Yoga—Hem Exercise Nomoa or Samting Moa Join Witim?
FOR garem body wea luk naes and wea healthy hem samting planti pipol tingting tumas long hem distaem. Diswan mekem planti go long olketa ples for exercise and for health for kasem help. Sem samting mekem planti thousand pipol long Western world for followim yoga, teaching bilong olketa long East.
Pipol wea garem hevi, sorre, and wari tan go long yoga tu for kasem ansa and comfort. Especially start kam from olketa year bilong 1960, long taem bilong olketa hippie and olketa flaoa pikinini, pipol interest long olketa religion bilong East and planti pipol long West followim olketa kastom bilong olketa hia. Planti pipol wea act long olketa movie and olketa rock band mekem pipol interest long wei for duim transcendental meditation, wanfala samting wea kamaot from yoga. From interest bilong pipol long yoga hem kamap moa big, iumi maet ask olsem: ‘Waswe, yoga hem exercise nomoa wea savve mekem man garem healthy body wea luk naes and lelebet peace long mind? Waswe, man savve duim yoga and no join witim religion? Waswe, fitim olketa Christian for duim yoga?’
Start Bilong Yoga
Datfala word “yoga” hem join witim datfala English word “yoke.” Hem savve minim wei for join or yoke tugeta or for mekem kam anda long yoke, for taemap or for kontrolem. For wanfala man bilong Hindu religion, yoga hem wanfala teknik or wei for kontrolem samting man duim for leadim hem for kamap wan witim wanfala strongfala paoa or spirit. Samfala storyim olsem wei for “joinim evri paoa bilong body, mind and soul go long God.”
Yoga start long wanem taem? Olketa piksa bilong pipol wea sidaon followim wei bilong yoga stap long olketa seal wea olketa faendem long Indus Valley, long ples wea distaem olketa kolem Pakistan. Olketa man for studyim oldfala samting sei hao pipol bin stap long Indus Valley start kam long olketa year midolwan long 3,000 and 1,000 B.C.E., wea klosap long taem bilong olketa kastom bilong Mesopotamia. Olketa samting wea olketa faendem long Indus Valley and Mesopotamia garem piksa bilong wanfala man, wea piksarem wanfala god, wea garem horn bilong olketa animal long hed bilong hem and staka animal stap raonem hem, maet piksarem Nimrod, datfala “maeti man for hunting.” (Genesis 10:8, 9) Olketa Hindu sei hao olketa piksa bilong man wea sidaon followim wei bilong yoga hem image bilong datfala god Siva, lord bilong olketa animal and lord bilong yoga, wea planti taem pipol worshipim hem thru long olketa image bilong private part bilong man. Dastawe, datfala buk Hindu World sei yoga hem “wanfala grup bilong olketa rul for disciplinem seleva, wea start kam bifor taem bilong olketa Aryan, wea insaed hem planti idea and tingting bilong olketa bifor.”
Long firstaem olketa teachim olketa wei bilong yoga thru long toktok. Then bihaen, Patañjali, wanfala wiseman bilong yoga from India, raetem daon evri samting and olketa kolem datwan Yoga Sutra, and kam kasem distaem hem nao main instruction buk bilong yoga. Long tingting bilong Patañjali, yoga hem “wanfala wei for followim order for trae and kasem wei for perfect, thru long wei for kontrolem olketa fasin bilong man, saed long body and saed long mind.” From taem hem start, kam kasem distaem, yoga hem main part bilong olketa religion bilong East, especially insaed long Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist religion. Samfala wea duim yoga biliv hao hem bae leadim olketa for kasem moksha, or freedom, thru long wei for join witim wanfala spirit wea bae kontrolem hem evribit.
So iumi askem moa: ‘Waswe, man savve duim yoga for physical exercise nomoa for mekem body healthy and mekem mind relax, and no join witim religion?’ From samting iumi lukim abaotem start bilong hem, ansa masbi nomoa.
Yoga Savve Leadim Iu Go Wea?
Goal bilong wei for iusim yoga olsem training for body hem for leadim man for kasem wanfala spiritual experience for “yoke” or join witim wanfala spirit. Bat wanem spirit nao diswan?
Insaed buk Hindu World, Benjamin Walker sei olsem abaotem yoga: “Maet bifor, diswan wei bilong olketa for duim kastom magic, and nomata distaem insaed mining bilong yoga hem still garem spiritism and wei for iusim demon paoa.” Olketa Hindu savveman agree hao wei for duim yoga savve mekem man garem olketa paoa wea winim bilong man, bat olketa sei hem no goal bilong yoga for kasem diswan. Olsem example, insaed buk Indian Philosophy, man wea bifor hem president bilong India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, hem sei hao wei wea man for duim yoga “kontrolem body bilong hem thru long samfala difren wei mekem hem no feelim samting wea barava hot and cold. . . . Man for duim yoga savve lukluk and herem samting farawe . . . olketa savve pasim go tingting from wanfala man go long narawan nomata olketa no iusim normal wei for story. . . Man wea duim yoga savve mekem pipol no lukim body bilong hem.”
