Yoga a Scientific Evaluation [Paperback]

Kovoor T. Behanan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2003

1937. A sympathetic presentation and appraisal of yoga is set forth in this book without stating it is a final or finished system of philosophy. Yoga is one of several Hindu systems of thought that developed from the ancient philosophical concepts contained in the Vedic writing of the first millennium B.C. Yoga attempts to seek an ultimate union of the individual personality with the infinite. Contents: apparent complexity of Indian culture; Prakriti or nature; Purusha or soul; evolution and its stages; yoga psychology; rebirth; yoga and psychoanalysis and psychic research; postures; varieties of breathing; exercises in concentration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766139654
• ISBN-13: 978-0766139657
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,770,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dated but can serve as an introduction to yogic philosophy, April 9, 2010

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Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yoga a Scientific Evaluation (Paperback)

This book is a reprint of the Dover Edition from 1959 which was itself a reprint of the book first published in 1937. The book is also called "Yoga: Its Scientific Basis."

The evaluation (circa 1935) seems quaintly unscientific today. Some of the chapters are "Yoga and Psychoanalysis" and "Yoga and Psychic Research." Dr. Behanan, an Indian, took up the writing and study as Sterling Fellow in the Psychology Department at Yale. The presentation is from that viewpoint. The "scientific" evaluation is more or less tacked on. He gives a favorable opinion of yoga, although he doesn't seem to think that the practice is more than a psychological phenomenon. Of course the philosophy is very real.

Probably the best chapter is the first one: "The Apparent Complexity of Indian Culture" which gives a brief history of not only Indian culture but Indian religious philosophy from pre-Vedic times through the Upanishads and the Buddhist "heresy" which was a reaction to the overly ritualistic Brahmanism. It should be realized that yoga is not only a methodology toward mental and physical health, and a means to liberation from our bondage in this world, but it is also one of the six orthodox philosophies of India.

Behanan also presents Patanjali's program from his famous sutras. There are illustrations of some of the postures and an introduction to pranayama is given. Behanan explores some of the central ideas of Indian thought such as Brahman and Atman, karma and reincarnation. Chapter Two is devoted to "prakriti" (nature, the insentient, or the phenomenal world) which is contrasted with "purusha" (outside of nature, the transcendental Self) which is the subject of the third chapter.

The book minus the two extraneous chapters mentioned above serves as a reasonably good introduction to yogic philosophy. The tone is academic but the ideas are easily accessed by a general readership.

(Note: My book, "Yoga: Sacred and Profane (Beyond Hatha Yoga)" is now available at Amazon.)

Yoga: Sacred and Profane: (Beyond Hatha Yoga)