Indian Books - Page 6

The Philosophy of Classical Yoga

Georg Feuerstein

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Learn the major philosophical ideas of yoga 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book is for the intermediate to advanced student or teacher of yoga who wishes to understand the definitions and inter-relationships between the concepts of classical yoga. For those interested in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, this text will help you access the ideas that lead to liberation. A clear understanding helps one's spiritual practice. This is a short book that is read slowly and digested. It serves as a reference to review from time to time as well. Enjoy! It would be a good gift for someone who is really into yoga, but not the choice for the novice.

Editorial Review:

This is the first comprehensive and systematic analytical study of the major philosophical concepts of classical yoga. The book consists of a series of detailed discussions of the key concepts used by Pata-jali in his Yoga-Sutra to describe and explain the enigma of human existence and to point a way beyond the perpetual motion of the wheel of becoming. Feuerstein's study differs from previous ones in that it seeks to free Pata-jali's aphoristic statements from the accretions of later interpretations; instead, the author places the Sutra in its original context and sees it as the source of the whole edifice of classical yoga and not just as a summary of previous developments. This book will be of interest to comparative reliogionists, Indologists, and practitioners of yoga who wish to deepen their understanding of its philosophical basis. 

Kama Sutra Of Vatsyayana

Sir Richard Burton

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Interesting glimpse into Indian society 3 out of 5 stars.
8 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Though the KS is infamous as a how-to manual on sex, the section on intercourse is actually quite a small portion of the book. Interesting, but not very scandalous at all; a catalogue of some of the most minor things, down to different kinds of shapes that your teeth leave when you bite your lover. Makes you wonder how some people have this much time. The rest of the KS is a great look into the social and cultural thought of India back then, and is also worth a read.

Most misunderstood book ever 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

This book has a wide reputation among English-speaking readers, especially among those who haven't read it. That explains why its reputation is so completely mistaken.

Vatsyayana's reputation for describing couples' gymnastics comes from just a few pages out of 200 or so. The rest of this book is about all the other social aspects of men and women in each others' company. It emphasizes the "64 arts", a liberal education including literacy and literary games, as well as carpentry, cooking, and other domestic skills. It talks about courtship and courtesanship, monogamy and polygamy, brides and widows, and suasion and seduction. It discusses the dark side of human passion, including capturing the object of one's love by main force. There are even love-charms and potions for ensuring faithfulness.

I'm not forgetting the discussion physical affection. Yes, there are the many ways for a man and woman to come together. A few are familiar, others acrobatically improbable. Vatsyayana pays attention to many kinds of caresses as well. Some, including love-bites, seem suited only to the most passionate of lovers seeking the strongest sensations. Such acts may not appeal to some readers, but the author keeps coming back to the precept that what's right is what's right for the people involved and for their time and place.

Vatsyayana mentions oral sexuality, by and for men, by and for women. He addresses all combinations, but same-sex couples get very little attention. He discusses, in passing, limited use of toys. He also mentions relations with 'eunuchs', apparently a euphemism for homosexual men. I suspect that this confusing usage was introduced by the Victorian translator, sir Richard Burton. I also suspect that the medicinal recipes have lost something in translation. There may be no English words for some plants, but the latin names probably indicate a lot more certainty about species identification than may be justified.

The author has a relatively egalitarian view of women, especially when compared to the Arabic "Perfumed Garden" written over 1000 years later. Still, it's written my a male author for a mostly-male audience. The modern reader must remember that book comes from about the 4th century AD and was translated during the prudish 19th century. It's an historical document; reading it in a modern framework will only cause confusion and detract from the work.

After 1700 years, the Kama Sutra has a lot to say to a modern reader. It reminds us that the best lover is man or woman who has many other skills as well. Parts of the advice are obsolete. Even those parts remind us that relations between men and women are endlessly complex, and that the complexity is part of the joy.

//wiredweird

Editorial Review:

Including a comprehensive detail on the practical aspects of sex, "The Kama Sutra" is a classic guide to the art and skills of sex and love.

From Early Vedanta to Kashmir Shaivism: Gaudapada, Bhartrhari, and Abhinavagupta (Suny Series in Religion Studies)

Natalia Isayeva

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Editorial Review:

This book deals with one of the most interesting periods in the development of Indian religious and philosophical traditions. Starting with the teaching of the proto-vedantist philosopher Gaudapada, and then analyzing the ideas of his famous contemporary, the grammarian Bhartrhari, the author suggests an entirely new approach to the whole history of vedanta.

