Catholic Priest In Manila Says Practicing Yoga Increases Risks To Demonic Possession

Have you seen the movies The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) or The Last Exorcism (2010)? They are pretty scary, right? Being possessed by a demon looks like a very nasty experience. The twitching, the scratching, the bedeviled eyes, the screaming, bones that turn to rubber, etc. They make you squirm.

From what we've seen in the movies or read in books, demons seem to pick their victims in random. You get possessed if you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, a Catholic priest in Manila has come up with an unofficial list of things that might cause a person to be targeted by a demon.

In a talk delivered at the Arzobispo de Manila in Intramuros, Msgr. Jay Bandojo made the claims that you open yourself up to demonic possession if you engage in or believe in any of the following: yoga, feng shui, amulets,astrology, transcendental meditation, lucky charms, fortune-telling, horoscope, spirit of the glass, and cursing. That's quite a list. If you are into any of these things, you have a higher risk of being possessed by a demon according to Bandojo.

In an article on the Philippine Daily Inquirer which brought Bandojo's stance to the fore, Bandojo is quoted saying the following during his talk: "When you practice yoga, you are told to ‘empty your mind’ while saying [the mantra] ‘om,’ so you can feel relaxed. But when you empty yourself, you’re opening yourself to possession. You have to be careful because demons might take advantage of (this) empty [vessel of your soul] and possess it."

Markus Koljonen (Wikimedia Commons)

So where did Bandojo get this idea that demons prefer possessing yoga enthusiasts? Is there a passage in the Holy Bible that says so? There's none. This negative stance against yoga simply stems from the fact that it originated within another religion which is Hinduism.

Here's the thing - this is not the first time that a Christian priest or pastor has said that yoga attracts demons. There's this Irish priest named Padraig O'Baill in Ireland who asked his parishioners to refrain from practicing yoga, tai chi, and reiki. There is this pastor named E.W. Jackson in Virginia in the United States who said that practicing yoga is tantamount to serving Satan. For sure, there are others out there who think just like them.

Of course, there's no evidence backing up the idea that yoga increases the risk of demonic possession. If Bandojo's claims are true, then we should be hearing about thousands of of people in India being possessed by the devil. India is a country populated by over a billion people. Most of them are Hindus. And millions of them practice yoga. Demons should be having a feast over there in India. But that's not happening, is it?

Shocking Photo of a Malnourished Child Taken from a Government-Run Shelter in Manila

A government-run institution in Manila that serves as a shelter for people who have nowhere else to go is currently getting a lot of flak after a photo of a naked and malnourished child supposedly taken within the confines of the institution circulated online. The institution in question is the Reception and Action Center (commonly referred to as RAC) which is located along Arroceros Street in Malate, Manila.

The photo of the malnourished child was posted by Bahay Tuluyan on its Facebook page on October 23, 2014. According to the same post, the photo was taken on October 12, 2014. It showed a severely malnourished boy lying naked on the pavement. Also in the photo is what looks like another child but the camera shot didn't fully reveal his body.

Bahay Tuluyan is a non-government organization working with children in need of special protection. It seeks to "promote, fulfill, respect and protect children's rights." You can find out more about the work that they do on their website here.

Bahay Tuluyan has sent the photo accompanied by a letter to the President of the Philippines, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, the Secretary of the Department of Justice, the Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights. The letter calls for an immediate upgrade or closing of the RAC. You can read Bahay Tuluyan's letter here.

Bahay Tuluyan has also penned a petition on change.org titled Upgrade or Close RAC. The online petition is directed to Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada. As of this writing, the petition was able to gather 1,218 signatures.

On an update on their Facebook page timestamped on October 28, Bahay Tuluyan stated that they are yet to receive a response from the City of Manila, DSWD, DOJ, and CHR a week after they sent the letters.

The photo has also reached the attention of the Asian Human Rights Commission. In a statement posted in their website, AHRC said that it "strongly condemns the Manila City government for its apparent outright neglect to improve conditions at the Reception and Action Center (RAC)".

According to Bahay Tuluyan, the child in the photo is now in good hands after their intervention. The kid is now in the care of an "excellent institution working with sick children".

Here's Why Manila Has One Of The Worst Public Transit Systems In The World (Video)

As one of the largest cities in a developing country, Manila has a lot of problems. One of these is its very poor public transit system. How poor? The popular blog Jalopnik ranked Manila as number two among ten cities considered to have the worst public transit systems in the world. If not for Mumbai, India, Manila would have been number one.

If you live in Manila, then you've been a witness to very long lines at MRT stations. These are daily occurrences. It's a huge hassle to thousands of commuters who have no other choice but to take the trains.

In the following video which was uploaded just last month, you can see an unbelievable line of people waiting for their turn to board a train. It runs for one and a half minute and all this time the person taking the video passes by a seemingly never-ending line of commuters. Doing the math, the people will have to wait for long periods of time before they'll be able to get aboard.

Here's the video, watch it:

The video sums up how dysfunctional the public transportation system is in Manila. You could say the same about other major cities in the country although they may not be encountering problems as harsh as the ones afflicting Manila. The sad part is that Manila commuters can't expect any solutions soon as the MRT is currently being besieged by scandals and lack of development/improvement support from the government.