Customer Reviews

The Science of Yoga

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It remains surprising that so few Westerners have translated or commented on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which play a significant role in the transition from a more primitive Hinduism to a mature Vedantaism. Translations are not difficult (these sutras are one-line aphorisms) but capturing the essence and understanding the context is essential. Of existing translations with commentary, Taimni's has the virtue of scholarship, even objectivity. He understands the highest achievements of his author and of the Vedanta tradition. Still, it is a large, even ponderous book, written in big block paragraphs that run to wordiness and repetition. There is no historical or bibliographical apparatus, and the novice will be quickly put off. But Patanjali is important enough to pursue, and this is, with all its shortcomings, the best available version.

I am not a HIndu, but I do hope to attain liberation some day. This book describes Pantajali's Yoga sutra in clear English. What is discouraging is that the author makes no bones about how long this process takes. Maybe not one lifetime but several lifetimes. As Sri Ramakrishna used to say, you can either perform austerities or be a householder. Either way is OK. I can imagine a bad marriage would be much worse than performing austerities in a cave.