Theos-Talk Archives (October 2006 Message tt00185)

Hi John,

Thanks for your posting at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/36399

You cited this info:

====================================================
A reprint of these translations was made accessible to the general 
public through the efforts of the Bombay Branch of the Theosophical 
Society in 1882. But that edition too, went out of print within a 
short time. 
===================================================

This 1882 edition was actually reviewed in THE THEOSOPHIST.  See 
these two links for the actual text:

http://blavatskyarchives.com/patanjali1.htm

http://blavatskyarchives.com/patanjali2.htm

I hope these pages don't take forever to download but they are 
readable once they download.

This review of the Yoga Philosophy book MAY actually be by H.P. 
Blavatsky. (????)  Notice on the second page (page 72) of the review 
the warning about Hatha Yoga.  The review is NOT in HPB'S COLLECTED 
WRITINGS series.

Also see the Editor's Note to the previous review which is at the 
bottom of page 71 and continues in the second column at the top of 
the page.  This note MAY also be by HPB.  It's not included either 
in the COLLECTED WRITINGS series.

Even if the Editor's Note and the Review are not by HPB, the 
material is neverthless quite informative.

Concerning various editions of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, David 
Reigle, the well-known Theosophist, recommended to me several years 
ago the following translation:

Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali
by Swami Hariharananda Aranya
Paperback: 483 pages 
Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1983

http://tinyurl.com/w5vgc

See cover of book at:

http://bookstore.siddhayoga.org/Merchant/images/205540.jpg

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Summary of book:

"It is the most readable and reliable account of classical yoga that 
I know. There are, of course, numerous secondary works on yoga, many 
of which are useful and some of which have considerable scientific 
value. There are few good editions of the actual primary sources, 
however, and Hariharananda's is one of those." -- Gerald J. Larson, 
Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Barbara

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are universally acknowledged as the 
fundamental text on yoga and meditation in the Indian classical 
tradition. This English translation of Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali 
is widely regarded as the most authoritative and authentic that has 
been available in recent times. It is a serious and clear 
presentation of Patanjali's sutras and Vyasa's Bhasya, providing 
these basic texts both in the original Sanskrit and in readable and 
accurate English. These classical works are augmented by the 
commentary of Swami Hariharananda Aranya, a scholar and yogi of 
great repute, who, in his lifetime, was the foremost exponent in 
India of the Samkhya Yoga system of which the Yoga Aphorisms of 
Patanjali are the principal work.
 
Table Of Contents

1. Foreword by Swami Gopalananda

2. Preface to the First Edition

3. Introduction:
    I. Indian Philosophy of Liberation
   II. Yoga, What it is, and What it is not

4. Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali:

   Book I. On Concentration
   Book II. On Practice
   Book III. Supernormal Powers
   Book IV. On the Self-in-Itself or Liberation

5. Appendixes
   A. Jnana-yoga
   B. Tattvas and their Realisation
   C. The Doctrine of Karma
   D. Collection of Yoga Aphorisms
   E. Diacritical Marks, Glossary of Sanskrit Words

Index 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I also like the one by I. K. Taimni --- The Science of Yoga

I remember reading the Taimni translation and commentary when I 
first became interested in Theosophy.  More than 30 years ago.

Hope this helps.

Daniel
http://hpb.cc