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Self-Inquiry - Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering

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In the "AYP Enlightenment Series", Yogani presents what is probably the most comprehensive and complete course in Yoga that is currently available. He covers all the bases, ranging from the popularly-known aspects of Yoga such as Asanas, through the controversial and largely secret, such as Tantra and Advanced Kecharimudra. His emphasis in the Series is on teaching Yoga practically, rather than in creating an academic understanding, and in this he succeeds very well.

Jnana Yoga is one aspect of Yoga that has always been notoriously difficult to teach -- and it has been taught, not necessarily under that name or even under the name of Yoga at all, by many teachers over time. It's essence is hard to capture but one short (though inadequate) definition is 'The Yoga of Understanding'. It has long histories of enthusiastic teachers and disappointed disciples. This book, 'Self-Inquiry - Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering', is a short and effective course on Jnana Yoga, or Self-Inquiry as Yogani calls it.

It will be effective because Yogani has understood and explained the pre-conditions for Self-Inquiry. The book invites you to Self-Inquiry, in the presence of its pre-conditions, and explains how to continually cultivate those pre-conditions. In conjunction with other books in his series, particularly Deep Meditation, this is a great book for anyone who wants to penetrate the spiritual reality within.

Information on how to do self inquiry can be obtained from many sources. However in order for self inquiry to be effective it is necessary to go beyond the mind. It is almost impossible to "get" the mind with the mind (intellectually).

Yogani's book covers this aspect of self inquiry, emphasizing the importance of having a daily meditation practice in place that will help transcend the mind and increase inner silence (awaken the witness in you). Once the witness is awake, self inquiry becomes a way of life rather than something you have to work at to "get". He explains how self inquiry is not about running away from the world, but to be completely immersed in your world, filled with love and compassion, without being mentally and emotionally attached to it in a clingy way.


This book covers the five stages of mind on the way to spiritual maturity: Pre-Witnessing, Witnessing, Discrimination, Dispassion, and Merging of Subject and Object in Outpouring Divine Love. The stage of mind will determine what kind of self inquiry will work the best. Taking on more than you can handle will definitely slow down progress. Self Inquiry works best when the witness is present. In this book, Yogani calls self inquiry with the witness already established (through meditation), "relational self inquiry."


Two main kinds of self inquiry are covered in this book. There is self inquiry that arises in our every day life. We can inquire into things that worry us or bother us or make us unhappy, things that are considered "mental baggage" and how to free ourselves from this. The other kind of self inquiry is for the ultimate truth. These are questions that arise in us like "Who am I?" and "Who is doing this?" The answers to these questions are found by letting go into our silent witness.

He points out the pitfalls the mind can fall into along the way on a path of self inquiry, and how to avoid them -- over analyzing, being deceived by the feeling of having "arrived," and claiming life to be "unreal" while retreating from responsibilities. He also shows how self inquiry fits into the 8 limbs of yoga, including covering the intimate and powerful relationship between samyama (an advanced yoga practice) and self inquiry.


Most of what Yogani has written has been my experience too, and I definitely recommend this book for people who are thinking of starting out with self inquiry. This will give you a good set of guidelines to follow as you move along. If you are into self inquiry already, it will be a good book to go through for a reality check.

It does not matter whether one follows a down-to-earth approach to self inquiry like Byron Katie or Eckhart Tolle, or an "ultimate truth" approach like Ramana Maharishi or Nisagardatta. This book is very useful for understanding and effectively utilizing any system of self inquiry.

For thousands of years the subject of Spirituality has been steeped in superstition and dogma. Yogani, in Self-Inquiry, and all of his other writings, is clear and no-nonsense about the practices of Yoga. I have studied the subject of Enlightenment for over 30 years and Yogani is one of the only people I have come across to offer his guidance, obviously drawn from first hand experience, in a way that both supports us on our Path as well encouraging each seeker to know for themselves the Truth. He states very clearly that each must find it within. Very good for those who know, in the end, we must be accountable to only ourselves and the inner teacher. Thanks Yogani for your diligence and caring.Self-Inquiry - Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering

What I like about Yogani's model or conceptual framework is the wise selection of importances from all the different pieces of yoga data floating around out there that you could choose to emphasize. A slight shift in emphasis, a slight misunderstanding, can mean the difference between staying on the right course or veering off into the ditch or taking a wrong turn.

This is where Yogani excels. He cuts thru all the philosophical confusion and gives stable data which you can use to navigate and chart your course. In clear and simple language, he makes plain the requisite fundamental concepts and outlines the game plan of what needs to be done for steady progress into higher and higher states of consciousness.

The emphasis is on self pacing and maintaining a steady practice above all else because, as he says, it is practice that creates experiences, not vice versa. He creates the necessary map that will allow steady progress in the right direction and above all explains the nature and growth of the self in a way that has real world applicability.

It is a very useful little book, a little gem.

Two thumbs up for Yogani's Self-inquiry Dawn of the Witness and The End of Suffering. I found this little 100 page dynamo to be the first book I've read on the subject of Self-Inquiry that has made plain and simple sense. Yogani makes clear the importance of daily meditation in the development of the Witness for effective Self-Inquiry.
Bravo Yogani!

I really enjoyed "Self-Inquiry, Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering" by Yogani, I found it to be consciousness expanding which so few books can really claim. I found Yogani's insights incredibly helpful and think it is a must read for anyone who is truly dedicated to making lasting spiritual change in their lives.

The sections on "Practical Applications of Self-Inquiry" and "Pitfalls of the Mind" were excellent and would help spiritual seekers avoid the many distractions or wrong turns that anyone is capable of making while navigating the sometimes hard to see spiritual path.

The only reservations I had on the book were in the areas of readability. I felt overall, that particularly the beginning chapters of the book could have used more real-life examples to get past the limitations of language. I found myself needing to re-read a lot in order to understand some of the author's points. I also felt one of the primary points of the book, that self-inquiry needs "the witness" present in order to be effective, could have been made with more brevity. I personally would have preferred to see more time spent hearing Yogani's unique perspective and wisdom on the practical applications of self-inquiry instead.

Overall, a mind expanding read which I would recommend to any advanced spiritual seekers.

I have found Yogani's book "Self-Inquiry - Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering" to be a very clear and well-written guide to the understanding of this and related subjects of the spiritual path. It deals with questions like "Who am I?", "Who or what is God?", "What is the real nature of things?" And so on. The key factor in finding the answers to these questions is the presence of what we call inner silence, also called pure bliss consciousness, the Self, or the witness. One very effective way to cultivate this state of consciousness is with daily deep meditation.

When self-inquiry is based on inner silence, then there can be a true relationship between the experiencer, the witness, and all thoughts, feelings and perceptions of the body and external phenomena. Such self-inquiry is called relational, and seeks to dissolve the identification of awareness with all of these perceptions. If there is not enough inner silence present, and self-inquiry is based on and identified with the external thought process itself, then we have non-relational self-inquiry, which is much less effective.

Yogani goes over the details of all these considerations, and then further discusses the fruits of effective spiritual self-inquiry, namely Enlightenment, transcending duality through divine love, and the end of suffering, which unfold naturally on the spiritual path. The book is only about 100 pages, and is easy to read, but contains a lot of profound teaching for its size.

If you are new to yoga, better to start with the Deep Meditation booklet, or Advanced Yoga Practices, or the main lessons at [...], all by the same author, Yogani. If you are familiar with yoga, particularly meditation, this little booklet is wonderful. It covers the subject of vedanda / advaita. This involves phenomena and approaches to what for many are the final steps preceeding Enlightenment. It won't make much sense for new yogis and yoginis.