| Instead of `hathyog pradeepika', I find `patanjali yog darshan' more enlightening. According to Patanlaji, there is more to Yoga than just physical health. He divides the book into various parts. But the main, which the general public relate to, is `saadhana pad'. It starts with /Atha yoganushasanam/ == अथ योगानुशासनम == let us start yoga with discipline. This is the first /sootra/ (verse). And every verse builds on the previous. And in the 2nd verse he defines what is yoga. /Yogashchittavruttinirodhah/ == योगःचित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः == ... Literal meaning of Yoga is add, sum, to be one with. For believers, it could be - "to be one with God", for spiritual, meditating people - "to be one with supreme consciousness". And as Vivekananda explains to non-believers, you can think of atman as a form of energy... it can never be created nor destroyed... so just oscillate between energy and partical form... and yoga means to be one with the source (energy). As par India system of yogic tradition, that is the goal of every human being and Patanjali tells us how to achieve that. /Yogashchittavruttinirodhah/ "Yoga means suppressing (/nirodhah/) the fluctuations (/vrutti/) of mind (/chitta/)." Well, I am using close meanings. Patanjali divides our mind into various logical parts. I find this really fascinating. Must read. But the best book that I have found is in Sanskrit and Hindi. |