The Philosophy, Psychology and Practice of Yoga

by Swami Chidananda

This companion volume on Ashtanga Yoga (Raja Yoga) by Swami Chidanandaji contains the edited version of a series of lectures given by Sri Swamiji to the Third Batch of trainees who underwent the Three Months Course run by the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy of the Divine Life Society. In the hands of Swami Chidanandaji, the Yoga Darshana comes to new life as a vibrant, living guide to spiritual practice.

And Swamiji has delved deep into all the most essential aspects of yoga Sadhana, and in doing so, has beautifully maintained logical sequence. And the whole volume reflects his earnest desire and longing that spiritual seeker should put to use this marvelous science of Yoga for furthering their spiritual advancement.

Table of Contents:

• Publishers' Preface
• A Broad Outline Of The Yoga Philosophy
• The Psychology Of Yoga
• The Five Great Vows
• From The Yamas To The Niyamas
• The Niyamas-Effective Weapons To Destroy The Citadel Of The Senses
• Creating A New Mind Through Satsanga, Sravana And Svadhyaya
• Isvarapranidhana Or Self-Surrender
• The Wider Aspects Of The Process Of Isvarapranidhana
• Asana And Pranayama
• Conquest Of Tamo-Guna Prakriti
• Pratyahara—Crux Of Raja Yoga Sadhana
• Indispensable Aids To The Practice Of Pratyahara
• More About Pratyahara
• The Mental Menagerie Or The World Of The Inner Prakriti
• Focussing The Mind In Antaranga Yoga
• More About Antaranga Yoga Sadhana
• All Yoga Is One
• The Paramount Importance Of Brahmacharya
• Some Questions Answered.

About the Author:

Swami Chidananda was born as Sridhar Rao in Mangalore, South India, on September 24, 1916, the first son of an orthodox Hindu Brahmin family. When he was sixteen, he shifted to Madras where, in 1938, he graduated with a B.A. from the prestigious Loyola College. During these years, devotional songs and stories from the scriptures, as well as the lives and teachings of modern saints such as Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Ramana Maharshi and Swami Ramdas awakened in him a fiery aspiration for the life spiritual.

In 1943 he joined the Himalayan Ashram of the sage and saint Swami Sivananda, the founder of the Divine Life Society, whose dynamic spiritual writings had long attracted him. Soon he was put in charge of the Sivananda Ashram medical dispensary, where his compassionate service to all, including the lepers, earned him the affectionate title of Dr. Raoji. He also headed up the Correspondence Section and was frequently called upon to give lectures as well as attend to the special needs of many of the guests. In 1948 he was appointed General Secretary of the Society and on Guru Purnima, 1949, was initiated into the holy order of Sannyasa.

Ten years later, in 1959, in response to many requests, Swami Sivananda sent him to the West, a trip that lasted for over two years. Succeeding Swami Sivananda as President of the Divine Life Society in 1963, his life since has been one of almost continuous travel throughout India and to all continents of the globe in the holy Master's service and in the cause of the central objective of the Divine Life Society, dissemination of spiritual knowledge.

Although, in his travels, he is frequently received by high dignitaries and he is the head of an institution with many branches both in India and abroad," yet he still remains at heart a simple monk, whose aim in life is to do as much good as possible for as many people as possible and, above all, bring to them the heart-solacing and liberating message of Yoga, Vedanta and the living of a divine life.