Hatha Yoga

We are organising a 2-day symposium on yoga and the body to be held at the Australian National University, Canberra.

Here is the link to register: http://chl.anu.edu.au/news-events/events/658/yoga-and-body-past-and-present-symposium

Here is the link to download the flyer and schedule: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0ONiOO-EUx-c0w1ZnFQZ0pnWFE

Представлене видання дає можливість сучасним дослідникам і практикам йоґи глибше зрозуміти йоґічну медитацію — дг’яну. У монографії досліджується процес становлення й розвитку філософських засад дг’яни в історичній перспективі. Автор ретельно вивчає та ілюструє різноманіття поглядів та визначень, що формують поняття «дг’я- на» у ведійський, епічний, класичний та гатха-йоґічний періоди. Для відображення уявлень кожної із зазначених епох, уперше зроблено український переклад нових фрагментів санскритських першоджерел. Показано, як зміни в значенні поняття «дг’яна» впливали на розвиток вчення йоґи, практику йоґінів та по-різному формували уявлення про таке звичне для сучасної людини поняття, як «мислення».
Монографія, як ґрунтовне комплексне дослідження, спонукає до подальшого вивчення інтелектуальних тенденцій у розвитку йоґи та її взаємодії з іншими філософськими та езотеричними вченнями. Книга адресована науковцям, викладачам, аспірантам, студентам, усім, хто цікавиться історією індійської та західної філософської думки, прак- тикам йоґи.

За останнє сторіччя Йоґа як і пов’язані з нею практики медитації, психотехніки стали невід’ємним атрибутом західної культури. Десятки мільйонів людей практикують асани й пранаями, беруть участь у йоґа-семінарах, навіть, не помічаючи цього, використовують терміни йоґи в повсякденній мові. Однак, будь-яка популяризація має й зворотну сторону — спрощення. На жаль, цей процес повною мірою торкнувся і Йоґи. У свідомості західної людини терміни Йоґи втратили свою початкову глибину, Йозі приписали масу поглядів і концепцій, породжених швидше західною, а не індійською культурою. Сама Йоґа стала сприйматися як канонічне, монолітне вчення, позбавлене відтінків, історії, внутрішньої динаміки. У зв’язку з цим виникла потреба в справжньому науковому осмис- ленні Йоґи, яка й привела в останні два десятиліття до появи Yoga-studies у провідних світових центрах наукового сходознавства. Одним із піонерів цих досліджень у нашій країні став Дмитро Данилов — автор цієї монографії.
Книга написана в дуже сучасному жанрі історії та деконструкції ідей. Об’єктом досліджень став термін «дг’яна», який, як показав автор, покриває безліч досить різнорідних психопрактик, і неодноразово змінював своє значення. Таким чином, і це дуже відрадно, досліджуючи це вчення, Дмитро виходить за рамки сприйняття Йоґи як чисто тілесної практики й звертається до її глибини. Думаю, ця монографія буде цікава не тільки сходознавцям, але й філософам, психологам, а також усім, хто дійсно глибоко цікавиться йоґою. Андрій Сафронов. Президент Української федерації йоґи

Свого часу М. Еліаде відніс йоґу до одного з чотирьох базових і взаємозалежних понять, до однієї з чотирьох «кінетичних ідей», які ведуть в осердя індійської релігійно-філософської думки. Минає понад півсторіччя і в світі з’являється різнопланове зацікавлення йоґою, а індійське явище стає впливовою і помітною світовою тенденцією. Уявити сучасний глобалізований культурний, релігійний
і науковий ландшафт без йоґи вже неможливо.
В останні роки історико-філософські дослідження йоґи не тільки істотно пожвавились, а і стали помітним напрямком в індологічній гуманітаристиці. Активно розвивається і міждисциплінарне (трансдисциплінарне) осмислення феномену йоґи. При цьому підвищене зацікавлення спрямоване не тільки на індуїстську йоґічну думку, а і буддійську, джайнську. Водночас не вся основна йоґічна термінологія, включаючи дг’яну, встигла стати предметом окремих розвідок. Тому запропоноване Дмитром Данило- вим монографічне видання, присвячене окремо узятому поняття, тобто дг’яні, є беззаперечно актуальним та відо- бражає світові тенденції в сучасних студіях з індійської філософії.
Автору вдалось не тільки зосередитись на одному з ключових понять йоґічної думки, а і належно проаналізу- вати його трансформацію, залучивши для цього необхідне коло першоджерел. Саме дослідження побудоване так, що аналіз вживання дг’яни здійснюється у досить широкому часовому діапазоні: від ведійських витоків (наприклад, Ріґведа cамгіта, Каушитака, Шветашватара, Майтрі упа- нішади) й епічних текстів (наприклад, «Мокшадгарма», «Бгаґавадґіта») до йоґа даршяни (наприклад, «Йоґа-сутри» Патаньджалі) і середньовічних гатха-йоґічних текстів (на- приклад, «Гатха-йоґа-прадипіка»). У результаті, вдалося помітити важливі трансформації в розумінні дг’яни, які відбувались у різних площинах: гносеологічній, сотері- ологічній, трансцендентній, тілесній. При цьому аналіз поняття дг’яна здійснюється у контексті, який передбачає звернення до різних даршян, включаючи неортодоксаль- ні. Це дало змогу доречно вказати на ті конкретні впли- ви у змінах значень дг’яни, які мали місце в індійському діалогічному історико-філософському процесі. У разі необхідності, Д. Данилов обстоює свої погляди, дискуту- ючи з провідними дослідниками йоґічної філософської спадщини (не тільки згаданим раніше М. Еліаде, а і Дас Ґуптою, Дж. Маллінсоном, Ф. Маасом та іншими).
З позиції історико-філософської індології в Україні запропонована монографія Д. Данилова зберігає не тільки вищеокреслену актуальність. Вона вирізняється ще і но- ваторством, оскільки є першим завершеним досліджен- ням, присвяченим історико-філософським аспектам йоґи. Завдяки автору до вітчизняної науки і культури вводиться не тільки цікава та значуща проблематика, а і відповідні фрагменти санскритських текстів у перекладі українською мовою.
Будемо сподіватись, що монографія знайде свого заці- кавленого читача і сприятиме відновленню та пожвавлен- ню вітчизняних досліджень, присвячених непересічному феномену йоґи.
Юрій Завгородній, доктор філософських наук

