Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Features
  • Comment
  • Store
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Podcast Info
    • Hanania Podcast intro
    • Live Arab Radio
  • Your Views
  • Submit Press Release
  • Toggle search form
  • The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (American FRRME) helping Christians in Iraq
    New report on Christians in Iraq shows desperate situation and needs Arab World
  • Winter in Bekaa Lebanon January 2015 Photo courtesy of NRC Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
    AHRC Observes World Refugee Day American Arabs
  • Endorsements: Democrats in the Illinois June 28, 2022 Primary election Activism
  • The Arab Daily News candidate endorsements: Cook County, Illinois American Arabs
  • Endorsements: Republicans in the Illinois Republican Primary Election June 28, 2022 Election
  • Joseph Gutman was appointed by Gov. Pritzker to serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Gutman was a Partner at BDT & Company from 2017 until retiring in January 2020 where he remains a consultant today.
    Gov Pritzker makes more appointments to state commissions, boards but no Arabs American Arabs
  • World Jewish Congress Chairman Ronald S. Lauder
    WJC President Ronald S. Lauder Receives France’s Top Distinction  Activism
  • Project DYNAMO rescues more than 600 people from Mariupol, Ukraine over the last week Major Mariupol rescue operation conducted by Project DYNAMO, more than 480 people from Mariupol as city under violent siege falling to Russian forces. 
    Project DYNAMO rescues more than 600 people from Mariupol, Ukraine over the last week Human Rights
  • US Congressman Sean Casten, 6th District, Illinois
    Congressman Sean Casten joins Ray Hanania Radio Show American Arabs
  • The U.S.S. Liberty photo courtesy of the USS Liberty Veterans.
    Survivors of Israel’s strike on USS Liberty commemorate 55th year June 6 – 8 American Arabs
  • Imad Hamad Director American Human Rights Council
    AHRC Calls for Moral Consistency on Human Rights, Urges President Biden to Pause His Trip to Israel: American Arabs
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC hosts an open meeting with TSA & community Activism
  • Former City Hall reporter Ray Hanania, ShawnTe Raines-Welch and Nick Kantas, candidates for Judge in the 4th SubCircuit, and Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar.
    Nearly 100 candidates, officials address Arab Democratic Club forum Sunday American Arabs
  • Citgo Gas Station and Quik Mart at 3759 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago ordered closed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot because a street gang member with an AK-47 killed someone in front of the store. Only Arab and Muslim stores are being closed by the Mayor
    Arabs and Muslim blast Mayor lightfoot for racist store closings American Arabs
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Chicago aldermen to host “forum” to explore Mayor Lightfoot’s racist crackdown on Arab stores Activism

2nd International Yoga Day and 2nd Coming of Christ

Posted on June 17, 2016June 17, 2016 By Eileen Fleming No Comments on 2nd International Yoga Day and 2nd Coming of Christ
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

June 21 was declared International Yoga Day by UN Resolution 69/131 in Dec. 2014

By Eileen Fleming

The word ‘yoga’ means to unite.

The practice of Yoga as a physical, mental and spiritual practice originated in India 5,000 years ago and focused on breathing, meditation and stillness.

The yoga positions/poses/asanas that are practiced in the West are less than 100 years old!

UN resolution 69/131 stresses “the importance of individuals and populations making healthier choices and following lifestyle patterns that foster good health.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated in his address at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, Yoga is not just about exercise; it is a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature.

The practice of Yoga will unite thought and action in harmony and “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”– Mahatma Gandhi

Yoga-Day-logo

 

In the 20th century Paramahansa Yogananda, taught about universal Christ Consciousness and founded the Self-Realization Fellowship in 1920 to bring the true teachings of yoga to the West and underscore the truth underlying all true religions.
In titling The Second Coming of Christ, Paramahansa Yogananda explained:

I am not referring to a literal return of Jesus to earth. He came two thousand years ago and, after imparting a universal path to God’s kingdom, was crucified and resurrected; his reappearance to the masses now is not necessary for the fulfillment of his teachings.
What is necessary is for the cosmic wisdom and divine perception of Jesus to speak again through each one’s own experience and understanding of the infinite Christ Consciousness that was incarnate in Jesus. That will be his true Second Coming.
Many are the churches and temples founded in his name, often prosperous and powerful, but where is the communion that he stressed—actual contact with God?
Jesus wants temples to be established in human souls, first and foremost; then established outwardly in physical places of worship.

