2011/NOVEMBER 28, 2011

JULY 28,

YOGA AT ST. PATRICKS CHURCH, BRIGADE ROAD, BANGALORE, JULY 25 28, 2011
From: prabhu To: [email protected]; Cc: [email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 8:07 AM and Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 8:13 AM with this first page attached. Dear Archbishop Bernard Moras, This is to bring to your notice that the St. Patricks Church premises is being used to promote Yoga and other New Age techniques and therapies that are specifically named or whose philosophies are described in two Vatican Documents* [October 15, 1989 and February 3, 2003]. I trust that you will do the needful. *For details, please see my web site. Yours obediently, Michael Prabhu, Catholic apologist www.ephesians-511.net

DR. G. FRANCIS XAVIER Ph. D. TAP* FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL *Think, Achieve and Prosper 358, 8th Main Road, Vivek Nagar, Bangalore 560047 India Telephone: +91 80 2571 4897 Mobile: +91 9343 721820 Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yoga-for-health-and-personality/id352086909?mt=8#: Dr. G. Francis Xavier is the Founder-Chairman of TAP Foundation International, an organization dedicated to the philosophy of self-improvement. With a Doctoral Degree in Self-improvement, Dr. Xavier is a member of the Association of international Yoga Therapists, Los Angeles, USA, a full teaching member of International Yoga Teachers Association Sydney, Australia as well as a Registered Medical Practitioner in Ayurveda. http://tapfoundationinternational.com/Trainers%20Training%20Program.htm: Training Techniques and Skills The tools that enable every trainer to be very effective in conducting different types of training programs. Activate Left and Right Hemispheres of the Brain Akshaya Chakra Alpha Waves of Mental State Awaken Kundalini) Chi Kung Cosmic Consciousness Guided Imagery Meditation (16 Techniques) Pranayama (5 Techniques) Reflexology Tantrik Kriya Yoga PUBLICATIONS Practical Palmistry

In this well organised and scientific presentation, it is proved that palmistry can be of immense value to councelors, teachers, parents, professional palmists and all others who are keenly interested in the development of human personality.
THE LEADING CATHOLIC SITE EXPOSING NEW AGE. 150 NEW ARTICLES AND REPORTS BEING UPLOADED CURRENTLY.

-ENDFrom: prabhu To: Michael Prabhu Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 11:45 AM Bcc: All Bangalore addresses Subject: YOGA AT ST PATRICK'S CHURCH BANGALORE Dear Catholic friends, Yoga classes are being conducted at St. Patrick's Church in Bangalore. The premises of Catholic institutions continue to be used for promoting New Age meditations and alternative therapies. I have written to the Archbishop of Bangalore regarding at least 15 different yet similar-to-this-one issues -- with no response. See ARCHBISHOP OF BANGALORELETTERS FROM THIS MINISTRY http://ephesians-511.net/docs/ARCHBISHOP_OF_BANGALORE_LETTERS.doc. PRANIC HEALING CONVENTION AT A CATHOLIC COLLEGE IN BANGALORE http://ephesians-511.net/docs/PRANIC%20HEALING%20CONVENTION%20AT%20A%20CATHOLIC%20COLLEGE %20IN%20BANGALORE.doc For the sake of the Faith of our friends and loved ones, please write to His Grace Most Rev. Bernard Moras expressing your concern. The Archbishop's email address is [email protected]. In Jesus' Name, Michael SELECTED RESPONSES From: A reverend sister To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 6:47 PM Subject: Re: YOGA AT ST PATRICK'S CHURCH BANGALORE Dear Prabhu, Thanks for your mail. Kindly say something more about yourself and the group, what needs to be done from my side I shall do the needful. Sr. M From: A priest, Executive Secretary CBCI, New Delhi To: prabhu Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 9:40 PM Subject: Re: YOGA AT ST PATRICK'S CHURCH BANGALORE I have noted your mail From: A lay man To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 10:53 PM Subject: FW: YOGA AT ST PATRICK'S CHURCH BANGALORE Dear Archbishop, It is too bad news for our church. These events make a way to other denomination to laugh on us. Good and evil can not go together. One side Patricks Church conducts Pentecostal night vigil and other side Occult. Now Archdiocese should provide Dos and Donts to every Parishes and catholic institutions. Stern action should be taken on those who violate it. Whatever happened at St. Patricks is a grave offence against the Church. From: A lay woman To: prabhu Sent: Friday, July 29, 2011 12:05 AM Subject: Re: YOGA AT ST PATRICK'S CHURCH BANGALORE Posted on my Facebook of 5000 friends... From: Maurice A. To: prabhu Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2011 1:26 PM Subject: Re: YOGA AT ST PATRICK'S CHURCH BANGALORE Dear Michael, They (Cardinals, Bishops or Priests or Nuns) or we (flock), have no excuse at all when they/we stand before the Lord for Judgement Nobody can hide their deeds when their evil is exposed firstly through the Lady of Fatima, St Faustina, and through your writings and may more like you who work for the truth in the present evil age. God bless you abundantly..

THE PRIEST SERVING AT ST. PATRICKS CHURCH DEFENDS YOGA ON FACEBOOK: FR. ADRIAN MASCARENHAS: [email protected];
Adrian Mascarenhas: August 11, 2011 As assistant parish priest at St. Patrick's, may I be permitted to comment on this? Nostra Aetate, the official document of the Second Vatican Council, which states the Church's position visa-vis Non-Christian religions, has the following to say with regard to Hinduism: "Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust."...clearly referring to Yoga among other Hindu practices. After discussing Buddhism as well, the document goes on to say: "The Catholic Church rejects nothing that

is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men." The [Vatican] document mentioned in the scribd.com* article is from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In the first place, it carries far less weight than a document coming from an ecumenical council. Secondly, it is written to correct people who are on the wrong path, not to criticise people who are trying to implement the council's teachings on respect for other faiths. Hence, this instruction on some ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION (1989) is very much in line with what St. Patrick's Church is trying to do when it says:

"28. Some physical exercises automatically produce a feeling of quiet and relaxation, pleasing sensations, perhaps even phenomena of light and of warmth, which resemble spiritual well-being. To take such feelings for the authentic consolations of the Holy Spirit would be a totally erroneous way of conceiving the spiritual life. Giving them a symbolic significance typical of the mystical experience, when the moral condition of the person concerned does not correspond to such an experience, would represent a kind of mental schizophrenia which could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations. That does not mean that genuine practices of meditation which come from the Christian East and from the great non-Christian religions, which prove attractive to the man of today who is divided and disoriented, cannot constitute a suitable means of helping the person who prays to come before God with an interior peace, even in the midst of external pressures."
Hence, if yoga is even allowed as part of our prayer life, it is clear that it cannot be forbidden as a form of physical exercise. The second document mentioned, on the other hand, is the 2003 document on Jesus, the Bearer of the Water of Life. It is against the New Age Movement as a whole, and does not criticise individual practices such as yoga. It mentions Yoga only in two contexts: first, as one of the many sources that flow into the modern New Age movement. (But just because new age involves yoga that does not mean that all yoga involves new age). Second, it holds that we can attain several misleading psychological experiences through yoga. Fair enough. That does not say anything for yoga as a form of physical exercise. I am sure that fair minded people will see that most Catholics do not deny the truths of our faith when they do yoga, and for them, it is a harmless physical exercise that results in improved health as well as mental agility. These documents are meant to guide those who have a wrong understanding of yoga or those whose faith is weak. *Apparently, one of the participants in this Facebook discussion was referring to a couple of Vatican Documents he/she had uploaded on scribd.com. See my letter to Fr. Adrian Mascarenhas on page 10. FL: Thanks you very much for your comments. I am able to see many missionaries on this blog. How many of you agree/disagree whatever Fr. Adrian Mascarenhas says is right. Be prophetic and faithful to the teaching of the Church. Adrian Mascarenhas: Thank you for initiating and allowing this discussion. I try to uphold the faith of the Catholic Church as expressed in the Magisterial documents. If I am wrong, please correct me, but as far as possible mention the name of any Vatican document which will clarify the point at issue. FL: Please go through a commentary by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J., EWTN PREACHER Do you think he speaks wrong? http://ewtn.edgeboss.net/download/ewtn/audiolibrary/iq_1677.mp3 Also some preachers who are on this blog openly confessed YOGA IS WRONG in front of me. One preacher raised a concern 3 days back about this issue. Adrian Mascarenhas: Nice to know this. However, his opinions, however learned they may be, have no official standing in the church unless they come out in a church document. The fact that new agers use yoga does not mean that yoga by itself is bad. So what Fr. Pacwa should be doing is writing to the Vatican and asking them to bring out a document on Yoga giving clear instructions. Until then, neither can the Archbishop of Bangalore tell St. Patrick's to stop this practice, nor can St. Patrick's condemn this poor person who is only doing what he thinks is right. I don't think I understand you clearly. The clip you gave me seems to be mostly about physics and not yoga (I just heard the whole thing, perhaps I missed some points? Or perhaps you gave me the wrong link?) I have read one of the two physics books before (Gary Zukav - the Dancing Wu Li Masters - Pacwa got the name of the book wrong here) - I am not sure about Capra but I am pretty sure that Gary Zukav is not really a New Age guy - in fact I would suppose he is agnostic. Capra might be advocating a type of New Age spirituality - I don't know, I haven't read his book. The physicists also come out as agnostics. Yes, what Fr. Pacwa is saying is most probably correct (except for the name of the book), but I still (as a theologian)

