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Foreword to the Original Sūtras by Dr. Mans Broo
ajñānatimirāndhasya jñānāñjanāśalākayā| cakṣur unmīlitaṃ yena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ||
It is my great honor and pleasure to introduce Dr. Neelakantha Kulkarni’s Īśvarapraṇidhāna Sūtras. Dr. Kulkarni is a rare pearl in the ocean of yoga teachers of today as being genuinely not only interested but dedicated to the Sanskrit culture of Ancient India. For this he is to be commended and treasured.
The present work deals with īśvarapraṇidhāna, that is, contemplation, absorption, or submission to God. This is a topic little noticed by most modern yoga teachers, despite it being a very important one for Patañjali, who dealt with it in three different contexts of his Yogasūtra (1.23–31, 2.1 and 2.32 & 2.45). Dr. Kulkarni approaches the subject in a broad and openminded manner, showing firstly his understanding of īśvarapraṇidhāna in Patañjali’s philosophy, and then how this practice is essential not only within the practice of the eightfold system of yoga (aṣṭāṅgayoga), but also within Haṭhayoga, Jñānayoga and Karmayoga, and indeed within all the major religions of the world.
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