In Search of the Highest Truth: Adventures in Yoga Philosophy - Softcover

Das, Hari-kirtana

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0998077305 ISBN 13: 9780998077307

Publisher: Jagat-mangala Press, 2017

Synopsis

If you want to understand the philosophy of yoga, this book is for you.
In Search of the Highest Truth is a trip into yoga’s spiritual dimension that offers readers an unconventional approach to discovering the enduring relevance of ancient yoga wisdom.

This book is a must for yoga teachers who want to integrate the philosophy of yoga into their classes and yoga practitioners who want deepen their experience of yoga.

Here’s what you’ll learn: - A brief history of yoga philosophy - The functions of yoga philosophy - The relationship of yoga and religion - The ethics of yoga - How yoga philosophy reconciles destiny and free will - Strategies for reading traditional yoga wisdom texts - How to develop spiritual vision - How to apply the principles of traditional yoga philosophy to life in the modern world.

Yoga philosophy provides compelling answers to life’s most important questions, offers practical solutions to life’s greatest challenges, and radically transforms our experience of the world. In Search of the Highest Truth will deepen your experience of yoga and clear a joyous path to living a spiritual life in the material world.

“Here is a carefully conceived book that will be appreciated by students and teachers alike as an excellent introduction to yoga philosophy.” – Joshua M. Greene, author of Swami in a Strange Land: How Krishna Came to the West

“Hari-kirtana das makes central ideas from the classic texts of yoga easy to grasp and, with just enough cheeky style, shows us how several commonplace ‘truths’ of yoga trip over their philosophical shoelaces.” – Jayadvaita Swami, author of Vanity Karma: Ecclesiastes, the Bhagavad-gita, and the meaning of life

“In Search of the Highest Truth is eminently readable, engaging, and definitely fills a gaping hole in the popular literature on yoga.” – Carol Horton, author of Yoga, Ph.D.: Integrating the Life of the Mind and the Wisdom of the Body

“This companion to the most seminal yoga texts is full of wit and clarity – an excellent resource for advanced trainings or individual study.” – Beth Filla, owner and director of yoga teacher training at Yogawood in Collingswood, New Jersey

About this title

From the Author

As a frequent guest instructor at yoga teacher trainings, I'm often asked to recommend a book that provides a general overview of the fundamentals of yoga philosophy. This has been a conundrum for some time: although I have my favorite translations of Sanskrit scriptures, accounts of personal journeys, and highfalutin scholarly tomes, I have yet to find a concise and accessible overview of yoga philosophy as presented in the two seminal books of the Vedic tradition from which yoga arises, the Bhagavad-gītā and Patañjali's Yoga-sūtras, that I feel confident in recommending.

Moreover, I cannot think of any contemporary books that succinctly explain why traditional yoga's esoteric concepts matter or what to do about them, nor one that gives the element of devotion the same emphasis that the ancient texts themselves ascribe to it. What I felt was needed is a book that combines theory with practice on personal and social levels written in a style that is both conversational and reflective. I hope this book fills that need.

My specific hope is that yoga teachers, participants in yoga teacher training programs, and serious yoga practitioners will find this book to be an easy and entertaining way to acquire a general orientation to the basic concepts that form the foundations of yoga philosophy. And if the distinctive viewpoint of this book provides readers with some fresh perspectives with which to reconsider popular assumptions about yoga philosophy and its relationship to contemporary social issues, I shall consider this attempt a success. - Hkd

From the Back Cover

In Search of the Highest Truth is a trip into yoga's spiritual dimension. It offers readers an unconventional approach to discovering the enduring relevance of yoga's ancient wisdom. With compelling answers to life's basic questions and practical solutions for life's greatest challenges, In Search of the Highest Truth will deepen your experience of yoga, transform your relationship with the world, and illuminate a path that leads to the perception of your true, spiritual nature.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jagat-mangala Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0998077305
• ISBN 13: 9780998077307
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 166