An Introduction to the Philosophy of Yoga

by Swami Krishnananda

The outlook of one's life depends upon one's conception of reality. The structure of the universe decides our relationship with things. What is known as a vision of life is just the attitude which the individual is constrained to develop in regard to the atmosphere of the universe. Such an exalted conception of the totality of experience may be designated as the philosophy of life. It is, thus, philosophy which determines human conduct and enterprises of every kind in the social field as well as in one's own person.

The lectures on the Philosophy of Yoga, which constitute the body of this book, were delivered during the first inaugural course of the Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy. The students who participated in this course were unacquainted with the background of the practice of Yoga - its philosophical foundations, its epistemological implications and psychological presuppositions. It was thus necessary to present the entire theme in a rather conversational style, in the form of classroom lessons, than in the manner of formal lectures. The lessons in this book are a sort of homely teachings to pupils with a touch of informality.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Prefatory
• The Human Predicament
• The Portals of Enquiry
• The Search Within
• The Psychology of Knowing
• The Preparations for Yoga
• The Metaphysics of Meditation
• The Conflicts and the Aims of Life
• Meditational Self-Analysis
• The Object of Meditation
• The Abstraction of the Senses
• Towards Absorption
• The Entry into Universality
• The Great Attainment.

About the Author:

Swami Krishnananda was born on the 25th of April, 1922 into a highly religious and orthodox Brahmin family, and was given the name Subbaraya. At an early age, he had become very well versed in the Sanskrit language and its sacred texts. The longing for seclusion pulled him to Rishikesh, where he arrived in the summer of 1944 and met Swami Sivananda, who initiated the young Subbaraya into Sannyasa on the sacred day of Makara Sankranti, the 14th of January, 1946, and gave him the name Swami
Krishnananda.

Swami Krishnananda is a highly respected philosophical writer, especially on metaphysics, psychology and sociology. Swamiji's books are known the world over as excellent presentations of answers to the daily questions that arise in the day-to-day confrontations of a human being. Swami Krishnananda was the General Secretary of The Divine Life Society from 1961 until 2001. Swamiji was a direct disciple of His Holiness Swami Sivananda, founder of this Institution. Swamiji attained Mahasamadhi in 2001.