5. Meditation and Yoga

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Download PDF: PCT-005 Meditation & Yoga

  • Yoga means ‘being together with God’. There are different types of yoga.
  • Hindus believe that the soul (atman) is different from the body.
  • The body is always changing and is temporary (it will be finished one day). The soul not changing and is eternal. Eternal means something that is never born or made and it never dies or breaks.
  • The body is black, white or yellow. It is the body that is young or old. It is the body which is British, Chinese or Indian. The soul is none of these things. Therefore, we should not think a person is good or bad just because of their body.
  • The soul lives in the heart. This soul is the real ‘me’. Because I am in the body, the body has life. When the soul leaves the body, the body is dead.
  • Hindus believe that when the soul leaves the body, it goes into a new one. This may be another human body. It could be an animal or plant body. This is called ‘reincarnation’.
  • Reincarnation doesn’t have to go on forever. Hindus believe that when we are humans we should try to obtain moksha. Moksha means liberation or freedom from reincarnation – stopping the cycle of birth, death, another birth, and so on.
  • Yoga and meditation are ways to slow down the mind so we can see the ‘real me’. When we do this, we can get moksha.
  • God is also inside our heart. If we listen carefully, we can understand what he wants us to do. Sometimes we don’t want to hear!
  • For Hindu people, yoga and meditation are part of their worship. To meditate, they often chant prayers and mantras. A mantra is a short saying, often said over and over again.
  • Hindus believe that there are three types of behaviour. Good, bad and in-between. We can call them ‘good’, ‘fiery’ and ‘stormy’.
  • A good person is peaceful, and thinks of doing good to others. A fiery person wants a lot – to enjoy and have lots of money. A stormy person is always miserable, lazy, and sleeps much too much!
  • Most of us are stormy on some days! But Hindus believe that we should try to be good. Yoga, prayer and meditation are ways to help us do this.