Written By Dana Ford, Relate Contributing Writer
Yoga is an exercise most everyone is familiar with. But do you think of other religions when you do it? Yoga is a very crucial aspect to the Hindu religion. We use yoga to relieve stress, get in shape and practice relaxation. Those who practice Hinduism use it to practice love for the Brahman, their highest deity, and to detach themselves from the world in order to overcome bodily desires.
Hinduism is a religion which lacks any solid system of beliefs and ideas. It represents a broad spectrum of beliefs and practices including the belief in idol worship, reincarnation, karma, dharmaand moksha. Human life is divided into four stages and there are defined rites and rituals for each stage from birth until death.
Reincarnation is the main Hindu Goal. They believe that when they die, their body goes through a process in which they return to Earth as another being. If their previous life was full of good deeds, they come back as a better person. If they did not live a fulfilling life, bad karma, or what they deserve, comes to haunt them and they come back as a worse person.
The whole process of reincarnation is that eventually, a person reaches a stage in one of their lives in which they become “perfect.” They become united with their highest god, Brahman, and they are released into Nirvana (which is similar to a Christian’s heaven).
Some moral ideals in Hinduism include non-violence, truthfulness, friendship, compassion, fortitude, self-control, purity and generosity. If they fulfill all these things, they will be united with their God.
To help them reach this unity, the Hindu practice yoga. Doing this relaxing meditation-like exercise helps them fight off desire, temptation and pleasure which are all things that could put them into potential danger of bad karma in the next life.
Although there are several gods in Hinduism, Brahman is the highest god, and he is the one Hindu people seek to become united with.
Tags: beliefs, Brahman, Hindu, idol worship, rites and rituals, yoga and hinduism
