Carla, Hindus believe in only one God, but Hindus accept and pray to God by all his various names/manifestations, and Hindus state that "God is one, sages pray to him using different names." Thus, Hinduism accepts validity of all other world religions as equally true.

 

Didn't I say the same?

same as what?

as him; what he said

huh :stunned:

You are celebrating too early

you sound like drunk

I wonder how you'll sound on Thuersday :stunned:

well, i do yoga, and my teacher always refers to different eastern religions, often hinduism because there is a long history of yoga over there (india).

i know that they believe in reincarnation, but is it hinduism that believes in chakras?

i have a little statue of geneash (no idea how to spell it): the elephannt guy- i think he's for wisdom or something like that

hahah yes, you got it!

 

Wow, it's surprising to find out such things. And kinda disappointing too, because most Hindus when they see others practicing or following their traditions or having Hindu icons, think that they're revered by others as much as they're revered by Hindus themselves. But then, like recently Harrod's of London was selling Hindu-themed bikinis with Goddess images on them, it's not always the case.

 

 

Yes, jax, yoga is a Hindu tradition. "Yoga" means "joining with God" because Hindus believe that our souls never die even when we do, that the soul is the essence of humans, and that through meditation (yoga is supposed to help one in one's quest for perfect meditation) and righteous living (called "dharma"), one can get one's soul to rise to higher states of consciousness until at last it unites with God, or the Super-Soul.

 

But of course nowa-days, yoga is used by most folks as simply exercise and nothing much else. I'm glad though that your yoga instructor does relate it to Hinduism in his/her own ways.

 

And yep, Hindus believe in reincarnation, in that this physical body is just one "home" of your soul, it is the soul that moves on when your physical body passes away, and the soul reincarnates according to its "karma".

 

And yes, Hindus believe in chakras (part of "kundalini"). Kundalini chakra is the highest chakra of the seven that run up one's spine. When one achieves the higher states of consciousness through yoga and meditation, one is able to arouse the Kundalini Chakra and then one can feel the nature of this Creation and become Self-realized. Jesus too is supposed to have said the same thing, in a different way.

 

And yes, Ganesh (also written as Ganesha, with the last 'a' silent) is the god of wisdom, remover of obstacles. Students pray to Ganesh most often. :-)

 

 

Sharing this information is so exciting!! :-)

 

 

 

[q]It is through the sanction of the Gods that the Hindu undertakes the practice of yoga - that orthodox and strictly Hindu science of meditation that leads to union of the many with the One. Yoga is the culmination of years of religious and devotional service and can only be successful with the support of the Gods who are the sentries guarding the gates of the various strata of consciousness. This sanction, once obtained, can and does allow the kundalini force within the core of the spine to safely rise and merge with the Supreme that all Hindus know is the Absolute - timeless, causeless, and spaceless. But first much work has to be done, much work and worship.[/q]

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/books/pamphlets/GodAndGodsOfHinduism.html

:)

i found your link interesting. my yoga teacher does not go into much detail, but i could pick up aspects of what she teachers in the site.

for me though, i find her techniques much better then when i tried doing yoga through a gym!

because she is also an accupuncturist, among other things, and has travelled to many countries, she teaches us other forms of yoga and then allows us to practice the ones we feel most comfortable, for instance the importance of different movements and breathing techniques as to different types of yoga. we also learn meditation and other alternative practices and for me these have helped me a great deal from sleeping better to dealing with stress (hehe, now who sounds like a preacher!)

 

being hindu then, do you practice yoga? and is it a characteristic of all hindus or only those of a more devout nature? :/

Hi Jax!! thanks for the nice reply, and sorry that I've not replied back!! I've not come back on the site for a while, and I seemed to have missed it the last time I was on :/

 

 

No, I do not do yoga myself, though I was taught how to do it in my childhood and I did it for a long time. And yes, indeed, yoga does help one with sleep and also in relieving stress. It helps at many levels, so many different afflictions can be healed partly by just doing yoga. It's great that you are able to benefit from it, at least in the physical aspect of things. And it's even more nice that you can put it in some context with Hinduism! :cool:

 

If you'd like to ask more questions, or just chat (about other things too! lol), just PM me here and I'll send you my msn or yahoo contact details.

 

:cool:

i forgot to mention: yoga and other meditation activities are life-long processes. once you learn them when you're young, you can always get back to doing it quickly whenever you feel you can benefit from it. and plus, many people who do yoga or meditate have trained themselves to a level where they can de-stress themselves well.