{"id":10981,"date":"2017-03-02T14:27:55","date_gmt":"2017-03-02T19:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/?p=10981"},"modified":"2017-03-02T15:37:33","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T20:37:33","slug":"reflectii-asupra-practicii-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/2017\/03\/02\/reflectii-asupra-practicii-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"The influence of yoga on body and mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In our age, the system of Yoga is proposed as a panacea to nearly all the problems that <\/span>humanity encounters. We hear advertising slogans such as: \u201eDo Yoga for health and beauty\u201f.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Since we have been engaged in Yoga for years, some of us had also become teachers of Yoga,<\/span>and we want to convey to you one experience and problem with this.<\/span>In the beginning, one truly feels a healthiness, well-being and revival. However, it is <\/span><\/span><\/span>suggested to attribute this improvement to certain \u201ehidden powers\u201f and a certain \u201esecret wisdom\u201f <\/span>that exist hidden within the Yoga exercises (stances).<\/span>Instead of this, some could comfortably attribute the well-being that they feel to <\/span>the movement; to the active and energetic doing of the body that wakes up from the sedentary way <\/span>of life that today\u201fs social organisations inspire. One also gets the same feeling when he starts <\/span>running, swimming, soccer or whatever other kind of bodily gymnastics and even much more if <\/span>he cuts certain bad habits such as smoking, staying up late, overeating, drinking alcohol etc.<\/span>Every metaphysical explanation of this well-being is superfluous. Persistence in such an <\/span><\/span>explanation simply becomes personal preference or curiosity that hides other goals. Only<\/span><\/span> beginners have this feeling of well-being. The more advanced start to have problems; pains in <\/span>the waist, knees, back and joints.<\/span>The asanas, those curious postures of Yoga, are unnatural for the human body. They are  <\/span><\/span>inspired by animals; they imitate the posture of animals. This is also revealed by their names: i) <\/span><\/span>Salambasana<\/span><\/span>= the lotus posture, ii) <\/span><\/span><\/span>Bountzavgkasana<\/span>= the cobra posture,<\/span>iii)<\/span><\/span> Koukontasana<\/span><\/span>= the rooster posture, iv) <\/span><\/span><\/span>Outhan Pristasana<\/span>= the lizard posture; and there <\/span>are many others.<\/span>Some of these postures are easy; others more challenging. In order for one to succeed in <\/span><\/span>staying correctly in these Yoga postures, they must be practiced for a long time. These positions <\/span><\/span>slowly loosen the joints of the body. They compel the limits of their abilities with persistent <\/span><\/span>force to twist unnaturally. A sufficient amount of people are slightly wounded and some are <\/span><\/span>severely injured (e.g.. rupture of the bonds\/limbs, wounding of the tendons, etc.). They can also <\/span><\/span>damage their knees and waist.<\/span>The fact that bodily problems appear as a consequence of Yoga is confirmed by their sacred <\/span>texts. The sacred Upanishads (mystical Hinduist texts) say: \u201cWhatever complaints or curses <\/span><\/span><\/span>about these problems that Yoga causes, is unworthy of Yoga\u201d.<\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/span>During the time that I did these exercises, I chanced upon, and attended the lecture of a Hindu<\/span>Yogi in Thessaloniki. Wanting to prevail over the other spiritual competitors that start fishing<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
with equations of style (i.e. Yoga = health and beauty), this Yogi said one truth: \u201cWhoever doe<\/span><\/span>s <\/span>Yoga only to acquire health and beauty would be better off to do swimming. He doesn’t have <\/span><\/span>any reason to do Yoga. Yoga is for those people who are interested in developing spiritually\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Indeed this is how it is! Only I do not know what spiritual development will result.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
