There are many spiritually elevated people con the world, but not many levitating yogis: and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are meant onesto elevate the spirit of every man, not to teach him how to levitate. This is clearly the gospel of enlightened living, neither and escape from life nor a hallucinatory ‘light’. The attempt durante this little book has been onesto expose that gospel, to avoid technicalities, and onesto relate the whole yoga philosophy sicuro the ordinary and simple daily life of everyone.

There are many excellent translations of the Sutras: this, however, is an interpretative translation

There are several scholarly and erudite commentaries, too: this is definitely not one of them. This book is not meant for the research scholar but for one who is mediante search of truth which shall free him from self-ignorance.

He is the author of the Srimad Bhagavatam or Book of God, The Bhagavad Giro or The Song of God, and the translation of Yoga Vasistha or the Supreme Yoga.

Swami Venkatesananda lived the spirit of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and the many series of talks he gave on this subject con Australia, South Africa, Germany, Canada, etc., have inspired many to take up the practice of Raja Yoga.

His New Interpretative Translation of the Yoga Sutras, ENLIGHTENED LIVING (published by the Children Yoga Privativa of South Africa con 1975) is regarded as verso springboard puro the understanding of the Sutras. It has been incorporated per this present publication.

Swami Venkatesananda spoke equally puro both men and women, and his use of the masculine pronouns ‘he’ and ‘him’ does not exclude the feminine. It is, in fact, shorthand for ‘human being’! He did not feel it necessary puro distinguish between dolore and female, and the editor has continued the tradition sopra this publication.

In this book, ‘yoga’ has been recognized as per word con common usage, and as such has not been italicized.

Swami Venkatesananda, who has been working untiringly for decades onesto spread the life-giving message of Yoga and Vedanta per East and West, has done verso great service sicuro spiritual seekers far and wide

There are many spiritually elevated people in the world, but not many levitating yogis: and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Maharsi are meant puro elevate the spirit of every man, not onesto teach him how puro levitate. This is clearly the gospel of enlightened living, neither an escape from life nor per hallucinatory ‘light’. The attempt sopra this little book has been puro expose that gospel, puro avoid technicalities, and puro relate the whole yoga philosophy to the ordinary and simple daily life of everyone.

There are very many excellent translations of the Sutras: this, however, is an interpretative translation. There are several scholarly and erudite commentaries, too: this is definitely not one of them. This book is not meant for the research scholar but for one who is per search of truth which shall free him from self-ignorance.

The incisive language of the Sutras cannot be preserved mediante translation. An extraordinary feature of the Sutras is the avoidance of direct commandments, dogmatic assertions and the use of adroite voice. Whereas every effort has been made puro retain the structure of the text, per per few cases (for example, con Sutra I. 49) slight changes have had to be made sicuro sustain the easy flow of thought. (The words which represent the translation of the text are underlined.) Anyone who translates a text which is in the Sanskrit language is confronted by two difficulties: (a) not all languages have concise words or phrases which accurately convey the exact sense mediante which the Sanskrit word is used per the text; and (b) the Sanskrit word is used per the text; and (b) the Sanskrit word itself has verso number of when the word is used in per structurally complete prose or verse, than when it occurs in the Sutras . From per cursory glance at the very many available translations of the Sutras it is easy esatto see that each one has translated some Sutras differently, without being unfaithful sicuro the text.