Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali: Containing His Yoga Aphorisms with Vyasa's Commentary in Sanskrit and a Translation with Annotations Including Many Suggestions for the Practice of Yoga

by Patañjali, Hariharananda Aranya, P.N. Mukerji (Translator)

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are universally acknowledged as the fundamental text on yoga and meditation in the Indian classical tradition. This English translation of Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali is widely regarded as the most authoritative and authentic that has been available in recent times. It is a serious and clear presentation of Patanjali's sutras and Vyasa's Bhasya, providing these basic texts both in the original Sanskrit and in readable and accurate English. These classical works are augmented by the commentary of Swami Hariharananda Aranya, a scholar and yogi of great repute, who, in his lifetime, was the foremost exponent in India of the Samkhya Yoga system of which the Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali are the principal work.

Genres: Philosophy

483 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 1984

About the author

Patañjali (Devanāgarī पतञ्जलि) (fl. 150 BCE or 2nd c. BCE) is the compiler of the Yoga Sutras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice, and also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a major commentary on Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi. However, it is unlikely that these two works are that of the same author.

In recent decades the Yoga Sutra has become quite popular worldwide for the precepts regarding practice of Raja Yoga and its philosophical basis. "Yoga" in traditional Hinduism involves inner contemplation, a rigorous system of meditation practice, ethics, metaphysics, and devotion to Brahman. At the same time, his Mahābhāṣya, which first foregrounded the notion of meaning as referring to categorization, remains an important treatise in Sanskrit linguistic philosophy.

Reviews

[cary hardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali is one of the central texts of yoga. In 195 succinct statements, Patanjali defines yoga and the core components of the practice of Classical Yoga. Pre-dating the development of Hatha Yoga* by as much as a thousand years, this ancient text is among the first self-help books based more on philosophy than theology. Although a spiritual document, the book doesn't deal with specific gods, chakras, kundalini or other trappings of the varied yogic traditions. And it doesn't show us how to do any postures.

The Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali is a guide to how people, through individual effort, can become fully human. It is about experiencing the True Self, the part of you that exists independently of mind and body, and learning to see things as they are without the distortion filters of the mind getting in the way.

[Saskia Carusi · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a samkhya persepctive on the yoga sutra

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

difficult translation.