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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: F.A.Q. 3
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THE WORLD'S OLDEST RELIGION QUESTION: Is Yoga really the Word's oldest Spiritual
system? ANSWER: This may sound as an extraordinary claim
to make yet, on reflection, it could hardly be otherwise. To begin with,
there must have been a first Spiritual Path that existed before all the
others. Most other paths are known to have had a historical and human
founder. In other words, they were initiated by individuals who were born to
human parents, lived and finally died. This applies to the founders of
Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and many
others. Yoga, on the other hand, is known to have been revealed to the
World by God, the Primal Lord (Adinatha, Shiva)
Himself at the beginning of time. To discover the roots of Yoga we must,
therefore, go beyond history, beyond measurable time, beyond even the
Creation of the World. The literal meaning of the word “Yoga” is Unity. Thus the Holy
Scriptures of India define Yoga as Unity of body,
mind and Soul. More specifically, Yoga is defined as Unity of the human Soul
and God. What is not always explicitly stated yet is nevertheless implicitly
understood is that Yoga also means the Absolute Oneness of God or Unity of God with Himself. An ancient hymn to
Shiva runs, “Obeisance to the Supreme Lord Who experiences the bliss of His infinite
(lit., All-pervading) Soul by means of Yoga” (Kurma
Purana, 1, 10:64-65). Yoga therefore is
God’s experience of His Own Eternal Unity and Oneness as well as the power
whereby this is experienced by Him. All religions agree that, in the beginning, God alone existed
and there was nothing else besides. At that stage, God must have been in a
state of Absolute Oneness and Unity with Himself. Since Yoga is Unity, as
explained above, it represents an accurate description of that Original
State. In its purest form, therefore, Yoga has always existed. The same
cannot be said of Christianity, for example, the central theme of which is
man’s salvation by Jesus. As prior to Creation there was no question of
Salvation, Christianity cannot be said to have existed from the beginning.
Similarly, Islam which revolves on man’s submission to God,
cannot be said to have existed before Creation as there was no man (or
anything else) there to submit to God. Nor can we speak of God saving Himself or submitting to Himself. But we can, indeed we
must, speak of God as living in Unity
with Himself. This is why in the tradition of the East, God is known as Lord of Yoga, that is, Master of His
Own Unity and Owner of the unique experience of Divine Unity and Oneness. Consequently,
it must be beyond dispute that Yoga stands in a relation of precedence over and
priority to all other faiths. However, Yoga is not only the World's first faith or religious
experience. It also permeates, inheres in and supports,
all the other faiths. How is that? It will be remembered that the Original
State prior to Creation was one of Absolute Oneness and Unity. Unity then is
the power that animates all true religions in the World. It is out of the
desire to experience that Original Unity again, that all religions have come
into being. Thus, by virtue of being a state of Absolute Unity, upon which
all things rest, Yoga is the basis and foundation of all faiths. Let us briefly review the fundamentals of some of the World's
religious traditions. Judaism may be said to consist in adhering to the Law
of Moses which was given to Mankind that man might live in Unity with God.
Christianity may be said to be centred on the
redeeming Power of God. Islam is based on submission to the Will of God.
Buddhism is about escaping from suffering (which is caused by separation from
God). And Hinduism aims at the immersion of the human Soul in God. Now, none of this would be possible without Unity between man,
Universe and God. Neither adherence to the Law of God, nor Salvation, nor yet
Submission would be possible without Unity.
Yoga, which is Unity, must therefore be admitted to be the driving force
behind, as well as the means whereby fulfilment is
found in, each and every one of the aforementioned traditions. Finally, since Yoga is the Experience of Absolute Oneness and
Unity with God or Ultimate Reality to which experience all Creation must
ultimately return, it becomes evident that Yoga is also the Highest
Spirituality. We have thus established that Yoga is not only the first but
also the last, there being nothing beyond or above it. Yoga is the final word
on Spirituality and the final experience to which all religious effort
ultimately leads. As Scripture says, "As the tracks of all beasts, both
large and small, fit in the track of the Elephant, even so all Teachings are
contained in the Teaching of Shiva. As the Abode of Snow (Himalaya) is among
Mountains, as the Moon among the Stars, as the Sun among all things that
shine, so this Teaching of Shiva is the Lord of all Teachings" (Shiva
Rahasya 12:62-63). THE PROOF We have so far analysed the issue
from a purely logical and Spiritual perspective and we have shown that our
conclusion is supported by Yogic scripture. Leaving the archaeological
evidence aside, which attests the existence of Yogic postures long before the
rise of Western faiths, we shall now demonstrate that our conclusion is also
supported by the evidence of Western scriptures, so that the last clouds of
doubt are dispelled from the seeker's mind. The Bible says: "This then
is the message which we have heard of him (Christ), and declare unto you,
that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1,5). Now this teaching which is central to Christianity
must be dated to pre-Christian times. All we have to establish is where it
originated. Writing not long after the composition of the Bible, St. Hippolytus of Rome informs us that, "there are some
among the Indians who live a self-sufficient life, who abstain from eating
living creatures and cooked food, and subsist on fruit. They say that God
is light, not like the light one sees, nor like the Sun or fire, but like
the Light of Knowledge whereby the secret mysteries of Nature are perceived
by the wise" (Philosophumena XXI - The
Brahmans). Yogic teachings from India had obviously penetrated the very heart
of the Western Classical World. Indeed, these teachings were already established in India long
before the rise of Christianity and other Western faiths. Says the Rig Veda:
"In the beginning shined the Source of Light, the One Lord of all
created beings" (X, 121:1). Lord Shiva, the God of Yoga, is known as Light
of the Universe or World-Illuminator (Loka Pradipaka). From the works of ancient European
writers we know that the Egyptian City of Alexandria, which was an
international centre of culture and learning in those times, was frequented
by Indian sages who were actively disseminating the teachings of the East.
The Bible tells us that Jesus was taken to Egypt by his parents. He could
hardly have avoided coming into contact with Yogic teachings, seeing that
they were known as far away as Rome. As the ancients said, it is from the East that all light
comes. The Bible itself speaks of "wise men from the East".
This fact finds confirmation even from some of the most unexpected quarters.
Pope John Paul II himself, in his apostolic letter of 2 May 1995 declares:
"The Light of the East has illumined the universal Church, from
the moment when "a rising sun" appeared above us." Thus the
Eastern origin of all faiths may be regarded as established beyond reasonable
doubt. After all, even the Sun rises in the East. And we cannot deny what is
patent fact. |