Islam and Yoga
peNkaLai
kātalikkirźn
A comparative study of congruence between
two traditions
"We always find some form of Yoga
whenever the goal is experience of the sacred or the attainment of a
perfect self-mastery, which is itself the first step toward magical
mastery of the world. It is a fact of considerable significance that the
noblest mystical experiences, as well as the most daring magical desires,
are realized through yogic technique, or, more precisely, that Yoga can
equally well adapt itself to either path." Mircea Eliade, Yoga:
Immortality and Freedom
Years ago when young I began doing hatha
yoga. Although several years passed without practicing yoga, the complete
yoga breathing I learned from it was a constant presence in my life. There
was also my Islamic life, including praying salāt five times every day. A
couple years ago I returned to yoga while keeping up my Islamic practice.
How are these two developments related? How do they interact?
When I returned to the practice of yoga, I
found that it is easily integrated with the Islamic life; in fact the two
assist one another. Not only is there no conflict, but Islam and yoga
together make a mutually beneficial synergy. Both are agreed that, while
the body is important as a vehicle on the way to spiritual realization and
salvation, the human being's primary identity is not with the body but
with the eternal Spirit.
This is not a case of syncretism between
two religions (which would be spiritually invalid). Yoga is not a
religion. Rather, it is a set of techniques and skills that enhance the
practice of any religion. A French author named Jean Déchanet discovered
this in regard to his Catholic faith and wrote the book Christian Yoga
(New York: Harper, 1960). In my case, I have found that Islamic yoga is a
reality. It is possible to employ the skills of yoga to worship Allah
better and to be a better Muslim.
Yoga arose from the matrix of the Hindu
world, although according to Mircea Eliade it is of pre-Hindu origin and
can be traced back to prehistoric shamanism. Like India's other gifts to
world civilization, for example the system of place notation on which all
mathematics depends, yoga is not tied to the Hindu religion but has a
universal applicability. It helps one to follow one's own religion better
whatever that may be. It has certain specific affinities with Islam that
make for an interesting study.
1. Metaphysical Doctrine.
Since the metaphysic of Advaita Vedanta is in agreement with the tawhīd
(doctrine of oneness) of Islam, there is perfect compatibility between
Islam and yoga on the highest level. All traditional esoterisms agree that
everything in manifestation has its origin in the Supernal. The
manifestations on the material plane are derived from the ideational realm
of archetypes (known as al-ayān al-thābitah in the metaphysics of Ibn
al-Arabī). This world, limited as it is, is just an expression of the
ultimate Reality, and will ultimately be reabsorbed in its supernal
Origin. Advaita Vedanta and Islamic esoteric metaphysics are agreed that
God is the only absolutely real, eternal Reality; all else is contingent
and therefore transitory. The unitary view of reality in Advaita Vedanta
accords well with the tawhīd (divine oneness) of Islam, and the Oneness
of Being in the Sufi doctrine of Ibn al-Arabī.
It is interesting to compare the symbolism
of Prophet Muhammad's nighttime ascent to Heaven, al-Mirāj, with the
corresponding symbolism in yoga. The Prophet ascended on al-Burāq, a
riding beast with the head of a woman, through the seven heavens to the
Throne of God. In yoga, the kuNDalinī is a feminine power (shakti) that
dwells at the base of the spine and ascends through seven levels
(represented by the seven chakras) to the summit of liberation (brahmarandhra).
2. Salāt and Āsanas.
One of the most obvious correspondences between Islam and hatha yoga is
the resemblance of salāt to the physical exercises of yoga āsanas. An
Indian Muslim author, Ashraf F. Nizami, noted this in his book Namaz, the
Yoga of Islam (Bombay: D.B. Taraporevala, 1977). The root meaning of the
word salāt is 'to bend the lower back', as in hatha yoga; the Persians
translated this concept with the word namāz, from a verbal root meaning
'to bow', etymologically related to the Sanskrit word namaste. The
thousands of postures and variations known to hatha yoga can be classified
into a few basic types, including standing postures, spinal stretches,
inverted postures, seated postures, and spinal twists. The genius of
Islamic salāt is to incorporate all of these in rudimentary form into a
compact, flowing sequence, ensuring a thorough, all-round course of
exercises for good health that is easy for everyone to practice.
a) Standing.
The Mountain Pose (TāDāsana) is the foundation for all standing āsanas.
One always begins from this and returns to it at the completion of the
standing sequence. In this it very closely resembles not only the standing
posture of qiyām in salāt, but also the "Return to Mountain"
of Tai Chi Chuan. Standing in Mountain Pose or qiyām is a quiescent
exercise for the whole body: feet, legs, and spine working together. With
one's feet planted squarely on Earth and one's head reaching toward
Heaven, this pose is of the finest metaphysical significance to the
sacredness of the human state, for verticality is the essence of religion.
b) Spinal stretching.
As the yogis say, one is as young as one's spine. Hatha yoga concentrates
much careful attention on deep, thorough stretches of the spine, bringing
the head forward to rest on the knees. Since all the nerves of the body
are channeled from the spinal cord out between the vertebrae, a healthy
spine is of central importance for the well-being of the whole human body
and mind. It takes much patient, persistent practice to make and keep the
spine ideally flexible, and only the most dedicated yogis succeed in this.