However, we still haven\u201ft reached the worse part. The main aim of Yoga gymnastics and <\/span><\/span>postures is neither the development of muscles nor the acquisition of blessings. Their aims are <\/span><\/span>the alteration of the organism\u201fs biochemical e<\/span>quilibrium. Someone seated in these postures puts<\/span><\/span> pressure on the internal organs of the body: the heart, intestines, liver and lungs. Certain<\/span> postures particularly press and influence\/act upon the endocrine* glands (they are called chakras<\/span>in their terminology). The pressure incites the glands (most times) when we have an over-<\/span><\/span>functioning and effusion of great quantities of hormones inside the body. Other times, the exact <\/span><\/span>opposite occurs. Every group of postures (asanas) exerts pressure on the various glands. For <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>example, one group of postures incites the thyroid gland** causing a greater production of <\/span>thyroxin hormones that pour out\/discharge in the blood and alters the whole basic metabolism of <\/span>the body.<\/span>The individual becomes overactive; something <\/span>that he takes as \u201edrawing up energy from higher <\/span>universal centre\u201f of the Yoga techniques. Some time ago, they took care to pass over this <\/span><\/span>interpretation in their printed matter and lectures. Thus they told us, in order to fill us with <\/span>enthusiasm and incite us into more frequent and more vigorous exercise. Our egotism also <\/span><\/span>helped in this direction. I was thinking to myself, \u201cI will progress spiritually where I will also <\/span><\/span>acquire Yogic powers\u201d. Thus, we entered into a vicious circle continually rotating <\/span><\/span>quicker and <\/span>more vigorously, stimulating all those glands with the appropriate postures; the adrenal <\/span>glands***, the pancreas****etc.; even the gland which regulate the secretions of all the <\/span><\/span>other glands. Imagine what occurred in our bodies.<\/span><\/span><\/span>*<\/span><\/p>\n
Endocrine gland: <\/span>One of several ductless glands, whose secretions, released directly into the<\/span> blood or lymph, have a critical importance in many phases of physiological activity.<\/span>** <\/span>Thyroid gland: <\/span>An endocrine gland situated in front of an on each side of the trachea. It <\/span><\/span><\/span>screens thyroxin and is important in the regulation of metabolism and body growth.<\/span>*** <\/span>Adrenal gland: <\/span>One of a pair of small ductless glands situated on the kidneys of most <\/span>vertebrates, in man secreting epinephrine and cortin; also called suprarenal gland (epinephrine =<\/span>the active principle of the medullar portion of the adrenal glands CaH1303N, used as a heart <\/span>stimulant; also called adrenaline)<\/span>**** <\/span>Pancreas: <\/span>a large gland situated behind the lower part of the stomach secreting digestive <\/span>enzymes into the duodenum and producing insulin<\/span>This is the aim of the postures: to alter the hormonal and biochemical equilibrium of the<\/span><\/span> body. They raise the equilibrium level of the hormones inside the body to incite\/stimulate the <\/span>organism because they think that they will acquire spiritual experiences in this way. They think <\/span><\/span><\/span>that they will become gods by themselves.<\/span>It is natural for someone who is in a situation of hormonal disorders to have altered organs of <\/span>feeling and perception. At <\/span><\/span><\/span>Satyanata’s ashram in India, one Englishman Tony, who had been <\/span>doing Krigia Yoga for 2 years told me that it is like taking LSD continually. He felt a terrible <\/span>energy inside him and he couldn’t sit in one place. He wanted to continue to do things and to <\/span><\/span>work. He couldn’t communicate with his friends. He found them to be idle and slow. Thus, he <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>broke away from them and became more connected with the ashram. <\/span>Once, Elder Paisios told me, \u201cThe devil cannot hide completely. God doesn’t allow it. If <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>the <\/span>devil hid in some sack, a certain horn would protrude. But what does the devil one do? What’s <\/span><\/span>this, he says, it isn\u201ft a horn, it\u201fs an eggplant\u201d. The gurus also follow this tactic. They explain <\/span><\/span><\/span>these clearly bodily phenomena as spiritual experiences and as spiritual progress. They interpret <\/span><\/span>the condition (which doctors consider sickness) as \u201edraining up energy from higher centers\u201f.<\/span>Egoism will flatter these people into thinking that they are more advanced; they aren\u201ft like the<\/span><\/div>\n