Instead, there are countless huge edifices with vast congregations being indoctrinated in churchianity, but few souls who are really in touch with Christ through deep prayer and meditation.
A thousand Christs sent to earth would not redeem its people unless they themselves become Christlike by purifying and expanding their individual consciousness to receive therein the second coming of the Christ Consciousness, as was manifested in Jesus.
Contact with this Consciousness, experienced in the ever new joy of meditation, will be the real second coming of Christ—and it will take place right in the devotee’s own consciousness.

 

In his chapter on The Beatitudes [Sermon on the Mount] from The Yoga of Jesus, Yoganananda writes:

Peace is the first manifestation of God’s response in meditation. Those who know God as Peace in the inner temple of silence, and who worship that peace-God therein, are by this relationship of divine communion His true children…

Anyone who brings peace to an inharmonious family has established God there. Anyone who removes the misunderstanding between souls has united them in God’s peace. Anyone who, forsaking national greed and selfishness, works to create amidst warring nations is establishing God in the heart of those nations…

No matter what one’s nationality or the color of his body, all of God’s children are souls. The Father recognizes no manmade designations; He loves all and His children must learn to live in that same consciousness…

So we, being made in his image, must also behave like gods and conquer hearts with the power of love, or humanity, as we know it will surely perish. Man’s power to make war is increasing; so must his ability to make peace…

Anyone who stirs up strife among brother nations under the guise of patriotism is a traitor to his divine family-a faithless child of God…

The true Christ-method of living can banish human conflicts and the horror of war and bring about peace and understanding on earth; all prejudices and enmities must fall away. That is the challenge placed before those who would be peacemakers of God.

 

Before Emperor Constantine brought Christianity into the mainstream, all the early Church Fathers taught that Christians should never serve in the army but willingly suffer rather than inflict harm on any other.

Augustine was the first Church Father to consider the concept of a “Just War” and within 100 years after Constantine, the Empire required that all soldiers in the army must be baptized and thus the decline of Christianity began.

With the justification of war and violence supplied by Augustine’s “Just War” theory, today’s Orwellian politicians persist to claim the way to peace is through war and military occupations.

In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine legitimized Christianity and the religious and fundamentally minded began to enjoy political power and prestige and Jesus’ teachings were reinterpreted to justify warfare and the use of state sponsored violence.

St. Paul taught that the only way to resist evil is with good. Clement, Tertullian, Polycarp and every other early Church Father taught that violence is a contradiction of what Christianity is to be about.

Two thousand years ago, there was lively debate about who Jesus was, and why he came. Churches before Emperor Constantine legitimized Christianity were hot beds of individuality and not the institutions that have become big business today.

During my first of 8 trips to both sides of The Wall in the Holy Land;

I heard this spin on the Sermon on The Mount within my heart:

About 2,000 years ago, when Jesus was about 33, he hiked up a hill and sat down under an olive tree and began to teach the people;

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”

In other words: it is those who know their own spiritual poverty, their own limitations and ‘sins’ honestly and trust God loves them in spite of themselves who already live in the Kingdom of God.

How comforted we will all be, when we see, we haven’t got a clue, as to the depth and breadth of pure love and mercy of The Divine Mystery of The Universe.

God’s name in ancient Aramaic is Abba, which means Daddy as much as Mommy and He/She: The Lord has said, “My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not yours.” -Isaiah 55:8

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

The essence of meek is to be patient with ignorance, slow to anger and never hold a grudge. In other words: how comforted you will be when you also know humility; when you know yourself, the good and the bad, for both cut through every human heart.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled.”

In other words: how comforted you will be when your greatest desire is to do what “God requires, and he has already told you what that is; BE JUST, BE MERCIFUL and walk humbly with your Lord.”-Micah 6:8

“Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy.”

In other words: how comforted you will all be when you choose to return only kindness to your ‘enemy.’

“For with the measure you measure against another, it will be measured back to you” Christ warns his disciples as he explains the law of karma in Luke 6:27-38.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God.”

In other words: how comforted you will be when you WAKE UP and see God is already within you, within every man, every woman and every child. The Supreme Being is everywhere, the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. Beyond The Universe and yet so small; within the heart of every atom.

“Blessed are The Peacemakers: THEY shall be called the children of God.”

KEEP HOPE ALIVE

IF we believe in God we will at least try to live by The Golden Rule.

Jesus explained it in Matthew 7:12: So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

HINDUISM teaches: This is the sum of duty: do naught to others, which if done to thee would cause thee pain. -The Mahabharata

BUDDHISM teaches: Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.  – Udana-Varga

JUDAISM teaches: What is hateful to you; do not to your fellow men. That is the whole Torah, the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. Go and study it. – Talmud Shabbat 31a

ISLAM teaches: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. – Hadith

Learn More about Yoga Day at The Yoga Day Summit- a FREE online event that will explore the world of yoga from its ancient roots in India to today’s Global Movement of Transformation HERE

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Eileen Fleming
Senior Non-Arab Correspondent for TADN at The Arab Daily News
Senior Non-Arab Correspondent for The Arab Daily News
Producer "30 Minutes with Vanunu" who founded WeAreWideAwake.org in response to her first of 8 trips to both sides of The Wall in Palestine Israel.
In 2012, Eileen ran for US House of Representatives District 5, in Fl.
Read her FREE eBooks and more at:http://www.eileenfleming.org/
Latest posts by Eileen Fleming (see all)
  • Vanunu still has more nuclear secrets to spill, Israeli court declares - December 29, 2021
  • 9/11 and a 20th Reflection of That Day - September 5, 2021
  • Mordechai Vanunu: Final Annual Update and this Writers Next Steps - June 19, 2021

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
American Arabs, Arab World, Bloggers, Health Tags:American Arabs, Arab World, Christ, Eileen Fleming, Interfaith dialog, International Yoga Day, Islam, Jesus, Religion and Spirituality, Yoga, Yoganananda

Post navigation

Previous Post: Orlando, Chicago, Palestine: Is murder just politics?
Next Post: Al Jazeera protests Egyptian death sentences

Related Posts

  • Israeli soldiers abuse civil rights of Palestinians everyday. Photo courtesy of the Good Shepherd Collective
    Good Shepherd Collective needs your help to fight Annexation, Demolitions, and more Arab World
  • B’Tselem: 35 civilians killed when Israel bombs four story building Activism
  • The new King of Saudi Arabia, Salman Bin Abdel Aziz
    Saudi King urges American understanding on Yemen challenges Arab World
  • Snowden and Vanunu: Spies, Whistleblowers, Movies and Books American Arabs
  • 9/11 Sept. 11, 2001 logo memorial from the AHRC
    AHRC observes 19th Commemoration of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks American Arabs
  • The Palestinian Nuclear Option: the Road to ICC Membership Ali Younes

More Related Articles

iiGlobal hosts Jewelry show under patronage of Saudi King Activism
Palestinian Land Day and West Bank Oil Bloggers
Michigan Legislators cite Kayrouz for supporting anti-ambulance chasing law American Arabs
All Veterans 34th Reunion Dishonors USS Liberty American Arabs
Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni at an event addressing Israeli violations of Palestinian rights, 1977. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania Remembering two iconic champions of Palestinian rights American Arabs
The Breaking of Tel Rumeida Arab World

