The Universal Yoga Tradition

With the advance of science and technology, religious belief has lost its hold over the minds of vast number of people. The generations reared on science find little meaning in formal religion with its churchgoing, ceremonies, unquestioning attitudes of belief, acceptance of preiestly hierarchies and their interference in personal life. At the same time, the pleasures and excitements available in an affluent society do not fill the void left by their lost religion in the heart of men; nor do they offer an avenue for the deep aspirations and yearning towards transcendence which made religion a universal human concern. A growing number of people in the present day are beginning to recognize that inner happiness and a real sense of fulfillment cannot come through organizing outer circumstances; they must well up from within the depths of consciousness itself. Conventional religion with its rituals and beliefs its do’s and don’ts not only failed to answer the deep-seated human need for spiritual realization, it has done positive harm. Religions have divided humanity and provided means for churches and ecclesiastical authorities to exploit others, both materially and morally. The conflict and tension created by religious differences have added considerably to the sum of human suffering.