The Yogasutra is one of the most important works of Indian culture. This is so partly on account of its intrinsic worth as a masterly analysis of trance and as an equally masterly description of the method by which it is reached. Its importance derives also from its being the foundational text of Yoga, the system which plays a basic role in the culture of India. Indeed a knowledge of this system is necessary to understand the highly varied expressions of Indian culture, including those which, like Buddhism, reject the orthodox Brahminical tradition.
The present book is an attempt of interpretation of the Yogasutras based on some special criteria adopted by the authors: (1) To use the traditional commentaries as auxiliaries, not as guides, with prudence and freedom, (2) To interpret those Sutras, in which Patanjali analyzes real phenomena, as what they actually are: descriptions of facts of experience. To such an end the authors have tried to have a clear idea of the phenomena to which Patanjali refers, and in this task they have found extremely useful the descriptions of their mystical experiences by Yogis of India and Christian mystics.
The book includes the Sanskrit text of the Sutras and an English translation by the authors. |
