Meditation, Mind & Patanjali's Yoga: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth for Everyone [Paperback]

Swami Bhaskarananda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

A comprehensive yet utterly engaging book on meditation, Yoga and other spiritual practices, with special reference to Patanjali. The book discusses in depth finding a genuine spiritual teacher, meditation techniques, Japa, over-coming spiritual obstacles, Yoga, Samkhya philosophy, stages of spiritual growth, levels of illumination, and how to remove stress.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This volume, a product of the Vedanta Society of Western Washington, is a capably written and presented overview of certain tenets of Vedanta relevant to mind control and meditation. Swami Bhaskarananda's material includes a pronunciation guide for transliterated Sanskrit words, as well as appendixes dealing with additional reading and visual depictions of the deep state of meditation. He also deals with obstacles to meditation in some detail and the value of meditation as a form of stress relief. In short, this volume should be useful for both new and accustomed practitioners.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

...wonderful. Very clear and very very well presented. I thoroughly enjoyed it --Prof. John Grimes, Dept. of Religious Studies, Michigan State University

In short, this volume should be useful for both new and accustomed practitioners. -- Library Journal 2001

It is a wonderfully rich and mature treatise on meditation and growth in spiritual life, with many fine observations which should help beginners and more advanced practitioners as well to advance along the spiritual path. ... He speaks from a tradition with good common sense and a sense of rootedness. It is a strength of the book that it is focused concisely on Yoga and Yoga works. --Francis X Clooney, S.J. Professor of Theology, Boston college

This volume, a product of the Vedanta Society of Western Washington, is a capably written and presented overview of certain tenets of Vedanta relevant to mind control and meditation. Swami Bhaskarananda's material includes a pronunciation guide for transliterated Sanskrit words, as well as appendixes dealing with additional reading and visual depictions of the deep state of meditation. He also deals with obstacles to meditation in some detail and the value of meditation as a form of stress relief. In short, this volume should be useful for both new and accustomed practitioners. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Library Journal

...wonderful. Very clear and very very well presented. I thoroughly enjoyed it --Prof. John Grimes, Dept. of Religious Studies, Michigan State University

It is a wonderfully rich and mature treatise on meditation and growth in spiritual life, with many fine observations which should help beginners and more advanced practitioners as well to advance along the spiritual path. ... He speaks from a tradition with good common sense and a sense of rootedness. It is a strength of the book that it is focused concisely on Yoga and Yoga works. --Francis X Clooney, S.J. Professor of Theology, Boston college

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 253 pages
• Publisher: Viveka Pr (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884852033
• ISBN-13: 978-1884852039
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #818,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind Over Matter, June 19, 2002

By 

"chennat" (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meditation, Mind & Patanjali's Yoga: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth for Everyone (Paperback)

Meditation is a topic that has both cosmic relevance and cosmic resonance. In spite of its universal appeal, for most people total control of mind remains an elusive goal and daunting task. From time immemorial, there have been many attempts throughout the world to unlock the mysteries of the mind and to achieve total control over it through a variety of techniques. One of the most powerful of these techniques is meditation. In his book, Meditation, Mind and Patanjali¡¯s Yoga, Swami Bhaskarananda provides a clear and concise exposition of the theory and practice of meditation to a global audience. The book is based primarily on the methods of mind control developed by the ancient Hindu sage Patanjali who had mastered the secrets of the human mind. Swami Bhaskarananda adds much more to his discussion of meditation beyond Patanjali¡¯s famous aphorisms by drawing from the experiences of many spiritual leaders, sages, saints, and holy people such as Buddha, Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda. The author liberally uses anecdotes and familiar examples from contemporary life to illustrate and illuminate abstruse or esoteric points.

The book consists of a brief introduction and twenty short chapters. Chapter I sets forth the rationale for meditation. The focus of the next chapter is the teacher-student relationship in the practice of meditation. Chapter III outlines Patanjali¡¯s eight-step discipline to yoga and Chapters IV-X elaborate on these steps. Obstacles to and hazards in meditation are discussed in Chapters XI and XII, respectively. The well-known, but widely misunderstood, concept of kundalini power is the subject of Chapter XIII. The Sankhya theory of creation is briefly examined in the next chapter. A lucid discussion of Samadhi in its multiple forms constitutes Chapter XV. The post-Samadhi state is explained in the next chapter. The three chapters that follow discuss Japa, spiritual progress, and stress relief, in that order. Concluding remarks are offered in Chapter XX.

This is not a book for those who are looking for miracle mind control or ¡°power¡± yoga. Rather, it is intended for the true aspirants who are willing to diligently and earnestly practice the tried, tested, and time-honored techniques of meditation. The value of this highly instructive book is further enhanced by its many user-friendly features. These include the illustrations and photographs of sages and saints who have achieved Samadhi through meditation, a comprehensive glossary, and a detailed index. A list of recommended books for further reading is another appealing feature of this volume. In summary, the clear, concise, and non-technical discussion of the art and science of meditation, including many practical suggestions, makes this volume a must-have for any serious student and practitioner of meditation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on Meditation, September 3, 2006

By 

Anonymous (Maple Valley, WA. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meditation, Mind & Patanjali's Yoga: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth for Everyone (Paperback)

Meditation, Mind & Patanjali's Yoga; A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth for Everyone is a clearly written guide to the subject of meditation. The book is comprehensive and well organized and covers all facets of the subject matter.

I found the book to be an easy and pleasant read that was interesting from the first page all the way to the last. Swami Bhaskarananda writes in a style that is clear and easy to understand. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject of Meditation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and Concise, April 20, 2006

By 

Suzan Douglass - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Meditation, Mind & Patanjali's Yoga: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth for Everyone (Paperback)

I have read several commentaries on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and I find this book to be one of the best. It is a wonderful introduction to Meditation and Yoga, especially for westerners. Many people want to know more about meditation, and it is good to have such a clear and consise source of information. Meditation and Hinduism are vast subjects, and the reader is often duanted by the scope of available material on them. Swami Bhaskarananda helps the reader to sift through the vast jungle of Indian Philosophy and gets to the core of meditation practice. His analogies and anecdotes make it a pleasant read as well as being informative.