It is a well-known fact that whine thousands of books have been written on the theoretical and practical aspects of Yoga, most of them do not conform to the original texts on Yoga: In the same way, many of the techniques described in ancient Yogic texts are not in vogue now. This has made the common people to accept many things which are taught in the name of Yoga. It must be remembered that Yoga is a Sastra which deals with both philosophy and practice. But there are very few texts which contain a comprehensive description of theory and practice.
Yogayajnavalkya (YY), is a rare ancient authentic text which contains both precepts and practice of Yoga. Although it was written much before Hathayoga, which primarily deals with the practice of different techniques for the physical well being of a person, developed as a separate school, YY, describes many techniques of asanas, pranayama, etc. which served as a model for the later writers on Hathayoga. Besides, YY also describes some techniques of Mantra, Laya and Rajayoga.
Dr. K. S. Balasubramanian is well versed in Sanskrit, the ancient traditions of Yoga, as per the system of Raja Yoga. He holds a masteras degree in Sanskrit and a doctorate in Raja Yoga from the University of Madras, as well as a doctorate in Hatha Yoga from Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi.
Fluent in Sanskrit, he has been guiding graduate, post-graduates, M.Phil and Ph.D. research scholars since 1983. He conducts Sanskrit classes for students from the United States, Europe, India and South-East Asis, and participating in a wide range of national and international Yoga conferences in India and Europe.
Since 2001 he has been serving as deputy director of Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute in Chennai, a highly reputed institute for Sanskrit and Indology. He also serves on doctoral committees and as an external examiner for several other universities in southern India.
Dr. Balasubramanian has co-edited more than fifty books on the subjects of Sanskrit and Yoga and has published numerous articles in leading Indological journals.
Yoga has gained popularity throughout the world. Many Yogic techniques are practised to prevent and to get relieved from physical and mental disorders. Though thousands of original texts on different branches of Yoga have been written, only some of them have been published. Among the popular texts on Yoga, Yogayajnavalkya, Hathayoga-pradIpika, Hatharatnavali, Goraksasamhita, Sivasamhita and Gherandasamhita deserve special mention.
It is a well known fact that while thousands of books have been written on the theoretical and practical aspects of Yoga, most of them do not conform to the original texts on Yoga. In the same way, many of the techniques described in ancient Yogic texts are not in vogue now. This has made the common people to accept many things which are taught in the name of Yoga. It must be remembered that Yoga is a Sastra which deals with both philosophy and practice. But there are very few texts which contain a comprehensive description of theory and practice.
Yogayajnavalkya (YY), is a rare ancient authentic text which contains both precepts and practice of Yoga. Although it was written much before Hathayoga, which primarily deals with the practice of different techniques for the physical wellbeing of a person, developed as a separate school, YY, describes many techniques of asanas, pranayama, etc. which served as a model for the later writers on Hathayoga. Besides, YY also describes some techniques of Mantra, Laya and Rajayoga.
Though some original texts on Yoga have been published and English translations are also available, they do not seem to give the correct picture of the texts to the readers. There is also not much study done on texts in Yoga, unlike the books on Vedanta. In spite of the fact that quite a few texts on Yoga have been published so far, YY has not drawn the attention of scholars and no critical study on it has been attempted so far.
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