Friday, July 1, 2011
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AMERICAN VEDA
Philip Goldberg
THE HINDUS
An alternative history
MOTHER MEERA ANSWERS
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI
YOGANANDA
TO LIVE WITHIN by Lizelle Reymond
About SHRI ANIRVAN
MY FATHER'S GURU
About PAUL BRUNTON
BHAGAVAD GITA
an important book for yogis and warriors
PRANAYAMA
THE WAY OF THE YOGI
About Me
BABA'S GRACE
THE ANANDA MARGA
VEDANTA DICTIONARY-Ernest Wood
GREAT SYSTEMS OF YOGA
includes other 'yogic' systems such as zen
SEARCH IN SECRET INDIA
Mystics of India
STANDING ASANA-STANCE
a CRANE...
These are "MUST READS" for all thsoe who reeally practice or embrace Yoga as well as for those that pretend they do.....Despite variations in descriptions of some of the same people and trends and events, there are many 'EYE OPENERS'(no pun intended in regards to the '3rd Eye') for those who have not studied the actual history of such in the US and elsewhere or read any of the books that can be called 'classics'...
ReplyDeleteBoth books wil perhaps disappoint some readers because some topics and persons are merely mentioned without elaboration or with a much wanted depth, such as, Paul Brunton, Madame Blavatsky, B.P. Randolph, Theosophy,etc. Some topics and persons are dealt with in the 'usual manner' or the 'official' references while some interesting insights do tend to startle a bit for those not used to the contentious aspects of Yoga and Vedanta and the like... Of course, obvious space limitations would not allow a lot of digression ;and expansion except in footnotes and references,etc. The inclusion of people also not directly involved with the US but who were significant for Europe, or, for that matter, India are .
ReplyDeletekept to an absolute minimum for obvious reasons...
Nevertheless, personally, these books are a 'confirmation' for me of the literature and ideas, I read about and encoutnered in my childhood on up to the present, that such are important to anyone who enters THE WAY OF THE YOGI without surrendering to any special or particular school or guru or system but who 'ACTS AS HIS OWN BEST GURU' amid such a colorful and massive and extensive array of 'YOGIC PRESENTATION'.....Whther Yoga is a 'science' or a 'religion' or a 'WAY OF LIFE' or a sysstem devoted to the 'mind' & its powers or control,these two books may well assist neophytes, like myself, in making a decision as to how much they wish to know, learn,practice or ignore as the attempt THE WAY OF THE YOGI...
ReplyDeleteIn continued reading of these two books which complement each other, though the specific emphasis of each differes and the selection of persons and groups also varies, I find that I have many, if not most, of the books they discuss or list and mention plus also other references of such, though I tend to favor the 'classical' writers prior to the 1960s/'70s/80's etc. to the present...I shall try and drag out some of these works and comment on them and also indicate if they had any influence on me in any way,etc. if they did, in fact.....Yoga in its various schools and forms is complex and the mixing of various practices and doctrines,many of which are 'hidden' in the works of specific writers and advocates and 'guru/swamis/et al' which t end to give slight twists to what they sort of or try to represent themselves as being....I speak of the Tantrik versions of such and also the religious versions of such adhered to Hinduism in all its glories, understood or misunderstood....
ReplyDeletePHILIP GOLDBERG will be at KRIPALU to give a seminar/workshop etc sometime( see the latest catalog)...sounds like a great time...and there are also other interesting persons doing similar things...
ReplyDelete