NZ Cults & Religious Groups List: Y

Y

Yoga. A set of excercises marketed as being for relaxation, posture or breathing, but according to leading yoga instructors, all yoga is designed to release the serpent "Kundalini" force coiled at the base of the spine. The word yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning "union", "yoke" or "yoking with the God consciousness".The spiritual side of yoga cannot be separated from the physical side, and so it is something Christians should stay well clear of. For more information see Is Yoga Really So Bad? at Christianitytoday.com or the Watchman Expositor Yoga Profile or their articles Yoga: An Overview and Yoga: Exercise or Religion (long article). Also Yoga: Are Theory and Practice separable? at Apologetics Index.

Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh. Founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM). Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was born in 1911. He studied physics at Allahabad University, graduating in 1940 or 1942. In the early 40s he came into contact with a man known as Guru Dev, from whose teachings Maharishi distilled TM. In 1959 he introduced TM to the United States. In 1967 Maharishi spoke in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in London, where he was heard by three of the Beetles, the association with whom played a major part in popularising New Age thinking. Popularity waned, and Maharishi withdrew around 1970, stating "I know that I have failed. My mission is over." However, showing great marketing ingenuity, he started "selling" TM as "The Science of Creative Intelligence" and started pushing positive physical and physiological benefits.

Youth for Human Rights (International). Front group for the dangerous Scientology cult. Active in New Zealand.

Youth Section. See YouthSection (one word).

Youth With a Mission (YWAM). A Christian organisation for evangelism. Although YWAM is acknowledged to have done a lot of good evangelism over the years, there are also strong concerns about what they are now up to (indeed, some of the things they have been up to for a number of years) and also with the way they go about many of their activities. For example, YWAM leaders have appeared on the Benny Hinn TV show and endorsed Benny Hinn's ministry. In general these concerns appear to be not as strong in New Zealand as in other countries, although we apparently do have a few local incidents. YWAM is said by some to have become part of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and promotes books and other materials by NAR leaders such as C Peter Wagner.

YouthSection. Cult. A young adult part of School of Spiritual Science aka Anthroposophical Society.

Yule. Pagan holiday celebrated on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice (December 21). Because of its close proximity to Christmas, the term Yule has often been used as a designation for Christmas. For more information see the Yule listing on the Occult Closeup History page.