Hi, my name is John. I’m 19, and I live in Indiana, US. I can’t wait to hear and learn truths from everyone.i’ve known about Yoga (not just Asana) for a few years now, but about a month ago I started reading more books and talking to more people, and now I know that this is the right path for me. Right now I’m trying to establish a sadhana, I’m looking for a teacher as well.
Glad to be here
-John
Welcome to the forum, John. Thank you for the introduction. It is good to meet you!
You haven’t mentioned which books you are reading, but if I may, I would recommend the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali to you. The second chapter, or [I]pada[/I], is especially wonderful to read as a practice of [I]svadyaya[/I] (self study). You can find recommendations for different sutra translations and commentaries here on the forum. There are also sutra discussion threads that Lavina has begun that you can participate in if you’d like.
Wishing you all the best,
Nichole
Hi John,
A warm welcome to our community, I am sure you will find here many wonderful responses and advice from various members.
Hi, John! I’m so happy you found us.
[QUOTE=Nichole;24621]Welcome to the forum, John. Thank you for the introduction. It is good to meet you!
You haven’t mentioned which books you are reading, but if I may, I would recommend the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali to you. The second chapter, or [I]pada[/I], is especially wonderful to read as a practice of [I]svadyaya[/I] (self study). You can find recommendations for different sutra translations and commentaries here on the forum. There are also sutra discussion threads that Lavina has begun that you can participate in if you’d like.
Wishing you all the best,
Nichole[/QUOTE]
Some of the books I have been reading are by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Paramhansa Yogananda, and Yogacharya Iyengar. I’ve been studying Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras for a few weeks. Right now I’m reading Autobiography of A Yogi and Paramhansa Yogananda’s translation of the Gita. I was reading Swami Prabhupada’s stuff, but stopped after finding out how close-minded (no offense to any Bhakti Yogi’s who follow the teachings of Lord Caitanya) his school of Bhakti is [U]TO ME[/U]. It appears [U]to me[/U] that to them anyone who worships another deity than lord Krishna is a fool, even those who worship Divine Mother.
I’m looking for a new translation though because the one I’ve got, although it’s a great translation, the commentary seems to be more of the Buddhist persuasion. And although I learn a lot from buddhist teachings, I want a translation as close to Patanjali’s original sanskrit sutra’s as possible.
Doe’s anyone have any recommendations? I prefer a lot of good commentary, so maybe a version by a renowned Swami?
Hello and welcome John ,
I did my graduate work in Bloomington. Always nice to have another hoosier on the forum.
Interesting readings you are pursuing.
Is there something in particular that leads you to use the word “worship” when referencing Krishna?
[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;24674]Hello and welcome John ,
I did my graduate work in Bloomington. Always nice to have another hoosier on the forum.
Interesting readings you are pursuing.
Is there something in particular that leads you to use the word “worship” when referencing Krishna?[/QUOTE]
Glad to see you as well.
I wasn’t using the word “worship” when referenceing Krishna, but when referencing Swami Prabhupada’s teachings, which I don’t identify with.
John,
Here is a thread that lists and discusses just a few of the many Yoga sutra translations out there. You can check them out by using Google Books and decide which books to get after you are familiar with them.
I admire your dedication in finding the teachers and books that speaks to you and will contribute to your studies. There is little benefit in wasting time, just keep looking until something is sparked for you and then dig deeply there.
I don’t connect with Paramhansa Yogananda as a teacher or to his lineage so much, but I do with Iyengar and Jois. You may connect with the sutra authors that I recommend, but you may not too. No worries, there are recommendations in the thread by others too.
Regarding the purest translations, here another thread briefly discussing this.
Take care,
Nichole
Welcome John! Hope you find much to inspire you here.
Welcome, Inspiration is everywhere
Hi and welcome to the forum. glad to see you here.