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| Any favorite translations/commentaries out there? |
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| i like this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0971646619/103-2434874-1818262?v=glance&n=283155 translated by Brian D. Akers. I like to see the 'side-by-side' translations. |
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| Everybody around here uses this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8185787387/sr=8-1/qid=1140720205/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-2859133-3285467?%5Fencoding=UTF8
I've read it, some good stuff, some really strange stuff. Some of the cleansing stuff is really strange. It details practices that include taking the small and large intesitines out of the body to wash them. Really strange, and not in keeping with my understanding of modern anatomy.
There's also a long discussion of cutting the root of the tongue to lengthen it. With the long tongue you're supposed to put it into the upper sinus cavity via the back of the throat, which should keep the bindu from dripping down into the stomach, where it's consumed.  |
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| Thanks. those seem to be the two most available/popular versions. Any insight on the philosophical bent of the commentators? |
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| In the case of the orange volume, the author appears to be a tantrist. Which is to say that s/he follows the left handed path, which believes in controlling the physical to control the energy to quiet the mind. Couple of times Swami Muktibodhananda also makes mention of the idea that the idea of restraints, ie the yamas, niyamas, are not enough in the this period of time, while they probably worked well during Patanjali's time. Which is not to say that you should completely give in to whatever whim moves you at the moment, but rather to say that they're don't have to be perfect to the level described by PJ.
Anyway, can't say anything about the other translation, since I haven't read it. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
  
Location: A Blue State | zoebird - 2006-02-23 1:38 PM
i like this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0971646619/103-2434874-1818262?v=glance&n=283155 translated by Brian D. Akers. I like to see the 'side-by-side' translations.
I'm fond of that one too. No commentary, and generally no prissy obscuration of the
written words. Also some photos for the few Asanas that are discussed in the HYP. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | Mitch - 2006-02-23 4:00 PM
Thanks. those seem to be the two most available/popular versions. Any insight on the philosophical bent of the commentators?
I've got the orange one too. It's from the Bihar School of Yoga in India (in Bihar, duh).
They take all of the prescriptions of the HYP rather seriously. There are long
explanations of the cleansing practices (including some drawings...), and they
even seem to defend Vajroli Mudra..I posted a bit on that before.
If you have not read the HYP before, then start with Akers' book, which is short
and literal. After you have that under your belt, a commentary like the orange book
will make a bit more sense, in terms of continuity and context. The commentated
versions will give you one line of the HYP followed by 3 pages of discussion, which
makes it hard to absorb the flow of the text.
.... bg |
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| Thanks again. I've read a bunch of the online versions, although none of them have yet convinced me of "squatting in navel deep water, and introducing a six inches long, smooth piece of 1/2 an inch in diameter pipe, open at both ends, half inside the anus..."
I've been really enjoying reading various translations/commentaries on the Yoga Sutras, so I was hoping to give the same treatment to the HYP. I appreciate the notion that hatha yoga prepares one for raja yoga, but I'm not as enamored by the text - hence my need for better versions. |
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| Mitch - 2006-02-24 11:42 AM
Thanks again. I've read a bunch of the online versions, although none of them have yet convinced me of "squatting in navel deep water, and introducing a six inches long, smooth piece of 1/2 an inch in diameter pipe, open at both ends, half inside the anus..."
Bingo!
I've been really enjoying reading various translations/commentaries on the Yoga Sutras, so I was hoping to give the same treatment to the HYP. I appreciate the notion that hatha yoga prepares one for raja yoga, but I'm not as enamored by the text - hence my need for better versions.
I'm a lot more impressed with PJ/YS than HYP. That having been said, I think there's some good stuff in both. |
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| Just a few things about the text. First, if you are curious, read it and have fun. However, do not take it in any sense as something to try doing. A lot of the language is cryptic and difficult to tell what exactly is meant. Some have suggested that as with other such texts, some of it is intentionally misleading - I am inclined to say that this is very possible. So please leave text itself as a kind of spiritual entertainment.
Now, if you are interested in something "like" classical Hatha Yoga, then you can get teachings that are similar from several sources. First, its useful to understand what is the basic process of classical Hatha Yoga.
