How can yoga help pave the path for inter-religious dialogue and thus promote peace?

8 June 2011

Although I'm in India, home of yoga, I live in a Christian and Muslim dominant area, not to mention a (so-called) hi-tech haven, where young people flock to for jobs in the IT sector. How can yoga help pave the path for inter-religious dialogue and thus promote peace? I found out when I held my first class, in which one young woman attended. She was of islamic background, and came to yoga not for the spiritual or religious aspects, but rather the health aspects--including exercise and relaxation. Starting out with OM, I realized that teaching to peoples of diverse religious backgrounds might have a problem with this word, because of its Hindu connotations. Yet OM is actually a representation of the sound of the universe, a hum that is always existent. It was just adapted by Hindus as their "slogan" or symbol. Although I generally teach a non-denominational form of yoga in international and US settings, I began to wonder how to devise classes for the staunchly religious populations in a place like India. At some point in life, I'd also like to teach in strict Christian and Muslim countries, like Nigeria, or to jihadis who have been arrested and imprisoned (in places like Guantanamo Bay, which, sadly, is still yet to be closed). In order to create ways to get into those spheres, it's important to delve into the "scriptures" of Yoga. The books of yoga are quite recent, because until the 20th century, yoga was purely passed down from guru to sishya. It was with the advent of innovative minds such as Iyengar and Desichakar that books of yoga started solidifying. How do these "scriptures" view "outsiders"? I will be presenting on this topic at a conference of United Religions Intitiative in Karickam this August. I'll be consulting books and articles by BKS Iyengar, Desikachar, and Judith Lasater, and interviewing others in the field such as Rod Stryker and John Friend. I'll also talk to students and teachers at SVYASA here in Bangalore and read up on the new International Journal of Yoga Therapy edition. In addition, I'd like to know your thoughts. Do you know people of different faiths who practice or teach yoga? Let me know too! Sowmya MA, Environmental Security and Peace, UN Mandated University for Peace, Costa Rica MA, Peace Studies, University of Innsbruck, Austria http://sowmyaayyar.wordpress.com/