Philosophy, Psychology and Practice of Yoga

by Sri Swami Venkatesananda

The title says it all. Series of lectures given by the author highlighting the most essential aspects of Yoga Sadhana and bringing Yoga Darshana as a vibrant, living guide to spiritual practice. A very useful book.

Swami Venkatesananda bridges the gap between Eastern and Western thought by exploring their common ground.  His clarity of thought and lucid style, and his knack of explaining the most difficult concepts in the simplest way, make this book a joyous communication.

What is the source of wisdom?

Jesus said: “The king of God is within you,” but that was Jesus’ realization, not yours. It si not enough simply to believe this.  “Tat twam asi (That thou art!” is the guru’s realization, not yours. The master’s realization must become your realization, otherwise it is not real.  Until that time the sources of wisdom are the scriptures and the guru. In the Gita Krishna says: “Therefore, the scripture is your authority.” We can possibly depend on the scripture alone, but that is not easy. You read the scripture and your own mind interprets it. Shankaracharya in the Vivekachudamani says that for the wise and for the idiot, scriptures are of no use.

The Bhagavad Gita says that truth can be known fi you resort to a guru. What does the gugu do to you? He teaches you, converses with you. So, the scripture is a visual source and the teacher is an audio-visual source.  There is something more:  non-verbal wisdom. Together all these form our  sources of wisdom. harmony.

Since we cannot draw upon the source of wisdom within ourselves, we look outside. Who is it that looks outside for wisdom?  Me! ‘I’ want wisdom. What is the nature of that ‘me’? Who is I? What is seeking wisdom?