The basic principle of Hatha Yoga at least in the original texts is to interiorize the energies of the body through pranayama and practice effortless meditation after pranayama. As you may know, practicing formless and effortless types of meditation is very hard in general - however when you practice it after the right type of pranayama, it becomes drammatically easier.
The main effortless meditation in the Natha tradition involves the purification of inner sounds until one reaches the supreme unstruck sound which one abides in. This is done by simply as a witness without putting any effort as the sounds pass by. This requires the development of strong, spontaneously blissful awareness and this is what the pranayama can accomplish.
Often the only pranayama used would be breath retention, sometimes coupled with visualization. Later a huge number of purification practices, both of the physical and energetic bodies were developed. These include shatkarmas, asanas, purification pranayama, etc...
So because of the very modular nature of Hatha Yoga, a lot of different systems developed. Also, what people these days call "Kriya Yoga" is also not essentially different from Hatha Yoga (though the Kriya Yoga practioners say it is). The two strands of Kriya Yoga available today, one through Babaji's lineage (which became popularized by Yogananda and which also has a lot of fake lineages started by random people) and the other through Swami Satyananda and Bihar Yoga. These are good ways of practicing something like Hatha Yoga today because they are relatively light-weight and do not require constant guidance (you only have to learn it under guidance, but you can practice ordinarily) and they are relatively easily available. You can also find Natha sects with these practices being held in very old lineages but a very slim chance you can get teachings from them without a huge amount of commitment - that is if you can someone succeed in finding authentic Yogis.
Something good to read is the talks by Swami Ventakesananda which are online. They are really excellent and well-explained (though slightly departing from mainstream tradition at times, which is not a problem though):
http://www.dailyreadings.com/yasodhar.htm
There are nine talks, I suggest reading them if you are interested in Hatha Yoga as it is relevant for practioners today.
Also keep something in mind. Early Hatha Yoga was very more simple, elegant and effortless than today (or the last 700 years for that matter) and had far fewer practices. The reason for this is that a lot of what today's practices accomplish through specific practices were once upon time accomplished by initiation. During initiation the subtle body would get purified (blockages removed and so on). While it is easy to preserve texts and practices, it is harder to preserve an initation tradition because it requires that there is someone who is very well-accomplished in every generation in a lineage - this requires very high standards which cannot be maintained forever. For this reason, many practices had to be evolved,
Regards.
Edited by belovedofthegod 2006-03-07 7:04 AM
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| Thanks for the feedback, BOTG. The "daily readings" talks are excellent.
I guess that I struggle with the HYP because I don't find it as enlightening as the Yoga Sutras or the Gita and yet it's supposed to be the third key text to study. That's why I was hoping to unearth a better translation/commentary.
It may be that the HYP is basically the original Hatha Yoga practice manual and there have been many written since. Since I practice Ashtanga Vinyasa, I follow Yoga Mala for yogasana, and I don't have a separate pranayama practice (aside from the ujjayi) per Sri KP Jois' tradition. Obviously I'm not testing out any of the six kriyas, so I'm not getting much out of the HYP.
Of course, that's more of a reflection of where my practice is at, rather than the value of the text.
Thanks again for the input. |
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| >Rishi - Also keep something in mind. Early Hatha Yoga was very more simple, elegant and effortless than today (or the last 700 years for that matter) and had far fewer practices. The reason for this is that a lot of what today's practices accomplish through specific practices were once upon time accomplished by initiation. During initiation the subtle body would get purified (blockages removed and so on). While it is easy to preserve texts and practices, it is harder to preserve an initation tradition because it requires that there is someone who is very well-accomplished in every generation in a lineage - this requires very high standards which cannot be maintained forever. For this reason, many practices had to be evolved,
Rishi – Thank you for such a clear explanation of why Yoga has changed in recent history. Never saw such a clean argument for the evolution in Yoga.
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Location: Upstate NY | BOTG loved the link.................. Swami Sivananda has inspired so many 
Edited by Ravi 2006-03-08 4:35 AM
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| BOTG, I thank you, too, for the link! |
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Hatha Yoga Pradipika
