One of the first comprehensive studies of the philosophical concepts of classical yoga, The Philosophy of Classical Yoga details the key concepts used by Patanjali in his Yoga-Sutra to describe the enigma of human existence and to indicate a way to escape the perpetual motion of the wheel of becoming. Feuerstein’s study differs from previous ones in that it seeks to free Patar'1jali?s aphoristic statements from the accretions of later interpretations; instead, the author places the Sutra in its original context and sees it as the source of the whole edifice of classical yoga and not just as a summary of previous developments. A lucid exposition of an essential yoga doctrine, this book will appeal to comparative religionists, Indologists, and practitioners of yoga who wish to deepen their understanding of its philosophical basis.

Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., has written a number of books on yoga and related topics, including Yoga: The Technology of Ecstasy, Wholeness or Transcendence?, The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation and Commentary, and the award-winning Encyclopedic Dictionary of Yoga.