Yoga and the Luminous

Christopher Key Chapple is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University. He is the author or editor of many books, including Reconciling Yogas: Haribhadra's Collection of Views on Yoga and Ecological Prospects: Scientific, Religious, and Aesthetic Perspectives, both also published by SUNY Press.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbbreviations1. The Yoga TraditionI. The Practice of Yoga 2. Sāmkhya Philosophy and Yoga Practice3 Precepts and Vows in Yoga and Jainism4. Imitation of Animals in Yoga Tradition: Taming the Sacred Wild through Āsana Practice5. Patañjali on Meditation: Undoing the Thinking SelfII. Yoga and Liberation 6. Luminosity and Yoga7. Living Liberation in Sāmkhya and YogaIII. Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra 8.Approaching the Yoga Sūtra9. The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali: Continuous Text and Translation10. Translation Methodology and Grammatical Analysis11. "Samādhi pāda"12. "Sādhana pāda"13. "Vibhūti pāda"14. "Kaivalya pāda"IV. Interpreting Yoga 15. Reading Patañjali without Vyāsa16. The Use of the Feminie Gender in Patañjali’s Description of Yogic Practices17. Contemporary Expressions of YogaNotesReferencesIndex of Sanskrit TermsIndex

"…the overall tone of Yoga and the Luminous clearly oscillates between the formally academic and the rhetorical warmth of the Yoga studio … this blending of two distinctive modes of discourse make for a work that is both engaging and accessible … the heart of the text is Chapple's translation of Patañjali's Yoga Sūtra … Most readers … will be delighted to find such readability, precision, and utility in a translation of this crucial work." — International Journal of Hindu Studies"A valuable group of Chapple's essays (old and new) about Yoga … Chapple is both a scholar and practitioner of Yoga, and one can see elements of both trainings in this book." — Religious Studies Review"In Yoga and the Luminous, we get an historical summary about yoga schools of the three classic religions of India, with Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali as the theme of the monograph. This marvelous monograph also weighs in years of personal practice, understanding and diligence of the author … Students and teachers … alike would find Yoga and the Luminous a good reading." — Jinamañjari"…Chapple's insights—the result of 30 years of reflection and writing on yoga—are potent, and he is a gifted writer. The book is a pleasure to read, surveying important themes in the theory and practice of yoga." — CHOICE"Anyone with an interest in Yoga must consider Yoga and the Luminous as a starter guide." — Midwest Book Review"Yoga and the Luminous is a welcome addition to the growing literature on Yoga. This excellent book will be of great value to scholars, practitioners of Yoga, and those interested in how Yoga can be applied to some of the important issues of our time." — Gerald James Larson, Tagore Professor Emeritus, Indiana University at Bloomington, and Professor Emeritus, University of California at Santa Barbara"This book is based not only on a deep understanding of the Yoga Sūtra in its Jaina and Buddhist intellectual context but also on a lifetime of practicing the text. The result is a combination of intellectual insight and practical understanding written in clear English that communicates effectively to a wide range of readers." — Harold Coward, author of The Perfectibility of Human Nature in Eastern and Western Thought