The Tamil Śaiva yogi Sri Sabhapati Swami (b. 1828) has had a substantial impact on nineteenth- and twentieth-century South Asian and Western occult movements, yet with a few exceptions he has been overlooked by authors writing on modern yoga. His writings survive in multiple languages, including English as well as highly Sanskritised dialects of Tamil, Hindustani, and Bengali, and also include elaborate visual diagrams. This chapter first summarises Sabhapati’s relevance to the field of Yoga Studies. It then offers an overview of Sabhapati’s life based on North American and European archival sources as well as new textual and ethnographic sources from the author’s field work in Tamil Nadu. Finally, the chapter analyses the cross-fertilisation of Sabhapati’s teachings in the Theosophical Society and Aleister Crowley’s (1875–1947) Thelema.

The writing of this paper was prompted by the discovery of several manuscripts of mediaeval yoga texts which contain lists of more than eighty-four āsana-s, a canonical number mentioned in several yoga texts.  Until now, lists of eighty-four āsana-s have been found in only two recently published yoga texts, namely, the Haṭharatnāvalī and the Jogapradīpyakā.  The manuscript evidence presented in this article indicates that these published texts are not isolated accounts of mediaeval yoga systems with many complex āsanas. In fact, it is clear that more than eighty-four āsana-s were practised in some traditions of Haṭha Yoga before the British arrived in India.  The majority of these āsana-s were not seated poses, but complex and physically-demanding postures, some of which involved repetitive movement, breath control and the use of ropes.  When the āsana-s in the sources which I shall analyse in this article are considered in their totality, antecedents can be identified for many non-seated and inverted postures in twentieth-century systems of Indian yoga.