cannot see the connection between this and the issue of yoga. Fr. Pacwa does not mention or criticise the use of particular exercises, mantras, breathing procedures, postures etc. He is speaking of metaphysical aspects of the New Physics and why they are dangerous. He has not really proposed an alternative solution to the serious questions raised by modern physics...he has merely said that the solution proposed by the physicists themselves goes against Catholic teaching. Fair enough, but totally and utterly irrelevant to the issue of doing physical exercises in the ancient Indian style. FL: I am very sorry. I have given a wrong link. The real link is here. http://ewtn.edgeboss.net/download/ewtn/audiolibrary/iq_1676.mp3 Meditation Control Host - Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. iq_1676.mp3 Fr. Pacwa takes a look at the other ramifications of the division of the brain. He talks about meditation in the New Age movement. He talks about the way that some New Agers use to meditate like psychotechnologies and yoga and what is wrong with yoga. He also takes a look at Christian spirituality and how Christianity is to be lived Also have a look at this: http://www.catholicassociates.com/leaflets/Yoga%20Spiritual%20Health%20Warning_Rev1.pdf Also you can have a look at "Yoga in philosophy and practice is incompatible with Christianity" by James Manjackal MSFS http://www.jmanjackal.net/eng/engyoga.htm I certainly feel you will say that even Fr. James Manjackal is speaking nonsense. I feel happy to read your statement "neither can the Archbishop of Bangalore tell St. Patrick's to stop this practice, nor can St. Patrick's condemn this poor person who is only doing what he thinks is right." This is what one international missionary told me 3 days back "This is the problem with our church... and all depends on the powerful parish priest..." THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT: DANGER ON THE CAMPUS By Dr. Dominic F. Dixon, Evangelist, http://hsi-online.net/index.php?option=com_fireboard&func=view&catid=15&id=60&Itemid=106 Dr. Dominic F. Dixon says "Yoga is dangerous because all of its forms involve occult assumptions, even hatha yoga which is often presented as a physical discipline. We have Christian leaders embracing New Ageism in the name of ecumenism and inculturation, but none of this is either Christian or ecumenical. Many Christian educational institutions in India have inculcated "Value Education" as a subject for their students. Value education has now also included Transcendental Meditation and Yoga. What do they have to do with Value education? What does this have to do with Christianity? Let's do something before we lose an entire generation. Don't allow the complacency of our society to subtly restrain you. There is too much at stake. We can't afford to allow the themes of despair, occultism, mutilation, and witchcraft to become entrenched in the vulnerable minds of our children through our neglect. Jesus said, "It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck than for him to cause on of these little one's to sin" (Luke 17:2 NIV). Parents need to get involved with academics and see what the children are studying. We need to be well informed about the subtle attacks through academics and gather support against these evil practices. Some educational institutions propagate and make it compulsory for the students to practice yoga and the like. Dont get carried away, make an appeal to the directors of the institutions; if they dont listen, appeal to the board of education. After all according to NAM all views are right; therefore your view should also be right." Also Dominic Dixon provided references: References 1, 3, 8, Trevor Mander/ cultwatch.com/newage 2, 9, Seduction of our children, Neil T. Anderson & Steve Russo, pg. 62 4, What Is "New Age"? Michael D. Langone, Ph.D. Cult Observer, 1993, Volume 10, No. 1- Accessed July 2006 5, New Age Transformed J Gordon Melton, Director Institute for the Study of American Religion - Accessed June 2006. 6, carm.org/nam/nawitness.htm Definitions: New Age Spirituality, http:/www.religioustolerance.org/newage.htm 7, New Age by Michael Prabhu - ephesians-511.net. Adrian Mascarenhas: Thanks for your views and for the links. As it is late, I will go through them tomorrow. You do me an injustice in saying that I will feel Fr. James Manjackal is speaking nonsense. I have not yet heard or read his views, and I promise that I will pay close attention to them, despite my habitual lack of time. I merely speak the doctrine of the Church and I judge no one in my capacity as a priest. Personally I may have some private judgements but I will not allow them to cloud the issues at stake. I will merely inform you as to whether what Fr. James is saying tallies with the documents of the Church or does not tally. You can do the judging yourself, based on your own opinion of the value of official Church teaching as opposed to the teaching or a private priest / preacher. FL:

Thank you and sorry father, for all the trouble that i caused you through out the day. Goodnight Adrian Mascarenhas: No trouble. I am preparing for tomorrow's mass, and then going to sleep. Thanks for the posts. I was not able to answer because I had to attend a function for the whole evening, and just got back past 12 am! Good night. Adrian Mascarenhas: I was able to go through only the first three things and I will respond to them. There are no documents specifically addressing the issue of Yoga - as I said, it is praised by the Second Vatican Council; at the same time the document Jesus the Bearer of the Water of Life says that New Age thinking derives some of its principles from yoga. This does not mean that all yoga is to be rejected. Only certain elements which give rise to New Age thinking are to be treated with caution. 1. Fr. Pacwa is correct but he is talking about certain extreme forms of yoga and not about yoga in general. What was demonstrated at St. Patrick's and what is taught in Christian schools etc. is merely the physical practices and at most the breath control aspect. The aspect of IMPERSONALISM which Fr. Pacwa rightly criticises, is almost always ABSENT from the form of yoga taught in Christian institutions. 2. The pamphlet on "A Spiritual Health Warning" again is right in warning people against New Age practices. However, not all yoga belongs to the category of new age practices. The quotes from the practitioners are interesting but not to be taken at face value as they are basically trying to provide the deeper meaning - very few people will go into that deeper meaning. 3. Regarding Fr. Manjackal's article, in the first place, a number of Christian saints and mystics have also spoken of union with God e.g. John of the Cross. Yoga in fact is a dualistic system (originally atheistic and pre-Hindu, later Hindu-ized and made into a theistic system) and the form of Yoga taught by Patanjali should be understood as dualistic union with the deity in which the creature does not lose its identity. Many of our Christian saints (e.g. Irenaeus) have also spoken of the divinisation of the human being and hence we should not be unduly disturbed by terms like this. The nature of union with God in Yoga and in Christianity can be reconciled provided that we take the right interpretation of Yoga. On the other hand, Yoga as taught in Christian institutions is not the same as the Yoga which is being criticised here. In Christian institutions yoga merely serves as a form of healthy exercise to seek physical development and to control various complaints. Very few Christians go towards Yoga as a means of entering into communion with God. For that we have Prayer and Sacraments. I doubt very much that Yogic exercises CANNOT be separated from the philosophy of Yoga. Certainly many people who are practicing Yoga today do not share this philosophical worldview hence they can be separated. However, if they are teaching a false philosophical worldview, they should certainly be corrected. It should be noted that certain scientific theories also can lead to false philosophical worldviews and ideologies such as atheism. Does that mean that we should ban the teaching of science in our church-run institutions? Rather we should accept what is correct and reject what is wrong. Similarly with Yoga, we can accept the fact that the exercises are good for health; we can reject the ideas of impersonalism (rightly criticised by Fr. Pacwa), New Age philosophy (criticised by the second article and the document) and personal union with God (criticised by Fr. Manjackal).

FR. ADRIAN MASCARENHAS IS SUPPORTED AND ENCOURAGED BY JENNIFER PINTO

Jennifer Pinto: Thank you Adrian for such a balanced, well thought out explanation. You're always so spot on in your discussions. I like that. On a humorous note, if not yoga, then Zumba :) Nothing to do with religion or philosophies or controversial ideas... pure fun South American music and moves! My hubby Chris knows Mr. Michael Prabhu very well in Chennai. He was part of the latters mailing list for a long time. But Chris isnt the type to have a strong opinion on these things and hes like u, balanced. So he stopped reacting to uncle Michaels proddings.* [] Lol. *I will deal with this misinformation later in this document. See page 16 Adrian Mascarenhas: Jennifer, I am not keen on getting into more than one argument a day, so I am not going to publish my views on the Bharatnatyam post*... I personally think we should drop this "fortress church" attitude. I don't like dancing myself and I keep telling people I joined the seminary in order to avoid dancing; but I would be the last to prohibit any particular form of dance, especially if I'm doing it just because the grapes are sour. Good luck with your Zumba! *Apparently in reference to one of the two following documents that someone has posted on the internet: DANCING AND BHARATANATYAM IN THE MASS http://ephesians-511.net/docs/DANCING_AND_BHARATANATYAM_IN_THE_MASS.doc; BHARATANATYAM-I http://ephesians-511.net/docs/BHARATANATYAM-I.doc. FL:

