CONCEPT OF MEDITATION IN ISLAM AND YOGA

Yoga is easily found to be integrated with the Islamic life, in fact the two assist one another. Not only is there no conflict, but Islam and yoga together make a mutually beneficial synergy. Both are agreed that, while the body is important as a vehicle on the way to spiritual realization and salvation, the human being’s primary identity is not with the body but with the eternal Spirit.This is not a case of syncretism between two religions (which would be spiritually invalid). Yoga is not a religion. Rather, it is a set of techniques and skills that enhance the practice of any religion. Yoga arose from the matrix of the Hindu world, it is of pre-Hindu origin and can be traced back to prehistoric shamanism. Like India’s other gifts to world civilization, for example the system of place notation on which all mathematics depends; yoga is not tied to the Hindu religion but has a universal applicability. It helps one to follow one’s own religion better whatever that may be. It has certain specific affinities with Islam that make for an interesting study.