The Study and Practice of Yoga: An Exposition of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Volume I – Samadhi Pada)

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This is a compilation of the 110 lectures that Swami Krishnananda delivered on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali between March and August in 1976. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are a manual on mind control, meditation and mental discipline-a manual for spiritual freedom. Crisp and pithy in rendition, the Sutras have an aphoristic quality and urge deeper reflection and dedicated application.

Across various philosophies the denotation of yoga varies. Patanjali uses the turm 'yoga' to denote a complete cessation of mental modifications so that consciousness rests within itself in the state of moksha or liberation. This teaching has been delivered through emphasis on practice rather than mere philosophy, and this is verily a manual for us to operate the mind and thus our life.

The Yoga Sutras are divided into four padas or chapters. The first chapter, the Samadhi Pada on which this volume is based, focuses on concentration of the mind and the practical aspects necessary for attaining Samadhi, or meditative absorption. The second chapter, the Sadhana Pada, is about attaining and holding that single-pointedness through reining in the agitations of the mind by cultivating dispassion discrimination and dedication. The third chapter, the Vibhuti Pada, focuses on the technique of samyama which is the combination of concentration, meditation and communion for the liberation of the spirit, while the fourth chapter, the Kaivalya Pada, is a metaphysical disquisition which deals with various subjects as a sort of explanation of some of the themes dealt with in the earlier chapters.

It is fitting to draw the reader's attention to the clarity and simplicity with which Swamiji Maharaj comments on these Sutras. Swami Krishnananda was the living embodiment of that awareness to which the Yoga Sutras and all spiritual texts guide. It is commonly said that Sanskrit, the language of the gods, is by far the only language that has transcended, to some extent, the limitations of vivid expression and bears in it the ability to express the nuances of spiritual processes and the resultant experiences that the great sages and masters have experienced and conveyed to us. That Swamiji is able to bend the limited English language to yield to his knowledge is a completely humbling experience.

These Yoga Sutras of Patanjali spoken by Swami Krishnananda are being made available to the public for the first time. It is our desire to retain the original lectures in their spoken form as much as possible. The are some unique twists of phrases and application of words that are uniquely Swamij's in origin and it has been sought to allow those to be as they were intended, without undermining the respect to the English language. Consequently the lectures have been edited in very few places to render them the way Swamiji spoke them.

From the Jacket

Swami Krishnananda is a highly respected philosophical writer, especially on metaphysics, psychology and sociology. Swamiji's books are known the world over as excellent presentations of answers to the questions that arise in the day-to-day confrontations of a human being.

Swami Krishnananda is a direct disciple of His Holiness Swami Sivananda, founder of The Divine Life Society, and was the General Secretary from 1961 until 2001. Swamiji attained Mahasamadhi on 23rd November, 2001

About the Book

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as aphoristic prescriptions in the form of pithy one-liners for leading the mind into deeper states of absorption in the state of Samadhi, where the individual merges with the Absolute. A tranquil mind is a prerequisite for attaining higher states of awareness and the Yoga Sutras are a graduated manual for the achievement of this goal.

The aphorisms, as they are in their original form, cannot be easily understood. Swami Krishnananda's commentary in his friendly, lucid style probes into the aphorisms and lays before seekers the approach to understanding the mind and its machinations, and how the hurdles that make meditation difficult can be overcome. The rendition and style with which this has been made possible is a tribute to Swamiji's love for Truth.

This series of two volumes is an all-encompassing spiritual guide. The teachings are progressive in content and begin where most seekers find themselves when spiritual aspiration dawns and the need for higher understanding is felt. The reader is led gradually through the different aspects of practice and mind management. Volume I, which covers the Samadhi Pada, the first of the four sections of the Yoga Sutras, and provides a good introduction and in-depth understanding of the philosophy and practice of yoga including the levels of consciousness that are attained, has been printed first. Volume II covers the Sadhana Pada, Vibhuti Pada and Kaivalya Pada, which go into further detail about the practice of yoga using the aphoristic rungs of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as a veritable stairway on the path of the ascent of the spirit. Together in two volumes as a complete treatise on this spiritual path.