Since Islam is a path for everyone, the Islamic spinal stretch is kept
easy and within everyone's reach: the bowing position called rukū only
requires that you bend forward enough to place your hands on your knees.
Nonetheless, even this minimal stretch helps keep the spine in good
condition. When I returned to yoga after praying salāt for several years,
I found that making rukū seventeen times a day had beautifully
prepared my spine for deeper forward stretches.
c) Inverted poses.
The heart does its best to circulate blood all through the veins and
arteries, but it's a demanding job, and exercise is needed to help the
circulation go at maximum efficiency. In particular, raising fresh blood
to the brain through the carotid artery, and lifting it from the feet back
up to the heart, is always going against the pull of gravity. This is why
two of the most important and beneficial āsanas are the Shoulderstand (sarvangāsana,
the 'whole body pose') and the Headstand (sirSāsana). Islamic prayer has
taken the most essential aspect of these inverted poses: lowering the head
below the heart. The position called sujūd is easy for everyone to
accomplish and helps to bathe the brain in fresh oxygenated blood to keep
it healthy and alert. Ashraf F. Nizami writes: "This may be termed
similar to
HALF SIRSHASANA. It helps full-fledged pumping of blood
into the brain and upper half of the body including eyes, ears, nose and
lungs."
d) Seated postures.
The word āsana means 'seat' and the basic postures for meditation are
seated ones, especially the Lotus. The Diamond Pose (vajrāsana) is
practically identical with the seated position of salāt called jalsah.
This has, of course, not escaped the notice of both yogis and Muslims in
India. Nizami writes: "This is a HARDY POSE or is like VAJRASANA."
Swami Sivananda in his book Yoga Asanas writes: "This Asana resembles
more or less the Nimaz pose in which the Muslims sit for prayer."
Furthermore, both vajrāsana and jalsah are the same as the zazen posture
of Japan. Having practiced a little yoga when young, it became easier for
me to sit on the floor in mosques for long stretches of time. In turn,
accustomed to this in Islam over the years, it was then much easier to
learn seated yoga postures like the Lotus, since my leg and hip joints
were accustomed to the floor.
When sitting in the Lotus, a yoga mudra
that accompanies meditation is made by forming the index finger and thumb
into a circle. The Islamic mudra, made while sitting in jalsah, is to
extend the index finger in a straight line (to attest to the Oneness of
God), while forming the thumb and middle finger into a circle. The figure
1 and the figure 0 can convey a Tantric symbolism, and also are curiously
similar to the binary 1 and 0 of computer science.
e) Spinal twists.
A session of yoga practice normally concludes, just before final
relaxation, with a thorough twist of the whole spine (ardha matsyendrāsana)
to the right and to the left. It helps to even out the spine from the
other poses it has done and keep everything balanced. In much the same
way, salāt concludes with the prayer of peace (salām) said while turning
the head to the right and then to the left. This works only the cervical
and maybe a few of the thoracic vertebrae, but it is useful for keeping
the neck flexible and is consistent with the pattern in salāt of
presenting reduced versions of the yoga āsanas.
3. Breathing.
In yoga, the science and art of breathing is paramount. The relaxation
and exertion of all the members of the body, the stilling and
concentration of the mind, the energizing of the whole being, and the
access to the spiritual dimension all depend on breathing. In most
languages of the world, the words for 'breathing' and 'spirit' are the
same or closely related. The Arabic word for 'spirit' is rūh, coming from
a root with several interconnected meanings: 'to relax', 'to breathe', and
'to set out moving'. The full range of these meanings, taken together,
summarizes all the functions of the breath in Yoga. The Sanskrit word
corresponding to rūh is ātman, which also comes from an Indo-European
root meaning 'breath' (compare the High German word Atem, 'breath').
The spiritual importance of breath is a
part of Islam's teachings. Hazrat Inayat Khan writes on the subject of
Islamic purification: "Man's health and inspiration both depend on
purity of breath, and to preserve this purity the nostrils and all the
tubes of the breath must be kept clear. They can be kept clear by proper
breathing and proper ablutions. If one cleanses the nostrils twice or
oftener it is not too much, for a Moslem is taught to make this ablution
five times, before each prayer." According to Hakim G. M. Chishti in
The Book of Sufi Healing, "Life, from its beginning to end, is one
continuous set of breathing practices. The Holy Quran, in addition to
all else it may be, is a set of breathing practices."
4. Meditation and Worship.
In part 23 of the Yoga Sutra, Patańjali teaches the attainment of supreme
spiritual realization through devotion to God (īsvara pranidhana). The
sutra is a very succinct, condensed type of literature, so a single brief
mention suffices. Because Patańjali did not elaborate upon it, some
commentators have assumed that his God is a mere figurehead or abstraction
and therefore not so important in yoga practice. Nothing could be further
from the truth; in fact, the one feature that distinguishes the metaphysic
of the Yoga darsana from that of the Sankhya darsana of Kapila (a
non-theistic analysis of the elements in the cosmos and consciousness) is
the presence of God in Yoga. This makes all the difference, and allows the
consonance of Yoga with religion.
