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86 reviews for:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda
4.22 AVERAGE
86 reviews for:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda
4.22 AVERAGE
I am a skeptic about all of the things. The Sutras start with “the restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga” and I think, I like my mind. It’s a beautiful, creative, ever-expanding entity that has served me well until present day. The Sutras state that humans are Spirits inhabiting bodies with minds yet we are neither. I think, I like my body too. What’s with the self-deprecation? There’s redemptive suffering for days here. I’m still too close to how Christianity wielded that weapon against me to buy in. The arguments about happiness being a choice completely omit oppression can be interpreted as letting victimizers off the hook. Personal responsibility over everything is practically a mantra which I have issues with. See above. Readers are implored to rid themselves of desire. I like a little of my ego. I like fulfilling my desires. I grew up with lack and am just now starting to appreciate nice things. After all these years, I’m not about to let the desires I just gave myself permission to have go. There’s talk of transcendence and surrender and accomplishments and absoluteness and that’s where I drew my line. I am totally okay with not being fully enlightened in this lifetime. It’s not that I’m afraid of the work, I honestly, just don’t want to. I’m a black American woman. My whole existence is about less. Why would I want to follow a practice that seems to want me to have less of less? After I took the pressure off, I really enjoyed the book. Satchidananda is funny. His modern examples are easy to understand. His explanations of the three types of karma were fascinating. I dug every nature metaphor or reference. Once I gave myself permission to take what I needed and leave the rest, the world of The Sutras really opened up to me. I’m actually looking forward to reading it again in 10 years so that Ebony can meet the sutras from a completely different vantage point.
The first philosophical text I was assigned to read and discuss in my yoga teacher training.
The Yoga Sutras is the pulsing core of the practice of Yoga - which is much more in-depth than the mere asana/postures that are so very popular in the West.
Unfortunately, the original sutras are presented in an extremely simplistic fashion, meant to be “unpacked” by a long-time teacher, according to the traditional Indian system.
Because of this, there are countless translations + commentaries of the The Yoga Sutras available in-print today (2 of which I’ve read + reviewed before).
Edwin Bryant’s interpretation of the Yoga Sutras is nothing short of remarkable. Along with his own intelligent perspective (backed by 30+ years of study), Bryant also includes insights from “traditional” commentators who “unpacked” the Yoga Sutras thousands of years ago. Perhaps even more important, he includes detailed information on the spiritual/religious lineage that Yoga developed from; a background in the metaphysics that underpin all Yogic concepts; + comparisons in how Yoga differs from other spiritual lineages that developed from the same root beliefs, including Buddhism.
There is a lot on conflicting information about what Yoga really is, especially due to the rise of importance to asana over the past few decades. If you’re looking to take your physical practice to a whole other level (it involves a lot less moving), this book will crack open your mind to all that Yoga has to offer, along with challenging your spiritual + scientific beliefs.
If you have never read a translation of the Yoga Sutras, this book may be overwhelming, unless you really love diving deep right off the bat. This book is truly vital reading for Yoga teachers of all “types” of Yoga - it takes us back to “our roots” + reminds us why we practice (spoiler: it doesn’t involved flat abs or tight buns).
Unfortunately, the original sutras are presented in an extremely simplistic fashion, meant to be “unpacked” by a long-time teacher, according to the traditional Indian system.
Because of this, there are countless translations + commentaries of the The Yoga Sutras available in-print today (2 of which I’ve read + reviewed before).
Edwin Bryant’s interpretation of the Yoga Sutras is nothing short of remarkable. Along with his own intelligent perspective (backed by 30+ years of study), Bryant also includes insights from “traditional” commentators who “unpacked” the Yoga Sutras thousands of years ago. Perhaps even more important, he includes detailed information on the spiritual/religious lineage that Yoga developed from; a background in the metaphysics that underpin all Yogic concepts; + comparisons in how Yoga differs from other spiritual lineages that developed from the same root beliefs, including Buddhism.
There is a lot on conflicting information about what Yoga really is, especially due to the rise of importance to asana over the past few decades. If you’re looking to take your physical practice to a whole other level (it involves a lot less moving), this book will crack open your mind to all that Yoga has to offer, along with challenging your spiritual + scientific beliefs.
If you have never read a translation of the Yoga Sutras, this book may be overwhelming, unless you really love diving deep right off the bat. This book is truly vital reading for Yoga teachers of all “types” of Yoga - it takes us back to “our roots” + reminds us why we practice (spoiler: it doesn’t involved flat abs or tight buns).
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
An understandable classic.
Looking forward to reading over time. Also interested in checking out other translations/interpretations
This is my first time reading the sutras and I didn't know what I was in for. I love all of the explanations and will be returning back to this as a reference guide for my yoga practice. It's tempted me to buy other translations of the yoga sutras.
This was recommended as a good translation and discourse on the Yoga sutras, and it is. The explanations are for the most part accessible and logical. I still prefer the discourses in the 'The Heart of Yoga' but this makes a good companion.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I am not here rating the actual Sutras, a spiritual or even religious text that has withstood the effects of time and had long-lasting and far-reaching philosophical influence, but Bryant's edition. Bryant has a helpful introduction with an especially helpful diagram, and his appendix material -- the endnotes and bibliography--is useful and thorough. I also think the chapter summaries that he provides and the glossary of key terms is helpful. I love the approach of glossing the principal commentators on each sutra as part of his explanation/ analysis. He often draws helpful and explicit connections between a sutra and places in the text that contain relevant/ similar ideas, and he provides some very cool stories drawn from other spiritual / religious text to illustrate concepts. His concluding thoughts on four major questions that are not adequately answered by the text are interesting.
My main issue with the translation is its extreme redundancy; this is not due to the overlap of the sutras themselves, and is not even explained by the (unrealistic) idea that someone might read the sutras out of order or in isolation, because there is a huge amount of repetition sometimes within commentary on the exact same sutra. It got incredibly frustrating. It's true that these are complex ideas, but it was still extreme overkill.
Overall, it's a useful and accessible text that I feel could have used a more rigorous editor.
My main issue with the translation is its extreme redundancy; this is not due to the overlap of the sutras themselves, and is not even explained by the (unrealistic) idea that someone might read the sutras out of order or in isolation, because there is a huge amount of repetition sometimes within commentary on the exact same sutra. It got incredibly frustrating. It's true that these are complex ideas, but it was still extreme overkill.
Overall, it's a useful and accessible text that I feel could have used a more rigorous editor.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced