A student's guide to the history and philosophy of yoga / Peter Connolly.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Connolly, Peter, 1951- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Yoga--History.

Yoga.

History.

Physical Description:

327 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

Revised edition.

Place of Publication:

Sheffield, South Yorkshire ; Bristol, CT : Equinox Publishing Ltd, 2014.

Summary:

The word 'yoga' conjures up in the minds of many Westerners images of people performing exercises and adopting unusual, contortive postures. Such exercises and postures do have a place within the practice of yoga, but it is much more than that. Indeed, the early literature on yoga describes and defines it as a form of mental rather than physical discipline. Yoga is also associated with the Indian subcontinent and the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. This revised edition of a classic textbook concentrates on the evolution of yoga in the context of Indian culture, though the final chapters also explore some of its links with non-Indian mystical traditions and some of its developments outside India during the modern period. This book is aimed both at university students taking courses in comparative religion and philosophy and at practitioners of yoga who seek to go beyond the activity and explore its spiritual dimensions. It presents yoga in the context of its historical evolution in India and explains the nature of its associations with various metaphysical doctrines. It also draws on a number of conceptual schemes designed to facilitate comparative study. Some of these are employed throughout the book to link the material from each chapter together within a common framework. This edition incorporates revisions and expansions to most chapters and contains a new chapter on the future of modern yoga in the West. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Background to Yoga Philosophy 16

2 Yoga in the Texts of the Veda 22

3 The Sramanic Traditions: Jainism and Buddhism 63

4 The Epics and the Bhagavad Gita 98

5 The Orthodox Philosophical Systems 125

6 Sectarian Developments: Saivism, Saktism and Tantra 180

7 Modern Yoga 213

8 Some Reflections on the Psychology of Yoga 229

9 Whither Modern Yoga in the West? 246.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1845532368

9781845532246

1845532244

9781845532369

OCLC:

851642690

Publisher Number:

99958976901