Thinking with the Yoga Sutra of Patañjali

This book presents contemporary scholarship on the Yoga Sūtra. It revisits Patañjali’s philosophy by bringing it into dialogue with contemporary concerns across a variety of topics and perspectives. Questions regarding the role of the body in the practice of classical yoga, the debate between the realistic or idealistic interpretation of the text, the relation between Yoga and other Indian philosophical schools, the use of imagination in the pursuit of self-knowledge, the interplay between consciousness and nature, the possibilities and limitations of using it as a therapeutic philosophy, the science of meditation, and overcoming our fear of death probe the many dimensions that this text continues to offer for thought and reflection.

Classical Yoga Philosophy continues to bestow its treasures of wisdom in Thinking with the Yoga Sūtra of Patanjali. Written by leading experts in the field, the 10 original essays in this volume display philosophical ingenuity, academic rigor, and sensitivity to practice. Explore hidden nuances of Patanjali’s system of yoga by thinking with the contributors to this wonderful book., Scholarly studies and research in the field of Yoga have not been as productive as the extent to which various forms of yoga have been popularized. Even when issues related to the history of yoga come to public discourse, most of the philosophical aspects have remained unaddressed. The edited volume, Thinking with the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali: Translation and Interpretation, reflects this timely need. The volume addresses issues such as consciousness and body, realism and idealism, the yoga system of Patañjali in light of other yoga systems, and issues related to human suffering and death. Divided in ten chapters, this volume is a collection of essays from some of the finest scholars in the field. This work helps bridge theory and practice in yoga and supports a multi-disciplinary approach to studying yoga. This work will inspire the next generation in various areas of yoga studies, comparative philosophy and theology., A fascinating book for all Yoga Sūtra readers who look for some fresh and insightful interpretations of Patañjali’s philosophy. We are drawn in thinking with the text indeed. The authors of this well-crafted collection offer a diversity of philosophical perspectives and in-depth readings which go beyond the historical and philological explication of the sūtras.

Christopher Key Chapple is Doshi professor of Indic and comparative theology and director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.Ana Laura Funes Maderey is assistant professor of philosophy at Eastern Connecticut State University.