Customer Reviews

Vijnanabhairava or Divine Consciousness: A Treasury of 112 Types of Yoga (reprint ed) (English and Sanskrit Edition)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is like a Rosetta stone of all of yoga condensed into 108 dharanas or centering techniques. When I first bought this book, I found some of these dharanas were very easy; others I found obscure. The deeper my practice has gone the more I learn.

The key is to absorb the dharanas (centering techniques) that are obvious. Over time, as one's yogic study deepens, many of the others will become apparent. The Vijnana-bhairava was written as the original home-study, Self-study course revealed by Bhairava (God). The practice of any tantric technique is by it's very nature done by oneself as each of our relationships to the Divine is a personal affair.

The amazing thing that this book conveys is a deep understanding of how we can find our connection with the Divine in our moment to moment existence. For the serious student there is no book I recommend more strongly.

If you're only looking for a translation of the Vijnanabhairava then you would be better off reading those by Paul Reps, Mike Magee, Lorin Roche, Daniel Odler, etc., before attempting to read Jaideva Singh's.

The book is scholarly, often spending more time discussing the Sanskrit than the actual techniques. However, it is unsurpassed in that 1) Jaideva Singh was a student of Swami Lakshmanjoo who taught him the techniques and 2) he includes the Sanskrit, a transliteration, a translation, a commentary on the language, a commentary on the techniques, a glossary, and various other tid-bits wherever needed for further explanation.

It's also a small book despite the immensity of its message. I can hardly think of another book with more latent potential stored & ready for its reader. If you practice these techniques, simply put, your life will never be the same again.

So: recommended for those planning to embark on a serious study of the text and the techniques but not for the casual reader looking for a clear, simple, and easy translation. That, this is not.

EDIT:

Since writing this review I have become very well-acquainted with this book and must mention that my initial title forewarning of "dry, possibly uninspiring" disappears with time. It appeared as such on first read but I began to appreciate the author's language and style more and more. Here's a wonderful example:

"When one contemplates over darkness for long, one is filled with a sense of awe and uncanny mystery and easily slips into the mystic consciousness. It is at such an hour that the Light of Bhairava makes its appearance and one acquires the nature of Bhairava."

Having practiced this technique myself I've found that this description is perfectly fitting. That quote could be lengthened to pages (see Osho's Book Of Secrets discourse on the same technique) since in its brevity it captures the entire experience.

The Shaivite tradition of India is unknown to most Americans. It is an intense, tantric school of consciousness development that grew up in conversation with Buddhism and later with Islam. The Vijnanabhairava is a collection of the techniques these Shaivites have used, each presented concisely with some indication of its usefulness. Probably not too good an idea to use these without a spiritual director to keep an eye on your development...

This gem of a book is chock full of ways to BE. To BE fully conscious. To Awaken. If you are not used to reading works from India it may be a bit stilted and take some looking at the glossary as you make you way through. If you want to KNOW YourSELF, this is a fabulous guide. Tried and true.