Yoga and Indian Philosophy

About the Book

While Indian philosophy has been, in our time, the object of mainly academic interest, Yoga has become, in recent decades, an object of wide-spread popular interest, particularly in the West. But from at least the time of the Upanisads till Aurobindo Yoga has been an important source of inspiration to philosophy in India and philosophy in turn has often provided an initial impetus and motivation for the practice of Yoga and has produced various interpretations of Yogic experiences. It is therefore most appropriate that Yoga and Indian philosophy be given equal attention both in the context of academic research and in the framework of popularizing Yoga.

This book offers a reliable introduction to Indian philosophical thought and to the teachings of Yoga, clarifies the mutual position of the two disciplines-their relatedness, interdependence, differences and antagonisms at various times and in various schools-and discusses the position of Yoga in the modern world. It is based on original research and will be of interest to scholars and students of Indian philosophy and Yoga as well as to readers from wide circles of the public who wish to supplement their interest in Yoga practice with a solid knowledge of its historical and philosophical connections. For this reason care has been taken to make it as readable as the subject permits without letting it suffer from undue simplification.

About the Author

Dr. Karel Werner studied Western philosophy and Indology at the Universities in Brno and Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, got Ph.D. in 1949 and became a lecturer in Sanskrit and Indian Civilization in Olomouc University.

Since 1969 he has been the Spalding Lecturer in Indian Philosophy and Religion in the University of Durham.

He has published articles on Yoga and Buddhism in English, German and Czech and a book "Hatha Yoga" in Czech (Prague 1969, 2nd ed. 1971). He is currently engaged in research on the Vedas.

Contents:

A Note on Pronunciation and transliteration

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter
I. The Existential Situation of Man as Reflected in European and Indian Thought
II. The Nature of the World. A Survey of Indian Cosmology
III. Man, His Essence and Destiny
IV. Indian Conceptions of Salvation or Final Freedom
V. Yoga, in Origin, Purpose and Relation to Philosophy
VI. Schools of Yoga
VII. Yoga in the Modern World

Bibliography

Index

Corrections