Thank you again for your comments. I dont know why you have not commented on Dominic Dixons article on HSI. I think Dominic Dixon conducts prayer meeting at St. Patricks Church. I also notice that you have carefully and smartly commented on the link which I sent you. We are carried away from the real focus of JESUS and what Church teaches us, and we try to find out "JOY" in PAGAN RELIGION SPIRITUAL PRACTICES. WE ARE EXPERT IN RESEARCHING IN HINDUISM AND BUDHISM, THAT IS WHY WE ARE VERY, VERY RICH IN "ASHRAMS", OM CHANTING AT MASS, EVEN WE DONT MIND TO DISTRIBUTE COMMUNION TO NON CHRISTIANS (OM symbol over the tabernacle) http://www.bedegriffiths.com/shantivanam/images-ofshantivanam/3104393 NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE (HINDU BIBLE) BY INDIAN THEOLOGIANS published by St Pauls Publication is also a good example. Fr. Joachim Andrade, AND FR. SAAJU GEORGE ARE BEST EXAMPLES OF DANCE IN FRONT OF NATARAJA, AND DO NATARAJ DANCE ON THE PULPIT. Dont you think PRANAYAMA is extreme form of YOGA to AWAKENING THE KUNDALINI, AND KUNDALINI is the Power of Serpent? Occult nadi therapists know very well about this (Sarpa, Manduka, Hamsa). TRAINER FRANCIS XAVIER CONDUCTS FOLLOWING OCCULT TRAINING 1) Activate Left and Right Hemispheres of the Brain 2) Awaken Kundalini (AWAKING POWER OF SERPENT (SATANIC SNAKE POWER)) 3) Cosmic Consciousness 4) Pranayama 5) REFLEXOLOGY (OCCULT MASSAGE THERAPY) 6) TANTRA YOGA (focusing on the dynamic aspect of occult power or "the Cosmic Mother.") Church teaching says all forms of divination are to be rejected, including PALMISTRY. APART FROM OTHER OCCULT PRACTICES, MY DEAR FRIEND FRANCIS XAVIER WROTE A BOOK ON PALMISTRY. Even I heard he was distributing his books during those YOGA Classes at ST. PATRICKS CHURCH. IT IS SAD THING TO SAY A PRIEST IS PROMOTING SATANIC THINGS. DO YOU THINK THE ARCHBISHOP OF BANGALORE BOLD ENOUGH TO CONFESS OPENLY YOGA IS GOOD FOR CATHOLICS FOR SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT AND THERE IS NOTHING OCCULT IN IT? HE WILL NEVER DO IT IF HE IS LOYAL TO VATICAN. I HEARD FR. MITCH PACWAS TALK YEARS AGO, I HAVE NOT FOUND WHAT YOU SAID. _________________________________ THE INTRODUCTION OF LEAFLET FROM CATHOLIC ASSOCIATES STARTS WITH A QUESTION AND ANSWER. 1) Is yoga a suitable activity for Christians? The simple answer to that question is - no! 2) There are many forms of physical exercise which can be undertaken "WITHOUT" putting oneself in regular contact with a practice which is based on, and rooted in, a non-Christian, Eastern spiritual philosophy and lifestyle. 3) No part of yoga can be separated from the philosophy behind it. 4) Someone who was deeply involved in New Age practices - says this: 'Often it is thought that Hatha Yoga (the physical exercise form of Yoga) is benign and somehow disassociated from the rest of the total Yoga system. This is a potentially dangerous fallacy. Hatha Yoga is part and parcel of the whole of yoga, with many of the same dangers. In addition, it also functions as a door through which the curious sometimes walk to explore other aspects of the New Age.' 5) Catholic Bishops of Croatia objected the government proposal to teach yoga at schools and they urged the parents to oppose the plans too. "The long term effect could be incalculable" as per the bishops. ID LOVE TO SEE THESE KIND OF BISHOPS AND CARDINALS IN INDIAN CHURCH. 6) YOGA IS A COMBINATION OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND THE SPIRITUAL, No part of yoga can be separated from the philosophy behind it. (Words of GURU Rabi Maharaj). JENIFER PINTO, PLEASE COMPARE MY POINTS WITH FR. ADRIANS POINTS BASED ON THE LEAFLETS. ALSO PLEASE CROSS VERIFY WITH THE LEAFLET. ALSO PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS LEAFLET IS NOT WRITTEN BY MICHAEL PRABHU. ALSO THIS DOESNT MEAN THAT WHATEVER PRIEST SPEAKS IS RIGHT. HE MAY BE POWERFUL ANOINTED PRIEST. THIS DOESNT GUARANTEE WHATEVER HE SPEAK IS RIGHT. IF YOU READ JAMES MANJACKALS ARTICLE, YOU CAN FIND: With all sincerity of heart I will say, 80 to 90% of the participants had been to Yoga, Reiki, reincarnation, etc of the Eastern religious practices where they lost faith in Jesus Christ and the Church. In Croatia, Bosnia, Germany, Austria and Italy I had clear instances where individuals who were possessed with the powers of darkness cried out "I am Reiki", "I am Mr. Yoga", identifying themselves to these concepts as persons while I was conducting prayers of healing for them. Later, I had to pray over them by the prayer of deliverance to liberate them from the evil possessions. Experts on cults and Catholic spirituality agree that yoga cannot be divided from its own spirituality. Ft Myers bishop bans classes at parish, Voice of the Faithful objects. Yoga is primarily a spiritual discipline.

It is sad that now a days, many Catholics are loosing trust in the great spiritualities and mysticisms for prayer and discipline handed over to them by great saints like Ignatius of Loyola, Francis of Assisi, Francis of Sales, St. Theresa of Avila, etc. AND are now going after the Eastern spiritualities and mysticisms coming from Hinduism and Buddhism. This God is not a personal God But it is an impersonal spiritual substance which is one with nature and cosmos. In the Bhagavad Gita, the lord Krishna describes the Jiva as "my own eternal portion", and "the joy of Yoga comes to yogi who is one with Brahman". Yoga is not only an elaborate system of physical exercises, it is a spiritual discipline, purporting to lead the soul to Samadhi. Yoga is incompatible with the Christian Spirituality because it is pantheistic (God is everything and everything is God), and holds that there is only one Reality and all else is illusion or Maya. The Centre of Christian faith is faith in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, three persons in one God-Head, the perfect model of loving relationship. Christianity is all about relationships, with God and among men, The practice of Yoga is pagan at best, and occult at worst. This is the religion of antichrist and for the first time in history it is being wildly practised throughout the Western world and America. It is ridiculous that even yogi masters wearing a Cross or a Christian symbol deceive people saying that Yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism and say that it is only accepting the other cultures. Some have masked Yoga with Christian gestures and call it "Christian Yoga". Here it is not a question of accepting the culture of other people, it is a question of accepting another religion which is irrelevant to our religion and religious concepts. Hatha Yoga, one which is wide spread in Europe and America for relaxation and non-strenuous exercises, is one of the six recognized systems of orthodox Hinduism, and it is at its roots religious and mystical, which is the most dangerous forms of Yoga The desire to become God is the first and second sin in the history of creation as chronologically recorded in the Bible, The philosophy and practice of Yoga are based on the belief that man and God are one. It teaches one to focus on oneself instead on the One True God.

I believe that these doubts and confusions, apostasy and infidelism, religious coldness and indifference came to Europe ever since the Eastern mysticisms and meditations, esoteric and New Age practices were introduced in the West. So a Christian can not, in any way, accept the philosophy and practice of Yoga because Christianity and Yoga are mutually exclusive view points. Unlike Yoga, Christianity views Salvation as a free gift, it can only be received and never be earned or attained by ones own effort or works. Again, we see that the control of the vital energy (prana) by way of breathing, like also asana, is not merely a physical exercise, but is accompanied by certain psychomental phenomena. Yoga is, after all, a religious practice seeking to produce "union" with an impersonal ultimate reality. I KNOW WHAT KIND OF YOGA SOME CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS TEACH, AND I ALSO KNOW A CATHOLIC NUN HAD BEATEN A CHILD IN MANGALORE FOR NOT DOING MUDRAS CORRECTLY. FINALLY A WARNING FROM AN EXCORCIST ON DEMONIC POSSESION Johnnette Benkovic, evangelist and creator of EWTNs Women of Grace program. http://lhla.org/tv-shows/14547-Yoga.html FL: SURYA NAMASKAR AND YOGA TO BE MADE COMPULSORY IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS http://ephesians511.net/docs/YOGA_SURYA_NAMASKAR_GAYATRI_MANTRA_PRANAYAMA_TO_BE_MADE_COMPULSORY_IN_ED UCATIONAL_INSTITUTIONS.doc TRUTH LIES AND YOGA BY ERROL FERNANDES http://ephesians-511.net/docs/TRUTH_LIES_AND_YOGA_BY_ERROL_FERNANDES.rtf YOGA http://ephesians-511.net/docs/YOGA.doc YOGA SUMMARY http://ephesians-511.net/docs/YOGA_SUMMARY.doc YOGA SYNCRETISM INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE BY ERROL FERNANDES http://ephesians-511.net/docs/YOGA_SYNCRETISM_INTERRELIGIOUS_DIALOGUE_BY_ERROL_FERNANDES.doc YOGA_WHAT DOES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SAY ABOUT IT http://ephesians-511.net/docs/YOGA_WHAT_DOES_THE_CATHOLIC_CHURCH_SAY_ABOUT_IT.doc Adrian Mascarenhas: I appreciate the fact that the last article distinguishes between Yoga and Pranayama / Asanas as such. HENCE THIS ARTICLE SAYS THAT CATHOLICS ARE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE PRANAYAMA AND

