MACMILLAN The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Just what I needed.

Wonderful read

L'autore interpreta i vari sutra con l'aiuto dei più importanti commentari esistenti: libro fondamentale solo per i veri studiosi del raja yoga, lo yoga della meditazione

In my opinion, this is the best book in English on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. If you are a student of Yoga, you should definitely buy this book and thoroughly digest it. Bryant gives an academically rigorous, yet respectful view of the Yoga Sutras. He doesn't offer (too many) interpretations of his own, though it is clear that he is a practitioner of yoga himself (and especially drawn towards the Vaishnavaite viewpoint). Instead, he bases his work entirely on the classical commentaries of vyAsa, vAchaspati mishra, bhoja rAja, shankara, vijnAna bhikShu, and hariharAnanda. He even mentions al-Biruni's commentary on the Yoga Sutras in places. His presentation is very modern, so modern readers will find it easy to follow the language of the book. And yet, he uses the classical Sanskrit technical terms, which is a huge help as many of these terms don't have exact English translations. I often find that foreign authors shy away from classical Sanskrit terms for the fear of putting off their readers. This is usually a mistake, because, after all, Sanskrit terms are not foreign to the English language (e.g., karma, dharma, mokSha, nirvANa, etc.), and they are usually easy to pronounce. But more importantly, they convey the accurate sense of the intended concept. As Bryant says in his introduction, the author's aim was to write a book that gives an academically rigorous and yet readable book on the Yoga Sutras that will be of interest to both practitioners and scholars alike. In my oipnion he has succeeded in his goal splendidly. I would suggest that a serious student of yoga read a book such as this (i.e., a compilation of the viewpoints by classical commentators) along with the experiential account of a bona fide modern practitioner of yoga (such as BKS Iyengar, Satchidananda, or Vivekananda). These two types of books (i.e., the practitioner's and the scholar's views) give you the full picture of the true import of Patanjali's work. Of course, a complete understanding will take direct lessons from an accomplished guru in addition to your own practice. But books will have to suffice until we meet these two sources of knowledge. Bryant's book will be a great help to anyone in their yoga journey. Just go ahead and buy it. You won't regret doing so.

A key translation and interpretation of Yoga Sutras. It's my go to reference book on the subject of Yoga. The author is a scholar who has compared and cross referenced multiple interpretations of important scholars from the past. He has such depth of understanding of various Indic systems and brings together complex ideas in simple words. Must read for anyone interested in spiritual growth.