श्री ज्ञानेश्वर माउलींच्या वाङ्मयाचे सार्थ विवरण करणार्या योगदा श्री ज्ञानेश्वरी या त्यांच्याच परंपरेतील एका नाथ सांप्रदायिक योग्याने लिहिलेल्या ग्रंथाचा भाग १२/१२
**
Books by author Vibhakar Lele
(Swami Yogeshwarananda)
****
1. ‘Yogada Shri Dnyaneshwari’ – ‘योगदा श्रीज्ञानेश्वरी’ (खंड १ आणि खंड २) - 1470 A-4 size double columned pages
Book available as Print-copy on
Pothi.com
1. खंड १: ₹1230/-
http://pothi.com/pothi/node/186419
&
2. खंड २: ₹ 1140/-
http://pothi.com/pothi/node/186420
***
योगदा श्री ज्ञानेश्वरी
ii. As e-book on Pothi.com as ebook4321 at Rs.250/-
****
2. 'एका नाथसिद्धयोग्याचेआत्मवृत्त' – Eka Natha Siddha Yogyache Atmavritta- 350 pages/ ₹550/-
Available as i) Print copy on  Pothi.com at
https://pothi.com/pothi/book/vibhakar-vitthal-lele-eka-nathasiddha-yogyache-atmavritta
&
ii. As e-book on Pothi.com as ebook3777 at Rs.200/-
****
Books in English by author Vibhakar Lele aka Swami Yogeshwarananda in the Series: ‘Yoga Of Gita Expounded By Saint Shri
Dnyaneshwar’:
***
1. Autobiography of A Natha Siddha Yogin [Travails Of A Mystique`] - 560 pages
₹700/-
Available as Print copy on Pothi.com's store at
https://pothi.com/pothi/book/vibhakar-vitthal-lele-autobiography-natha-siddha-yogi
**
ii. As e-book on Pothi.com as ebook7466 at Rs. 250/-
****
2. Inner Secrets Of Rajayoga - Saint Dnyaneshwar On Kundalini Yoga
[Practice – Methods And Processes] - 620 pages
₹ 740/-
Available as Print copy on Pothi.com's store at
https://pothi.com/pothi/book/vibhakar-vitthal-lele-inner-secrets-rajayoga
**
ii. As e-book on Pothi.com as ebook7485 at Rs.300/-
****
3. Ishwara And Worship [Upasana] - Central Theme Of Gita - 300 pages/
₹ 525/-
Available as printed book on Pothi.com at
https://pothi.com/pothi/book/vibhakar-v-lele-swami-yogeshwarananda-swaroopa-worship-and-philosophy
**
ii. As e-book on Pothi.com as ebook7484 at Rs. 200/-
****
4. Rajayoga Of Gita [Kundalini] Karma-Jnana-Bhakti-Dhyana - 362 pages/
₹ 560/-
Available as printed book on Pothi.com at
https://pothi.com/pothi/node/191757
**
ii. As e-book on Pothi.com as ebook7541 at Rs. 250/-
***
5. Rajayoga Consummation [Kundalini] Karma-Jnana-Bhakti-Dhyana - 432 pages/
₹ 615/-
Available as printed book at
https://pothi.com/pothi/book/vibhakar-lele-swami-yogeshwarananda-rajayoga-consummation-kundalini-karma-jnana-bhakti-dhyana
**
ii. As e-book on Pothi.com as ebook7540 at Rs. 300/-
***
6. Dnyaneshwari In Nutshell - 174 pages/
₹ 239/-
Available as Printed book on Pothi.com at
https://pothi.com/pothi/book/vibhakar-v-lele-swami-yogeshwarananda-dnyaneshwari-nutshell
**
ii. As e-book on Pothi.com as ebook8225 at Rs. 50/-
*****

“Human beings do the actions, and the results come according to the law of nature – the Lord has nothing to do with it. So when people are in trouble, they say: “Oh God, what have You done to me? What put this into Your mind?” But the fact is that Náráyańa, God, has done nothing, and had nothing in His mind. You have done something and are suffering the consequences. You are in trouble and you are crying out. Many people are like this. But Náráyańa has done nothing. As you have sown, so you now reap. This is the plain truth,” explains Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti. “So before doing anything you should think carefully, because the action is in your hand, but not the result – that is in the hand of Prakrti (God’s Cosmic Operative Principle – the law of nature). Náráyańa neither performs the action nor administers the results. He simply gives Prakrti the opportunity to work within Her own limited sphere; Prakrti does Her duty accordingly. She does not aim to satisfy either your mind or the mind of anyone else. She only aims to please the mind of Náráyańa. Whatever work Náráyańa has given Her the right to do, that is what She does. She has no right to do more than that.” Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti (1921-1990) was a Tantric guru in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna. He introduced the empowered universal spiritual mantra “Baba Nam Kevalam”, composed a collection of 5018 spiritual songs called Prabháta Saḿgiita, and founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga (“the Path of Bliss”).  –  Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, August 6, 2021.

La Via tradizionale richiede di essere direttamente sperimentata come processo evolutivo concreto, del quale abbiamo testimonianze precise:
“..vi sono sempre stati e vi sono degli esseri che hanno svelato, in quanto lo vivono, e non teoricamente o illusoriamente, questo asserto di verità tradizionale, cosicché la verità è provata sperimentalmente.”
La grandezza dell’Opera è anche l’essere uno strumento a disposizione di tutti coloro che intraprendono la via dello Yoga:
“L’insegnamento della Gītā può essere valido ed essenziale per tutti: occorre meditarlo profondamente, perché lo Yoga di qualunque  forma e grado non può prescindere dalla meditazione. Dalla  corretta meditazione nasce il riconoscimento della retta azione.”
Via di illuminazione dalle molteplici prospettive contenute Tradizione, :
“La Gītā costituisce una Dottrina sintetica (non sincretica) che conduce dalle tenebre alla luce, dalla morte alla vita, dal divenire all’essere, dall’avidyā allo jñāna, dal relativo impermanente all’assoluto incondizionato, dall’apparenza a ciò che é.”
Da cui il sottile ma saldo legame che unisce gli Yogasūtra alla Gītā visibile se ci si pone in modo fattivo nella prospettiva dell’insegnamento tradizionale:
“La Tradizione, con le sue varie scienze, indica la via dell’assoluto e degli universali che va investigata seriamente ed esperita. Lo Yoga è scienza e filosofia, è teoria e pratica, è mente e azione.”