others. The purpose of this tactic is to make these people more attached to the gurus with the <\/span><\/span>hope that they will also reveal other deeper secrets to them; higher techniques that will make <\/span>them superman, gods or whatever else they desire. Thus, the maypole of deception is weaved.<\/span><\/span>I remember going to Elder Paisios and telling him about some light that I saw when I had <\/span>reached a deep meditation in Yoga. He laughed and said \u201cmy child, we do not want to see such<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
lights. If you press your eyes to see lights, if you suddenly get up, you will see little stars. My <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>child these things are nonsense.\u201d At that time, I didn’t understand, nor did I really believe his <\/span>words. Years had to pass. I had to suffer in order to learn. It is very easy for someone to be<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>en tangled if he do<\/span>esn’t have spiritual experiences from Christ and the Church. He doesn’t have a <\/span><\/span>criterion or a spiritual taste in order to judge or discern what it is that he\u201fs living through. Does <\/span><\/span>it have a bodily\/corporeal origin\/source; a snare\/toy of the senses? Does it have a spiritual <\/span><\/span>origin\/source? Is it as the hallucinations of psychopath who hears voices, sees visions etc. or is it <\/span><\/span>a spiritual fact or event? Even if it is a spiritual fact\/event, where does it come from, Christ or <\/span><\/span>the devil? (The devil has the ability to transform himself into animals, light and even an angel, as <\/span>the Apostle Paul and the Ascetical fathers say.)<\/span>The Yogic exercises and other similar techniques act upon the endocrine glands and bring <\/span>about hormonal changes to the body. You will hear that they act upon certain centers <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2013 <\/span>\u201echakras\u201f <\/span>(which give them mystical extensions) from where you derive energy. This is a \u201espiritual <\/span><\/span><\/span>source\/origin\u201f. Is this change without danger? Is it safe for someone to experiment and play <\/span><\/span><\/span>with his body’s <\/span>hormones? God (nature if you prefer) has regulated\/adjusted and fixed our body <\/span><\/span>in a certain way. We have a very strong, intricate equilibrium, so why do we want to change it?<\/span><\/span>The smallest hormonal disorder causes serious illnesses (sterility, high blood pressure, goiter*,<\/span>diabetes, cancer). It is very dangerous. It is opposite of what they advertise. It has a deep <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>influence upon the body. Someone can become gravely ill; suffer a galloping form of cancer; he <\/span><\/span>can go mad, ending up in a psychiatric clinic. Paul Grivas (one of my teachers at Mind Control <\/span><\/span>who practiced Krigia Yoga for many years) died from cancer in New York. All the magic and <\/span><\/span><\/span>all the invocations or higher consciousness that he and his disciples invoked for his sake, could <\/span>not save him. <\/span>Nobody knew these things. Nobody talked about these things in the 70\u201fs. Ten years had to<\/p>\n
 pass for many cases of illness to appear in order for something to start being whispered. Again,<\/span><\/span>the gurus threw the burden and error on their disciples. They <\/span><\/span><\/span>didn’t do the exercise well. They <\/span><\/span>didn’t make good preparations, etc. The first cowardly questions started to occur. Afterwards, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>suicides compelled the gurus to start speaking about the dangers. Many people fell from the <\/span><\/span>clouds, so dangers also exist.<\/span><\/div>\n
What did Satyanenta say when speaking about the techniques? \u201cTogether with this <\/span><\/span><\/span>redemption from restrictions and misfortunes, from the other side, you can go mad and pass your <\/span>remaining years in a psychiatric ward. Unfortunately, this has happened to some people who <\/span><\/span>followed practical Yoga without guidance or, otherwise, they didn’t obey their teacher’s <\/span>instructions.\u201d That is, he throws the blame on the disciples. He puts \u201eoil\u201f on himself.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Since these exercises are so dangerous, why do they circulate periodicals, books, and <\/span>magazines with photographs that advertise only their beneficial results without any warning <\/span>about the dangers? Should we label them irresponsible and indifferent about the harm people <\/span><\/span>can suffer? They are interested only about the promotion of their organisation. Sometimes, they <\/span><\/span>remind me of criminal profiteers who sell dangerous products for the health of men, who<\/span><\/div>\n
