Published: March 29, 2009
Hindus Urge Jolie, Paltrow, and Other Celebrities to Explore Hinduism
Hindus have extended an invitation to Hollywood celebrities Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, who reportedly ardently practice yoga, to explore Hinduism also, which is the mother of yoga.
Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was time now to explore the spiritual dimension of yoga because actually yoga was a mental and physical discipline by means of which the human-soul (jivatman) unites with the universal-soul (parmatman).
Yoga, referred as "a living fossil", was one of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, Zed, who is the president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said and urged Jolie, Paltrow and other yoga practicing celebrities to take a look at the rest of the five schools also. Yoga was one of the gifts of Hinduism to the world, Zed added.
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Rajan Zed further said that Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought. If celebrities needed any spiritual direction, he or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide it.
Zed pointed out that some sages had described yoga as the silencing of all mental transformations, which lead to the total realization of the Supreme Self. Some had used yoga attempting to gain liberation by removing all sensory barriers. According to Patanjali, author of the basic text, the Yoga Sutra, who codified yoga after being founded by Yajanavalkya, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.
Besides Jolie and Paltrow, various celebrities reportedly associated with yoga include Ali MacGraw, Ashley Judd, Barbara Streisand, Bianca Jagger, Cameron Diaz, Candice Bergen, Carmen Electra, Charlie Sheen, Charlize Theron, Christy Turlington, Connie Stevens, Danny Clover, David Duchovny, Diane Keaton, Dixie Chicks, Emilio Estavez, Eva Longoria, Halle Berry, Homer Simpson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Jerry Seinfeld, John McEnroe, Julia Roberts, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karen Allen, Kathie Lee Gifford, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Mariel Hemingway, Martha Stewart, Martin Sheen, Meg Ryan, Melissa Etheridge, Melissa Joan Hart, Michael Jackson, Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys, Naomi Campbell, Naomi Watts, Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Olivia Newton-John, Oprah Winfrey, Pamela Anderson, Paulina Rubio, Raquel Welch, Ricky Martin, Russell Simmons, Sarah Jessica Parker, Shirley MacLaine, Soleil Moon Frye, Sting, Susan Sarandon, Tatum O'Neal, Thalia, Tina Turner, Uma Thurman, William Dafoe, etc.
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