Mind or matter

The Malaysian ulemas ban on yoga appears to be a bit of a stretch for Indias Islamic establishment,including the Darul Uloom Deoband. It is perfectly acceptable for Muslims to practice the physical discipline while discarding the Hindu associations of words like Om it is even similar to Sufi practices,claimed a scholar.

The Muslim clergy in other countries is unsure,post Malaysia. Is yoga more about mental focus and physical balance,or an insidious form of mind-control and worshipping false gods? You can take yoga out of Hinduism,but can you take Hinduism out of yoga? They could take a cue from other religions struggling to reconcile the fanatic zeal of ordinary people for yoga with their own faiths. For instance,Christian yoga in Minnesota substitutes Om with Yahweh or the Jesus Prayer,calls the suryanamaskara the Son salutation,and neatly extracts the Hindu associations out of the discipline. A few months back,our most relentless yoga evangelist,Baba Ramdev,had declared it permissible to replace the Om sound with Allah or God,in an effort to extend the discipline to everyone nailing,in the process,something essential about yogas spirit of accommodation,and the instruction it offers to immutable religious stricture. Yoga today is a wide continuum,from the austere Iyengar yoga to the sweaty exertions of Bikram yoga. The faddish,patchouli-scented contortions of one do not take away from the rigour and rootedness of the other.

Deoband,too,seems to believe very much in being in the moment. Even though they stress strict adherence to textual standards set by the Hanafi tradition,scholars of the Deobandi school of thought have pointed out how these movements are adept shape-shifters,rather than rigid schemas of correct practice. Politics,for them,is a matter of pragmatic response to context in ways that best protect Muslim

interests. After the Mumbai attacks,the clerics articulated a clear-sighted and mature response,underscoring Islams peacefulness. And in this more mundane matter,the Darul Uloom has again come out strongly on the side of flexibility and good sense.