Islam and Yoga
Islam and Yoga
A comparative study of congruence between two traditions
Salât and âsanas.
One of the most obvious correspondences between Islam and hatha yoga is the resemblance of salât to the physical exercises of yoga âsanas. An Indian Muslim author, Ashraf F. Nizami, noted this in his book Namaz, the Yoga of Islam (Bombay: D.B. Taraporevala, 1977).
The root meaning of the word salât is 'to bend the lower back', as in hatha yoga; the Persians translated this concept with the word namâz, from a verbal root meaning 'to bow', etymologically related to the Sanskrit word namaste. The thousands of postures and variations known to hatha yoga can be classified into a few basic types, including standing postures, spinal stretches, inverted postures, seated postures, and spinal twists. The genius of Islamic salât is to incorporate all of these in rudimentary form into a compact, flowing sequence, ensuring a thorough, all-round course of exercises for good health that is easy for everyone to practice.
a) Standing. The Mountain Pose (TâDâsana) is the foundation for all standing âsanas. One always begins from this and returns to it at the completion of the standing sequence. In this it very closely resembles not only the standing posture of qiyâm in salât, but also the "Return to Mountain" of T‘ai Chi Ch‘uan. Standing in Mountain Pose or qiyâm is a quiescent exercise for the whole body: feet, legs, and spine working together. With one's feet planted squarely on Earth and one's head reaching toward Heaven, this pose is of the finest metaphysical significance to the sacredness of the human state, for verticality is the essence of religion.
b) Spinal stretching. As the yogis say, one is as young as one's spine. Hatha yoga concentrates much careful attention on deep, thorough stretches of the spine, bringing the head forward to rest on the knees. Since all the nerves of the body are channeled from the spinal cord out between the vertebrae, a healthy spine is of central importance for the well-being of the whole human body and mind. It takes much patient, persistent practice to make and keep the spine ideally flexible, and only the most dedicated yogis succeed in this. Since Islam is a path for everyone, the Islamic spinal stretch is kept easy and within everyone's reach: the bowing position called rukû‘ only requires that you bend forward enough to place your hands on your knees. Nonetheless, even this minimal stretch helps keep the spine in good condition. When I returned to yoga after praying salât for several years, I found that making rukû‘ seventeen times a day had beautifully prepared my spine for deeper forward stretches.
c) Inverted poses. The heart does its best to circulate blood all through the veins and arteries, but it's a demanding job, and exercise is needed to help the circulation go at maximum efficiency. In particular, raising fresh blood to the brain through the carotid artery, and lifting it from the feet back up to the heart, is always going against the pull of gravity. This is why two of the most important and beneficial âsanas are the Shoulderstand (sarvangâsana, the 'whole body pose') and the Headstand (sirSâsana). Islamic prayer has taken the most essential aspect of these inverted poses: lowering the head below the heart. The position called sujûd is easy for everyone to accomplish and helps to bathe the brain in fresh oxygenated blood to keep it healthy and alert. Ashraf F. Nizami writes: "This may be termed similar to … HALF SIRSHASANA. It helps full-fledged pumping of blood into the brain and upper half of the body including eyes, ears, nose and lungs."
d) Seated postures. The word âsana means 'seat' and the basic postures for meditation are seated ones, especially the Lotus. The Diamond Pose (vajrâsana) is practically identical with the seated position of salât called jalsah. This has, of course, not escaped the notice of both yogis and Muslims in India. Nizami writes: "This is a HARDY POSE or is like VAJRASANA." Swami Sivananda in his book Yoga Asanas writes: "This Asana resembles more or less the Nimaz pose in which the Muslims sit for prayer." Furthermore, both vajrâsana and jalsah are the same as the zazen posture of Japan. Having practiced a little yoga when young, it became easier for me to sit on the floor in mosques for long stretches of time. In turn, accustomed to this in Islam over the years, it was then much easier to learn seated yoga postures like the Lotus, since my leg and hip joints were accustomed to the floor.
When sitting in the Lotus, a yoga mudra that accompanies meditation is made by forming the index finger and thumb into a circle. The Islamic mudra, made while sitting in jalsah, is to extend the index finger in a straight line (to attest to the Oneness of God), while forming the thumb and middle finger into a circle. The figure 1 and the figure 0 can convey a Tantric symbolism, and also are curiously similar to the binary 1 and 0 of computer science.
e) Spinal twists. A session of yoga practice normally concludes, just before final relaxation, with a thorough twist of the whole spine (ardha matsyendrâsana) to the right and to the left. It helps to even out the spine from the other poses it has done and keep everything balanced. In much the same way, salât concludes with the prayer of peace (salâm) said while turning the head to the right and then to the left. This works only the cervical and maybe a few of the thoracic vertebrae, but it is useful for keeping the neck flexible and is consistent with the pattern in salât of presenting reduced versions of the yoga âsanas.
