Glimpses of Raja Yoga
Vimala Thakar
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Rodmell Press
ISBN: 1930485077

An Introduction ot Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.

Indian sage Patanjali wrote his famous Yoga Sutras sometime around 250 B.C. & they are still widely regarded as the ultimate text on yoga practice. However, many modern practitioners find his aphorisms too inaccessible, & analysis has tended to obscure rather than reveal their meaning. Vimala Thakar cuts through the mystique by returning to the root meaning of the Sutras' Sanskrit words, revealing their basic concepts, in modernday language.

Glimpses of Raja Yoga provides an in-depth look into the ancient Indian culture that gave rise to the Upanishads & the Yoga Sutras, the dimension of Silence that lies beyond meditation, the yamas (restraints) & niyamas (observances) that form the basis of ethics in yoga, & much more. By demonstrating the direct relevance of the Sutras to modern yoga practice, Glimpses of Raja Yoga opens the spiritual horizons of yoga practitioners everywhere.

Despite its popularity, few students know of the deep & ancient roots to this philosophy of life. In Glimpses of Raja Yoga which were first given in a seminar by great teacher, Vimala Thakar, she explains to us, in her inimitable language, the origins & meanings of these teachings.

This slim volume will open up realms as vast as the Cosmos, & as you read & ponder, you'll learn the origins of Veda, Sanskrit, the Rishis, Krsi, as well as what Sutras are, & how to think within their wisdom.

I have always been attracted to sayings that have been handed down in the form of aphorisms, proverbs, riddles, parables, &, for want of a more succinct translation, that is what Sutras are -- the purified thinking of the early aesthetics, frequently written on tree bark although mostly handed down orally.

Come back in time, way, way back to when sages (rishis) lived in the forests, & the farmers & their farms & the nrpati (kings) who were quite literally “the human protectors”.

Glimpses of Raja Yoga is for anyone wondering what & how yoga evolved down the ages, & how to live it in today's world.

Quite simply, it is as if you are sitting at this wise teacher's knees, listening to her idiosyncratic take on the yogic wisdom of the ages. Just glimpses, mind you, each provocative, delectable, succinct &, dare I say it, occasionally hilarious.

More from Vimala Thakar: Blossoms of Friendship A word about Rodmell Press: founded in 1988 by Donald Moyer & Linda Cogozzo it publishes books on Yoga, Buddhism & Aikido. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is written, “Yoga is skill in action”. It is Rodmell Press' hope that their books will help individuals develop a more skillful practice -- one that brings peace to their daily lives & to the Earth.
(08/28/05)

Rebecca