Overview

Atmic Testament on Yoga is the ten-year study of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras taught by Babaji Bob Kindler to the students of SRV Associations and other interested persons from around the U.S. The text used by the students was Swami Vivekananda's Raja Yoga. This signature work was delivered expressly for the purpose of introducing the Yoga Philosophy to Westerners in the late 1890's. It represents Vivekananda's direct transmission of the fundamentals of the Yoga System (darshana) through lectures that delved into previously unheard-of concepts, for example: yogic breathing, prana (vital force of the body), psychic prana (mental force that moves our thoughts), subtle matter (tanmatras), samadhi (states of higher awareness), and the teaching of both evolution and involution of Indian cosmology - all of which were new to Westerners and essential for understanding the true import of Yoga. After the introductory chapters in Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda gave his translation and commentary on the actual sutras (aphoristic verses), drawing from both the Indian commentators and his own illumined and direct experience of Yoga in practice (concentration, meditation, samadhi), and full attainment (asamprajnata samadhi). While the students studied Raja Yoga, Babaji Bob Kindler prepared lessons drawn from the commentaries of the Father of Vedanta, Vedavyas, and other Indian commentators, as well as his own direct experience as a Western student and practitioner of this philosophy, who studied under Indian swamis of the Ramakrishna Order. One of the unique features of Atmic Testament on Yoga is the inclusion of the questions and answers between the students and the author. The students' inquiries delve into the philosophy as well as its application in both practice and daily life. It is thus a record of Western students awakening to the true significance of Yoga as they explored beyond the cultural limits imposed by a secular and materialistic society as to the nature of Reality, thus lifting the curtain of atomic matter and the ""evolution-only"" mindset we are all so familiar with. Thirteen explanatory charts are used in this first volume, which include the first two Padas (chapters) of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras that deal with the nature of samadhi and yoga practice. Each of the 105 lessons (spanning Volume 1 & 2) include the transliterated Sanskrit, a word for word translation, English translation of the sutra, commentary, and the question and answer sessions. Throughout this ten-year study it became painfully clear that in the years since Swami Vivekananda brought Yoga to the West, it has been co-opted by a narrowly focused interpretation that is relegated to mere physical practices. Although these few practices are mentioned by Patanjali, the Systematizer of the Yoga System, it is only in passing, consisting of three sutras out of a total of 196. Even when some elements of the philosophy are presented in the exercise ""yoga classes,"" the emphasis is on the body and emotions. Atmic Testament on Yoga clarifies that the goal of Yoga is samadhi, manifesting progressively from sense control, equanimity of mind, resilience of character, deep concentration, transcendence of body identification, to mastery and freedom from the limiting forces of nature, which lead ultimately to complete spiritual emancipation (moksha).

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9781891893377

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Babaji Bob Kindler is the Spiritual Director of the Sarada Ramakrishna Vivekananda (SRV) Associations since 1993. He teaches Vedanta, Yoga, Sankhya and other philosophical systems of Truth with an emphasis on learning to live a divine life and the attainment of direct spiritual experience. He holds a twin spiritual heritage in Vedanta and Kagyu Tibetan Buddhism. He was initiated into the Ramakrishna lineage by revered Swami Aseshanandaji, a direct disciple of Sri Sarada Devi, the wife and spiritual consort of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Schooled in the Advaita Vedanta by Swami Aseshanandaji and other swamis of the Order, Babaji has studied deeply in the other darshanas of India. His style of teaching emphasizes the ""triple gem"" of Sankhya, Yoga, and Vedanta, which are then further infused with the philosophical wisdom of Tantra and Buddhism. In this way, students are prepared for the essential practice of discrimination between the Eternal and the noneternal, and mature renunciation, both of which are qualifications for understanding the Advaita.He is the editor of SRV's 26-year publication, Nectar of Non-Dual Truth, A Journal of Universal Religious and Philosophical Teachings, and is also the author of over a dozen books on spiritual topics, including Footfalls of the Indian Rishis, Twenty-Four Aspects of Mother Kali, Dissolving the Mindstream, A Quintessential Yoga Vasishtha, The Avadhut and His Twenty-Four Teachers in Nature, and others. Babaji's spiritual discourses can be found on SRV Associations' YouTube channel www.youtube.com/@SRVvedanta and accessed via SRV's website: www.srv.org Babaji's emergence as a teacher of India's Wisdom occurred naturally with the creation of Jai Ma Music, an acclaimed sacred arts ensemble which he founded in 1980 as a vehicle for the exalted teachings of India through wisdom-oriented devotional music. He also received encouragement from his friend, Lex Hixon, the instigating force and co-founder of the national SRV Association of the West, based in New York state. Throughout the 1980's and 90's, Babaji and Jai Ma Music toured the United States offering concerts of bhajans and chanting, lectures, classes, workshops and seminars on the various aspects of Sanatana Dharma at temples, churches, schools and spiritual centers. Trained as a classical musician from the age of eleven, he also fulfilled a career as an instrumentalist, appearing as a professional soloist, accomplished chamber player and orchestral cellist for 30 years. His classical training in Yoga, Vedanta and the Fine Arts is reflected in his style of teaching at the SRV ashramas where the profound Wisdom of India's perennial philosophies are effectively integrated with devotional and instrumental music from both East and West. Babaji offers several retreats each year, online seminars, in-person and livestreamed classes almost every Sunday, and also a weekly satsang and discussion class on Zoom. Additionally, he conducts a personalized study of the Yoga Sutras via email with interested students. He welcomes questions from sincere spiritual aspirants and can be reached through srvinfo@srv.org

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