Gaudapada and Bhartrhari are presented as founders of an independent trend within Indian orthodox philosophy, a trend that culminates later in the theistic tenets of Kashmir Shaivism. Isayeva shows that, in contrast to SAankara, early vedantist philosophers regarded the higher Brahman as a kind of continuous reverberation of a peculiar phonic energy that was ever producing the same constantly renewable structures and patterns of the universe. This idea found its continuation in the metaphysical and aesthetical concepts of Abhinavagupta, where the ultimate ontological reality is manifested through the rhythmical outbursts of God's creative power.

Presuppositions of India's Philosophies

Karl H. Potter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

First Indian Philosophy book with non-Buddhist centricism 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 10 people found this review helpful.

1. It was interesting finally to see a book on Indian philosophy beginning with Bhagvat Gita and four Purushaarthas for a change. These are the hallmarks of Indian philosophy, especially Hindu thought. I particularly liked his notion of attitudes about the Purushaarthas. That was a new approach towards Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha. However, his sequence is different. He places Artha, Kaama, Dharma and then Moksha which is different from the traditinal sequence. Also, his description of Artha and Kaama was little inadequate. Artha and Kaama have been regarded as two powers in Hindu thought. Artha (Wealth) is deemed necessary so that all the economic resources can be spent for charities, donations and other spiritual/social works. Similarly, Kaama is treated as God's creation also in BhagwatGita Chapter 4, only if it is according to prescribed Dharam/scriptures. This information is missing from pages 5-10 (chapter 1).

2. In the same chapter, page 15 - 19, he talks about Renunciation and Resignation. I found it very very bold defence of Krishna's advise to Arjuna to fight. It is indeed a controversial topic and I am glad that Potter did support Krishna's advocacy for freedom and performing one's duty without attachment to results. And here, Potter has defined Karma Yoga so beautifully.

3. But in the very next chapter, page 40 in the section for Paths for freedom, while describing Karma Yoga, he misses the important points he just mentioned in the previous chapter pages 15 - 19 (as above). He confuses Karma - Kaanda(rituals) of Vedas with Karma Yoga, how sad!

Editorial Review:

First published in 1963, Presuppositions of India's Philosophies is intended as an introductory text for courses in the philosophical systems of classical Indian thought. A brief account of karma and transmigration is followed by an introduction to Indian ways of assessing arguments.

Gayatri

KESHAVADAS

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In yoga, the mantra is a mystical formula, an incantation, which aids the individual to liberate the self and attain bliss and ultimate fulfilment. In "Gayatri - the Highest Meditation", spiritual leader Sadguru Sant Keshavadas describes the gayatri mantra which helps the higher being to be born in us all. There are few works available on the gayatri meditation in English, and in this work Sant Keshavadas reveals the profound meaning of this ancient tradition, including such aspects of its practice as the use of purificatory water rites, posture, atmosphere, proper breath control, the use of the fingers of the hand for various kriyas and the proper pronunciation of the sacred sounds. The work is divided into two parts. The first part, Mantra-Yoga, deals with mantra yoga, japa yoga and dhyana or the yoga of meditation. The second part, Sandhya Vandana, deals with the many aspects of gayatri, including gayatyri sadhana, gayatri meditation and meditation on kundalini through the gayatri mantra.

African Philosophy: Myth and Reality (African Systems of Thought)

Paulin J. Hountondji

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

'Hountondji ...writes not as an 'African' philosopher but as a philosopher on Africa...Hountondji's deep understanding of any civilization as necessarily pluralistic, and often even self-contradicting as it evolves, is simply magisterial...This is a precious gem of a book for anyone who wishes to reflect on civilization and culture' - "Choice". In this incisive, original exploration of the nature and future of African philosophy, Paulin J. Hountondji attacks a myth popularized by ethnophilosophers such as Placide Tempels and Alexis Kagame that there is an indigenous, collective African philosophy separate and distinct from the Western philosophical tradition.Hountondji contends that ideological manifestations of this view that stress the uniqueness of the African experience are protonationalist reactions against colonialism conducted, paradoxically, in the terms of colonialist discourse. Hountondji argues that a genuine African philosophy must assimilate and transcend the theoretical heritage of Western philosophy and must reflect a rigorous process of independent scientific inquiry. This edition is updated with a new preface in which Hountondji responds to his critics and clarifies misunderstandings about the book's conceptual framework.

