Illusions of Inner Peace: Critiquing Yoga's Philosophical Foundations
The philosophy of yoga is criticized for having its foundations built on the development of imagination and fantasy rather than on actual experience or rational understanding. According to the critics, the emphasis on speculative aspects of the inner world replaces the notion of a Personal, Living, Loving God, and when faced with life's adversities, yogis resort to ideas of fatalism and an artificially created inner seclusion as protection from external challenges. In other words, instead of engaging in practical actions or turning to traditional religious methods, the philosophy of yoga offers psychological techniques based on imagination, which only provide the illusion of inner tranquility.Supporting citation(s):"In the case of Indian yogis (especially as taught in Raja Yoga), everything is about developing imagination and fantasy. 'Imagination is the faculty that holds the greatest significance in Indian mysticism,' says the writer who once set out to spread occult ideas in Russian society. This outstanding practical role of imagination is explained very simply.
In the absence of the concept of a Personal, Living, Loving God, what is there left for a person to do when confronted with events he cannot prevent?A devout Christian might weep, pray, and if needed, God would work a miracle for him. And since yogis, despite their closeness to demons (of which those with a lesser degree of initiation are not informed), are not capable of changing God’s decrees—which depend on a person’s repentance and having the proper faith—they contrived their own form of 'salvation.' They protect themselves from misfortune, firstly, through a belief in fatalism ('what will be, will be; nothing can be done, so there is no point in worrying in advance') and, secondly, by training their spirit in such a way that if fate delivers blows (such as epidemics, war, personal misfortune, or the approach of death), they do not lose their composure but try to retreat into their inner world, completely isolating themselves from the external." (source: link txt)