Yoga and Meditation: Spiritual Transformation in the Wrong Direction.
© 2012 by Amelia Bacic-Tulevski. Excerpt reprinted with permission.
It can be argued that the goal of any religion, Christian or otherwise, is spiritual transformation. In Christian Orthodoxy, the ultimate goal of transforming oneself is to attain theosis, or union with God. The faithful Orthodox strives to overcome his fallen nature and to live according to the holy image in which he was created. Through this process of spiritual transformation, the believer prepares himself to share in the eternal life of the Holy Trinity. Spiritual transformation is required in the Eastern religions, too, although the Orthodox Christian would argue that it is a transformation in the wrong direction. Because the physical exercises of the East are intended to be preparatory steps in the spiritual transformation process, they are the signposts and arrows marking the many roads leading away from Christ.
