The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bowled over by Eastern philosophy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 23, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Bowled over by Eastern philosophy

Sahana Charan

DISSEMINATING KNOWLEDGE: Stephan Brashear. — Photo K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: His knowledge of yoga and the Hindu scriptures is perhaps much more than the average Indian. He talks of concepts in Hinduism and Buddhism and what the Bhagavad Gita says on yoga like a learned guru.

Stephan Brashear runs a yoga school in Cincinnati in the United States. Called the Cincinnati Yoga School its mission is to promote the goodness of yoga and bring people closer to the Eastern philosophy.

A yoga teacher for the last eight years, Mr. Brashear is also doing a master's degree in `Yoga Psychology' at the Antioch University, McGregor.

"I was earlier a student of Western psychology but realised that the solutions given in conventional psychology for various problems may be temporary. Yoga was better equipped to deal with psychological problems of individuals on a more long-term basis," he said.

"People in the United States are hugely attracted to yoga and it is not just `asanas' and exercises they want to know about. They are more interested in listening to the teachings propagated in the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures," he said.

Mr. Brashear's school has around 350 people and more than 3,000 persons have learnt yoga there in the last six years.

His activities are not confined to his home town. He often visits India and gives talks on yogic philosophy and how more and more citizens in the United States are benefiting from yoga and are getting attracted to the concept of spirituality.

A promoter of the Bahai faith, Mr. Brashear is in Bangalore to promote yoga learning in schools and colleges and to talk about attainment of peace and harmony through spirituality, in association with the Bahai centres here.

He has already given talks and lectures on the topic in several cities, including Delhi, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pondicherry, Secunderabad, and visited around 10 schools. "I talk to students about understanding and loving your subject and promote yoga in education. I speak to them about things such as how to build concentration, relieve study stress and learning without effort. We also teach them a few exercises which could be done between classes to relieve tension and stress."

"Yoga helped me in understanding the concept of peace through spirituality. Then I came across Bahai teachings I was impressed with the faith as it promotes greater unity of all religions. Whenever I give lectures on yoga and Eastern philosophy, I intermingle the concept of unity of all religions as propagated by the Bahai faith," he said.

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