Η παρούσα εργασία επιχειρεί να διερευνήσει την χρήση της γιόγκα στην υποκριτική και την εκπαίδευση του ηθοποιού. Εξετάζει τρία ξεχωριστά παραδείγματα σκηνοθετών από την ιστορία του θεάτρου: Κονσταντίν Στανισλάβσκι, Γέρζι Γκροτόφσκι και Μιχαήλ Τσέχοφ. Το πρώτο μέρος της εργασίας εξετάζει τη σχέση των σκηνοθετών αυτών με το σύστημα της γιόγκα, αλλά και τον τρόπο που αυτή απορροφήθηκε και χρησιμοποιήθηκε στο ξεχωριστό τους μονοπάτι του κάθε ενός όσον αφορά την εκπαίδευση του ηθοποιού. Το δεύτερο μέρος αναλύει πιο λεπτομερώς τις συγκεκριμένες τεχνικές και ιδέες που αντλήθηκαν μέσα από τη δεξαμενή της γιόγκα. Ταυτόχρονα γίνεται μια απόπειρα εμβάθυνσης αλλά και ανάδειξης της χρησιμότητας της γιόγκα στην υποκριτική και στην εκπαίδευση του ηθοποιού.

Svāmī Rāma  (Brij Kiśore Dhasmana) sin da giovane ha seguito l’insegnamento del suo Maestro, Bangali Baba, che l’ha fatto viaggiare tra vari Templi dove ha ricevuto insegnamenti di altri Maestri, incluso il Gran Maestro che viveva in una remota regione del Tibet. E’ stato uno dei primi Yogī le cui facoltà sono state oggetto di studi scientifici in occidente. Fondatore dell’Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, ha altresì dato stimolo alla realizzazione di una struttura ospedaliera nel nord dell’India (Dehradun) al servizio di milioni di persone povere che vivono in prossimità delle montagne

This first article, in a series of two, explicates some of the tacit connections and practical ways in which practitioners of global yoga come to unwittingly support a Hindu supremacist ideology. This occurs through the shared assumptions found within the Sanskrit episteme. I argue that a banal, fetishised consumption of Sanskrit-inspired, yoga-inflected lifestyles, can, and often does, lead to banal support of Hindu supremacist ideology, which has consequences for the unwitting, individual consumer of global yoga. This is because the Hindu supremacist agenda includes the utopian aspiration to create a pan-global Hindu theocratic state, which is eerily similar to ISIS's caliphate. If an individual participates in the global yoga phenomenon in some way, does this leave them susceptible to becoming an unwitting supporter of a violent Hindu nationalist ideology? And, does this make them a yoga fundamentalist? One of the more pressing matters involves clarifying the link(s) between the consumption of yoga-inflected lifestyles and the potential for banal support of a Hindu supremacist ideology. My main argument is that an individual does not need to be aware of a Hindu supremacist ideology to, at least tacitly, support it. The unwitting support occurs through the affective sharing of symbols, narratives, histories, and practices. It is through the consumption of fetishised, Hindu-inspired objects of worship, like the ubiquitous presence of Hindu deities in yoga studies, and the use of Sanskrit prayers (mantra-s), expressions, practices, and identities, which exposes the consumer of global yoga, first to a Hindu idiom, and possibly later, to supremacist ideology.

It appears online, in a slightly modified version, here: http://www.politicaltheology.com/blog/yoga-practitioners-and-the-unspoken-global-aspirations-of-indian-ethno-nationalism-patrick-mccartney/

Tato práce se zabývá problémem charakteru  „dokonalého těla“ (siddhadéha) v jógových textech a dokládá, že dosavadní bádání, které považuje toto a další podobná těla (božské, jógové, diamantové atd.) za nemateriální a duchovní, se nejspíše mýlí,  a že jógové texty předpokládají dosažení nesmrtelnosti ve fyzickém těle.

Studie byla původně připravena pro 3. mezinárodní religionistickou konferenci Central European Religious Studies s tématem „Náboženství a tělo“, která se konala 11.–12. října 2005 na Ústavu religionistiky FF MU v Brně. Na konferenci samotné byl představen pouze krátký souhrn tohoto příspěvku, a jelikož jeho písemná verze výrazně přesáhla povolený rozsah, nemohla být zařazena do konferenčního sborníku. Protože byla z větší části později vydána anglicky (pod názvem „Perfected Body, Divine Body and Other Bodies in the Nātha-Siddha Sanskrit texts“ ) nehodlám ji již nikde publikovat, a poskytuji ji proto (bez jakýchkoli oprav, úprav a doplnění, tedy v původní podobě z r. 2005) volně k dispozici na stránkách academia.edu.

