The Yoga Tradition

by Feuerstein, Georg

• ISBN13: 9781890772185
• ISBN10: 1890772186
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-01
• Publisher: Scb Distributors

Table of Contents

Blessing	xi
Sri Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Foreword	xiii
Ken Wilber
Preface	xv
Acknowledgments	xxi
Transliteration and Pronunciation of Sanskrit Words	xxiii
Introduction: The Impulse Toward Transcendence	xxv
PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS
Building Blocks	3	(24)
The Essence of Yoga
What's in a Name?---The Term Yoga
Degrees of Self-Transcendence---The Practitioner (Yogin or Yogini)
Guiding Light---The Teacher
Dakshinamurti-Stotra
Learning Beyond the Self---The Disciple
Giving Birth to a New Identity---Initiation
Crazy Wisdom and Crazy Adepts
Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati (Selection)
The Wheel of Yoga	27	(32)
Overview
Raja-Yoga---The Resplendent Yoga of Spiritual Kings
Hatha-Yoga---Cultivating an Adamantine Body
Jnana-Yoga---Seeing with the Eye of Wisdom
Amrita-Bindu-Upanishad
Bhakti-Yoga---The Self-Transcending Power of Love
Bhakti-Sutra of Narada
Karma-Yoga---Freedom in Action
Mantra-Yoga---Sound as a Vehicle of Transcendence
Laya-Yoga---Dissolving the Universe
Integral Yoga---A Modern Synthesis
Yoga and Other Hindu Traditions	59	(32)
A Bird's-Eye View of the Cultural History of India
The Glow of Psychic Power---Yoga and Asceticism
Delight in Nothing---Yoga and the Way of Renunciation
Yoga and Hindu Philosophy
Yoga, Ayur-Veda, and Siddha Medicine
Yoga and Hindu Religion
PART TWO: PRE-CLASSICAL YOGA
Yoga in Ancient Times	91	(32)
History for Self-Understanding
From Shamanism to Yoga
Yoga and the Enigmatic Indus-Sarasvati Civilization
Sacrifice and Meditation---The Ritual Yoga of the Rig-Veda
Rig-Veda (Selection)
Spells of Transcendence---The Magical Yoga of the Artharva-Veda
Atharva-Veda (Selection)
The Mysterious Vratya Brotherhoods
The Whispered Wisdom of the Early Upanishads	123	(16)
Overview
The Brihad-Aranyaka-Upanishad
The Chandogya-Upanishad
The Taittiriya-Upanishad
Other Ancient Upanishads
The Early Yoga-Upanishads
Jaina Yoga: The Teachings of the Victorious Ford-Makers	139	(16)
Historical Overview
The Sacred Literature of Jainism
The Path of Purification
Yoga-Drishti-Samuccaya (Selection)
Yoga in Buddhism	155	(28)
The Birth and Evolution of Buddhism
The Great Teaching of the Small Vehicle---Hinayana Buddhism
The Yogic Path of Hinayana Buddhism
Wisdom and Compassion---The Great Idealism of Mahayana Buddhism
Prajna-Paramita-Hridaya-Sutra
Mahayana-Vimshaka of Nagarjuna
The Jewel in the Lotus---Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism
The Flowering of Yoga	183	(30)
Overview
Heroism, Purity, and Asceticism---The Ramayana of Valmiki
Immortality on the Battlefield---The Mahabharata Epic
The Bhagavad-Gita---Jewel of the Mahabharata
Bhagavad-Gita (Selection)
The Yogic Teachings of the Anu-Gita
The Liberating Gospels of the Mahabharata Epic---The Moksha-Dharma
Moksha-Dharma (Selection)
The Sixfold Yoga of the Maitrayaniya-Upanishad
The Intangible Yoga of the Mandukya-Upanishad
Morality and Spirituality---Pre-Classical Yoga in the Ethical-Legal Literature
PART THREE: CLASSICAL YOGA
The History and Literature of Patanjala-Yoga	213	(26)
Patanjali---Philosopher and Yogin
The Codification of Wisdom---The Yoga-Sutra
Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali
The Elaboration of Wisdom---The Commentarial Literature
The Philosophy and Practice of Patanjala-Yoga	239	(18)
The Chain of Being---Self and World from Patanjali's Perspective
The Eight Limbs of the Path of Self-Transcendence
Liberation
PART FOUR: POST-CLASSICAL YOGA
The Nondualist Approach to God Among the Shiva Worshipers	257	(22)
Overview
The Left-Hand Followers of Shiva---``Skull-Bearers,'' ``Phallus-Wearers,'' and Other Ascetics
The Power of Love---The Shiva Worshipers of the North
Shiva-Sutra of Vasugupta
For the Love of God---The Shiva Worshipers of the South
The Vedantic Approach to God Among the Vishnu Worshipers	279	(16)
God is Love: The Vishnu Worshipers of the North and the South
The Alvars
The Bhagavata-Purana
Uddhava-Gita (Selection)
The Gita-Govinda
The Bhakti-Yoga of the Vaishnava Preceptors
Jnanadeva and Other Saints of Maharashtra
The Minstrel-Saints of Medieval Bengal
Popular Love Mysticism of the North
Yoga and Yogins in the Puranas	295	(8)
The Naked Ascetic
Yogic Teachings in the Puranic Encyclopedias
Markandeya-Purana (Selection)
The Yogic Idealism of the Yoga-Vasishtha	303	(8)
Overview
Mind Only---The Idealistic Approach
The Yogic Path
Yoga-Vasishtha (Selection)
God, Visions, and Power: The Yoga-Upanishads	311	(22)
Overview
Sounding Out the Absolute
Amrita-Nada-Bindu-Upanishad
Sound, Breath, and Transcendence
Photistic Yoga
Advaya-Taraka-Upanishad
Cutting Through the Knots of Ordinary Awareness
Kshurika-Upanishad
Bodily Transmutation---The Upanishads of Hatha-Yoga
Yoga in Sikhism	333	(8)
Overview
The Yoga of Unity
Yoga in Contemporary Sikhism
PART FIVE: POWER AND TRANSCENDENCE IN TANTRISM
The Esotericism of Medieval Tantra-Yoga	341	(40)
Bodily Pleasure and Spiritual Bliss---The Advent of Tantra
The Hidden Reality
Tantric Ritual Practice
The Magic of Powers
Kula-Arnava-Tantra (Selection)
Yoga as Spiritual Alchemy: The Philosophy and Practice of Hatha-Yoga	381	(46)
The Enlightenment of the Body---The Origins of Hatha-Yoga
Walking the Razor's Edge---The Hatha-Yogic Path
The Literature of Hatha-Yoga
Goraksha-Paddhati
Epilogue	427	(2)
Notes	429	(16)
Chronology	445	(8)
Glossary of Key Terms	453	(8)
Select Bibliography	461	(14)
Index	475	(38)
About the Author	513