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

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