Wei wea man for duim yoga savve sleep long olketa nila or wakabaot long hot asis bilong fire hem maet luk olsem laea samting nomoa long samfala or samfala maet laflaf long diswan. Nomata olsem, olketa samting hia hem happen olowe long India, and tu olketa savve standap long wanfala leg and lukluk long sun for planti hour and savve kontrolem wei for brith for longfala taem mekem man savve laef nomata olketa berem insaed sandbis for longtaem. Long June 1995, The Times of India hem reportim hao wanfala girl wea thri-and-a-haf-year leidaon and sleep anda long paoa bilong yoga taem olketa mekem wanfala car wea hevi bilong hem winim 750 kilogram draev ovarem bele bilong hem. Olketa pipol sapraes taem olketa lukim girl hia wekap and no garekil. Datfala report sei tu: “Diswan hem barava paoa bilong yoga.”
Iumi no daotem hao no eni man fit for duim eni samting hia. Dastawe, wanfala Christian mas ask olsem: Olketa samting hia showimaot wanem? Waswe, olketa kam from Jehovah God, “Most Hae ovarem full earth,” or olketa kam from eni narawan? (Psalm 83:18) Bible tok klia abaotem diswan. Taem olketa Israelite redy for go insaed Promis Land, wea olketa Canaanite nao stap insaed, Jehovah talem olketa son bilong Israel thru long Moses: “Iufala mas no lanem olketa nogud samting bilong olketa nation.” Wanem nao “olketa nogud samting” hia? Moses talemaot warning againstim “eniwan wea duim divination, or man wea iusim magic or eniwan wea lukaotem saen or iusim demon paoa.” (Deuteronomy 18:9, 10) Olketa samting hia God barava heitim bikos hem olketa waka bilong olketa demon and bilong body bilong iumi wea sin.—Galatians 5:19-21.
No Fitim Christian for Chusim
Nomata sapos olketa teacher bilong health talem difren samting, yoga hem no just physical exercise. Wanfala buk Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies hem sei olsem abaotem samting wea kasem tufala man wea just start for duim yoga wea lane from wanfala man for teachim yoga. Wanfala long olketa sei olsem: “Mi barava trae hard for no brith for longfala taem, and mi only brith taem mi klosap haf dead. . . . Wanday, long barava midolday, mi tingse mi lukim wanfala braet moon, wea luk olsem hem muv from saed tu saed. Narataem mi tingse mi insaed bigfala darkness taem hem midolday. Teacher bilong mi . . . hem hapi tumas taem mi talem hem olketa samting wea mi lukim. . . . Hem talem mi hao from wei wea mi go ahed showimaot mi repent from sin, klosap nao bae mi start for kasem samfala moa samting wea bae mekem mi sapraes.” Mek-tu man hem sei olsem: “Hem talem mi for luk ap long skae evriday and no satem eye bilong mi or muvim body bilong mi. . . . Samfala taem mi tingse mi lukim olketa sismol fire long air and long olketa narataem mi lukim olketa raon bol bilong fire and olketa nara samting olsem long skae. Teacher bilong mi hapi long wei wea mi trae hard and mi win long diswan.”
Olketa difren samting hia wea olketa lukim hem nao samting wea olketa teacher bilong yoga expectim olketa for lukim wea bae leadim olketa for kasem trufala goal bilong olketa exercise bilong yoga. Yes, main goal bilong yoga hem moksha, wea minim wei for join witim wanfala bigfala spirit wea stap farawe. Olketa storyim diswan olsem “wei for (min) for stopem mind for tingting seleva.” Hem klia hao diswan hem barava difren from goal wea stap for olketa Christian, wea kasem disfala kaonsel: “Givim body bilong iufala olsem sakrifaes wea laef, holy, wea God acceptim, wanfala holy service witim paoa bilong iufala for tingting stret. And finis for followim disfala system, bat kamap difren evribit from iufala changem tingting bilong iufala, mekem iufala savve pruvim long iufala seleva, gudfala and stretfala and perfect will bilong God.”—Romans 12:1, 2.
Wei for chusim wanem physical exercise for duim hem samting wea man seleva mas disaedem. Bat olketa Christian bae no letem eniting—nomata hem wei for exercise, kaikai, drink, kaleko, hapitaem, or eni nara samting—for spoelem wei wea olketa fren witim Jehovah God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) For olketa wea laek exercise for kasem gud health, planti nara wei stap wea bae no mekem olketa go insaed danger bilong spiritism and kastom magic. Taem iumi stap klia long olketa samting pipol duim and biliv wea garem faondeson long false religion, iumi savve luk forward long blessing bilong God for wanfala raeteous niu system wea iumi bae enjoy for garem perfect health long body and mind for olowe.—2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3, 4.
[Olketa Piksa long page 22]
Planti duim olketa samting for kasem gud health wea no join witim spiritism