vjkk vjkf,
Great question Sherab bro and I will try and answer the best I can:
Sikhism is a spiritual movement which doesn’t say that you should or shouldn’t do yoga, should or shouldn’t dance, should or shouldn’t do fasting, should or shouldn’t meditate, should or shouldn’t earn lots of money etc. Sikhism simply says that you can do all the above if you like but if you forget God then the above will give you nothing and you will have wasted your life.
Quote 1:
Scrupulous Jains and hosts of Siddhs, ascetic yogis - I have seen them all.
Warriors and demons, gods who drink amrit, devout believers in a multitude of doctrines.
All these have I witnessed as I traveled the world, yet never a true follower of the Lord.
Without the love and grace of God their devotion is trivial, worthless, lost. (1)
If you take the opposite of the above statement then you get: With the love and grace of God their devotion is fruitful and worthy even as a Jain, Siddh, ascetic yogi, warrior, demon drinking amrit, and devout believers of multiple doctrines.
And why would we take that verse in reverse? (no pun intended). If it is what Guru Nanak Dev meant, he would of oput it in reverse himself, right?
Quote 2:
What benefit comes from endless meditation, from sitting like cranes with both eyes closed?
One may piously bathe in all seven oceans and yet lose everything here and hereafter.
Some spend their lives deep in the jungle, wasting their years in useless endeavor.
Again Sikhism says that nothing equals the power of a prayer from the heart. Yoga Bhajan was asked what the difference between prayer and meditation was and Yogi Ji said that in meditation we try and reach God but with prayer God comes to us. All the things mentioned in quote 2 are effort based. However Sikhism teaches that all our efforts wil play a small part in the grand scheme of our spiritual evolution because as we walk one step towards the Guru…the Guru will walk millions of steps towards us.
[b[ and is yoga such as kundalini yoga NOT meditation with asana? [/b]
Statement 1:
And in jap-ji Sahib we see that by keeping fasts, and using yogic postures and breathing, we not come closer to God. What is the point of yoga then, if it's just good for our body? why not jog or do normal excersize?
There is no doubt that these things can increase our ego because we think we have spiritual knowledge and reward us with very little if anything and as always you may prefer to do TaiChi, Thai boxing, jogging, weight training, wing chun instead of Kundalini Yoga. But remember this is a personal choice and not a religious ruling.
But Kundalini yoga is there for a spiritual purpose - to rise up the male and female energies through the central channel.
General comments regarding Yoga
Yoga in the true sense of the word means “Union” with the divine and so Sikhism should be regarded as the correct approach to Yoga or union with God. Sikhism contains a number of different approaches to yoga such as
1)Karma yoga which is also known as seva
2)Bhakti yoga which is also known as keertan
3)Jnana yoga which is also know as self inquiry and Vicharr or Katha
4)Naad Yoga which is gurbani sung in the traditional raags
5)Jaapa Yoga which is Nitnem
Yoga means "a training" in the snese of training yourself to change, tto become like _______. Also the idea of Karma, Bhakti, etc. yogas is found in Hinduism, not Sikhi. As for approaches to "yoga" why mention the term yoga at all?
it sounds to hindu-fied for me.
More Gurbani Quotes
“He is not affected by actions, responsibilities and entanglements; in the
entanglements of his household, he maintains the detachment of Yoga. ||5||
He renounces sexual desire, anger, egotism, greed, attachment and Maya.
Within his mind, he meditates on the reality of the Imperishable Lord; by
Guru's Grace he finds Him. ||6|| Spiritual wisdom and meditation are all said
to be God's gifts; all of the demons are turned white before him.”
(Guru Granth Sahib, page 503)
“This is not Yoga, O Yogi, to abandon your family and wander around. The
Name of the Lord, Har, Har, is within the household of the body. By Guru's
Grace, you shall find your Lord God. ||8||This world is a puppet of clay, Yogi;
the terrible disease, the desire for Maya is in it. Making all sorts of efforts,
and wearing religious robes, Yogi, this disease cannot be cured. ||9||The
Name of the Lord is the medicine, Yogi; the Lord enshrines it in the mind. One
who becomes Gurmukh understands this; he alone finds the Way of Yoga.
||10||The Path of Yoga is very difficult, Yogi; he alone finds it, whom God
blesses with His Grace. Inside and outside, he sees the One Lord; he eliminates
doubt from within himself. ||11||So play the harp which vibrates without
being played, Yogi. Says Nanak, thus you shall be liberated, Yogi, and remain
merged in the True Lord. ||12||1||10||”
(Guru Granth Sahib, page 909)
“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. Remaining unblemished in the midst
of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga. ||1|| By mere words,
Yoga is not attained. 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. ||1||Pause||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. Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world -
this is the way to attain Yoga. ||2||Meeting with the True Guru, doubt is
dispelled, and the wandering mind is restrained. Nectar rains down, celestial
music resounds, and deep within, wisdom is obtained. Remaining unblemished
in the midst of the filth of the world - this is the way to attain Yoga. ||3||O
Nanak, remain dead while yet alive - practice such a Yoga.”
(Guru Granth Sahib, page 730)
Please read the bold i have highlighted. How does doing physical asana like in kundalini yoga help with any of that? Fine, you may call chanting the Naam as a form of yoga, fine, but you do NOT need Kubndalini Yoga.
“If Yoga could be obtained by wandering around naked, then all the deer of
the forest would be liberated. ||1|| What does it matter whether someone
goes naked, or wears a deer skin, if he does not remember the Lord within his
soul? ||1||Pause|| If the spiritual perfection of the Siddhas could be obtained
by shaving the head, then why haven't sheep found liberation? ||2|| If
someone could save himself by celibacy, O Siblings of Destiny, why then
haven't eunuchs obtained the state of supreme dignity? ||3|| Says Kabeer,
listen, O men, O Siblings of Destiny: without the Lord's Name, who has ever
found salvation? ||4||4||”
(Guru Granth Sahib, page 324)
One Last Point
There is no doubt that Yogi Bhajan has helped to spread the light of Sikhism to many people throughout the world and some of his Sikhs who follow Sikhism today are doing so because of the service and seva which he did for humanity. The Kundlaini Yoga that is practiced by 3HO’ers is very much the Sikh style using Gurmantras and we need to remember that this is an excellent path for spiritual people from al walks of life to have their first experience of Sikh spirituality….so lets keep this path open and welcome all the people who join the dharma through this path
Please define Gurmantras. the only one am i aware of is the Mul mantra, and waheguru for simran.
extracted and adapted from the following complete article:
http://www.projectnaad.com/wp-content/uploads/leaflets/sikhism_yoga_and_sexuality.pdf