The purpose of the study was intended to assess the effect of yogic and physical exercises on leg explosive strength and agility, for this purpose hundred fifty students studying in various classes of Government high school Nagathan of Vijayapaur in Karnataka state in age group of 14-16 years were selected. They were divided into three equal groups, each group consist of fifty subjects, in which group-I underwent yoga practices, group-II underwent physical exercises and group –III acted as control group who were not allowed to participated and receive any special treatment apart from their regular curriculum classes, the training period for this study was six days a week for twelve weeks, the before and after the training period, the subjects were tested for leg explosive strength and agility ability. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to find out which group has better in performance, whenever F ratio for adjusted test was found to be significant for adjusted post-test means Scheffees test was followed, as a post hoc to determine which of the paired means differ significantly. It was drawn conclusions that after the training of yoga and physical exercise both training has improved leg explosive strength and agility, significant increases found in explosive strength among the physical exercise group comparing their counterpart and agility has ability has been increased in the physical exercises comparing to yoga group.

Carol Salomon dedicated over thirty years of her life to researching, translating, and annotating this compilation of songs by the Bengali poet and mystical philosopher Lālan Sāi (popularly transliterated Lalon) who lived in the village of Cheuriya in Bengal in the latter half of the nineteenth century. One major objective of his lyrical riddles was to challenge the restrictions of cultural, political, and sexual identity, and his songs accordingly express a longing to understand humanity, its duties, and its ultimate destiny. His songs also contain thinly veiled references to esoteric yogic practices (sādhana), including body-centered Haṭhayogic techniques that are related to those found in Buddhist, Kaula, Nātha, and Sufi medieval tantric literature.

Dr. Salomon's translation of the work is the first dedicated English translation of Lālan's songs to closely follow the Bangla text, with all of its dialectical variations, and is here produced alongside the original text. Although her untimely death left her work unpublished, the editors have worked diligently to reconstruct her translations from her surviving printed and handwritten manuscripts. The result is a finished product that can finally share her groundbreaking scholarship on Bāul traditions with the world.

In Iyengar yoga we shape our bodies with the outward form of each asana but the practice of asana also requires that we observe our relationship to what we are doing – the quality of our actions. Once the form of each asana is learnt and becomes familiar, what becomes more apparent to the practitioner is the changing nature of concentration, moods and energy levels. How many times, for example, have you gone to practice only to find yourself mentally resistant or unable to concentrate-unwilling in fact. A student will often postpone their practice until their interest levels are higher but in terms of the relationship to the practice, this unwillingness needs to be questioned. Coming to understand this question is really about coming to understand yourself. Practice should involve the deeper question of who am I, and what drives me, if it is not to become a physical exercise used only to make you feel good. This could be likened to merely looking for pleasant sensation or comfort. Just as erratic practice can become an avoidance of the difficult issues within one's practice, changing teachers can entail the same. By the nature of their own practice, the teacher is intimately involved with their own process and development and yet a student may only wish to hear the instructions of how to do each asana-its points. The knowledge the student seeks is assumed to be contained in the verbal instructions (points) used to describe each asana and so the student tries to gather these points. Psychologically, however, they are training themselves to gather information as though " truth " were a static thing. Discovery is seeing the interconnectedness of things-the linking or relationship. For example-the way focus and attention affect the experience of the asana, or the way the breath interacts with sensation. Without learning to be in your own process, points in asana practice are of no use. You cannot look outward to understand the internal environment and so the use of points should reflect the linking of attention to experience. A teacher uses points as a way of expressing, in words, their own experience of this interconnectedness. Because the asanas are so elegant and practice is a graceful art, students often try hard to do well. They apply effort and willpower in an attempt to learn. These qualities will take the body so far, but as the practice continues it becomes apparent that these two qualities have a residue in the muscles-they tighten and contract. Thus more effort is needed with diminishing results. Below I would like to outline some central concepts in relation to learning with a teacher. Learning There are three stages in the learning process. To be fed, to discriminate, to think. To be fed Initially the teacher informs the student, showing them the shape and form of each pose, while the student watches the teacher closely to adapt their senses to the task of learning. Home practice is commenced. At this stage the student is totally reliant on the teacher. Discrimination As the student progresses the teacher should not continue to provide all the impetus for the student, because the student has to learn to discriminate using the tools and experience passed on from the teacher. This second stage is crucial in the development of a yogi and requires the student to deepen their commitment to home practice; it is a personalising of the art. Various challenges come to the student whether it be finding time to practice, interest levels or an injury. These can be seen as problems or challenges which require careful observation. An injury or physical difficulty often throws the student into fear and uncertainty. They must fall back on their experience and skills of inquiry to realign themselves-it is sensitivity not just information that is needed. Too often an injury overwhelms the