ASANAS. In most cases, when Catholics use the word "Yoga", they are basically talking about Asanas and some lighter forms of breathing exercises, but they are not speaking of the more serious forms of Yoga as described by these articles. Hence, what they are doing is not to be condemned. The article is right in saying that this mere exercises should not be termed "Yoga". However, if we are going to be arguing about words like this, then many of our Catholics should not be termed "Catholics". Hence I would conclude that all these articles are referring to more advanced forms of Yoga and there is nothing in these articles that would stop us from practising the beginners' level exercises such as asanas and breath control. If Hatha Yoga is only a stage on the path to Raja Yoga, it is also true that not all Hatha Yoga necessarily leads to Raja Yoga. Just as not all who visit Rome go there as pilgrims, so also not all those who practice yogic exercises need to go deeper into the philosophy or ideology of yoga. A person can practice Hatha Yoga without necessarily going to Raja Yoga, irrespective of the ideology and intentions of the ancient masters Due to lack of time I have read only the posts by Dominic Dixon, Errol Fernandes and the last post. Thanks for sharing these documents. Certain statements in these articles seem exaggerated and alarmist, and are probably applicable only to a few forms of Yoga and not to the less intense forms of Yoga which are generally promoted in Christian institutions: From Dominic Dixon: "Yoga is dangerous because all of its forms involve occult assumptions, even hatha yoga which is often presented as a physical discipline." "The goal of Yoga meditation is the emptying of the mind. We are expected to turn our minds off and make our minds a blank slate. It's a great way of getting into a cult but not a good way of getting to know and enjoy God." From Errol Fernandes: "Plainly stated, the objective of yoga is the deification of man. Such a view is radically different from Christianity, which clearly distinguishes between Creator and creature, God and man." [it is to be noted that a number of Christian saints especially in the Eastern Tradition also speak of the divinisation of human beings and hence it is a concept not totally alien to Christianity. Perhaps Yoga can therefore be reinterpreted in a Christian sense? In any case hardly any Christian who practices Yoga is aiming at becoming divine through the practice.] The last article: It is untrue to say that the Vatican has virtually excommunicated Yoga. As I said, extreme forms of Yoga which involve identification of human and divine are to be rejected, as the various Catholic Bishops' Conferences have done. FL: I have seen you are carefully avoiding what the truth written in those documents. For that reason I have put my comments and also told JENIFFER PINTO, SONIA PINTO, SONIA DSOUZA to check carefully with the document. AND I ALSO TOLD HER TO RECHECK YOUR COMMENTS TOO. Adrian Mascarenhas: I quote the relevant portion of the last document: "May Christians practise pranayama [yogic breathing exercises]? What about the asanas - the postures or physical exercises of yoga? May Christians practise them? To that question, the answer... is "yes", but with some qualifications: Deep breathing is a good thing. The increased intake of oxygen lowers the levels of carbon-dioxide in the blood, and is good for metabolism, and therefore for health. Good posture and physical exercise facilitate improved breathing and blood circulation, and tone up the muscles. So, then, a Christian may do yoga? We did not say that. A Christian may do the breathing and the exercises, but does not need to call it "yoga". Call it simply proper breathing, and fitness exercising. When we say we are doing 'yoga', there are usually other implications. If we closely question those who are teaching us yoga, we are certain to find that, along with their faith in yoga, they have accepted other beliefs, philosophies and practices which are not compatible with the Catholic faith and Biblical revelation. While trying to improve their health of mind and body through yoga, they have usually assimilated beliefs that endanger their faith and Christian spiritual life." The last portion of this is not true. We can assimilate false beliefs through anything - through studying science, through archaeology, through studying history, or through studying philosophy - through excessive sport - or, alternatively, through Yoga. It is each person's duty to guard against false beliefs irrespective of whether he is a scientist or a yogi, and we cannot stop yoga and science on the grounds that they lead to atheism, pantheism etc. We can even assimilate false beliefs through studying the Bible - Fundamentalism, some forms of Protestantism, Judaistic heresies like Seventh Day Adventism etc. The Norwegian killer claimed to be a fundamentalist Christian. That does not mean that the Bible is a dangerous book. In what way am I avoiding the truth? I have pointed out what is true and what is false in the documents. They are true but they apply only to extreme forms of yoga. I would like to draw your attention to this sentence in the last article: "A Christian may do the breathing and the exercises, but does not need to call it "yoga". Call it simply proper breathing, and fitness exercising."

In other words, the argument is one about words and not about realities, because in reality very few Christians ever go beyond the breathing and the exercises. I would also be interested in knowing whether Michael Prabhu is alleging that something more than breathing and fitness exercising was being taught at St. Patrick's, and if so, what exactly was it? FL: AGAIN MISINTERPREATING AND LEADING PEOPLE TO SATANIC PATH. YOU CAN NOT SEPERATE YOGA FROM ITS PHILOSOPHY. I HAVE WRITTEN 24 POINTS FROM JAMES MANJAKALS MSFS ARTICLE. ONE POINT HE WROTE a) Yoga is primarily a spiritual discipline, b) The practice of Yoga is pagan at best, and occult at worst. c) Hatha Yoga, one which is wide spread in Europe and America for relaxation and non-strenuous exercises, is one of the six recognized systems of orthodox Hinduism, and it is at its roots religious and mystical, which is the most dangerous forms of Yoga I WILL ONCE AGAIN GIVE A VIDEO FROM A EWTN PREACHER "WOMEN OF GRACE", PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AGAIN. IF YOU WANT I WILL ALSO POST 14 ARTICLES WRITTEN BY WOMEN OF GRACE MINISTRY ON YOGA http://lhla.org/tv-shows/14547-Yoga.html Adrian Mascarenhas: I request you for my own personal satisfaction to kindly answer the question raised by your own article: are the deep breathing and asanas allowed or not? And do you have any idea that something other than deep breathing and asanas is being... taught at St. Patrick's? I have work to do now. I will await your answer and go through the other articles later. Also I request you to ask specific questions rather than merely posting articles and asking for my comments, since it is obvious that different articles are using the word "Yoga" with different meanings based on what forms of yoga have been encountered by the person who wrote the article. Augustine Coelho: Yoga is a Hindu (pagan) spiritual discipline which attempts to unite one with the divine within oneself and unite one with all of creation through breathing, physical exercises, concentration, etc. The idea that the divine ... is to be sought for and found within oneself is, of course, occultic. The idea that the divine permeates all of creation -- the idea upon which the practice of yoga is based and toward which it is geared -- is pantheism, reprobated by Vatican I and other councils and teachings of the Church: The holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church believes and confesses that there is one, true, living God, Creator and Lord of heaven and earth... Who, although He is one, singular, altogether simple and unchangeable spiritual substance, must be proclaimed distinct in reality and essence from the world..." [Constitutio Dogmatica de Fide Catholic, Sess. III, Cap. i] God is distinct in reality and essence from His creation. Pantheism teaches that God and the universe are one. Pantheism teaches that the grass, trees, rivers, lakes, oceans, etc., were all united with Christ by virtue of the Incarnation. Pantheism "divinizes" the material world and leads to the "Gaia" belief of the New Agers that the material world lives and has a soul, and to environmental radicalism, in which trees and whales have more rights that human babies. Since the practice of yoga is based on the idea of union with the divine within oneself and within all of creation, the practice of yoga is therefore an expression of belief in the condemned pantheistic heresy that God and His creation are a single thing. Practicing yoga, therefore, is practicing a false religion and expressing belief in a false god. The practice of yoga is pagan at best, and occult at worst.... For the first time in history, it is being widely practiced throughout the Western world and America. It is ridiculous that even yogi masters wearing a cross or a Christian symbol deceive people by saying that yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism and say that it is only accepting other cultures. Some have masked yoga with Christian gestures and call it "Christian yoga." Here it is not a question of accepting the culture of other people; it is a question of accepting another religion. FL: NO YOGA ASANAS ARE ALLOWED. IT CAN BE OF DEEP BREATHING WITH MUDRAS OR SIMPLE FORM OF HATHA YOGA. WOMEN OF GRACE EWTN PREACHER CLEARLY EXPLAINED IN HER VIDEO. IT SAYS WHEN WE DO IN ACTION "IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT" THERE IS A SPIRITUAL MEANING BEHIND IT. IN THE SAME WAY EVERY POSTURE AND BREATHING EXERCISE IN YOGA HAS A SPIRITUAL MEANING AND IT AWAKENS THE KUNDALINI (OCCULT POWER, POWER OF SERPENT) Adrian Mascarenhas: Sorry, I had a programme in our college. Since this discussion has been continuing for various days, I would like to make my final comments before we move to other topics... 1. Asanas are allowed according to the article which you mentioned. I have quoted the relevant section above, and if you want I will quote it again: "May Christians practise them? To that question, the answer is "yes", but with some qualifications..."

You may disagree with it but then you are only proving my point namely that all these articles are private opinions of various individuals and do not represent official teaching of the Catholic Church. There is no such thing as power of Kundalini / serpent. 2. The official teaching of the Catholic Church comes not from preachers but from doctrinal documents of the Popes, the Councils and below them the CDF, bishops' conferences etc. At the same time, these have to be interpreted by private individuals in order to put them into practice. The articles quoted by you are generally written by private individuals and may be useful as a spiritual guide but they DO NOT represent the official teaching of the church. Hence when you use words like "allowed" and "forbidden" you are claiming that this private individual has the authority to declare whether the Church allows / forbids certain practices - he has no such authority to declare something as allowed or forbidden for the church as a whole - this applies only for his private congregation or whatever and certainly not to St. Patrick's where the legitimate pastor has taken a different decision. I notice that you have used the same words with regard to Bharatnatyam. 3. Just for your reflection, I would like you to see this photo of Pope John Paul II watching the Mayan Creation Dance at a beatification ceremony: http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2002/aug/01/30015/ . Surely you are not going to claim that the Native American dances are less mythological than our dances. If the Pope has no problem with them, then the problem is obviously that of a few individual preachers rather than a question of church teaching as a whole. At this website http://whoislikeuntogod.com/category/catholic-church/novus-ordo-watch/sacrilege/ you can also see Australian Aboriginal dancers at a canonisation ceremony in the Vatican. Though the website claims it is a sacrilege, it is obvious that they are not in line with the Church teaching, since even the Pope has "allowed" the ceremony - whatever he binds on earth is bound in heaven. Or are you going to say that even if the Pope allows traditional dances, you are going to oppose them? 4. Rather than condemning other religions as pagan, the Catholic Church officially APPRECIATES the presence of the Spirit of God in other religions. I gave you one relevant quote from Vatican II. No doubt they have their limitations, as even Christians have limitations. Other religions cannot claim self-sufficiency without Christ. But they are certainly not Satanic, whatever your private preachers and exorcists may say. I post a few quotes from John Paul II in the hope that you will respect the Pope's opinion more than the opinion of private preachers and the evil spirits who may tell lies saying "I am Reiki" etc. The following quotations are taken from just ONE letter of Pope John Paul II: Redemptoris Missio: (1) The Spirit's presence and activity affect not only the individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. (2) The Church's relationship with other religions is dictated by a twofold respect: "Respect for man in his quest for answers to the deepest questions of his life, and respect for the action of the Spirit in man." (3) Excluding any mistaken interpretation, the interreligious meeting held in Assisi was meant to confirm my conviction that "every authentic prayer is prompted by the Holy Spirit, who is mysteriously present in every human heart." (4) In Christ, God calls all peoples to himself and he wishes to share with them the fullness of his revelation and love. He does not fail to make himself present in many ways, not only to individuals but also to entire peoples through their spiritual riches, of which their religions are the main and essential expression, even when they contain gaps, insufficiencies and errors.

