I am writing this in reference to the news article “Pushpa Kamal Dhal’s son Prakash no more” (THT online, November 19). It is true that no matter what a person does in his life whether positive or negative the death of them at least makes a little room in our heart and mind to be melancholic and pensive even momentarily. This is what it means to be a human. I am a little bit perplexed by what takes some people to scoffing and disparaging the dead body by regurgitating his and his father’s past political flaws. I do not get any point in being so harsh at the death of someone. The Youtube and Facebook pages have been smeared by the corrosive thread of comments. We should learn to become a civilized citizen by pondering the very essence of life and dignity. We should stop justifying his death as with the deaths of the civil war. It is not time for comparing and contrasting. Things and times have changed. We need to avoid this disgraceful political vendetta and get along with the future making homework of a nation.

Shiva Neupane, Melbourne

Yoga

Yoga cannot be described as just another form of religious teaching or physical exercise. While religion spoils the very concept of yoga, the act of confining yoga with asanas on a yoga - mat restricts its meaning.

Yoga is all about realizing the oneness by tuning our body and mind to the cosmic spirit. The literal meaning of yoga is to add. Religion can divide as it is forced willy-nilly to preach, “Mine is better than yours”. The idea is to impress people. On being asked about the difference between yoga and religion, the Mother (spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo) had said, “Ah! my child ... it is as though you were asking me the difference between a dog and a cat! Imagine someone who, in some way or the other, has heard of something like the Divine or has a personal feeling that something of the kind exists, and begins to make all sorts of efforts: efforts of will, of discipline, efforts of concentration, all sorts of efforts to find the Divine, to discover what He is, to become acquainted with Him and unite with Him. Then the person is doing yoga.

Now, if this person has noted down all the processes he has used and constructs a fixed system, and sets up all that he has discovered as absolute laws - for example, he says: the Divine is like this, to find the Divine you must do this, make this particular gesture, take this attitude, perform this ceremony, and you must admit that this is the truth, you must say, “I accept that this is the truth and I fully adhere to it; and your method is the only right one, the only one which exists” - if all that is written down, organised, arranged into fixed laws and ceremonies, it becomes a religion.”Indeed, we know that time, space and even numbers are not finite. They are infinite. And the infinite means the One ~ no duality. So, everything is in yoga in other words, in unison.

Sujit De, Kolkata