An Introduction to Yoga

Chapter 2: Foreword

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About This Book

Four lectures introduce yoga as both a metaphysical framework and a practical discipline, arguing that the cosmos and evolution serve the unfolding of the Self and consciousness. The text surveys stages and states of mind, the mental and subtle bodies, samadhi, and connections with Indian philosophical schools, while defining key terms and literature. It classifies methods for approaching the Self, discusses ethical requirements, and treats meditation techniques including seed and non-seed practices, mantras, and attention training. Practical instruction addresses inhibition of mental states, common obstacles and capacities, purification of the bodies, preparatory measures, and the aim of self-realization.

Foreword

These lectures are intended to give an outline of Yoga, in order to prepare the student to take up, for practical purposes, the Sūṭras of Paṭañjali, the chief treatise on Yoga. I have on hand, with my friend Bhagavān Ḍās as collaborateur, a translation of these Sūṭras, with Vyāsa’s commentary, and a further commentary and elucidation written in the light of Theosophy. To prepare the student for the mastering of that more difficult task, these lectures were designed; hence the many references to Paṭañjali. They may, however, also serve to give to the ordinary lay reader some idea of the Science of sciences, and perhaps to allure a few towards its study.

ANNIE BESANT.