Aphoristic work on the meditational fundamentals of the yoga school of Indic philosophy.

In this landmark book the renowned scholar of religion Mircea Eliade lays the groundwork for a Western understanding of Yoga, exploring how its guiding principle, that of freedom, involves remaining in the world without letting oneself be exhausted by such "conditionings" as time and history. Drawing on years of study and experience in India, Eliade provides a comprehensive survey of Yoga in theory and practice from its earliest foreshadowings in the Vedas through the twentieth century. The subjects discussed include Patañjali, author of the Yoga-sutras; yogic techniques, such as concentration "on a Single Point," postures, and respiratory discipline; and Yoga in relation to Brahmanism, Buddhism, Tantrism, Oriental alchemy, mystical erotism, and shamanism.

The Svetasvataropanisad is considered to be the most beautiful of all the Upanisads, the philosophical texts of the Hindu religion. In this new translation, Devadatta Kali takes a fresh look, and works from a new premise that the Svetasvatara represents a Saivite (one of the Hindu sects) point of view. This he claims, allows its intended meaning to shine forth. The translation and commentary brings to life the seer Svetasvatara, who from time to time delights in provocation and word play, allowing the reader to share the joy of his liberated vision that all this world is an expression of the Divine. This translation aims to capture the seer's ecstatic response to the wonders of creation while pointing the reader towards the even greater wonder of its source. Devadata Kali's purpose in his translation and the commentary is to convey the vibrant immediacy of the Sanskrit original and strip away many centuries of exegetical accretions in order to make Svetasvatara's message heard as he intended--as a statement of profound insight designed to guide, inspire, and enlighten. Features of the text: 13 pages of uninterrupted fl ow of the translation of the Upanisad.6 chapters of the Upanisad in original Sanskrit with English translation and commentary.Two appendixes giving the word-by-word analysis of the Sanskrit and a complete tabulation of the correspondences with other texts and internal corresponds within the Upanisad itself.Index including bilingual references and major themes by verse.