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Nearly four years in office, Pritzker fails to deliver on promises to Arab Americans
    June 12, 2022
  • Palestinian refugees forced to flee their homes at gunpoint by Jewish terrorist groups operating in Palestine in the 1930s, 1940s and after Israel was created on May 14, 1948. Photo courtesy of the United Nations
    Unresolved status of Palestinian rights makes UNRWA essential
    May 7, 2022
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • Hollywood Sign
    Will Smith violence takes Oscar protests to dangerous level
    March 31, 2022
  • NEWS
  • The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (American FRRME) helping Christians in Iraq
    New report on Christians in Iraq shows desperate situation and needs
    June 20, 2022
  • Winter in Bekaa Lebanon January 2015 Photo courtesy of NRC Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
    AHRC Observes World Refugee Day
    June 20, 2022
  • Joseph Gutman was appointed by Gov. Pritzker to serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Gutman was a Partner at BDT & Company from 2017 until retiring in January 2020 where he remains a consultant today.
    Gov Pritzker makes more appointments to state commissions, boards but no Arabs
    June 17, 2022
  • Endorsements: Republicans in the Illinois Republican Primary Election June 28, 2022
    June 16, 2022
  • NEWSWIRE
  • Imad Hamad Director American Human Rights Council
    AHRC Calls for Moral Consistency on Human Rights, Urges President Biden to Pause His Trip to Israel:
    May 24, 2022
  • The U.S.S. Liberty photo courtesy of the USS Liberty Veterans.
    Survivors of Israel’s strike on USS Liberty commemorate 55th year June 6 – 8
    May 23, 2022
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC hosts an open meeting with TSA & community
    May 19, 2022
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Chicago aldermen to host forum on Arab businesses closed by Mayor Lightfoot
    April 15, 2022

The Tabboun Column

The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
  • Tabboun
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    The Political Grapevine/The Tabboun, Friday Dec. 16, 2021
    December 16, 2021
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    Tabboun: Chicago remains strongest Palestine voice
    September 7, 2016
  • The Tabboun: Israeli human rights violations hit
    June 30, 2016
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    Tabboun: Himes questions troop deployment to Syria
    November 3, 2015
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    The Tabboun: Dearborn removes statue of racist former mayor
    September 29, 2015

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • ZiyadBrandLogo-2016BlackRedBackgrnd.jpg
  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Sices-Ad.jpg
  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Ad-Pantry-essentials.jpg
  • HANANIA Arab News Op-Eds
  • Ukraine conflict gives Palestinians chance to redefine their conflict
    March 9, 2022
  • Mishmeshan PHC medical center destroyed in Syrian Government assaults. Photo courtesy of UOSSM Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations
    President Biden’s dyslexic policy in Syria is a mess
    October 20, 2021
  • Annissa Essaibi George and family
    Annissa Essaibi George faces “race hypocrisy” in campaign to be Boston Mayor
    October 20, 2021
  • Jerusalem image of Jews and Arabs walking together. Shutterstock. Courtesy of Arab News Newspaper
    Jewish Michigan lawmaker leads push for Two State Solution
    October 7, 2021
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib, book cover. Photo courtesy of Cune Press
    Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib
    November 1, 2021
  • Girl Fighters, new book on Yemen Book Cune Press
    New Book: Girl Fighters: Break Tradition in Yemen 
    October 25, 2021
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • American Arab CHamber President HassanNijem accepts the Proclamation from Chicago Ald. Roderick Sawyer at the Chamber dinner March 30, 2022
    Chicagoland celebrates Arab American Heritage Month
    March 31, 2022
  • Hollywood Sign
    Will Smith violence takes Oscar protests to dangerous level
    March 31, 2022
  • 03-30-22 Arab Chamber Heritage Month Flyer
    Arab Chamber to host Arab Heritage Month dinner March 30
    March 14, 2022
  • “Rupture”, the psychological thriller produced by MBC STUDIOS, has won Best Saudi Film at the 2021 Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF).
    MBC GROUP’s Rupture wins Best Saudi Film at the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival
    December 15, 2021
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at Gab.com, MeWe.com and IDobbinate.com, the alternatives to Facebook and Twitter Censorship.

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2022 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme