A Yoga Dictionary of Basic Sanscrit Terms

Rating:
Summary: Superb, lucid sketch of yogic terminology
Review: Do you think that a "dictionary" of Sanskrit must needs be a heavy and scholarly read? I thought so too, but I was so, so wrong! This brief exegesis of Hindu spiritual terminology--focusing on the language of Yoga-Sankhya-Vedanta--is a light, easy, and incredibly informative read. (You will find there is no Devanagari script here--the words are all transliterated phonetically into English. The emphasis is not on linguistics but on understanding the concepts behind the words.) When I dipped in, I found it was so alluring, that I promptly read it straight through from cover to cover, and that with casual ease over a few days. This is the first time I have **ever** found a "reference" book on any subject that could be read consecutively from beginning to end, and that most advantageously. Not only that, but the concepts, which could easily be buried under a veil of occultic-cum-spiritual jargon, or layers of linguistic niceties are, on the contrary, rendered with the most dazzling simplicity and clarity, in a way directly accessible to an intelligent, modern seeker. The author seems to possess not only a deep mastery of the range of Hindu spiritual thought pertaining to Yoga, but a gift of rendering it as clear as day for others. Reading this book was as pleasant as taking a walk in the park on a fresh Spring day. An amazing small gem of a book!