Demystifying Patanjali

What happens as we grow spiritually? Is there a step-by-step process that everyone goes through—all spiritual seekers, including those of any or no religious persuasion—as they gradually work their way upward, until they achieve the highest state of Self-realization? About 2200 years ago, a great spiritual master of India named Patanjali described this process, and presented humanity with a clear-cut, step-by-step outline of how all truth seekers and saints achieve divine union. He called this universal inner experience and process “yoga” or “union.” His collection of profound aphorisms—a true world scripture—has been dubbed Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Unfortunately, since that time many scholarly translators with little or no spiritual realization have written commentaries on Patanjali's writings that have succeeded only in burying his pithy insights in convoluted phrases like “becomes assimilated with transformations” and “the object alone shines without deliberation.” How can any reader understand Patanjali's original meaning when he or she has to wade through such bewildering terminology? Thankfully, a great modern yoga master—Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi—has cut through the scholarly debris and resurrected Patanjali's original teachings and revelations. Now, in Demystifying Patanjali, Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Yogananda, shares his guru's crystal clear and easy-to-grasp explanations of Patanjali's aphorisms. As Kriyananda writes in his introduction, “My Guru personally shared with me some of his most important insights into these sutras. During the three and a half years I lived with him, he also went with me at great length into the basic teachings of yoga. “I was able, moreover, to ask my Guru personally about many of the subjects covered by Patanjali. His explanations have lingered with me, and have been a priceless help in the [writing of this book].”

From the fall of Rome to the Renaissance almost nothing new was discovered. Man looked back to the great learning of classical civilization for inspiration: admiring their thinkers and architects but incapable of equaling them. In turn, those ancients looked back further, to a previous “Golden Age.†Why did civilization fall and then rise again? In 1920, the Indian Yogi Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic “Autobiography of a Yogi†, came to the United States with the answer. With his message of simple living and high thinking, he became the most popular speaker in the country. This short book deals with Yogananda and the New Age he described: Dwapara Yuga.

Agaram Bagaram is an indefinable word Swam Prakshananda used to describe himself, meaning hodgepodge, down to earth and humorously self-effacing. Nevertheless, he was regarded as jnani, a self-realized being acknowledged by both seekers and saints. This small book consists of a short biography of Swami Prakashananda (58 pages) plus a lot of parables he told as his way to answer to requests of his pupil.

Instructor Swami Omkari Devananda presents a compilation of teachings that have been part of the Shambhava School of Yoga for years. Hatha yoga is beneficial in two ways. It improves the health of every bodily system and spiritually speaking, helps with the process of opening within and achieving a state of deep awareness. Each of the fivechapters offer a different levelof postures starting with the easiest and gradually increasing in difficulty. Each section has poses, meditation exercises, breathing exercises and daily gratitude practices.There are also specific recomendations for beginners, practitioners, teachers, and meditators, and those who are in recovery or need to recondition their bodies. Beautiful, full-color photos accompany each pose. Beginners to instructors will find yogic inspiration in these pages.

Kriyas are the constructive actions we contribute to our total wellness and enlightnment, as well as the transformative actions which spontaneously occur within us as the spiritual growth is experienced. Yoga can be defined as ` procedure , as practice

Bhakti is a remarkable feature and tendency of human existence having to do with one's devoted involvement with a person, object, deity, or a creative project. Bhakti and Philosophy aims to trace the larger meanings and roles of bhakti as it historically emerged in some of the well-known thought systems of India, such as Vedanta and Buddhism.

Well-known contributors from the world of yoga celebrate the life and work of the great yoga pioneer B. K. S. Iyengar in this collection. Iyengar, who celebrates seventy years as a yoga teacher this year, is an Indian yoga master, revered as the single most influential person in spreading the teachings of yoga throughout the world. Iyengar was recognized in Time magazine’s 2004 list of the one hundred most powerful and influential people in the world. This collection of essays, stories, and interviews celebrates the life and great influence of renowned yoga teacher B. K. S. Iyengar and features an international and diverse group of well-known contributors. These writings offer a deep understanding of the man, as well as his unique approach to yoga and the human mind and body. Contributors include: ● Baron Baptiste ● Beryl Bender Birch ● T. K. V. Desikachar ● Alan Finger ● Lilias Folan ● Richard Freeman ● John Friend ● Sharon Gannon ● Dona Holleman ● Gary Kraftsow ● Judith Hanson Lasater ● David Life ● Manouso Manos ● Chuck Miller ● Aadil Palkhivala ● Shiva Rea ● Erich Schiffmann ● John Schumacher ● Patricia Walden ● Joan White ● Rodney Yee

Sri Swami Satchidananda is one of the world's best known and most respected Yoga masters. In this inspiring compilation of teachings and stories, he offers guidance for everyday problems in family life and business, and shows how to realize Universal Consciousness. To Know Your Self outlines the path to peace of mind and a new, more spiritual way of life. Book jacket.

The first authoritative biography of Babaji, the immortal master made famous by Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, an all-time best-seller. Babaji lives today near Badrinath, in the upper Himalayan mountains. His body has not aged since the age of sixteen, when centuries ago he attained the supreme state of enlightenment and divine transformation. This followed his initiation into scientific art of Kriya Yoga by two deathless masters, the siddhas Agastyar and Boganathar, who belonged to the "18 Siddha Tradition", famous among the Tamil speaking people of southern India. This rare account, by a long time disciple, reveals their little known stories, ancient culture and present mission, as well as how their Kriya Yoga can be used to bring about the integration of the material and spiritual dimensions of life. Clear explanations of the psychophysiological effects of Kriya Yoga and guidelines for its practice are given. It includes verses from the Siddhas' writings with commentary. A book which will inspire you.

Human life requires a myriad of tools to manifest its full potential. In Mastery of the True Self -- The discipline of Love through Sadhana, Aradhana, and Prabhupati, you will learn how discipline can support you in your journey of self-manifestation and self-realization as a unique human being. Discipline becomes a tool for self-evaluation, self-acceptance, and self-projection. A tool that can produce substantial, predictable, and repeatable changes in your physiological systems and in your consciousness. Learning to view yourselves under the lens of discipline helps you to unveil those things that keep you from being truly who you are and living a conscious, healthy, and happy life. Understanding discipline is a prelude to exploring Sadhana, Aradhana, and Prabupati -- the three facets of the path towards your highest Self. In this study, Sadhana Singh invites us to delve deeper into the reasons why the human being, already perfect in creation, needs discipline to experience the true Self and be able to live life freely, with love and happiness. In this perspective, we expose ourselves to constant training in order to make our expression more effective, our communication more sophisticated and our true essence express itself. Led by Sadhana Singh's writings and experience, we come to understand that developing ourselves is a form of spiritual training that provides us with a clear and complete perception of ourselves, of our own personal circumstantial reality, and of our Infinite Reality. Mastery of the True Self: The Disciple of Love through Sadhana, Aradhana, and Prabhupati explores bit by bit the elementary parts of the gradual process of building a solid foundation for igniting our awareness and manifesting our true highest Self.