HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar regrets ban on yoga by UK churches

Bangalore, Karnataka, India
1st September 2007

BANGALORE: Renowned spiritual leader His Holiness Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has regretted the reported ban on yoga for two local churches in the UK.

In a statement issued on Saturday, he said,

“It is unfortunate to see that even in the 21st century, superstition still prevails in some churches – it appears they have not yet come out of the era of the Inquisition. It won't come as much of a surprise if they revert back to saying the Earth is flat!”

“It reminds me of an imam who issued a fatwa against TV, saying that satan has entered television and asking people to destroy their TV sets!,” he said.

“Practices such as yoga, which help people come out of depression and negative emotions and promote health and happiness, can never be against any true religion. Yoga has already been diluted by many and marketed as a mere physical exercise, which in itself is a grave mistake. No church has the right to restrict people from having a healthy body, a stress-free mind, and the depth of spiritual experience which is the goal of all religions.”