I have finished saying whatever I wanted to say in public. I will await your views but will not pursue this topic any further. If you would like to continue this discussion, please send me a private message so that we don't end up disfiguring this discussion group's wall. And Indian dance as well - I don't know if it was Bharatnatyam. http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2003/documents/madre-teresa_5.html I hope your response will not be to say that Pope John Paul was ignorant / heretical when compared with the other preachers you are quoting. Jennifer Pinto: Adrian, I like your comment directed at me. I agree with you...no sour grapes, just pure exercise for me! I have a health problem which I have to manage. And to be honest with you, it doesn't really bother me what the Church has to say about any of it...because I have my son and husband to look after and if Im a half dead with my health, then what use am i to them or to God, in my mission as a wife and mother? So Zumba it will be. :) As for the rest of it, each one of us has to work out our salvation. And reading all these arguments only poses one question in my mind...if we are gonna be so busy arguing, when will we have the time to spend with Jesus and commune with him and work out that salvation of ours :) Augustine Coelho: Pope Pius XI, Mit Brennender Sorge (# 7), March 14, 1937: "Whoever identifies, by pantheistic confusion, God and the universe, by either lowering God to the dimensions of the world, or raising the world to the dimensions of God, is not a believer in God." (The Papal Encyclicals, Vol. 3 (1903-1939), p. 526.)

Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Session 3, Chap. 1, On God the Creator of all things: "The holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church believes and confesses that there is one, true, living God, Creator and Lord of heaven and earth... who, although He is one, singular, altogether simple and unchangeable spiritual substance, must be proclaimed distinct in reality and essence from the world..." (Denzinger 1782.) God is distinct in reality and essence from His creation. Pantheism teaches that God and the universe are one. From: PM To: jennifer Cc: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:48 PM Subject: Yoga at St. Patrick's Church, Facebook discussion Dear Jennifer Pinto, I read with deep concern your posts in connection with yoga and bharatanatyam dancing on Facebook last week. The assistant parish priest of St. Patrick's Church reveals himself to be an avowed yoga enthusiast and he interprets Church teaching to suit his own inclinations. Probably that is what he was taught in the seminary as is common nowadays. At least three others who posted* their comments were against the use of yoga by Catholics but you openly supported and encouraged the priest in his error despite the multiplicity of evidence against it which Bro. Francis Lobo included in his posts. *Sorry; replace that phrase with Two others who posted" The priest is primarily responsible before God for the damage done to souls under his pastoral care, but you also now share in that answerability by concurring with him. What makes it all the more serious is your attitude to the Church which is reflected in your shocking comments like "it doesn't really bother me what the Church has to say about any of it". I could not figure out if you appreciate that Adrian Mascarenhas is a priest, because even though he stated that he was, you preferred to call him by his first name. Even if he were the most New Age priest in the Church, I would give him the respect he deserves by his ordination through Holy Orders. You may or may not be familiar with the writings and ministry of Bro. Michael Prabhu whom you mentioned as someone who is known to your family, but if you are, you would also know that he would be most interested in the Facebook discussion because he is in a constant battle against openly publicised criticism of Church teachings (yes, there are two Church documents warning Catholics about the dangers of yoga, zen, transcendental meditation and eastern meditations in general) and he has a practice of publishing such copy so that other Catholics may be aware of who and what to watch out for in their midst and thus be themselves saved from these same errors. P. M. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE LETTER BECAUSE I USED THE WRONG EMAIL ADDRESS- Michael

MY COMMENTS ON THE POSTS OF FR. ADRIAN MASCARENHAS, & JENNIFER PINTO I. FR. ADRIAN MASCARENHAS Dear Father Adrian Mascarenhas, I have followed with great concern your conversations on Facebook commencing August 11, 2011. You have spent much of your precious pastoral time on the internet studying the files posted on scribd.com by the originator of the Facebook conversation in order to refute the opinions and conclusions of all the eminent Catholic authors, including priests with well-known international ministries, that the Hindu spiritual practice of yoga may not safely be practised by Catholics. Despite every information made available to you, you resolutely insist just the opposite. To justify your position, you cite only that one section of the Conciliar document Nostra Aetate #2 as do all others who are promoting the Hinduisation of the Liturgy of the Holy Mass in the guise of inculturation. To reinforce my point, I remind you that in part number 4 of one of your much-later conversations, you remind the other participants on Facebook that you had already given them "one relevant quote from Vatican II" to prove the point you attempt to make that "the Catholic Church officially APPRECIATES the presence of the Spirit of God in other religions". Don't you think it strange -- and pitiful -- that you and your friends can find nothing or very, very little else, of the millions of words in Church Documents, to misinterpret in order to bolster your arguments for the paganization of the Catholic Church in India? Just as you reject the views of those authors [priests and lay persons] as their personal opinions and not binding on any Catholic, so too are your opinions and interpretations personal ones. Did it ever cross your mind that they may be right and that you might be dead wrong, and if so, that you will be held personally responsible by God for the many souls He entrusted to your care whom you have allowed to be spiritually harmed by the New Age programs that you have encouraged in your parish?

From reading your conversations I perceive that you are a very intelligent and knowledgeable priest and I noted that you always responded to the originator of the dialogue with great patience and respect. Yet, what disturbs me is that you wrote "neither can the Archbishop of Bangalore tell St. Patrick's to stop this practice, nor can St. Patrick's condemn this poor person who is only doing what he thinks is right. Does that mean that 1. the Archbishop of Bangalore is impotent or exercises no juridical control over the parishes in his archdiocese? 2. you will not admonish/correct a Catholic lay person who is in grave spiritual error if he is "only doing what he thinks is right"? I concede that according to the Church's definition of sin such a person is not guilty of sin [lack of 'full knowledge'], but does that absolve you from your responsibility as a shepherd of souls? Ezekiel 34. You desire that the Vatican "bring out a document on Yoga giving clear instructions" though you know that in today's religiously volatile and politically-correct world, Rome will not offend the sensibilities of adherents of pagan religions by spelling out such things in detail. The two Documents [1989 and 2003] are clear enough for any Catholic who genuinely seeks the truth. You wrote "The [Vatican] document mentioned in the scribd.com article is from the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith. In the first place, it carries far less weight than a document coming from an ecumenical council." The Vatican II Documents are PASTORAL in nature, not

DOCTRINAL. They may be modified, abrogated, revoked, and we already see the Holy See slowly but surely tightening up on the excesses that resulted from liberal and "progressive" interpretations of Vatican Council II. On the other hand, Rome's 1989 Document on Meditations like yoga, T.M. and Zen is from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; her 2003 Document is the product of intense investigation by THREE different councils, "the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for
Interreligious Dialogue (which are the principal redactors for this project), the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity" which is unarguably

something very unique. The very fact that yoga is mentioned along with Zen Buddhism and Transcendental Meditation in two Vatican Documents means that yoga is a SPIRITUAL exercise, and not just a system of physical asanas. Rome would not concern herself with Documents cautioning Catholics on issues that do not concern their eternal salvation. While a significant number of eminent priests from every continent as well as individual Bishops and Bishops' Conferences have condemned yoga and even banned Catholics from indulging in yoga, [see the information in my several articles/reports/compilations on yoga at www.ephesians-511.net], I could not find even one single similarly eminent priest [except a few Indian theologians or ashram leaders] or Bishop or Bishops' Conference that has okayed yoga, recommended yoga, promoted yoga or published an official Notification that yoga is spiritually or even physically beneficial for Catholics. In your Facebook conversations, you have argued well though unconvincingly to defend your proyoga position. While I have already countered all these arguments in my published articles, I hope to be able to do so again soon with reference to your Facebook conversations. However, I will continue and take up a few issues here. Nowhere does the 1989 Document, to quote your fantastic interpretation of #28, even hint that yoga may be "allowed as part of our prayer life". It is purely your wishful thinking. You said, "just because new age involves yoga that does not mean that all yoga involves new age". Even if one concedes that you are correct, it still remains that yoga is incontrovertibly a Hindu meditational practice to achieve monistic unity with the Absolute, Brahman, and therefore a pagan SPIRITUAL practice. Its origins are in man's blind groping for truth, the purpose and meaning of human life and death, God and eternity. It resulted in the doctrines of karma, reincarnation and the different yogas [margas or paths] to God. Jesus Christ and his teachings are God's full and

final revelation of truth and light. [What need then for yoga?] To reject that and still insist on yoga is to all intents and purposes to reject the Gospel. To me, that could be heresy. Again, yoga is in no way, to quote you again, "a harmless physical exercise" as my research of the works of Catholic scholars has revealed. Certain forms of yoga invoke demonic spirits and there is also the occurrence of the powerful force of kundalini [more of that later]. Any power that cannot be explained scientifically or naturally is from the spiritual realm; and, as far as Christians are concerned, any such spiritual force or power that is not from God is from his enemy, Satan. THERE IS NO NEUTRAL POWER IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM. In this context, practising, promoting or even condoning/allowing the practice of yoga would be a violation of the First Commandment of God. You say that the 2003 Document is "meant to guide those who have a wrong understanding of yoga or those whose faith is weak". In fact the Document itself states that its reflections are "offered
primarily to those engaged in pastoral work* so that they might be able to explain how the New Age movement differs from the Christian faith". *That means you, Father. There are a couple of other statements to that effect. We should be looking

to YOU to warn us against using yoga. Instead you not only invite a New Age guru to infect your parishioners, you defend him and his occult programmes against the advice of good and faithful Catholics and you challenge your Bishops authority to intervene and correct you. If on Facebook you recommend that Catholics adhere to "the value of official Church teaching as opposed to the teaching or a private priest / preacher", the same applies to you, even more especially not only because your words make it appear that you are not under episcopal authority but also because Catholics with impeccable credentials and in full submission to the authority of their Bishops have understood and taught that the said Vatican documents OPPOSE the practise of yoga by Catholics. As an aside, I would like to say with certainty that you will not find one single lay Catholic preacher in the Archdiocese of Bangalore -- and there are many of them -- who will stand by you and your interpretations. I would safely extend that challenge to cover every single diocese of this nation. "Yoga - as I said, it is praised by the Second Vatican Council". Where did you get that, Father? Aren't you putting words into the Document that aren't there? Not even the dozen liberal theologians who trashed the Document on the New Age** made anywhere near such fantastic claims.