Draft of book in writing by Vibhakar Lele, BE, BSc, LLB, based upon his English book Autobiography of A Natha Siddha Yogi/ Marathi book Eka Natha Siddha Yogyache Atmavritta. This book is i Hindi for the benefit of majority of other Hindi speaking Indians by tha famous writer on Yoga in interesting details that one is unlikely to gain from any other sources.
*******
`एका नाथसिद्ध योग्याचे आत्मवृत्त' (मराठी में) और Autobiography of A Natha Siddha Yogi (A Mystique's Travails) (अंग्रेजी में रूपांतरण) यह मेरी पुस्तकें प्रसिद्ध हो चुकी। दोनों का वाचक-सज्जनों ने स्वागत किया। अब ऐसी इच्छा हो रही थी की हिंदी भाषिक सज्जनों के लिये भी उन की हिंदी भाषिक आवृत्ती क्यों न सिद्ध की जाएँ। किंतु उस में एक दुविधा थी कि कौन करेगा यह काम? मेरा हिंदी भाषा का ज्ञान व उपयोग इतना तो नहीं है कि मैं स्वयं इस शिवधनु को पेल सकूँ! और किसी को वह सौंपना भी तो दुष्कर था। फिर सोचा कि कैसे भी क्यों न हो, मैं ही इसे करने में लग जाऊँ। बाकी होना न होना भगवदिच्छा!

मेरे लिये यह एक बहुत कष्ट का काम है। अपितु मैं उसे अब हाथ में ले चुका हूँ। मेरा सामर्थ्य सीमित होने के बावजूद भी सर्व शक्तिमान श्री भगवान जी उसे मेरे हाथों पूरा करायेंगे ही, इस विश्वास के साथ आगे बढते बढते, आखिर कर यह हो ही गया। अब इस का मूल्यमापन आप समस्त वाचक सज्जनों पर मै सेंप देता हूँ। जो भी हो सका, वह आप स्वनामधन्य श्रीकृष्णपरमात्मा की कृपा से ही, यह मेरी दृढ श्रद्धा है। यह ग्रंथाकृती आप परमात्मा को ही सादर प्रेमपूर्वक कृतज्ञता भाव से समर्पण! इस की क्षतिपूर्ती आप ही करवा लेंगे यह विनित भाव से की हुई प्रार्थना के साथ।
*****
यह पुस्तक लेखक के खुद के विस्तृत अनुभवों के आधार पर लिखी हुई है, जो राजयोग याने कुंडलिनीयोग के बारे में है। यह योगशास्त्र की जानी मानी प्रणाली है, जिसे महायोग के नाम से भी पहिचाना जाता है, जिस से उस का योगप्रणालियों में अपना ऊँचा और परम स्थान सहज ही दिखाई देता है। इस में लेखांकित घटनाएँ किसी एक योगी की जीवनी में सत्य ही घटी हुई है।

इस पुस्तक की मराठी तथा अंग्रेजी आवृत्तियों को वाचकों की बडे पैमाने पर feedback मिल रही है। कम से कम 1500-2000 वाचकों ने इसे देखा है और 500 से अधिकों ने उन्हें डाउनलोड किया है। कितने ही वाचकों ने उन के बारे में समाधान व्यक्त किया है। उन में से अनेक वाचक लेखक के घर पर उसे मिलने भी आये है।

यह एक योगी की साधक दशा से सिद्ध दशा तक की हुई यात्रा की कहानी है। Practising साधकों को शायद मार्गदर्शन मिल सके तथा जो योगशास्त्र अथवा पूर्वीय संस्कृति संबंधित विषयों का संशोधन या अभ्यास करनेवाले है उन्हें लाभ हो, इन हेतुओं को लेकर इसे यथातथ्य कथन किया है।

यह विवरण धर्म निरपेक्ष है। प्रत्येक व्यक्ति को, जो ईश्वरत्व की राह पर चल रहा हो, अपितु मंजिल की पहिली पैती पर ही सही, उस का कौन सा भी धर्म हो, इस पुस्तक से बहुत कुछ सिखने को मिल सकेगा। कौन से भी धर्म के संतों को इस राह पर प्रारंभ से लेकर आखिर की अवस्था तक कौन से अनुभव आते है, यह इसे पढनेवाले वाचक समझ पायेंगे। 

इस पुस्तक में प्राच्य आध्यात्मिक ज्ञान अपनी पूरी यथार्थता व प्रायोगिक निर्देशन के साथ वाचक गण पायेंगे। इस का मूल उस गुह्य ज्ञान में है जिसे योगिजन सामान्य जनों से हमेशा छुपाये रखते है। प्राच्य विद्या के पंडित भी इस से बहुत कुछ सीख सकेंगे ऐसी आशा है। इस में योगविद्या की रहस्यमयी कुंडलिनी शक्ति के साथ, अनेक घटनायें उन के रहस्यों तथा प्रत्यक्ष अनुभवों के समेत स्पष्ट की हुई है। इसे उन सर्व वाचकों को पढना चाहिये जो योग तथा कुंडलिनी के रहस्यों में रुचि रखते है, जिन्हें सिद्ध योगिजन कदाचित ही प्रकट करते है। 