advertise and project only their so called would be virtues, in order to earn money. Isn\u201ft this the <\/span><\/span><\/span>same social behaviour? <\/span>*<\/span>Goiter: <\/span>any abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland, visible as a swelling in the front of the <\/span>neck. <\/span>I will tell you how I suffered this very thing. I started to perform the exercise Suria<\/span><\/span> Namaskara (greeting the sun). I was affected by the high praises concerning these exercises.<\/span><\/div>\n
What did they say? \u201cIt is a good method of loosening all the j<\/span>oints of the body. It massages all <\/span><\/span>the internal\/esoteric organs and the body\u201fs muscles. If someone feels tired, he is able at any time <\/span><\/span><\/span>of the day to perform the exercise to restore the lost vitality (bodily and intellectual).\u201d Because I <\/span><\/span>had read that Yogis do 12 sets of this exercise, I also did 12 sets. After a few times, I started to <\/span><\/span>feel my chest boil and rumble\/gurgle. Also, I started to feel hot in all of my body. In the<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
stupidity of 22 years, I thought \u201cthe spiritual fires have opened\u201d. I start<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
ed to feel awful and<\/span>fortunately, I stopped. What happened? Evidently, it was a hormonal over-excitation and<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>nothing spiritual as I had imagined. Later, I discussed it with a swami who sympathized with<\/span><\/span><\/span>me. He was very disturbed and told me not to do it again, without telling me the reason why.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Let\u201fs return to guru Satyananta to see how he justifies or excuses the madness and cancer that<\/span>someone can suffer from Yoga and similar techniques: \u201cDon\u201ft permit such a thing to happen to<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
you. If you desire to follow the road toward true knowledge, you should have a guru that is <\/span><\/span>completely familiar with this other dimension of consciousness. The teacher should know it<\/span><\/span> backwards. He should have been found there. Such a guru is called Sat-guru. Why reconcile <\/span>with something lesser?\u201d <\/span>The sneaky guru is indirectly self-<\/span><\/div>\n
recommended. So, for the \u201emishaps\u201f, according to his <\/span><\/span>view, he blames the disciples or the pseudo-guru. Satyananta, however is guaranteed, a <\/span><\/span>successful teacher. His disciples don’t have t<\/span><\/span><\/span>o fear. Yet, is this really how things are? How <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>many disciples left from him, afraid, disappointed, discouraged and mentally insane? In the<\/span><\/span> beginning, when I met the mentally insane swami (that is an advanced Yogi teacher), I asked, <\/span>\u201cwhy is he like that\u201d? They told me, \u201cHis guru took his mind because it was an obstacle to his <\/span><\/span>spiritual progress\u201d. What can someone say? They patch up everything. They justify it all by<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
 proposing their own interpretation. They slip from thesis to thesis until they contradict <\/span><\/span>themselves, justifying the unjustifiable.<\/span><\/div>\n
Guru Satyananta says, \u201cMany disciples\/students come and tell me that from the time they did <\/span>Kundalini Yoga, they have had many sexual problems. They feel a lot of guilt about this. If I <\/span><\/span>wasn’t there, they would have gone mad. I tell them \u201clook here, this is simply physiological. Let <\/span>it happen.\u201d (Teachins of Satyananta, Vol. 6 p.397, Sept. 1989) <\/span>That is to say, according to his view, the danger of someone going insane is simply<\/span> physiological. For us, this view seems ridiculous.<\/span>However, these views come from the world of another tradition. Their Hinduism has twisted <\/span><\/span>and perverted\/corrupted minds. Hinduists consider this madness\/insanity as sacred. In India, I <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>had known a certain Brahman who boasted because he had an insane wife. What can one say?<\/span><\/span>Some consider a bone passed through the nose as beauty.<\/span><\/div>\n
