The Study and Practice of Yoga (Volume Two)
AN EXPOSITION OF THE YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI
(VOLUME II – SADHANA PADA, VIBHUTI PADA AND KAIVALYA PADA)
by Swami Krishnananda
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Hardcover: 639 pages
ISBN: 81-7052-196-3
Book Dimensions: 9.00 x 5.75 x 1.50 inches
Shipping Weight: 880 grams
Volume I | Volume II
Table of Contents
Chapter | Title | Page No. |
About This Book (Back Cover) | ||
Inside Front Cover | ||
Inside Back Cover | ||
SADHANA PADA |
||
52 | Yoga Practice: A Series of Positive Steps | 13 |
53 | A Very Important Sadhana | 25 |
54 | Practice Without Remission of Effort | 34 |
55 | The Cause of Bondage | 44 |
56 | Lack of Knowledge is the Cause of Suffering | 55 |
57 | The Four Manifestations of Ignorance | 65 |
58 | Pursuit of Pleasure is Invocation of Pain | 77 |
59 | The Self-Preservation Instinct | 90 |
60 | Tracing the Ultimate Cause of Any Experience | 100 |
61 | How the Law of Karma Operates | 110 |
62 | The Perception of Pleasure and Pain | 122 |
63 | The Cause of Unhappiness | 131 |
64 | Disentanglement is Freedom | 142 |
65 | Karma, Prakriti and the Gunas | 152 |
66 | Understanding the Nature of Objects | 161 |
67 | Consciousness is Being | 172 |
68 | The Cause of Experience | 182 |
69 | Understanding World-Consciousness | 192 |
70 | The Seven Stages of Perfection | 202 |
71 | The Eight Limbs or Stages of Yoga | 214 |
72 | The Preparatory Disciplines | 223 |
73 | Negative Check and Positive Approach | 235 |
74 | The Principles of Yama and Niyama | 247 |
75 | Self-Control, Study and Devotion to God | 258 |
76 | Asana is Fixity of Position | 268 |
77 | The Importance of Asana and Pranayama | 279 |
78 | Kumbhaka and Concentration of Mind | 291 |
79 | The Inclination of the Mind for Concentration | 303 |
80 | Pratyahara: The Return of Energy | 316 |
81 | The Application of Pratyahara | 327 |
THE VIBHUTI PADA |
||
82 | The Effect of Dharana or Concentration of Mind | 339 |
83 | Choosing an Object for Concentration | 353 |
84 | The Need for Caution when Stirring Inner Potencies | 364 |
85 | The Interrelatedness of All Things | 372 |
86 | The Hurdle of the Ego in Yoga Practice | 382 |
97 | Absorbing Space and Time into Consciousness | 393 |
88 | Samyama: The Union of Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi | 405 |
89 | The Levels of Concentration | 415 |
90 | Generating the Mood for Yoga | 426 |
91 | The Integrating Force | 436 |
92 | The Working of Nature’s Law | 446 |
93 | Removing the Ego with the Process of Samyama | 457 |
94 | Understanding the Structure of Things | 466 |
95 | Liberation is the Only Aim of Yoga | 475 |
96 | Powers that Accrue in the Practice of Samyama | 486 |
97 | Sublimation of Object-Consciousness | 499 |
98 | The Transformation from Human to Divine | 510 |
THE KAIVALYA PADA |
||
99 | The Entry of the Eternal into the Individual | 523 |
100 | The Exhaustion of All Karmas | 532 |
101 | The Wheel of Karma | 541 |
102 | Avoiding Karma That Has Not Yet Germinated | 551 |
103 | Putting an End to Rebirth | 560 |
104 | The Double Activity in Mental Cognition | 571 |
105 | Absorption into Universal Subjectivity | 581 |
106 | The Dual Pull of Purusha and Objects | 591 |
107 | The Bestowal of a Divine Gift | 601 |
108 | Infinity Coming Back To Itself | 611 |
109 | The Condition Prior to Final Absorption | 621 |
110 | Recapitulation and Conclusion | 631 |
About This Book
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are 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. Nothing is left unsaid as Swamiji brings the teachings together in two volumes as a complete treatise on this spiritual path.
Inside Front Cover
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.
Inside Back Cover
OTHER BOOKS BY SWAMI KRISHNANANDA
1. A Short History of Religious and Philosophic Thought in India
2. An Analysis of the Brahma Sutra
3. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Yoga
4. Ascent of the Spirit
5. Attainment of the Infinite
6. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
7. Chhandogya Upanishad
8. Epic of Consciousness
9. Essays in Life and Eternity
10. In the Light of Wisdom
11. Mandukya Upanishad
12. Mundaka Upanishad
13. My Life
14. Philosophy of Life
15. Philosophy of Religion
16. Philosophy of the Bhagavadgita
17. Philosophy of the Panchadasi
18. Realisation of the Absolute
19. Resurgent Culture
20. Sadhana – The Spiritual Way
21. Secret of the Katha Upanishad
22. Self-realisation: Its Meaning and Method
23. Spiritual Import of the Mahabharata and the Bhagavadgita
24. Studies in Comparative Philosophy
25. To Thine Own Self Be True
26. Vision of Life
27. Yoga as a Universal Science
28. Yoga of Meditation
29. Your Questions Answered