What is the similarity between Yoga and Christian Bible ?

Frankly there is not much difference between Yoga and the Bible. But many westerners are not aware about the true Yoga. The Yoga of the divine Word, or Ram-Naam (Divine Sound) Yoga is the highest of the Indian Yoga systems. Bible also talks of Divine Word. The aim of true Yoga is entirely spiritual and its purpose is to enable the devotee to achieve salvation or liberation while living here on earth. Its system of meditation and other spiritual practices takes its followers to the highest and ultimate level of spiritual consciousness.

In recent years, there has been familiarity in West about the term Yoga. Most westerners, however, know of or practice the postures of Hatha Yoga, which is the lowest form of yogic spiritual discipline. Hatha Yoga is very beneficial in promoting bodily health and mental serenity, but plays only a minor role in developing the higher spiritual consciousness.

Four other major forms of yoga are also widely known in the western world. These are:

Ashtang Yoga or eightfold Yoga, also called as Raj Yoga, the system described by the ancient Indian sage, Patanjali. This is a comprehensive system of yoga training, which embraces both physical postures and mental disciplines. Many of its devotees rise to relatively higher state of spiritual consciousness, however not above the regions of universal mind.

Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion. It discards all rites and ceremonies and seeks union with the Lord through the force of love only.

Karma Yoga, the yoga of action. It enjoins upon its followers the necessity of doing ones duty, whatever that may be; but without fear of blame or expectation of rewards. The essence of Karma Yoga is the ideal of duty well done with the spirit of detachment. It rejects the idea of renunciation and insists that one play ones part to the best possible extent without looking for fruits of actions.

Janan Yoga. This yoga seeks to concentrate and still the mind by easy and natural methods of mental discipline and control. The emphasis is upon mind, rather than the body.

Man in his search for truth has misinterpreted much and has often been unwilling to accept anything apart from what has been taught to him in his religion surrounded by aura of ancient tradition. For the major proportion of this world, life is just collection of materialistic things and nothing else. They have been sp taught by percept and example. The concepts of something spiritual, higher level of consciousnesses that are available to them have been so vague that often the teachings have been doubted and rejected when, at the same time, there is penchant for knowledge of how life should be lived to fulfill mans destiny and the Creators purpose. One should be advised to adopt the attitude of the great scientist Alexander Agassiz, who said:

Let the scientific student sit down before the facts, as a little child, and enquire of them.

This is the necessary attitude, and is welcomed by all Saints, irrespective of their religions. They ask anyone who is interested to come into the laboratory of individual experiment and experience, and there prove for themselves the truth of their teachings.

Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seekth findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. (Matthew 7: 7-8)

These words express the deep longing of the soul for a higher and more perfect life so keenly desired by intellectual and thoughtful persons everywhere today, and known to spiritual aspirants in all ages of the worlds history.

They speak of the ardent desire, age-old spiritual quest of man, his never ending quest for the truths of human and eternal life, and for the abiding reality above and beyond the triviality of ephemeral human existence.

Modern man has found that material progress, however advanced and useful it may be, does nothing to satisfy his deeper aspirations. And largely as a result of scientific progress and technological innovations, man today is deeply stressed, highly anxious, troubled and unhappy, and lives in frustration, fear rather than hope as he looks towards future. Mans knowledge of the visible material world has increased to an almost unimaginable proportion; but his esoteric knowledge of the higher conscious spiritual world is less, perhaps, than in any previous period of history.

Right minded persons in all countries today are troubled by the decline of traditional social institutions, crumbling of traditional values, the spiritual disorientation and the moral degradation seen in the present day world, and are striving to find dependable spiritual value for themselves. For even in this twentieth century materialistic and scientific world, men and women still feel that they have souls. But this feeling by itself is of little practical help. Those who are touched with spiritual longing still ponder the question; what shall we do to find our souls ?

And positive and practical answers are needed for the other basic questions raised-but not always solved to everybodys satisfaction-by traditional form of religion and philosophy. Why are we here, and what is the object and purpose of our existence? What is the ultimate goal of human yearning and effort? What shall we do to be saved?