Hindu - Yoga - Kundalini

Vedanta-Sutras With the Commentary by Sankaracharya. The doctrine advocated by Sankaracharya’s comments is the most important and interesting one which has arisen on Indian soil; neither those forms of the Vedânta which diverge from the view represented by Sañkara nor any of the non-Vedantic systems can be compared with orthodox Vedânta in boldness, depth, and subtlety of speculation. Sankara’s bhaashya (commentaries) is the oldest of the commentaries, it is further the authority most often referred to as to the right understanding of the Vedânta-sutras. (479 pages)

From the Upanishads by Ananda Wood is focused on the approach of Shri Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta tradition, as interpreted by Shri Atmananda, a modern advaita philosopher who lived in Kerala State, India, 1883-1959. The book is a collection of retellings from selected passages of the Upanishads. In these retellings, the original texts have been freely interpreted and often modified, to make them more accessible to a modern reader. For those who are interested in the original texts, a companion volume, called Interpreting the Upanishads, shows how particular concepts and passages have been interpreted in the retellings. (279 pages):

 Mandukya Upanishad – An ancient Sanskrit text on the nature of Reality by James Swartz, guides the reader through the Mandukya. The aim of the Mandukya is to analyze the creation and arrive at truth, the limitless I. From the introduction:
“The Aranyakas or Upanishads, the third portion of each Veda, commonly known as Vedanta, agrees and delivers an “absolute” knowledge that, under the right circumstances, reveals the limitless blissful Self and destroys the suffering arising from the belief in oneself as a limited being.”

 The Shiva Samthita – A Critical Edition is a translation of the ancient teachings on tantra known as Shiva Samhita. The sanskrit title means “The Collection of Verses of Shiva” and the book is considered the most important root text of Hatha Yoga. It starts out by outlining various methods of liberation and philosophical ideas and it goes into details on the non-dual Vedantic philosophy. 

The Science of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka. For thousands of years, yogis have believed that breath is the essential link between body and mind, energizing a subtle body which connects the physical and mental aspects of our being. In this book, Swami Rama and two noted American physicians explore the science of breath as the missing key to both physical health and the attainment of higher states of consciousness. Basic yogic breathing techniques are explained so that one can immediately begin working with the ancient science of breath. 

Record Of Yoga is Sri Aurobindo's personal record of his yogic practice during the period from 1909 to 1927. A difficult and often cryptic text, it has only recently been published. In 1977, the editors of the project to present a revised and corrected edition of Sri Aurobindo's Complete Works started the journal Sri Aurobindo: Archives and Research in which over the next 18 years they published more than 2,000 pages of newly discovered writings, including most of the Record of Yoga 

Hatha Yoga Pradipika the original Sanskrit Swatmarama translated by James Mallinson and published in 2004. Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a classic root text of Hatha Yoga written in 15th century CE. The book is build around four chapters, including material on asanas, pranayama, chakras, kundalini, bandhas, kriyas, shakti, nadis and mudras among other topics

 In India, the Candidates for Initiation into the science of “Raja Yoga,” when they apply to the Yogi Masters for instruction, are given a series of lessons designed to enlighten them regarding the nature of the Real Self, and to instruct them in the secret knowledge whereby they may develop the consciousness and realization of the real “I” within them. They are shown how they may cast aside the erroneous or imperfect knowledge regarding their real identity. Until the Candidate masters this instruction, or at least until the truth becomes fixed in his consciousness, further instruction is denied him, for it is held that until he has awakened to a conscious realization of his Actual Identity, he is not able to understand the source of his power, and, moreover, is not able to feel within him the power of the Will, which power underlies the entire teachings of “Raja Yoga.” Guide To Advanced Yoga Techniques is the detailed series of lessons. Download the 313 page

 The Essential Yoga Sutra – Ancient Wisdom for Your Yoga – by Geshe Michael Roach & Christie McNally, is a foundational ancient text that examines the purpose and practice of yoga. Experienced American Buddhist teacher Michael Roach, who holds the distinguished title of geshe (comparable to a Ph.D. in Buddhist religious studies), provides commentary to McNally’s fresh translation of this aphoristic text from ca. 250 B.C.E. A Sutra is a short book which tells us the very crux of something— ideas tied tight together, with a stitch of thread. The Yoga Sutra is the mother book of all yoga. It was written about two thousand years ago, by Master Patanjali. Master Patanjali was a great yogi; he knew the physical poses of yoga and the art of breathing: yoga of the body. He was also a great thinker, and meditator—a master of the yoga of the mind. He wrote as well famous books on medicine and on Sanskrit, the ancient tongue from which almost all our languages come. He is recognized too as the father of the classical dance of India.

The Light of the Soul – Its Science and Effect – A Paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a translation and commentary on the teachings of Patanjali 2nd c. BCE. The Light of the Soul consists of 4 books of sutras with commentaries by Alice A. Bailey, each book being a continuation of the teaching of the last book. The teaching covers the greater part of that path, starting from when we first recognize its existence. The entire approach of the sutras is a mental and deeply spiritual one. It outlines the practical, though inner, steps that the spiritual seeker must take in order to move from one point to the next. Much of the text is about how to spiritualise the mind (and our entire self using the mind correctly) and prepare ourselves for this spiritual transformation.

 Gopi Krishna points out in Kundalini the Secret of Yoga that there is much more to Yoga than its benefits to health, control over the body and potential for developing paranormal abilities. The significance of Yoga, and the purpose for which the discipline as a whole was really designed, lies in its potential for enabling the practitioner to actually experience expanded states of consciousness and to verify the existence of levels of creation other than the one we perceive with our material senses. The other benefits are minor when compared with the real goal.