Question: The negative attitude of the Russian Orthodox
Church toward yoga is well known. What is the reason for it?
Answer: How do our Orthodox people and their pastors understand the word
yoga? For them it means standing on the head, swallowing broken glass, and
other miracles — in contrast with prayer. And, certainly, powerful prayer, especially
that of Hesychasts, is higher than the best hatha yoga.
But yoga is immeasurably more than hatha yoga. The word yoga is identical
to the word religion. They both are translated into Russian as “union, mergence
of man with God”. And the basis of yoga is not asana. The basis of yoga is Love!
And how to study Love — this is written in the New Testament, the Bhagavad Gita,
Tao Te Ching, and many other wonderful books, including the stories by Leo Tolstoy
and others.
Yoga is ethics. Yoga is the Path of Love. And if we preach and propagate yoga
in this way, maybe with time the antagonism that you mentioned will disappear.
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