The Complete Book of Yoga

Author: Swami Vivekananda
Publisher: Solar Books, New Delhi
(Pp: 224, ISBN: 9788192885544)

Founded by great saints and sages thousands of years ago, overall concept and practice of was originated from India; and the great yogis offered precise and rational interpretations about their experiences of yoga, bringing scientific and practical methods within everyone’s reach. And this book is a new opening of the ageold chapters, signifying yoga no longer is restricted to saints and sages, taking its place in day-to-day life of every single individual.

As the UN General Assembly declared the International Yoga Day to be celebrated on June 21, the practice has aroused global awakening and acceptance. In short, the science of yoga and techniques has now been re-oriented to suit physiological needs and lifestyles of common man.

Yoga works in different purposes of life, both in mental and physical parameters. As the world is progressing so fast in science that man could land on the moon, there is still deterioration in terms of ways of life. To a chunk of population on the earth, present state of affairs causes disappointment they begin to consider why all things get going lower down and down every single day.

Swami Vivekananda preaches to cope with all such agonies quite ornately and practically in this book.

Whatever the orthodox systems of the philosophy have a goal in view, the liberation of the soul is through perfection.

The method could be implemented none other than by yoga; of course, the term yoga covers an immense ground, in some form or the other. The ultimate goal of yoga or this book is to manifest the divinity within, by controlling nature, external and internal. The Complete Book of Yoga is certainly complete in a real sense as it stretches on chapters covering vastly the meaning and need of yoga, sequentially in four profound segments on Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jana Yoga.

The book delves into spiritual connectivity of yoga and worship of pratikas or of things more or less satisfactory as substitutes of god. The methods and means of the yoga practices that could be attained through controlling the passion, practice, sacrificial work, purity, strength and suppression of excessive joy are quite precisely related to every single chapter of the book. At last, the concluding chapter brings an illustrative section where shows some useful asanas, one can practice right straight away from now.

– Jyaneswar Laishram