The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide for Book I Samadhi Pada

Rating:
Summary: A very useful guide to Classical Yoga theory and practice
Review: It is a pleasure to recommend this remarkably lucid and accessible translation of Book One, the abstract and introduction to this famously difficult four-part work.

It is probably not accurate to describe the Sutras as a book, since they are not a collection of essays, or even complete sentences. They are rather a collection of mnemonics meant to provide meaning and order to the experience of Yoga practice under the direction of a qualified Teacher. Passed on verbally, listen and repeat, from Teacher to Student, the Sutras perhaps were never meant to stand alone as an exposition of Yoga.

This translation arises from Baba Hari Das' decades of teaching in just this manner to his many Western students and devotees. As might be expected from a man who has renounced speech and communicates primarily by writing on a small chalk board, his commentaries are concise and to the point. Yet, untranslatable Sanskrit technical terms are not avoided, but clearly explained in philosophical context. Of the several translations of this work that I have studied, Babaji's has proved the most rewarding.

For those of us who may never have the good fortune to work closely in relationship to a loving Guru in the traditional way, this book could be the next best thing. Buy it, study it, and join me in happy anticipation of the release of the remaining books in this series.