Prejudice & Bigotry Against Yoga Teachings PDF Print E-mail

imageUnfortunately, due to lack of education, many people in the west are ignorant of ancient yoga and Hindu traditions, including the tradition and system of guru. This has resulted in a great deal of misunderstanding and bigotry toward serious yoga practitioners. Critics of the guru/disciple relationship tap into and foment these Eurocentric prejudices against Hinduism, including the traditional Hindu/yoga guru-disciple system which is held sacred by hundreds of millions of Hindus around the world. This prejudice is based upon the false premise that the ancient guru/disciple relationship is inherently evil—and that by definition a guru is automatically a "cult leader" and disciples or students of a guru are automatically "blind robotic followers." This is religious bigotry because the entire Hindu Vedic tradition, which is the oldest philosophical and religious tradition in the world, is founded upon the guru disciple relationship which is considered very necessary and sacred.

The guru system is central to the practice of yoga—especially the practices of yoga meditation and lifestyle. Without guru, there would be no Vedas, yoga, or Hinduism. Indeed, since time immemorial, no serious practitioner of yoga or Hinduism would be without a guru. Yoga, meditation, Hinduism and gurus are inseparable. In fact, yoga is the backbone of Hindu philosophy and religion, and gurus are the vertebrae of that backbone.

The pages of this website provide further information about the meaning of guru, the guru/disciple relationship, how the guru/disciple relationship can be misunderstood by those with a western Eurocentric mindset, and how this common western misunderstanding of the guru/disciple relationship can lead to modern day witch hunts against yoga gurus and their disciples.