**THEOLOGIANS LAMBAST THE VATICAN DOCUMENT ON THE NEW AGE http://ephesians-511.net/docs/THEOLOGIANS_LAMBAST_THE_VATICAN_DOCUMENT_ON_THE_NEW_AGE.doc.

As I said earlier, objections of yours like "This does not mean that all yoga is to be rejected. Only certain elements which give rise to New Age thinking are to be treated with caution", "Very few
Christians go towards Yoga as a means of entering into communion with God", "they apply only to extreme forms of yoga", and "I doubt very much that Yogic exercises CANNOT be separated from the philosophy of Yoga" -- meaning that you believe they CAN -- have already been addressed

in my various articles on the evils and dangers of yoga from a Catholic-Christian perspective. How do you expect that the Catholic faithful, the vast majority of who are uninformed, ignorant and innocent, "accept what is correct and reject what is wrong"? If someone in a cassock or having the prefix "Reverend Father" teaches anything -- however erroneous, it is readily accepted as gospel truth. The Holy See releases Documents, the Pope issues Encyclicals and Motu Proprios and writes us Apostolic Letters, the Bishops do not convey them to us, and priests like you whom we look up to interpret them liberally and erroneously. One of the correspondents on Facebook, the Zumba-loving Sonia D'Souza of Bangalore writing as "Jennifer Pinto", is typical of such Catholics. Furthermore, her comments as to why I did not attend their wedding -- I still dont understand why she took a swipe at me especially since I played the major rule in introducing the couple to each other -- is misinformed. I have written to her and to her husband reminding them of the real reasons that I could not attend, but predictably, they have not responded.

You are correct when you write, "However, if we are going to be arguing about words like this, then many of our Catholics should not be termed "Catholics"". "Catholics" who are selective about which of Rome's teachings they accept while rejecting others are described as "cafeteria Catholics". Pre-Vatican II they were known as heretics. I recently read a well-known priest's opinion that dissenters and liberals are really not Catholics in the true sense of the word! How I wish that I could locate where I saved it!
"Any type of activity that advocates personal ability to dissent to the teachings of the Catholic Church based upon freedom of personal choice or opinion is the result of very seriously malformed and misintentioned consciences." [http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=5318] Again, "Liberal Catholics are the worst enemies of the Church" Blessed Pope Pius IX And again, Fr. Michael Mller in his work "The Church and Her Enemies" makes this point: "A Liberal Catholic, then, is no true Catholic. The word Catholic is no vain and empty word. To be a true Catholic means to hold most firmly all those truths which Christ and his apostles have taught, which the Catholic Church has always proclaimed, which the saints have professed, which the popes and councils have defined, and which the Fathers and Doctors of the Church have defended. He who denies but one of those truths, or hesitates to receive one of them, is not a Catholic. He claims to exercise the right of private judgment in regard to the doctrine of Christ, and therefore he is a heretic. The true Catholic knows and believes that there can be no compromise between God and the devil, between truth and error, between orthodox faith and heresy. St. Stephen, the first martyr, was no compromiser. When accused of being a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, he, in his turn, accused his enemies of being the murderers of Christ. All the holy martyrs of the Church were no compromisers. Being charged by the heathens with the folly of worshipping and following a crucified God, they, in their turn, charged the heathens with the impiety of worshipping creatures, and following the devil."

You say, "We can even assimilate false beliefs through studying the Bible". True. But as a priest you should know that that is why there are safeguards. We have the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Magisterium. So the analogy that you have drawn with yoga, like several others that you have drawn in your conversations, is bad and incorrect. And, as I said earlier, when the Magisterium of the Church that includes you Father, fails to convey the orthodoxy that comes from above or misinterprets it to us, what can the poor lay wo/man do? Since you address the following to me,
"I would like to draw your attention to this sentence in the last article: "A Christian may do the
breathing and the exercises, but does not need to call it "yoga". Call it simply proper breathing, and fitness exercising." In other words, the argument is one about words and not about realities, because in reality very few Christians ever go beyond the breathing and the exercises. I would also be interested in knowing whether Michael Prabhu is alleging that something more than breathing and fitness exercising was being taught at St. Patrick's, and if so, what exactly was it?"

and since it concerns an excerpt taken out of context with the article which you read as well as out of context with all the other hundreds of pages of Catholic anti-yoga evidence on my web site, I respond as briefly as I can: With all due respect, I find that you are sifting through Church documents and writers' articles looking for something, anything that will give you an opening to argue or justify your pro-yoga stance. What you interpret is NOT what I meant, and that can be seen in the light of that entire paper from which you briefly quoted me and from the rest of my work on yoga. The argument is NOT about words as you say.

If people are maintaining proper posture, doing simple exercises and practising good breathing techniques --that is NOT YOGA is what I meant. So why call it yoga, I asked? That is also what I meant when I said, as you so happily cited me in a later conversation, as saying that Catholics may do "asanas". In the context of the whole article and all of my ministry, I was saying, yes, do the asanas but don't call them asanas, don't connect anything that you do with yoga. Postures and exercises are not the exclusive property of Hinduism. Yoga as a spiritual philosophy is. Surely you were not trying to say that I okayed yoga conditionally? No one who is familiar with me or my ministry would believe you if you did.

What I was also conveying is that such practices are beneficial for the physical body and the results will be visibly noticeable; the danger comes when Catholics term them as yoga and believing that yoga did good for them go deeper into the philosophical -- and spiritual -- underpinnings of the Hindu yogic system. Simple lay people have understood what I meant, so I am at a loss to understand why you couldn't. Could it be that you just don't want to?
"There is no such thing as power of Kundalini / serpent."

Dear, dear Father, when you were exposed to yoga practice and philosophy in the seminary in your first and/or second year there [Oh yes, Catholics are aware that they inject the poison in right at the beginning and from there its downhill all the way for our future priests], did you not read yoga books authored by Catholic priests in your own seminary library? Or the Rscj nun Vandana Mataji's [ed.] Shabda Shakti Sangam? On the almost non-existent possibility that you didn't, I can assure you that in my huge private library, I do not find even one single such work that does not extol Kundalini serpent power! Shabda Shakti Sangam is chock full of it; the authors are learned priests like you, even theologians. Either they all are lying or deceived, or you are. The surprise is that few Hinduauthored yoga books discuss kundalini. The few which do -- especially those of the Theosophical Society -- strongly warn us about the MORTAL dangers of uncontrolled kundalini energy. Unfortunately our priests do not warn us of its SPIRITUAL dangers; and you even deny that it exists! When referring to Catholic writers [priests and lay persons] who condemn the Hindu discipline of yoga, you commented, "[the] private individual ... has no such authority to declare something as
allowed or forbidden for the church as a whole - this applies only for his private congregation or whatever and certainly not to St. Patrick's where the legitimate pastor has taken a different decision." Are you saying, in the light of your earlier statement, "The official teaching of the Catholic Church comes not from preachers but from doctrinal documents of the Popes, the Councils and below them the CDF, bishops' conferences etc. At the same time, these have to be interpreted by private individuals in order to put them into practice" that you represent the legitimate teaching authority of the Church of Rome

when you promote and defend yoga? Can you be explicit and give us evidence of any Bishop or Bishops' Conference that has given the all-clear to yoga? If you cannot do so, please retract your statements or you will be considered by informed Catholics as one of the Trojan horses in the Catholic Church. I now come to your point 3 of one of your conversations. It was very clever of you to raise the issue of Pope John Paul II's witnessing "Australian Aboriginal dancers" at a ceremony, concluding that "even the Pope has "allowed" the ceremony" and so the web site that called it a sacrilege is "obviously ... not in line with the Church teaching". For a priest, it is surprising that you took recourse to referring to a Traditionalist site to support your specious arguments. There are many such records and photographs on these RadTrad. sites, many of them pertaining to the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II and the "Spirit of Assisi". They are not very edifying, are they? First of all, you have hopefully noticed that Benedict XVI has reversed that trend, from the Liturgy to the recent Assisi meet. All that transpired at Assisi in the presence of Pope John Paul II is now bad history. Ratzinger DISTANCED himself from those earlier events, especially Assisi -- HE DID NOT ATTEND AND DID NOT APPROVE! I can elaborate at length on this topic, but will include just this October 2003 statement from Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the
Sacraments:

Did the pope arrange it? Poor Holy Father -- he comes, the people arranged. He does not know what they arranged. And somebody introduces something funny -- is the pope responsible for that? Does that mean it is now approved? Did they put it on the table of the Congregation for Divine Worship? We would throw it out! If people want to dance, they know where to go. [http://www.adoremus.org/1003Arinze.html]

Well, I was in Delhi to witness -- during Pope John Paul II's 1980s visit -- similar travesties. I can reassure you that the Pope was as flummoxed as I was. What can one expect when those in charge of the arrangements of these ceremonies are themselves corrupted? For example, what can one expect of Cardinal Ivan Dias who pays obeisance to the Hindu "god" Ganesha by lighting a lamp before it? See CARDINAL IVAN DIAS LIGHTS A LAMP FOR THE HINDU DEITY GANESHA
http://ephesians511.net/docs/CARDINAL_IVAN_DIAS_LIGHTS_A_LAMP_FOR_THE_HINDU_DEITY_GANESHA.doc.

