Grand Master

Ryu Hayabusa

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The true yoga is doing naam simran.. harming ur body, stretching your body what is the point of this? just do naam.

I do yoga (stretching), it makes me feel alot better and reduces stress, also it allows me to remain comfortable when meditating because all my muscles are free of tension.

Nothing wrong with this so why attack yoga? It's not like people follow yoga as a religon. I don't like some fundamentalist views and this is one of them.

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Dal_Khalsa Veteran

Dal_Khalsa

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Wjkk wjkf!!!

I think i will go wid Guy vir.........that there is nothing wrong with practise yoga(Execise)....its juss, i guess, following the gurus hukum to stay FIT...i guess six guru had orderd us to stasy fit....my be thru Gym or any think Yoga or stuff like that.......After all the sikh and Khalsa need to b fit yaar :umm: . I guess nuffin wrong in practise Yoga........But yes for sure the Yoga wat guru saab has advise us to pracise is realy great wubb.gif and only the few can do it.........We shud not feel any thing grudges of something like tthat of douge from practise the Yoga just because its deemed as Hindu style of remaining fit.......Rather its not the HIndu practise at all...Since the yoga and stuff like that had been invented by some rishi munis....and that munis or rishi did not belong to any religion at all....coz at time like some 4000 years back there was no reliion at all......its just a popular believe has become tthat rishi are Hindu.....but logically thery were NOt.....coz then there was no riligion........Sorry tongue.gif the drifted way from the real thing that is Yoga...tongue.gif........I wud realy like to practise Yoga.....coz its realy good excercises wubb.gif but the problem is tha i dont no any Yoga execise exepct few.. tongue.gif :e:

Ok fateh to all

Arash

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S1ngh Grand Master

S1ngh

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First.. There's no link between yoga and sikhi...

So one can do yoga and enjoy... It's not anti-sikhi stufff.. But saying that doing yoga is the only way to get to the sikhi is simply wrong..

In end .. Yoga has nothing to do with sikhi in ANY WAY.... just like playing soccer has nothing to do with sikhi...

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