Further on, Satyananta says, \u201csometimes people that accept these surges of Kundalini want to<\/span>eat and eat like epreureans. I tell them, \u201cIt\u201fs<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
completely alright. Otherwise, they have many<\/span><\/div>\n
complexes about themselves\u201d.<\/span>In other circumstances, Satyananta said to other people \u201cDespite all these things, people say<\/span><\/div>\n
that the awakening of Kundalini is dangerous. Why? Naturally, a mishap\/accident can happen,<\/span><\/span><\/span> perhaps resulting in a psychiatric clinic for some time, but everything is a risk. Life is one long <\/span><\/span>risk and it benefits man to be a daring, venturesome warrior. What will happen if you train in<\/span><\/span><\/span>Kundalini Yoga and go insane? Then you will start to train and if you go crazy, then someone <\/span>else will start. Eventually, we will tame Kundalini\u201d. (Yoga, 5\/1981, p.8)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Wonderful! That is to say, we the disciples\/students will go insane and these teachers will <\/span><\/span>tame Kundalini on our backs. We are their guinea pigs. The formula reminds of the SS doctors <\/span><\/span>who performed fatal experiments with the prisoners in Nazi camps. Guru Satyananta admits that <\/span><\/span>not even genuine gurus and successful teachers are excluded from this \u201emishap\u201f (sic).<\/span><\/span> It happens. They knew about these things. They knew that problems and trouble would <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>appear. They know that it is dangerous. However, the students have the risk and danger, not the <\/span><\/span>teacher. If something doesn’t go well, the student will pay for it, not the guru. T<\/span><\/span><\/span>he guru will <\/span>simply understand his mistake will give the next student other guidelines. They will always find <\/span><\/span>enough disciples\/victims in order to do their experiments. <\/span>I\u201fm not even examining if this Kundalini (the sacred snake that sits at the edge of everyone’s <\/span>spine) exists, or if it\u201fs still a religious conviction that can be explained in a thousand other ways.<\/span><\/p>\n
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 <\/span>*<\/span><\/div>\n
 Note on Kundalini:<\/span><\/div>\n
According to Hinduist teaching, Kundalini is a hidden energy at the base of <\/span>every human being\u201fs spine. The purpose <\/span><\/span>of the Yogic techniques is to awaken the sacred snake <\/span>of Kundalini in order for man to acquire illumination-deification, to reach Samadhi. <\/span>It has never been proven if this energy truly exists. Quite simply, inside their deception, they <\/span><\/span>give their own interpretations about things that could very well be explained differently by a <\/span>scientist, or a saint, or a Muslim, or a Christian. It is a matter of an arbitrary metaphysical <\/span><\/span>explanation. They adapt the events to their theory. They adapt the effects\/results to their <\/span><\/span><\/span>metaphysical belief. They operate like the bed of Procrustos.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
The scientific method is different. When the experiment or experience doesn’t agree with the <\/span><\/span>theory, then the theory is rejected and not reality. But here, the matter is about a metaphysical <\/span><\/span>faith that tries to exploit the validity of science. The centre and nucleus of their theories is found <\/span>outside the boundaries\/confines of logic. It is impossible to audit with logic. It is a matter of a<\/span><\/span> philosophical, religious belief. It is a matter of religious deception. <\/span><\/span>I am not examining the validity of Kundalini here; I am however examining the guru\u201fs stance<\/span><\/div>\n
against their fellow man, the people who have put their confidence in them and have become <\/span>their disciples, who bel<\/span>ieve them about the \u201egods\u201f. Some of these people have dedicated their<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