Or of Archbishops and Bishops who have virtually fostered the institutionalization of New Age in their arch/dioceses. Before I pass on, I cannot resist taking you up on your quotation "whatever he binds on earth is bound in heaven", when you infer that since the Pope "allowed" the dance, it becomes doctrine, because you end asking, "are you going to say that even if the Pope allows traditional dances, you are going to oppose them?" Father, if not in the seminary, we learnt at Sunday School that the "binding" and "loosing" refer to excathedra pronouncements and new ones have been scarce since the Creeds. Why do you intentionally obfuscate the truth? Catholics know that Papal infallibility is restricted to the areas of "faith and morals". Otherwise, the Pope is as human as you and I. You ask, "do you have any idea that something other than deep breathing and asanas is being... taught at St. Patrick's?" To tell you the truth, I don't know. Maybe one of these days I'll walk in and park myself along with the other adepts and then inform you of what [I expect with certainty] I will encounter. What I know right now is that the "Catholic" who conducts Hindu yoga at the hallowed ground of your parish, "DR. G. FRANCIS XAVIER Ph. D.", "this poor person who is only doing what he thinks is right" [to quote you], is engaged in [to cite his web site]:
Activate Left and Right Hemispheres of the Brain Akshaya Chakra Alpha Waves of Mental State Awaken[ing] Kundalini Chi Kung Cosmic Consciousness Guided Imagery Meditation (16 Techniques) Pranayama (5 Techniques) Reflexology Tantrik Kriya Yoga Practical Palmistry

If that is not occult and New Age, I don't know what is!!!! And you should chuck the guy out forthwith, not because he teaches Hindu yoga, because you're all for it, but because a) he does reflexology which is listed as New Age in the 2003 New Age Document [#2.2.3] b) he's into "Cosmic Consciousness" which is explained in the 2003 New Age Document [#2.3.4.1] c) hes into palmistry which of course is divination, and in case you didn't know, it's there in Deuteronomy 18. [The Church Document and the Bible are so clear on those that you cant interpret them any other way.] [I can prove to you that ALL of the rest is occult and New Age, but you will discount my words as private personal opinion which is not binding on anyone in the Church. Anyway, it's all at my web site.] d) he awakens the kundalini power which you said doesn't exist, which makes him a humbug. Michael Prabhu Catholic apologist, Chennai To be concluded... [See page 17]
THE ABOVE LETTER TO FR. ADRIAN MASCARENHAS WAS SENT BCC TO THE ARCHBISHOP OF BANGALORE. LATER, IT WAS ALSO COPIED DIRECTLY TO THE ARCHBISHOP. COPIES WERE ALSO MARKED TO JENNIFER PINTO [SONIA DSOUZA] AND HER HUSBAND: From: prabhu To: [email protected] Cc: jennifer pinto and husband

Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 11:21 PM Subject: YOGA AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH/BHARATANATYAM DANCING From: prabhu To: Arch bishop Moras Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 11:33 PM Subject: Fw: YOGA AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH/BHARATANATYAM DANCING From: prabhu To: [email protected] Cc: jennifer pinto and husband Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 11:21 PM Subject: YOGA AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH/BHARATANATYAM DANCING

II. JENNIFER PINTO, KNOWN TO ME BEFORE MARRIAGE AS SONIA PINTO, NOW SONIA DSOUZA [SEE PAGE 5. NOTE THAT I HAD EDITED SONIAS COMMENTS ON ME ON P. 5]
From: prabhu To: Jennifer Pinto/Sonia DSouza and husband Sent: Monday, November 21, 2011 11:34 AM Subject: YOGA AT ST. PATRICK'S/ "JENNIFER PINTO" PRO-YOGA COMMENTS ON FACEBOOK/PM's LETTER OF AUGUST 18 TO "JENNIFER PINTO" Dear Jennifer/Sonia Good morning, and Praise the Lord. This is in connection with the article "YOGA AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, BANGALORE" that I am completing for uploading on my ministry's web site. Immediately here below, are I, extracts of Jennifer's posts on Facebook. Below that, is II, a copy of PMs letter** to her, copy to me. [] **of August 18th, see page 10. Hereafter I will address the message to Jennifer because it was she who brought up my name on Facebook [Fr. Adrian Mascarenhas did not -- even though the conversation was between him and the originator concerning my work and that of other Catholic writers like me] and because of several negative and false statements that she made in the public domain concerning me and my ministry and the correct Catholic approach. First, I know you only as Sonia [Pinto, before marriage]. .. Jennifer, there was no "arguing" in the Facebook discussion. Two persons were defending the Faith -- that's Catholic apologetics about which you probably know little -- against a priest who is in serious spiritual error. I will deal with his "arguments" separately. What shocked me is that you came in on the side of a yoga-advocating priest against two faithful and well-informed Catholics who provided a wealth of anti-yoga information which you probably did not even care to check out. Your words are now in the public domain to negatively influence ignorant Catholics in the wrong direction. The priest is encouraged by you to persist in his error. When you "spend time with Jesus and commune with him and work out that salvation of yours', he is going to require an answer of you about those neighbours whom you have wrongly influenced and those neighbours whom you failed to admonish because you chose to be selfish. Reading your lines makes one understand that you believe that the two anti-yoga posters on Facebook and I should give up our "arguing" ministries and concentrate on working out our own salvation! And leave Fr. Adrian Mascarenhas to destroy souls in his parish and across the city of Bangalore. [] What do you say to my circulating the final report on this issue, containing all this information, to my Bangalore mailing list, getting reactions as I normally do, and putting this up on my web site? I look forward to your response. At your service in Jesus Name, Michael I. Jennifer Pinto: Thank you Adrian for such a balanced, well thought out explanation. You're always so spot on in your discussions. I like that. On a humorous note, if not yoga, then Zumba :) Nothing to do with religion or philosophies or controversial ideas... pure fun South American music and moves! My hubby Chris knows Mr. Michael Prabhu very well in Chennai. He was part of the latters mailing list for a long time. But Chris isnt the type to have a strong opinion on these things and hes like u, balanced. So he stopped reacting to uncle Michaels proddings Lol. Jennifer Pinto: Adrian, I like your comment directed at me. I agree with you...no sour grapes, just pure exercise for me! I have a health problem which I have to manage. And to be honest with you, it doesn't really bother me what the Church has to say about any of it...because I have my son and husband to look after and if Im a half dead with my health, then what use am i to them or to God, in my mission as a wife and mother? So Zumba it will be. :) As for the rest of it, each one of us has to work out our salvation. And reading all these arguments only poses one question in my mind...if we are gonna be so busy arguing, when will we have the time to spend with Jesus and commune with him and work out that salvation of ours :) II. From: PM To: jennifer Cc: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:48 PM Subject: Yoga at St. Patrick's Church, Facebook discussion [] NOTE: After receiving a reply from the husband of "Jennifer Pinto", I dropped the 'personal' issues from this report. However, "Jennifer Pinto" did not retract her Facebook comments despite two more requests, hence the inclusion of some of the related correspondence. ALSO, PERSONAL/PRIVATE ISSUES IN THE LETTER BELOW HAVE BEEN EDITED ME- MICHAEL

I. Continued from page 15 FR. ADRIAN MASCARENHAS RESPONSE My comments

in green. I have decided not to respond to most of the objections of this priest. Anyone who has read my writings on yoga will understand why. They have already been answered by me and by other reliable Catholic writers. My final comments, following the supportive letter of a priest who is a Canon lawyer, are on page 19. From: Adrian Mascarenhas To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 10:48 PM Subject: RE: YOGA AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH/BHARATANATYAM DANCING Dear Dr. Michael Prabhu, Thank you for your concern. I would like to clarify certain points: (a) It is not really your concern at all as church teaching (to which you claim to be loyal) does not entitle you to challenge the ordained ministers in such a matter. If you feel that you are entitled to challenge me, please quote the relevant church documents which give you this right.

