Dharana Darshan: A Panoramic View of Yogic, Tantric and Upanishadic Practices of Concentration and Visualization

Dharana Darshan is a practical and informative text on the yogic, tantric and upanishadic practices of concentration and visualization, as taught by Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. These practices, which traditionally have never been taught except through direct transmission from guru to disciple, represent an advanced level of teaching and are intended to meet a need expressed by many serious practitioners for more guidance into the deeper dimensions of meditation. The book includes an introduction to the theory of dharana and detailed class transcripts of the techniques.

Dharana Darshan is a central textbook for all Bihar Yoga Bharati Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses.

Swami Niranjanananda was born in Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgrah) in 1960. Guided from birth by his guru, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, he came at the age of four to live with him at the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger where he received training in yogic and spiritual sciences through yoga nidra. In 1971 he was initiated into Dashnami sannyasa, and thereafter for eleven years he lived overseas, mastering skills in varied areas, acquiring an understanding of different cultures and helping establish Satyananda Yoga ashrams and centers in Europe, Australia, North and South America.

At the behest of his guru, he returned to India in 1983 to guide the activities of Bihar School of Yoga, Sivananda Math and the Yoga Research Foundation at Ganga Darshan. In 1990 he was initiated as a paramahamsa sannyasin and in 1995 anointed spiritual preceptor in succession to Swami Satyananda Saraswati. He established Bihar Yoga Bharati, the first university of yoga, in 1994 and the Yoga Publication Trust in 2000 in Munger. He also initiated a children's yoga movement, Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal, in 1995. In addition to steering the activities at Munger, he travelled extensively to guide seekers around the world till 2009, when he received the command to embark on a new phase of sannyasa life.

Author of many classic book on yoga, tantra and the Upanishad, Swami Niranjan is a magnetic source of wisdom on all aspects of yogic philosophy, practice and lifestyle. He ably combines tradition with modernity as he continues to nature and spread his guru's mission form his base at Munger.