The Yoga Sutras of Pata}}jali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary [Paperback]

A landmark new translation and edition

Written almost two millennia ago, Pata?jali's work focuses on how to attain the direct experience and realization of thepurusa: the innermost individual self, or soul. As the classical treatise on the Hindu understanding of mind and consciousness and on the technique of meditation, it has exerted immense influence over the religious practices of Hinduism in India and, more recently, in the West.

Edwin F. Bryant's translation is clear, direct, and exact. Each sutra is presented as Sanskrit text, transliteration, and precise English translation, and is followed by Bryant's authoritative commentary, which is grounded in the classical understanding of yoga and conveys the meaning and depth of the su-tras in a user-friendly manner for a Western readership without compromising scholarly rigor or traditional authenticity. In addition, Bryant presents insights drawn from the primary traditional commentaries on the sutras written over the last millennium and a half.

A superb contribution to the secondary literature onyoga. Critically grounded in the scholarship onyogaand the rich textual history of the tradition, Bryant nevertheless succeeds in transcending both the excessively technical approaches toyogascholarship as well as much of the popular nonsense aboutyogain the proliferating schools' in the New Age marketplace. Bryant impressively communicates the essentials ofyogaphilosophy and practice to the thoughtful but non-specialist general reader. His translations from the Sanskrit are precise and well-grounded, and his interpretations are provocative and persuasive. His book will surely be welcomed by both serl3&