इस पुस्तक के लेखक, विभाकर लेले महोदय, नाथ संप्रदाय के सिद्ध योगी धारा से है, जो संतश्रेष्ठ श्रीमान योगिराज ज्ञानेश्वर महाराज से अक्षुण्ण सी चली आ रही है। आप ने उस में ऐसे भी कई योग रहस्य विदित किये है, जो उन के निजी है और जिन्हें योग की राह पर चलते हुए स्वयं अनुभव लेकर जाने है। आप की यह पुस्तक शक्तिपात तथा Kriyaयोग के और जिन्हें गुरू या अन्य किसी का मार्गदर्शन उपलब्ध नहीं है, उन सब साधकों के लिये उपयुक्त है।

और भी एक चीज है। उस में एक महत्त्वपूर्ण विभाग है। महाराष्ट्र के श्रेष्ठ संत श्री ज्ञानेश्वर महाराज की जो गीता पर लिखी हुई टीका श्री ज्ञानेश्वरी है, उस के आधार पर यह पुस्तक गीता के योग तथा तत्त्वज्ञान पर प्रकाश डालती है। पुस्तक में नौसिखियों के लिये यौगिक दृष्टिकोण की तथा बहुत ही महत्त्वपूर्ण रहस्यमयी कुंडलिनी की समीक्षा तथा आलोचना भी की है।

लोक जिसे जीवन (Life) कहते है, उस का विज्ञान ठीक तरह से स्पष्टीकरण आज तक नहीं कर सका है। यह पुस्तक आम तौर पर गूढ तथा अज्ञात की लालसा को भी तृप्त कर सकेगी, ऐसी आशा है, जिसे आधुनिक विज्ञान ने अभी तक स्पर्श भी नहीं किया है। वह अपने में जीवन तथा विश्व की पहेली पर भी योगियों तथा भारतीय तत्त्वज्ञानीओं द्वारा सुस्पष्ट की गई धारणाएं प्रकाशित करती है। 

वाचक जनों को नम्र विनति है की इस पुस्तक में थोडा झांक के भी क्यों न देखे कि उस का उचित मूल्यांकन आप कर सके। यह चीज जीवनभर पास में रखने लायक है, जिसे अगली पिढीओं तक आप पहुँचा सकते हो, उस खरे ज्ञान के लिये जो दिखा सकता है कि 'हम कौन है' और 'हम उस साम्राज्य को कैसे प्राप्त कर ले, जो हमारा खुद का ही है', निर्वाण कहो, या मोक्ष कहो, सुगति, या अन्य किसी नाम से जानो उसे जिस से आप उसे पहचानते हो, स्वर्ग, और देवत्व, या और ही कोई।

अन्य कई लोकों की तरह, जिन्हों ने इस पुस्तक को पढा है, आप भी इसे रोचक तो पाओगे ही, और साथ साथ वह ऐसा एक गूढ आयाम आप के लिये खोलेगा जिस में इस मृत्युलोक के मानवी जीवन के सर्व रहस्य आप जान सकेंगे। जिन्हें यौगिक अनुभवों की जिज्ञासा है, वह भी उसे तृप्त कर सकेंगे। और तो और! जिन साधकों को योगधारा के कोई अनुभव हो रहे है, उन्हें तो उन की गूढता का आधार तथा तथ्य समझ पाने में सुविधा होकर वह भी समाधान पा सकेंगे, ऐसी आशा है। प्रस्तुत लेखक महोदय को अगर ऐसा हो सका तो बडी खुशियाँ होंगी।

आप लेखक महोदय कहते है कि अगर वास्तव में वाचकों के योग तथा गीता-ज्ञानेश्वरी के ज्ञान में इस पुस्तक द्वारा कुछ वृद्धि हो सके, उन के इन प्रयत्नों को ऐसा थोडा भी फल मिल सका, तो वह मान जायेंगे कि जिस कारण उसे प्रकाशित किया है, दयालु भगवान की कृपा से वह उद्देश्य सफल हुआ।

This paper is an in-depth exploration of the modern school of yoga popularly known as Kundalini Yoga As Taught By Yogi Bhajan (KYATBYB). The practice will be examined in its political, historical, and religious dimensions, as compared with other movements within Modern Postural Yoga and their historical precedents and as compared with other expressions of yoga within Sikh history. Yogi Bhajan’s influences will be explored, and the work of other critical authors will be revisited and revised where new information has come to light. Yogi Bhajan’s many inspirations will be laid out in detail, including the various political and interpersonal rivalries that may have shaped his path. Ultimately, the mind of the late Yogi Bhajan is unknowable, but those indelible fingerprints of the past that can be discerned will serve as a jumping off point by which the historical dimensions of the practice may be better understood.

This conference presentation explores the introduction of yoga to Russia through the travelogues of the co-founder of the Theosophical Society, Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891). The paper compares Blavatsky's views on yoga as a postural and spiritual practice with those of Swami Vivekananda and others in the context of emerging interest in yoga in the West.