Realization Of The Supreme Self

LEGGETT

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Editorial Review:

This significant work deals with karma-yoga meditation practice and the realization of the supreme self as described in the Bhagavad Gita Yoga and commented upon by Sankara. Bhagavad Gita means literally "sung by the Lord". What are sung are extracts from the Upanisads, early Indian mystical texts. The Upanisads were not taught openly, but in the Gita the secrets are made available to all. The Bhagavad Gita has been called the Bible of India, but corresponds rather to the Gospels, which contain teachings for everyone's daily life, but also riddling indications of higher truths. The text raises many questions which is why Sankara - the great commentator on the Gita, says that it can be difficult to understand. Guidance, such as is provided in this work is essential for a proper understanding. "Realization of the Supreme Self" explains why the difficulties presented by the Gita are inevitable, and gives practical methods for penetrating to the truth beyond them. In the Indian style, the inspired texts are collated and explained by a commentator, who puts them into precise statements of principle. This work complements the Gita and its commentary by Sankara with teachings on particular cases by the late Hari Prasad Shastri, of whom the author was a pupil.

Krishnamurti: A Biography

Pupul Jayakar

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Flame of Attention

J. Krishnamurti

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Fan the Flame 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is a penetrating collection of K's talks from Oct. '81 to Sept. of '82 given in India, England, Switzerland, and the U.S. If you have read a lot of his books, I am in agreement with "Bigfoot" - there may not be anything "new" in regards to intellectuality; however, just by reading this I stumbled across "new" things simply because of a particular word in a particular sentence. K's work can be an intellectual activity, or it can be a total experience in which he is not a "guru" or "teacher", but rather your mirror. Every time I go back to a book I've read, I notice "new" things pop up in front of me. Maybe because my brain is changing? I don't know, but my life is. So if you have an opportunity to read this short (112 pgs.) book, I'd recommend you take it up - especially since it is talks from his later life.

Fascinating read but adds nothing new............. 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I've read quite a bit of Krishnamurti, and this is very much more of the same. I haven't come across any authentic 'books' by Krishnamurti other than his Journal and Notebook. This one like most of the others I've read is really a transcript of his talks. So most books are very much the same. This one is a series of talks at several locations in India and abroad including K's regular spots Ojai Valley, Saanen and Brockwood Park. If you are coming to K for the first time, the title 'Flame of Attention' really tells you nothing about the book, it might just as well have been named 'Flight of the Eagle' or anything else for that matter..........If you are well versed with K's ideas and want to read more, this will not at all disappoint, it is eloquent and extremely clear and interesting to read. The most important thing I think with K's books is that they come directly from the mouth of one of the most authentic contemporary spiritual souls to come out of India (the others being Swami Vivekananda, Rajneesh or Osho as he is better known as and Aurobindo) who communicate brilliantly in English......truly an inspiring read that makes one wonder about 'what is a life without fragmentation, whole and complete, without division'

Prakrti in Samkhya-Yoga: Material Principle, Religious Experience, Ethical Implications (Asian Thought and Culture, 30)

Knut A. Jacobsen

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Editorial Review:

This book is the first monographic study of prakrti. It traces the history of the word prakrti, the word chosen by the modern North Indian languages to translate the English word 'nature,' through the texts of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain systems of religious thought. Prakrti is one of the central metaphysical principles in the religious traditions of Hinduism, especially in the very influential Samkhya and Yoga traditions. The second part of the book gives a systematic analysis of this important principle in the Proto- Samkhya, Samkhya, and Samkhya-Yoga texts. Prakrti in the Samkhya and Yoga systems is the ultimate material principle and thus the substratum (dharmin) from which manifest, in the presence of the self (purusa), the gross and subtle bodies including the mental organs of all living beings from the leaf of grass to the powerful gods. Everything that becomes manifest is held together as causes and effects within this immense power. This ultimate material principle has also been an object of religious realization. This book investigates a religious experience called 'merging with prakrti' (prakrtilaya), which has been neglected in previous studies, but is described in the Samkhya and Yoga texts and constitutes an important aspect of the religious understanding of the material principle. Finally, this book shows the important implications for issues of interspecies or environmental ethics of the understanding of the material principle in the Samkhya and Yoga systems of religious thought.