3. Breathing.
In yoga, the science and art of breathing is paramount. The relaxation and exertion of all the members of the body, the stilling and concentration of the mind, the energizing of the whole being, and the access to the spiritual dimension all depend on breathing. In most languages of the world, the words for 'breathing' and 'spirit' are the same or closely related. The Arabic word for 'spirit' is rûh, coming from a root with several interconnected meanings: 'to relax', 'to breathe', and 'to set out moving'. The full range of these meanings, taken together, summarizes all the functions of the breath in Yoga. The Sanskrit word corresponding to rûh is âtman, which also comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'breath' (compare the High German word Atem, 'breath').
The spiritual importance of breath is a part of Islam's teachings. Hazrat Inayat Khan writes on the subject of Islamic purification: "Man's health and inspiration both depend on purity of breath, and to preserve this purity the nostrils and all the tubes of the breath must be kept clear. They can be kept clear by proper breathing and proper ablutions. If one cleanses the nostrils twice or oftener it is not too much, for a Moslem is taught to make this ablution five times, before each prayer." According to Hakim G. M. Chishti in The Book of Sufi Healing, "Life, from its beginning to end, is one continuous set of breathing practices. The Holy Qur’an, in addition to all else it may be, is a set of breathing practices."
4. Meditation and worship.
In part 23 of the Yoga Sutra, Patañjali teaches the attainment of supreme spiritual realization through devotion to God (îsvara pranidhana). The sutra is a very succinct, condensed type of literature, so a single brief mention suffices. Because Patañjali did not elaborate upon it, some commentators have assumed that his God is a mere figurehead or abstraction and therefore not so important in yoga practice. Nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, the one feature that distinguishes the metaphysic of the Yoga darsana from that of the Sankhya darsana of Kapila (a non-theistic analysis of the elements in the cosmos and consciousness) is the presence of God in Yoga. This makes all the difference, and allows the consonance of Yoga with religion.
Patañjali wisely chose to refer to God as îsvara, which in Sanskrit simply means 'God, the Supreme Being' and does not name any deity of any particular religion. This universality frees Yoga from conflict with any religious doctrine, so that its techniques can be applied by a believer of any faith. In India, Yoga has been applied to a vast variety of different religious perspectives, and it works just as well for other religions including Islam. There is nothing specifically Hindu or Islamic about its techniques, but it will assist the devotee in any kind of worship. Yoga means to concentrate and still the mind; when this concentration is directed upon God, the yogi is reaching toward the heart of his religion.
As for meditation, trâTaka is a yogic technique to focus the attention and attain one-pointedness. It consists of fixing the gaze on a single point. (It assists balance, too.) While standing in Islamic prayer, we practice traTaka by fixing the gaze on a spot on the ground where the forehead rests in sujûd. During rukû‘, the trâTaka is directed at the point between the big toes. The purpose is to focus the attention on the prayer and keep it from wandering. In this way it helps lead to a meditative state.
5. Purification.
It goes without saying that both Islam and yoga require basic physical and moral cleanliness and purity (tahârah, sauca) before performing their practices. The two differ in several respects, but one feature that is common to both is using water to rinse the breathing passages: a yoga kriya (cleansing practice) called jala neti consists of pouring water into one nostril so that it flows through the sinuses and out the other nostril. The Muslim when making wudû’ takes water up the nose and blows it out; this is called istinshâ’. Again, the Islamic version does not go as deep, being simplified to make it easily accessible to everyone.
6. Food.
The Ayurvedic principles of yogic diet and the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are agreed that milk and ghee are beneficial, and that beef is detrimental to health. Likewise, both discourage eating onions and garlic. Ginger (Arabic zanjabîl, from Sanskrit srngivera, from Proto-Dravidian ciñci vêr) is mentioned in the Qur’ân (76:17) as a spice of Paradise. Ayurveda regards ginger as sâttvika, a quality helpful to spiritual life. Both Ayurveda and the Qur’ân tell of the spiritual qualities of the basil plant, the sacred basil (Ocimum sanctum) called tulasi in Sanskrit and the sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) called rayhân in the Qur’ân (while the Italians value it only for its culinary qualities!). Tulasi basil is used to uplift, clear, and invigorate the mind, assisting the consciousness to focus on spiritual thoughts; rayhân is mentioned in the Qur’ân (55:12) as a plant of Paradise, and the Prophet recommended it to his Companions for its refreshing aromatherapy. The Arabic word rayhân is derived from the same root as rûh 'spirit'.
How to explain the many points of correspondence between yoga and Islam? Did these ancient teachings travel from India to Arabia? No—there is no need to assume such a horizontal transfer; the sacred truths are revealed vertically from Heaven to all peoples. There are close similarities between Islam and yoga not because of borrowing or cultural diffusion, but because of both originating in the Primordial Tradition, sanâtana dharma, al-dîn al-hanîf, which all the prophets of Allah have brought and reaffirmed throughout the ages, among all nations, revealed directly from the Creator.