The c. eleventh century CE Amṛtasiddhi conceives of a bindu-oriented (semen) model of the yogic body which may be leveraged for yogic ends. Verse 7.8 teaches bindu to be of two kinds: bīja is male bindu, rajas is female bindu; when united internally, one is a yogi. This paper reads the bindu passage in the Amṛtasiddhi to explore the function of bindu and rajas in this text: the conception of these constructs as physical and psycho-spiritual power substances, the methods with which they are to be manipulated, and the ends towards which this effort is directed. In order to probe the nature of the female element, rajas, the paper will seek to historicise the bindu-rajas oriented model within textual precedents such as Āyurveda and bring the Amṛtasiddhi into conversation with the later haṭhayoga corpus.

The characterisation of rajas is a key aspect of the overall research project which is to study constructions of gender within the premodern haṭhayoga corpus. Gendered yogic body models are both esoteric and corporeal, where the female principle is at once physical and power substance - generative, divine, and impure. An overarching research question is the extent to which gendered models are generated by socio-historical factors or have an inherent function in haṭhayoga’s soteriology. The project considers the scope of gender as an explanatory model in researching haṭhayoga and what these findings can illuminate of the lacuna of female practitioners.

Tratto da:
Pātañjala Yogasūtrāṇi
Le fondamenta:Yama e Niyama
Il ‘punto di vista’ Yoga Vol II – terza edizione
A cura di Fabio Milioni
YCP 2020,
ISBN | 979-12-20306-83-6
Pgg. 371-413


Yama, Niyama e salute della popolazione
Yoga-terapia e Āyurveda
Yoga e Āyurveda nell’insegnamento di Śrī Svāmī Sivananda
Yoga-terapia e il Ministero Indiano AYUSH
Yama e Niyama nella Yoga-terapia secondo la IAYT
Yoga-terapia in Francia
Yoga-terapia in Germania
Yoga-terapia in Gran Bretagna
Yoga-terapia in Giappone
Yoga-terapia in Australia
Yoga-terapia in Italia
Yama e Niyama nello stress-management
Yama e Niyama nello Yoga Nidrā
Riflessioni provvisorie sulla Yoga-terapia.

Bozza preliminare dal testo:
Dall’Uno della Tradizione ai Sistemi Aperti
Patañjali Yogasūtra – Il ‘punto di vista’ Yoga Vol I -Yama e Niyama, i Doveri (astensioni e osservanze) III^ ed. in corso di preparazione.
dal Capitolo: I commentatori moderni degli Yogasūtra

The ancient science of Yoga shows the way to reclaim mastery of our emotions. By recognizing painful conditions of alienation, guilt, self-hatred, addiction, fear and the destructive habits associated with these perceptions and by developing new healthy habits, negative emotions can be gradually thinned out and replaced with positive ones. Some indications of “emotional strength” addressed by the Yoga discipline are: the ability to concentrate and remove distractions from the mind; to express compassion by listening and seeing the Divine in all; to be a witness of our thoughts and choose the thoughts we want to nourish and those we want to transform; to act from awareness, rather than to emotionally react; to be established in contentment and gratitude for gifts in this life; not allowing our happiness to depend on external conditions; to maintain nonviolence, truth, control of senses; to restrain from habits of stealing and greed; and to constantly remember God.

“The true devotees love the world, the society and everything around because they perceive each and every manifestation of the artful Prakrti (Supreme Creative Power) with one universal spirit. They also love the finite, since it is also a portion of the Universal. They perceive worldly pleasures as divine bliss varied by time, place and person. They keep their mind-stuff absorbed in the eternal currents of the divine flow. Such devoted aspirants are the only true enjoyers or rasika and their object of enjoyment is the Supreme Brahma (God).” Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti (1921-1990) was a Tantric guru in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna. He introduced the empowered universal spiritual mantra “Baba Nam Kevalam”, composed a collection of 5018 spiritual songs called Prabháta Saḿgiita, and founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga (“the Path of Bliss”).  –  Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, August 18, 2021.

ABSTRACT
Yoga has being playing a vital role in today’s times, especially in the area of stress management. Through this conceptual paper there has been an attempt to draw light upon the latest yogic practice of Chandra Namaskar or Moon Salutation. Using the lunar energy to clam, distress and refresh the mind and body. Practice of Chandra namaskar helps to maintain a balance of heat and cold energies, and control the levels of water and salt within the body. The philosophical idea behind this entire topic is similar to the Chinese ying and yan  ideology of maintaining a balance between the various sources of energies, here the balance is between the solar and the lunar energy that provide heating and cooling of the body, mind and emotions respectively. As the Chandra namaskars is a 20th century concept it is not as popular as the surya namaskar or the sun salutations. This entire paper tries to bring out the benefits, methods and usage of lunar energy for the wellbeing of human health.

Key Word: Chandra Namaskar