lives to the person of the guru who shows such contempt and hardness towards the disciples. He <\/span><\/span><\/span>shows no respect, no love, or sympathy for the people that already went crazy in this foolish <\/span>endeavour. Insanity is very great grief. The madman aches and ceaselessly suffers in the depth of <\/span><\/span>his soul and the guru offers not even one word of apology to those who went insane. Instead, the<\/span><\/div>\n
attitude they hold is: \u201cwe will continue until we tame Kundalini\u201d. That is to say, we will <\/span><\/span><\/span>continue and we will drive others insane under our enlightened guidance. It\u201fs a matter of <\/span><\/span>ruthless people.<\/span>The hard and inhumane attitude of this particular guru is not only due to his own heart or <\/span>character, but is an expression of a deeper and broader attitude of life. It is the perception of the <\/span><\/span>Hinduist world-view that forms such personalities. He is the living example of Hinduism.<\/span><\/span>One more interesting piece of news from the newspapers:<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cIn Februar<\/span>y, 1988, Basilis Theoropoulos (28 yrs. old) was found hung outside the gate <\/span>of Satyananta Ashram in Paiania, Attica. He was a follower of the movement for 2 years. The<\/span><\/span> people in charge of the centre threw him out wretchedly and miserably because according to <\/span>their assertion, he showed symptoms of manic depression. Yesterday morning, an anonymous<\/span><\/span> person <\/span>\u2013 <\/span>evidently from the site of the ashram, called the police in Koropi and announced the <\/span>death of a certain acquaintance.\u201d (Auge, Feb. 18, 1988)<\/span><\/div>\n
This is <\/span>one of the guru\u201fs mishaps. How many other secret accidents occur that we don\u201ft even <\/span><\/span>know about? I add here the confession of Theodora Kateloozou (without annotations) that was <\/span><\/span>published in the newspaper \u201eOrthodox Typos\u201f, 1976: \u201cbecause I strenuously tra<\/span>ined in<\/span><\/div>\n
Maharishi\u201fs system for over 2 years, I can say with all sincerity and responsibility that the <\/span>relaxation of meditation is an Indian style passivity that paralyses your every power of resistance <\/span>and struggling in life. However, it\u201fs very far from t<\/span><\/span>rue serenity\/calm and psychic\/mental <\/span><\/span>euphoria. With Maharishi\u201fs technique, and all other related Hinduist <\/span>– Buddhist, etc. techniques,<\/span>the person is self-hypnotised and slowly loses all will-power and initiative. It is a <\/span><\/span>brainwashing that is undergone gradually, notably when the person knows Maharishi and finally <\/span>becomes another voice without personality. Personally, it did me much mental harm because I <\/span><\/span>could neither concentrate nor read and I had also lost my energy\/activeness. Since the time that <\/span><\/span>I stopped meditating, I was able to continue my studies. We also had very dangerous cases (of an<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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epidemic) with Maharishi\u201fs system. One young man practiced TM (transcendental meditation)<\/span><\/span><\/span>and committed suicide while he attended a seminar of Maharashi\u201fs in Magi<\/span>orka. Another person <\/span><\/span>completely lost his voice. Some Greek captain showed many mental disorders and they locked <\/span><\/span>him up in a psychiatric clinic. I saw many kids with my own eyes who started to make spastic <\/span><\/span>movements and gestures. They also showed other different symptoms that were outside of their <\/span><\/span>control\u201d.<\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/span>We suffer and learn. We pay the exact price. I hope that you read and learn without having to <\/span><\/span>suffer. <\/span>Let\u201fs proceed to the third point, which in my view, is the most dangerous: their fold o<\/span><\/span>f <\/span>techniques.<\/span>Usually when someone performs these exercises, he is told to concentrate his nous (mind) on <\/span>some specific spot of the body. It is a different spot for every exercise. Simultaneously, he is to <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>think of or say some phrase or sound with the mouth, a mantra.<\/span><\/div>\n