Patańjali wisely chose to refer to God as
īsvara, which in Sanskrit simply means 'God, the Supreme Being' and does
not name any deity of any particular religion. This universality frees
Yoga from conflict with any religious doctrine, so that its techniques can
be applied by a believer of any faith. In India, Yoga has been applied to
a vast variety of different religious perspectives, and it works just as
well for other religions including Islam. There is nothing specifically
Hindu or Islamic about its techniques, but it will assist the devotee in
any kind of worship. Yoga means to concentrate and still the mind; when
this concentration is directed upon God, the yogi is reaching toward the
heart of his religion.
As for meditation, trāTaka is a yogic
technique to focus the attention and attain one-pointedness. It consists
of fixing the gaze on a single point. (It assists balance, too.) While
standing in Islamic prayer, we practice traTaka by fixing the gaze on a
spot on the ground where the forehead rests in sujūd. During rukū,
the trāTaka is directed at the point between the big toes. The purpose is
to focus the attention on the prayer and keep it from wandering. In this
way it helps lead to a meditative state.
An important part of Sufi spiritual
practice is to invoke the Divine Name Allāh and meditate upon it. Once I
had learned through yoga how to still the mind and focus the attention, I
discovered that the same technique greatly sharpened and clarified my
meditation on the Divine Name. It was like a nearsighted person putting on
glasses and suddenly seeing clearly and sharply.
Some Sufi orders practice meditation and
invocation focused within certain centers (latāif) in the subtle body;
this is the same technique as the yogic meditation upon the chakras.
5. Purification.
It goes without saying that both Islam and yoga require basic physical and
moral cleanliness and purity (tahārah, sauca) before performing their
practices. The two differ in several respects, but one feature that is
common to both is using water to rinse the breathing passages: a yoga
kriya (cleansing practice) called jala neti consists of pouring water into
one nostril so that it flows through the sinuses and out the other
nostril. The Muslim when making wudū takes water up the nose and blows
it out; this is called istinshā. Again, the Islamic version does not
go as deep, being simplified to make it easily accessible to everyone.
6. Food.
The Ayurvedic principles of yogic diet and the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) are agreed that milk and ghee are beneficial, and that
beef is detrimental to health. Likewise, both discourage eating onions and
garlic. Ginger (Arabic zanjabīl, from Sanskrit srngivera, from
Proto-Dravidian cińci vźr) is mentioned in the Qurān (76:17) as a
spice of Paradise. Ayurveda regards ginger as sāttvika, a quality helpful
to spiritual life. Both Ayurveda and the Qurān tell of the spiritual
qualities of the basil plant, the sacred basil (Ocimum sanctum) called
tulasi in Sanskrit and the sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) called rayhān
in the Qurān (while the Italians value it only for its culinary
qualities!). Tulasi basil is used to uplift, clear, and invigorate the
mind, assisting the consciousness to focus on spiritual thoughts; rayhān
is mentioned in the Qurān (55:12) as a plant of Paradise, and the
Prophet recommended it to his Companions for its refreshing aromatherapy.
The Arabic word rayhān is derived from the same root as rūh 'spirit'.
Historical Interaction.
In historical time, Muslims did consciously borrow from yoga and
acknowledged the source. The traveling scholar Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (11th
century) translated the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali into Arabic. Shah Muhammad
Ghaus of Gwalior (16th century), a leader of the Shattārīyah order of
Sufis, incorporated yoga practices into his teaching, based on the yogic
text AmrtakuNDa. Yoga even reached as far as North Africa, where al-Sanusi
(19th century) wrote of the yoga āsanas (jalsah); he referred to yoga in
Arabic as "al-Jūjīyah". However, the congruences between yoga
and Islam that I noted above are not historical borrowings, but derive
from the primordial beginnings of the traditions.
A large international yoga organization,
3HO, has adopted the sujūd from Islamic prayer, calling it "Easy
Yoga."
Conclusion.
It can be valid and beneficial for Muslims to learn yoga, not as their
spiritual path per se, but as a valuable adjunct to the spiritual path of
Islam. Islam is a complete, integral spiritual path, so yoga is no
substitute for any Islamic requirement. The Prophet said that wisdom is
the believer's stray camel: wherever he finds it he will recognize it (and
claim his right to it).
How to explain the many points of
correspondence between yoga and Islam? Did these ancient teachings travel
from India to Arabia? Nothere is no need to assume such a horizontal
transfer; the sacred truths are revealed vertically from Heaven to all
peoples. There are close similarities between Islam and yoga not because
of borrowing or cultural diffusion, but because of both originating in the
Primordial Tradition, sanātana dharma, al-dīn al-hanīf, which all the
prophets of Allah have brought and reaffirmed throughout the ages, among
all nations, revealed directly from the Creator.
with permission from the author
Source:
http://www.penkatali.org/
http://www.penkatali.org/yoga.html
Contact Info: penkatali@yahoo.com
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