CANON LAW 212.3 RIGHTS OF THE FAITHFUL They have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred pastors their view on matters which concern the good of the Church. They have the right also to make their views known to others of Christs faithful, but in doing so they must always respect the integrity of faith and morals, show due reverence to the pastors, and take into account both the common good and the dignity of the individuals.
(b) I was unable to get your friend [FL] to declare on facebook that he accepted the teachings of Vatican II. I am sure that there are other followers of yours who are either not aware or not concerned about the teachings of Vatican II. Please try to spread awareness of Vatican II among them, after which they will be in a position to interpret the post-Vatican II documents. FL was citing at least two post-Vatican documents!!!!! So, why did Fr. Adrian have to doubt his Catholicity? I can assure Fr. Adrian that not only is FL not a Traditionalist but that he is also more loyal to the correct interpretation of Conciliar and post-Conciliar documents than the priest is. (c) How I spend my precious pastoral time is AGAIN not really your concern as I am neither your pastor nor your subordinate. (d) You mention eminent Catholic authors whose opinions I have rejected. I would like to balance that by mentioning the self-appointed Ukrainian bishops whom you quote. CATHOLIC ANSWERS http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=616892 November 16, 2011 Q: Can a Roman Catholic become Ukrainian Catholic? Is there any way for a Roman Catholic to become a Greek or Ukrainian Catholic? Since there are no serious theological repercussions in switching from Roman to Eastern, I want to become an Eastern Catholic. A: Start attending, there is nothing preventing you from attending regardless where you belong canonically. I've known people who have attended the Ukrainian Church for years and remained canonical Roman Catholics. You can indeed practice the praxis of the Ukrainian Church and follow all traditions if that is the spirituality you will earnestly follow. I have not come across any evidence that the Ukrainian bishops are "self-appointed". I have cited hundreds of other sources Theological Commissions, Bishops Conferences, Cardinals, Bishops, priests and well-known lay persons; but Fr. Adrian ignores them and asks only about the Ukrainian bishops. If in case they are not loyal Catholics, they are at least good Christians as far as the First Commandment is concerned. (e) One section of Nostra Aetate is worth a lot since it is the Church's only decree with regard to NonChristian Religions. Don't dismiss it so lightly as you have done. (f) The Assisi prayer meetings etc. adequately prove my point that the Catholic Church officially appreciates the presence of the Spirit of God in other religions. If that were not enough, this quote from Redemptoris Missio would suffice: "In Christ, God calls all peoples to himself and he wishes to share with them the fullness of his revelation and love. He does not fail to make himself present in many ways, not only to individuals but also to entire peoples through their spiritual riches, of which their religions are the main and essential expression, even when they contain "gaps, insufficiencies and errors."" - RM 55. Hence

the Church does not believe that the inadequacies and errors present in other religions are signs that God is ABSENT from them. (g) About my mention of the archbishop, please quote the full context so that we know what you are talking about. I would certainly not voluntarily trespass on the authority of the archbishop, though it may happen accidentally in the course of a hurried discussion on facebook. It is available in this report on page 3. (h) You are right: I will not admonish a Catholic who is in grave spiritual error unless he comes to me for catechesis / confession / spiritual direction. Please allow me to interpret my pastoral ministry in my own way as you have no legitimate authority to intervene, unlike the shepherds and prophets mentioned in Ezekiel 18, 34 etc. (i) If Rome does not offend the sensibilities of adherents of pagan religions, why do you want ME to do so? The two documents are talking about New Age and Christian Meditation and not about Yoga. (j) I am sorry for you if you think that the 1989 and 2003 documents have modified the position taken by Vatican II. In spite of the three councils behind the 2003 document, it is a fact that it did not come out as a papal exhortation or encyclical, which surely relegates it to a lower position in the hierarchy of documents. (k) Yoga is mentioned as one of the SOURCES for New Age. It is not condemned in any church document. New Age however is condemned. That condemnation does not include the SOURCES for the New Age movement, just as the condemnation of Martin Luther does not mean that St. Paul has been condemned, though Martin Luther claimed to follow St. Paul. (l) The bishops conferences that banned Catholics from indulging in yoga are responding to a pastoral situation in their own dioceses. Their decisions are only partly relevant to our situation. The situation of yoga in India is very different from Croatia so it is strange (to say the least) that Croatian bishops' views are to be taken into account by OUR pastors in making decisions. Rather, they should be listening to our bishops' views on yoga, but still, neither side has the right to enforce its views on the other in this matter. You dismiss the views of Indian theologians, as if foreign theologians knew more about yoga than we do. Well perhaps they do, but that doesn't mean that their views are applicable in our situation. (m) let me quote the 1989 document: "That does not mean that genuine practices of meditation which come from the Christian East and from the great non-Christian religions, which prove attractive to the man of today who is divided and disoriented, cannot constitute a suitable means of helping the person who prays to come before God with an interior peace, even in the midst of external pressures." IMPORTANT WORDS. Not my wishful thinking. Genuine meditation practices CAN constitute a suitable means of helping people to come before God with interior peace. (n) Yoga that invokes demonic spirits is bad. So if you are attacking yoga as practiced in Christian institutions, PROVE that they are teaching SUCH FORMS of yoga. Your statement that "there is no neutral power in the spiritual realm" has very little basis in the teachings of the Catholic Church. A number of things we do are spiritually neutral. (o) YOU ARE FALSELY AND SLANDEROUSLY ACCUSING ME OF HAVING INVITED A NEW AGE GURU TO INFECT MY PARISHIONERS. Please defend your statement with appropriate quotes proving that (a) I have invited him and that (b) he has infected my parishioners. Otherwise apologise and accept the title of "liar" and "slanderer" like your friend Francis Lobo. (p) Your so-called good and faithful Catholics are busy quoting schismatic self-appointed Ukrainian bishops in favour of their positions, so don't blame me for attempting to refute them. Sorry if it wasn't convincing to you, that shows that you regard these self-appointed bishops very highly. But, Fr. Adrian steadfastly ignores the teachings of many loyal Catholic bishops whom I have quoted. (q) Vatican II claims that there are rays of truth and goodness in non-Christian religions. "The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men." This means that Vatican II is promoting the first seven of the eight steps of Yoga, as below: Step 1: non-violence, non-stealing, celibacy, truthfulness, financial independence Step 2: cleanliness, contentment, penance, study, meditation on God Step 3: various postures Step 4: breath control

Step 5: Withdrawal of senses Step 6: Focussing Step 7: Concentration Step 8: Union with the absolute: ONLY THIS STEP is forbidden by Vatican II as it is based on false pantheistic views. (r) It is strange that you say that we can do asanas but not call them asanas, we can do breathing exercises but not call them Yoga. I suppose you know that the days of the week and the months of the year are largely named after pagan deities? You cannot deny your own debt to paganism, and bible scholars are aware of how much the Jews owe to paganism. No doubt your lay preachers will disagree with me, but I still hold that a person who goes to Church on SUN-day should have no problem in doing asanas and calling them asanas. (s) Please provide me some scientific source about Kundalini serpent power. Some medical evaluations, or some journals like Nature and New Scientist. At least one or two. (t) You mention "informed Catholics". I would like to know whether you have shared with them the truth concerning the Ukrainian bishops I mentioned. Your website tends to spread a certain amount of disinformation rather than information, so I am a bit sceptical of these so-called "informed Catholics" of yours. (u) So can you prove finally that Dr. G. Francis Xavier taught New Age techniques at St. Patrick's? After all this whole discussion is not regarding Dr. G. Francis Xavier but regarding St. Patrick's and in particular my role as an (assistant) parish priest. If you are trying to stop Dr. G. Francis Xavier kindly express your views to HIM and not to us. What do you mean by "chuck the guy out"? Please look once again at Francis Xaviers curriculum vitae on page 1.

AFTER RECEIVING THE FOLLOWING LETTER, I DECIDED TO DROP THE DEBATE WITH FR. ADRIAN From: CANON LAWYER PRIEST To: prabhu Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2011 5:37 PM Subject: Re: Fw: YOGA AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH/BHARATANATYAM DANCING Dear Michael, There is nothing wrong in questioning higher authority on teachings that come from their own thinking. The laity as responsible members can be involved at all levels and can respectfully question any teaching, provided it is from the official teaching of the Magisterium. There is no need to quote anything when the reasoning is self-evident. An arrogant priest may demand quotations from a lay man. Such tricks are not new. Priests are not teachers on their right but are given a share by their Bishops in the functions of sanctifying, governing and teaching authority that the Bishops have. Regarding Yoga it is difficult to argue because it is difficult to convince a person who has no anointing of the Spirit. The one who has anointing immediately senses it. But convincing another who belongs to the world is extremely difficult. This kind can be dealt with only through prayer and fasting. There is pride at the root of people who import new things, even from New Age to replace true sacramental practice, efficacy of the Word of God and prayers like the Holy Rosary. They are the dead referred to in the Gospel verses, "Let the dead bury the dead" and "Why do you look for the living among the dead". But the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven are revealed only to the child like (Luke 10: 21-22). So as Paul tells Timothy do not get involved in arguments; it is enough to point out the errors once. Those who are of God are humble and will at once accept correction; others who are proud belong to the devil and will reject correction. May God Bless you Fr. Nn
I had sent the entire correspondence to Fr. Nn and the above was his brief but lucid response. Erika Gibello is the SECRETARY, ASSOCIATION OF EXORCISTS INTERNATIONAL [AIE] as well as SECRETARY, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR DELIVERANCE [IAD] -- both Vatican-approved. This is what she wrote to me today, edited: From: Mrs. E. Gibello To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 6:30 AM Subject: Re: SEVERAL NEW SECTIONS, OVER 200 NEW ARTICLES, REPORTS AND EXPOSES, TESTIMONIES AND COMPILATIONS ON OUR WEB SITE Dear Michael, love and greetings from London I finally found the [withheld] who will publish my book [on New Age Movement and New Religious Movements] in English. So far it is in Russian, Ukrainian, German (2nd edition), Latvian and getting

translated in Italian. All texts are original in English and I can send you whatever subject you want [for this web site] In the meantime Holy Father sent me a letter of thanks for my book. Erika works with priests who are in the exorcism and deliverance ministries. A leading authority on the subject, she too has written and spoken strongly against Catholics practising yoga. The subject is probably addressed in her book on New Age which the Pope has thanked her for. Some of Fr. Adrians objections and questions are so nave [e.g. (r) and (s)] that they do not merit answers. Today, I am uploading on my site my latest compilation on yoga, which is also this weeks news headlines:

YOGA is satanic, it is the devils work, and leads to Hinduism- Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Vaticans chief exorcist
Fr. Adrian Mascarenhas, over to you.