Yoga and the luminous : Patanjali's spiritual path to freedom / Chistopher Key Chapple.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chapple, Christopher Key, 1954- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Yoga.

Patañjali. Yogasūtra.

Patañjali.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 301 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Albany, New York : State University of New York Press, [2008]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Winner of the 2008 Rajinder and Jyoti Gandhi Book Award for Excellence in Dharma Studies presented by Taksha InstituteIn Yoga and the Luminous, a book that emerges from more than thirty years of practice, study, and reflection, Christopher Key Chapple addresses the need for an accessible explanation of Yoga's difficult philosophy and its applications in daily life. Yoga practice takes an individual on an inward journey, and through Yoga, one enters a rarefied state of consciousness, a transparency and luminosity described by its great philosopher Patañjali as being "like a clear jewel." Exploring Yoga through the prism of practice, Chapple begins with a historical overview of the many Yogic traditions in Indian religions. He continues with Yoga practice and the philosophy of Sāṃkhya, and then, in step-by-step fashion, he brings the reader to an understanding of the ethics of Yoga, the role of movement and breath, and the processes of concentration and meditation. Finally, building on the root metaphor of luminosity and light, Chapple explains the applications of Yoga in daily life.Yoga and the Luminous also includes a word-by-word translation of Patañjali's Yoga Sūtra, the foundational text of Yoga philosophy and a system of ethical practice and bodily purification. The translation is accompanied by an analysis that traces key ideas through the text, such as the reversal of mental and sensory outflows and the theme of spiritual discernment. Chapple also gives special attention to the feminine in the description of Yoga practices.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

The Yoga Tradition

The Practice of Yoga

Sāṃkhya Philosophy and Yoga Practice

Precepts and Vows in Yoga and Jainism

Imitation of Animals in Yoga Tradition

Patañjali on Meditation

Yoga and Liberation

Luminosity and Yoga

Living Liberation in Sāṃkhya and Yoga

Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra

Approaching the Yoga Sūtra

The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali

Translation Methodology and Grammatical Analysis

“Samādhi pāda”

“Sādhana pāda”

“Vibhūti pāda”

“Kaivalya pāda”

Interpreting Yoga

Reading Patañjali without Vyaāsa

The Use of the Feminine Gender in Patañjali’s Description of Yogic Practices

Contemporary Expressions of Yoga

Notes

References

Index of Sanskrit Terms

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780791478189

0791478181

9781435694521

143569452X