Swami Vivekananda wrote a book called Raja Yoga about how he rewrote Patanjali's Yoga Sutras for a Western audience. The book is called Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga was an instant hit and had a big impact on how people in the West thought about yoga. De Michelis says that Raja Yoga is the beginning of modern yoga, even though yoga has changed a lot since then. Raja Yoga has transcripts of Vivekananda's talks on "Raja Yoga" and his interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It also has a "rather free translation" of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with Vivekananda's commentaries, which was also a set of talks. It gives strange teachings to a group of cultists who were looking for "ideologically familiar forms of practical spirituality."

The goal of life is really knowledge, of the reality of things. We are apt to think that it is pleasure, and seeking pleasure in sense-gratification, we meet with so many disappointments and sorrows that we sometimes almost despair and are led to believe that all life is a vain dream with no sure foundation anywhere. It is an endless chain of cause and effect in which we are involved, and from which only knowledge of how to act without producing reaction can ever free us. Karma Yoga is meant to teach us exactly this, to make clear to us first the causes of our bondage, and secondly the method of getting rid of the causes and to avoid the effects.

* This is the extended and annotated edition including an extensive preface by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He gives us deep insights about Yoga and the Ultimate Goal of Life. Yoga is a subject which has enthralled the attention of the world from time out of mind. No one has really done justice to such a grand system, though there have been, now and then, innumerable attempts. Contents: Preface Introductory The First Steps Prana The Psychic Prana The Control Of The Psychic Prana Pratyahara And Dharana Dhyana And Samadhi Raja-Yoga In Brief Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms Introduction Concentration: Its Spiritual Uses Concentration: Its Practice Powers Independence

From ancient times, people of India have practiced spiritual disciplines designed to clear the mind and support a state of serene, detached awareness. The practices for developing this desired state of balance, purity, wisdom, and peacefulness of mind are known collectively as "yoga." "Yoga" means "yoke" or "union" - referring to union with the true Self, the goal described in the Upanishads. The sages distinguished four basic types of people and developed practices that are particularly suitable for each type, in order that each man can attain the desired union with the Self. For rational people, there is the path of Knowledge. For meditative people, there is the path of Self-Knowledge. For naturally active people, there is the path of Selfless Action. For emotional people, there is the Path of Devotion. Editor's Note: In order to be more enjoyable during reading, this book is in 6" x 9" format. In the same spirit, the paper is cream-colored, which causes less fatigue to the eyes than white paper. All our publications are carefully handled both in terms of typography and design.

Each Soul is potentially divine and the goal is to manifest the divinity that is within, by controlling nature, external and internal. We shall have to do this either by work, worship, psychic control, or philosophy - and eventually, all be free. This fascinating book contains a treatise on Raja yoga, and comprises a wealth of enlightening information on the subject sure to appeal to discerning students and enthusiastic beginners. Split into the two sections; 'Raja Yoga' and 'Patanjali’s Yoga Aphorisms', this book contains the chapters: The First Steps; Prana; The Psychic Prana; The Control of Psychic Prana; Patyahara and Dharana; Dhyana and Samadhi; Raja-Yoga in Brief; Powers; and Independence. Swami Vivekananda was an Indian Hindu monk and disciple of the nineteenth-century saint Ramakrishna. This book was originally published in 1923 and is proudly republished now complete with a new introduction to the subject.

The inspirational messages collected in this book speak directly to the concerns of contemporary men and women and also form a concise introduction to Vedanta, a philosophy of India.