What are these mantras? The beginners don\u201ft know. They refer to some of the many deities <\/span><\/span><\/span>in Hinduism; either the \u201egods\u201f, Siva, or Krishna, or Kali, or Vishnu, or the sacred syllable OM,<\/span>etc. They are invocations or doxologies to <\/span><\/span><\/span>idolatrous deities. The worship of these \u201egods\u201f is <\/span><\/span>imposed\/enforced by the Vedes. <\/span>The first command of the 10 commandments which God gave through the Prophet Moses on<\/span><\/div>\n
Mt. Sinai says: \u201cI am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt<\/span><\/span>, out of the <\/span>house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods beside Me. Thou shalt not make to thyself an <\/span><\/span><\/span>idol, nor likeness of anything, whatever things are in the heaven above, and whatever are in the <\/span>earth beneath, and whatever are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, <\/span><\/span>nor serve them, for I am the Lord thy God\u201d. (Exodus, 20:1<\/span><\/span>-5).<\/span>God forbade people to make and worship idols and simultaneously, He proclaimed that there <\/span>is no other god except Him.<\/span>Later, through th<\/span>e Prophet and King David, God proclaimed \u201cfor all the gods of the nations <\/span>are demons\u201d(pg. 45:5). \u201cThe idols of the nations are the works of the hands of men\u201d (pg. 113:12).<\/span>The evangelist John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, says, \u201cLittle children guard your<\/span>selves from <\/span>the idols. Amen\u201d (1Jn. 5:21).<\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/span>Of course, ancient idolatry never ceased to exist in India. The Apostle Thomas went and<\/span><\/span> preached in India and he established the Church that exists to this day. However, today the bulk <\/span>of the population are idolaters.<\/span>Parallel with the Yoga exercises (in order to become better and have more powerful results)<\/span>they have you invoke the names of idolatrous deities by saying a certain mantra (i.e. Hari, OM,<\/span>Hari Krishna, or OM nama Sivaya, etc.).<\/span><\/span>This results in the withdrawal of Divine Grace. We also deny Christ in this way, by <\/span>transgressing the first Commandment. The withdrawal of Divine Grace leaves the field open to <\/span>the devil who finds us less protected and we give him rights. Then the devil starts his planning.<\/span><\/span>He mainly creates various supernatural phenomenons through the fantasy\/imagination which <\/span>have the aim to enchant us, and draw us deeper inside the deception, far away from Christ, to the <\/span>worship of idols and eventually to the unfeigned, undisguised worship of Satan.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If this isn\u201ft a side<\/span>-wise, indirect entrance into idolatry and the denial and transgression of <\/span>God\u201fs laws, then what is it?<\/span><\/div>\n
The greatest danger of Yoga starts from here because the most important thing is at stake: the  <\/span>right knowledge about God. If someone fails in this subject, he fails in everything; everything is <\/span><\/span>wrong afterwards. For this reason, the Prophets preached and Christ was crucified in order for us <\/span><\/span>to gain eternal life: \u201cand this is the eternal life, that they may be knowing thee, the only true God,<\/span>and Jesus Christ when thou didst send forth\u201d (John.17:3). (Taking from The Gurus, The Young<\/span><\/span>Man, and Elder Paisios pp.381-393)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source:Dionysios Farasiotis-The Influence of Yoga on the body and the mind<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gurus, the youth and the Elder Paisios\u201d, (book, pages 381-393).<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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  In our age, the system of Yoga is proposed as a panacea to nearly all the problems that humanity encounters. We hear advertising slogans such as: \u201eDo Yoga for health and beauty\u201f. Since we have been engaged in Yoga for years, some of us had also become teachers of Yoga,and we want to convey to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-antonel","4":"post-10981","6":"format-image","7":"category-biblioteca","8":"post_format-post-format-image","9":"has-format"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10981"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10984,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10981\/revisions\/10984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}