Monday, March 15, 2010

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

After a few months of meditation, more experiences and an ever growing mountain of questions that internet searches were no longer able to answer, I began searching for a teacher. Swami Rama might have been a possibility, but he had passed away in 1996. I emailed the Himalayan Institute, Sivananda Center, and many others with my questions, but never got a satisfactory response until Swami Arundhati of the Bihar School of Yoga.

She was a disciple of Swami Satyananda and is located in Ancaster, Ontario near Hamilton. She answered all of my questions, corrected many things I was doing wrong, taught me advanced techniques like Shankhaprakshalana and introduced me to the book "A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya". I am extremely grateful for her guidance.

Though Swami Satyananda is indicated as the author of "A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya", it was actually written by his disciple Swami Nishchalananda.

However, there is another book that I recently discovered called "Kundalini Tantra", which was written by Swami Satyananda directly.

These two books culminate in the techniques of Kriya Yoga, and form the foundation of my yoga/meditation practice. I'll provide more details in upcoming posts.

11 comments:

  1. Both are excellent books, like collector editions. But without reading the original tantrik texts, the whole concept can never be clear. Ultimately, there is no vikalp to Anubhav. Once experinced, a sadhak can write his own book.....good work....keep it up...Shaktanand.

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  3. Thank you for the information about Swami Nischalanada! I also have lots of questions as I didn't know about the 3d year course and began my practice right from Kundalini Tantra - can we connect and discuss the practice ? Thank you! Sincerely Alexey exbaykov@gmail.com

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  4. Whats your opinion about the book Mastering Pranayama: From Breathing Techniques to Kundalini Awakening - Radhika Shah Grouven from Himalayan Institute? thanks!

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    1. I'm on Chapter 6 now, and the book is quite good. The techniques look likely to be very effective.

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    2. I finished the book. My favorite part was her techniques for achieving the breathless state.

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  5. Thanks! It's suited for a beginner? Do you suggest any other book on yoga that cover all limbs and set a program of progressive routines?

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    1. Yes, it's good for a beginner. Radhika's book doesn't cover the limbs at all. The Yoga Sutras are a fairly new text, Her book, as well as Swami Satyananda's books mentioned above, go back to the original yoga teachings that are thousands of years old, long before the notion of limbs came about.

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  6. Replies
    1. Yes, see this post: https://goldenagejourney.blogspot.com/2020/11/manoj-yogi-on-kriya-yoga-book.html

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