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New Northwest church teaches yoga as way to connect people to God, selves
Topics: faith, religion, yoga, meditation, church
Posted by admin Wed Aug 16, 2006 16:02:25 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Did you know there are actually eight aspects of yoga, yet only one of them is a physical aspect?

Although people can have a physical benefit from yoga, they seem to forget the real reason to it, according to Anil Mehta, a local meditation/yoga instructor and church leader.

“Yoga is to relax, to know the right knowledge of your inner self,” Mehta said.
A new church in the Northwest called “Chinmaya Gokul” — a Hindu church, though all faiths are welcomed — offers free yoga classes teaching people how to meditate, connect with God and about making personal connections.

Yes, this group offers things such as yoga, meditation, chanting classes and learning about Vedanta,  an ancient knowledge from India — and all for free!

Chinmaya Gokul recently moved their location making them brand new to the Northwest, but they have been in Bakersfield for about 10 years.

The word “Chinmaya” actually means “knowledge of my inner self” and “Gokul” is where Lord Krishna grew up,  according to Mehta.

The belief is that Lord Krishna was India’s messenger from God, he said.

 Mehta emphasized that his church welcomes people of all types of religions and already has a variety of  faiths that attend some classes, including Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians and, of course, Hindus.

“Just last week in my meditation class, I talked about the prayer of St. Francis because it was such a powerful prayer,” said Mehta, who is also the president of Chinmaya Gokul.

This religion was started back in 1951 by Swami Chinmayanda, who wanted to spread his ancient knowledge with everyone he possibly could, Mehta said.

Swami Chinmayanda learned English so he could teach the ancient knowledge to thousands of people. Now there are over 243 centers all over the world that teach what Swami Chinmayanda knew, according to Mehta.

Chinmayanda passed away in 1993, but was able to see all the work he had accomplished.

Mehta and his church members continue this work as well.

“We believe there is one God in heaven who created this whole universe; we don’t believe there is one supreme religion,” Mehta said.

Under this religion,  it is also believed that God came down to the world at different times and chose his messengers for him, yet the messengers misinterpreted what God had said — this is the reason why we have so many different types of religions and religious wars, he said.

One of the classes at Chinmaya Gokul talks about  Vedanta and discusses things about “Who am I?” and “What is God”?

The group’s major emphasis is to help people accept their inner selves, but mainly teach the children.

Mehta’s wife, Dhaval believes that their goal should be to teach children and give them this religious education because it is important.

There is about six rooms at the church just for the children alone.

Although Chinmaya is new to the Northwest, attendance doesn’t seem to be a problem. On Sundays, there are more than 100 people and with special events with more than 250 people in attendance. Also, in the yoga classes there are usually 25 to 30 people.

“People should practice their own religion, but be open to others,” said Anil Mehta.
Though all classes at Chinmaya  are free, donations  are appreciated.

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