Raja Yoga

By: Swami Vivekananda

Narrated by: Barry J. Peterson

Raja Yoga contains transcripts of lectures by Vivekananda on "Raja Yoga", his interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and a "rather free translation" of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras plus Vivekananda's commentaries, which also was a series of talks. It presents Vivekananda's understanding and interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, "and a selection of hathayoga teachings on the basis of the beliefs that he shared with his students." These included elements from traditional Hinduism, but also ideas from Western science, Idealism, and "the Neo-Vedantic esotericism of the Brahmo Samaj and Western occultism," including mesmerism and "American Harmonial religion".

Vivekananda adapted traditional Hindu ideas and religiosity to suit the needs and understandings of his Western audiences, who were especially attracted by and familiar with Western esoteric traditions and movements like Transcendentalism and New Thought. An important element in his adaptation of Hindu religiosity was the introduction of his four yoga's model, which includes raja yoga, his interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, which offered a practical means to realize the divine force within which is central to modern Western esotericism. The other three yogas are the classical karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and jnana yoga.

Vivekananda's interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is mostly based on the part on astanga yoga, the eight limbs of yoga described in the Sadhana Pada or practice part. According to De Michelis, Vivekananda's ideas on raja yoga mainly consists of two different models, with sometimes a third "mode of thought".

Public Domain (P)2018 Audio Enlightenment

Great Teaching! Great Insight, but Not Great Reading

Sri Swami Vivekananda is perhaps the highest Yogi to have graced the USA, and perhaps the highest to have taught in English and the West. Notwithstanding Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, who did not write a translation or commentary on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. This is by far the best and most insightful english translation and commentary on this great work that I’ve read, but the reading really lets it down.

The readers voice is great, but it was a poor choice in that he does not grasp the point of the text, and he terribly mis-pronounces the Sanskrit terms utilized.

If you can make it past the reading you will certainly find this text masterful and a divine aid to freedom.

bad narrator

The narrator sucks, lots of errors mispronouncing too many simple words. Otherwise, I strongly recommend the book to people interested in yoga.

A Very Important Book the Must Be Redone with Correct Tempo and Pronunciation

Raja Yoga by Swamiji is a handbook on salvation and realizing the immense power that lies within a human being.

The narrator of this book has attempted to do justice to the tone of the book, but perhaps, due to no grounding in the material, mispronounces and misreads important things. This pulls the reader/listener out of the flow of the book.

I recommend that this book be re-recorded with someone more suitable for the material.