Hymns and Yoga

D&C 25
"12 For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous i a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

Have you ever been to a Hare Krishna yoga session?  There are available in Utah both in South Salt Lake and in Spanish Fork -- it just takes a quick Google search to find the schedule.  On my own visit, I noticed a reverence to Yoga that's different from the "work out, lose weight" attitude of modern forms of Yoga.  And at the end of my first session, when I was only seventeen, I partly supressed a laugh of surprise when we did the "OMMM" as a classroom, and the teacher gave us a short lesson on how certain vibrations connect us to the divine universe.

"The syllable OM--symbol of Brahman, or God--is, to the HIndu, divine; and in their rituals it is uttered with a solemn resonance, indefinitely prolonged" (Prabhavananda, 2017, Preface to "The Upanishads: Breath of The Eternal").

A Guide to World Religions

This comes from the perspective that there is an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent being that is good, justice, and mercy.  He communicates with his creations, and inspires scriptures according to a person’s cultural understanding.  Certainly, if God is good, we assume that there is some purpose to revelation. This purpose is progression towards the Platonic Forms. The process of identifying and analyzing a religion is broken down into three main parts:

1. Origin (Beginning story and culture)
2. The scriptures
3. Modern interpretation of scripture

This structure can help determine whether a religion was inspired of God. The overall goal of a religion, its practices and absolute truths, are found in its scriptures. Whether they are interpreted correctly is the cause for concern, so some guidelines are needed. Since religious belief changes with each individual, this guide is an attempt to find consistent truth across religions for an increase of understanding, tolerance, and also bettering one’s spiritual practices.

A religion ought to develop the character and attributes of the individual. The Platonic Forms, which were supported by Plato and Socrates as the only things that we as rational beings can know are unchanging and non-material. These include both mathematical truths and the virtues. Geometry and algebra fit into this category, though they aren’t the base of a religious life. So we look at the established virtues which are more clearly defined in Lectures on Faith1, which uses the bible to ascertain attributes that can trust in, particularly, in deity. These virtues will be used in filtering through religions and their individual practices and scripture:

The virtues defined: “That [God] is merciful, and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in goodness, and that he was so from everlasting, and will be to everlasting...that he changes not, neither is there variableness with him; but that he is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the same yesterday to-day and forever; and that his course is one eternal round, without variation...That he is a God of truth and cannot lie. ...That he is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him...That he is love.2

“We have, in the revelations which he has given to the human family, the following account of his attributes... Knowledge... Faith, or power...Justice...Judgment...Mercy...Truth.”3

Whether a practical religion, such as Buddhism, or a religion based on absolute truth, such as Islam, one can determine the validity of said religion based on how one living the practice would develop these virtues. Let it also be noted that here that the above two paragraphs differ in that the first describes the character of God, while the second describes his attributes. By little reflection, one can see that in order to exercise faith in any religion, a free and rational being must see these principles in the path, or he will not exercise belief in it.

I will further explain how each of the stated attributes ought to be developed and why they should be our religious goals. (talk about here how we eventually hope to be unchanging, but adapting. This is a sweet truth that comes from asking the right questions. This is the power of attaining understanding and knowledge that comes from world religions.)

Of course, there are other attributes to mention: patience, temperance, kindness, diligence, virtue itself, and others. These virtues are a part of the previously stated attributes. Patience is slow to anger. Temperance changes not. Diligence is abundant in goodness, and so on.

Sources

1) Joseph Smith, “Lectures on Faith”

2) http://lecturesonfaith.com/3/ , verses 14-18

3) http://lecturesonfaith.com/4/ verses 5-10.

The Discipline to Discover Yourself

       "The ex army commander walked into our high school assembly," My companion said, "and we all expected him to relate to us some great hero's story, or some great motivational speech. We only recieved a lecture on the importance of making your bed in the morning.
     "'How can we be successful,' the commander said, "If we've lost the first battle of the day? Make your bed, and the first victory over self is won."

"At first discipline is trying to discipline the body of your physical needs. The second is to discipline your mind. Because if you can control and stand aside from your body and your mind, you discover your essential nature which is the spirit. If you've lost track of that... that is why your are struggling. That is the human condition, to discover our essential nature of the spirit.
     "What is the heart of Hinduism? The Heart of Hinduism is to experience religion. Don't just sit on the sidelines, experience what you are talking about.... You are a spirit my boy. You are that. And through all these various approaches: through rituals through narratives through worshipping, you are trying to regain that essential dignity. You are a spirit. Such lovely stuff doesn't doesn't come out. It lifts all of humanity up to the level of God."  

-London Based Physicist Jay Lakhani     

     1 Corinthians 2: 13-14, 16
     Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
     But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
     For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

     See post on Meditation under Buddhism. Meditation in Buddhism is about conquering the Monkey Mind.


*Sources
     1.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRZzvbhc7ww

Fasting and Discipline

     Why do you fast? Perhaps you are seeking a blessing? Maybe you are fasting for Discipline? Hopefully its not just to lose weight.
     *London based physicist Jay Lakhania says the reason why he and many Hindu culture fast. "How do you I show that I am much more than just an animal? [An] animal will see grass and it will start grazing. A human being says, 'today there's food in front of me. I'm not going to eat it.' I'm showing my true dignity by being more than an animal... Discipline; a necessary discipline. That is what we do. That is how we stand apart of the animal kingdom."

*Sources:
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRZzvbhc7ww See this video for further references on the myth of "cow worship" in India.