Review: How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

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How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali by Prabhavananda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the older translations, one with much simple language and none of the more convoluted esoteric diction seen in some of the newer age, self-help tomes taking inspiration from spiritual texts.

At the beginning of the book, the translators explain how, since Sanskrit followed an oral tradition of passing down knowledge from teacher to student, a lot of the Yoga Aphorism were more of a shorthand that mentors would then expand upon using their own knowledge and sensibilities. This approach appears efficient and contrary to what one might think, helps preserve the pith of the message better.

There are some parts of the book which deal with supposed real-life instances of 'abilities' that the practitioners of Yoga acquire. But to those who're interested in learning a structured approach to Yoga and the Sanatana principles that it represents, are best to stick to the actual interpretations.

A good book, one which I hope to revisit in the future.

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