Swami Kriyanandas the Art and Science of Raja Yoga
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Raja yoga--the "majestic" yoga, or the "king'due south" yoga--is traditionally the yoga that comes after hatha yoga. In the Patanjali sutras it is sometimes associated with the limbs of yoga beginning with pratyahara (sense withdrawal) and concluding with samadhi, with the earlier limbs of yama, niyama (ethical considerations), asana (physical posture), and pranayama (breath command) understood equally preparatory. All the same aught in yoga is that clear cut, and some see the in
Primarily for devotees of the SwamiRaja yoga--the "royal" yoga, or the "male monarch'southward" yoga--is traditionally the yoga that comes after hatha yoga. In the Patanjali sutras it is sometimes associated with the limbs of yoga commencement with pratyahara (sense withdrawal) and concluding with samadhi, with the earlier limbs of yama, niyama (ethical considerations), asana (physical posture), and pranayama (breath control) understood equally preparatory. However zippo in yoga is that clear cutting, and some see the initial limbs of yama and niyama as part of the essential teachings of raja yoga, while others (myself included) see raja yoga equally a continuation of hatha yoga and in no way separate. Swami Kriyananda (who was J. Donald Walters) presents in this book an elaborate yoga program that includes the Patanjali catechism and much besides. Unfortunately (for me at least) much too much of the book is devoted to Kriyananda'southward personal and highly religious, mysterious, pseudo-scientific and murky ideas that are essentially inapplicable to the ancient art and practice of yoga.
To give y'all an idea of how Kriyananda'due south perceptions and mine differ consider this: In an "Author's Prefatory Note" Kriyananda explains why he uses "he" throughout the text instead of "he or she" or the often non-grammatical "they." He finds such usages "cumbersome" noting that he refuses to think in terms of "pants" or "skirts" when he is addressing the "homo being, stripped of sexual considerations." This is fine, indeed, admirable. However on page 23 he writes, "Archaic peoples, every bit all men are believed to have been..." when he could accept just as easily accept written "...every bit all people are believed to have been..." I am persuaded that Kriyananda's text, which serves as the ground for what he calls "Part II of the Ananda Grade in Self-Realization" is a text that he didn't want to change, perhaps for applied reasons, and found a justification for the sexist linguistic communication instead. Since the text was apparently written many years agone (Sheila Rush in her Foreword, indicates on page 13 that she read it 21 years agone) and considering that Kriyananda has been teaching yoga for over 50 years, his reluctance is understandable. Withal other parts of the text suffer from a similarly blowsy and no longer feasible view of yoga and its history.
For instance he speaks of the superiority of the ancients in terms of their having attained "far greater heights of noesis than we have reached so far in our civilisation." He gives equally examples, "ancient, supposedly mythological, accounts of flight vehicles, fifty-fifty of interplanetary travel." And he refers to "an ancient manuscript in India that has survived to this day, in which the lives of many thousands, perchance millions, of people were recorded in detail." He notes that "most of these people had not yet been built-in." He adds, "I found my ain life accurately described--even to my correct name and birthplace--in this work, including predictions of time to come events that take since come up to pass." (All of this on page 25.) On the post-obit page, Kriyananda informs us that equally the lord's day moves closer to the galactic center "mankind every bit a whole becomes more enlightened."
In improver to this sort of unnecessary mysticism, the text is also highly religious in a fashion that I find inimical to the spirit of the yoga of Patanjali or the yoga of B.K.Southward. Iyengar, or that of the Gheranda-Samhita and the Hathayogapradipika, or that of the Katha Upanishad, or even that of the sacred Bhagavad Gita. The postures demonstrated throughout the volume by a sometimes smile adept, are captioned with what are prayerful exaltations. Above the Supta-Vajrasana (what he calls "the Spine Firm Pose") on page 265 are the words, "With at-home religion, I open to Thy Light." Or on page 335 captioning Sirshasana (the headstand) are the words, "I am He! I am He! Beatific Spirit, I am He!"
So exist aware that this is a religious book equally much every bit, or even more so, than it is a work on raja yoga. The religious orientation is Hindu which is understandable since it is very difficult to separate yoga from Hinduism; all the same Kriyananda does not endeavour. That is not his intent. Indeed he tries to show that yoga is an integral part of other religions including Christianity. For example on page 402 he writes, "In Genesis 3:24 we read of the tree of life. The reference is to the spine." This yogic interpretation is a bit forced and typical of much of the world view presented herein.
All of this is not to say that at that place is not much of value in this work. It is just that the insights and understanding that Kriyananda has of yoga are eclipsed past the intent of his religious message, a message primarily intended for the resident students of his Ananda Village well-nigh Nevada City, California.
Instead of this volume, as ever I would recommend Iyengar'southward Light on Yoga for the serious student. And for those wanting to know more about the history and civilisation of yoga, I would recommend works by Georg Feuerstein and Mircea Eliade.
--Dennis Littrell, author of "Yoga: Sacred and Profane (Beyond Hatha Yoga)"
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Kriyananda (born James Donald Walters; May 19, 1926, Azuga – Apr 21, 2013, Assisi) was a direct disciple of the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda, and the founder of the Ananda, a worldwide movement of spiritual intentional communities based on Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies ideal. Yogananda fabricated Walters a minister for his system, Cocky-Realization Fellowship (
See also: J. Donald WaltersKriyananda (born James Donald Walters; May 19, 1926, Azuga – April 21, 2013, Assisi) was a directly disciple of the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda, and the founder of the Ananda, a worldwide motion of spiritual intentional communities based on Yogananda's World Brotherhood Colonies ideal. Yogananda fabricated Walters a minister for his organization, Cocky-Realization Fellowship (SRF).
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