The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Reviews (472)
INCREDIBLE!!!
There are lots of religions that promise what the Sutras deliver, I was once involved in Scientology and spent shameful amounts of money and didn't get what I'm getting out of a book that cost me $10.00 (Kindle), if you are really interested in advancing spiritually and learning how to use your mind to its maximum potential GET THIS BOOK!!!!! Don't do Scientology or any other hack nonsense that wants to charge ridiculous sums of money and gets you nowhere, the Sutras date back over 4000 years and are the foundations of many religions and have retained their truth. So many other religious books (the Bible for one) have been so adulterated that you can't even be sure what you are reading, there are currently over 250 different versions of the Bible in circulation all changed to suit the needs and the message of MEN not GOD, I have read countless books and have studied almost every religion over my 50 years and this is by far the best thing I have ever seen. DON'T BOTHER WITH THE REST!! BUY THIS BOOK, USE IT EVERY DAY, AND PREPARE TO BE AMAZED!!!
... have several translations of Patanjali's yoga sutras - I like this better than some others because he actually includes ...
I have several translations of Patanjali's yoga sutras - I like this better than some others because he actually includes the Sanskrit as well as his translation. None of the others I have do this. I just really like that I can see for myself what is being translated.
Didn’t enjoy reading it
This is the first interpretation of the yoga sutras of Patanjali that i read. It was recommended by a yoga teacher. I know the author was an eminence in spirituality, so i hope my review doesn’t offend anybody. As i read the sutras and each interpretation i felt some of them didn’t align with the others. Some things said in one sutra would contradict another sutra, some explanations felt antiquated while others didn’t feel honest. It was as if some interpretations said just what we wanted to hear and then as i read forward in some other part of the book another interpretation contradicted the previous one, again to sound nice.
One of finest books on Phisosphy
Great book to enhance your Mind and Body. I got interested in Meditation again after 15 years gap. I had a miraculous improvement in just 5 weeks where blood pressure and pulse rate all improved by 15 points. I have a marginal high blood pressure for few years. I am still taking medication. The blood pressure clock has been set back by 15 years in just 5 week. The best blood pressure reading I got today was in Cardiologist's office which was 100/70. Last time I saw that kind of blood pressure was 15 years ago. The acid test will be if I can have normal pressure in 6 months with out medication. My meditation / breathing exercises are based on knowledge gained from other sources. The breathing exercises are called Pranayama (Breathing) Exercises. One can find more about it from various sources. The true knowledge dates back to Patanjali - the original text dates back to approximately 2200 years ago. Interpretation of Patanjali Sutras has also been done by Harvard professor. His book contains 900 plus pages. This book should be read a few pages at a time and contemplate. There is high degree of correlation between mind, stress, body and its functions. It must start with your faith in a system like a mustered seed mentioned in Bible. If one wants to calm their mind - then it a step in the right direction. One need to understand attachment to things around us. Having all you can have may be OK - worrying about loosing them is a problem.
Highly Recommend
This came highly recommended by my yoga teachers as the most accessible entrance to understanding and learning the sutras. I agree - I love it, the energy of it is great, the descriptions and interpretations very meaningful.
A very important book for Yoga/Meditation. Easy to read but worthy of much study
A seminal text, worth studying for valuable insights into mediation/yoga. Each Sutra is a short statement which is followed by an explanation of its importance to the study of Yoga/Meditation. Swami Satchidananda (who opened the Woodstock Festival in 1969) did a very nice job translating this and I find it to be accessible and easy to read. I also purchased the pocket edition to keep in my yoga bag so if I have a break before a class, I can make productive use of my time.
An easy way to learn about yoga and beyond
This should be read by anyone looking to practice yoga or gain some serious insight in life. It's one of those books that you end up needing to put down to reflect on what you just read. Very cool. The Swami gave really good down to earth explanations of the sutras which I found to be the defining element that makes this book a winner.
All paths leading to the same destination
Unity, purity, kindness and service. These are the qualities and characteristics that underlie the teachings of all the great spiritual traditions. Yoga is at the essence of it all. We tend to have a conception of Yoga in Western society as adopting different postures, but that is only one leg of the bigger table that is Yoga. In the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali are shared timeless nuggets of wisdom that will take a lifetime to master. It is one thing to read this text and quite another to actually apply it and embody the teachings. Master your senses, be compassionate and dedicate yourself to the act of self-less service. Very simple premise but very difficult to actually practice this on a moment to moment basis. I am grateful to have come across this text and would recommend it to anyone on the spiritual path looking towards how to be who they really are in this plane of existence.
The author links a lot of the single lines of the Sutras into ideas about god and Jesus.
Book 2, # 38 -- "Brahmacarya pratistham viryalabah This sutra is translated as 'Absolute, god move with, remain with, continence, moderation, keeping the sense strong and calm - aligned with creative energy, upon having established vigor, strength, vital power, energy, gained, obtained.' Which for me brought to mind my boss trying to kill me with hand guns because I pointed out that he was murmuring endlessly in the office about hating women. But for Sri Swami Satchidananda it means to not have pre-marital sex or any kind of sexual relation out of wetlock. "By observing celibacy, we preserve not just physical energy alone but mental, moral, intellectual and, ultimately, spiritual energy as well," (page 131). This pits the author into alignment with anti-abortion people like Trump, in my opinion, while also providing the intellectual cannon fodder for older males to abuse and control the sex lives of younger people, against those younger people's will. But I think what irks me as unanswered is not whether or not creepy conservatives deal drugs at those who would disagree with the ideas of those like Satchidananda so that those who would dare to modernize look debilitated. Rather what remains unanswered is the translation of god. The author has defined Brahman as meaning god. Isvara as god (p 37). Tad/Om as god (p 44). As a part of a larger trend that white washes minds, the author likely is defining any masculine ideas as god and I did not know that yet. Worth reading just to dig into the propaganda that destroys pre-marital sex while oppressing women.
Namaste
Beautifully translated. Easy to understand. Great explanation of how to use the book...not just a read, but a meditation and thought provoking tool.
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