Daniel Simpson, "The Truth of Yoga: A Comprehensive Guide to Yoga's History, Texts, Philosophy, and Practices" (North Point, 2021)

New Books in Indian Religions · Dec 2, 2020 · 1h 9m

Much of what is said about yoga is misleading. To take two examples, it is neither five thousand years old, as is commonly claimed, nor does it mean union, at least not exclusively. In perhaps the most famous text—The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali—the aim is separation, isolating consciousness from everything else. And the earliest evidence of practice dates back about twenty-five hundred years. Yoga may well be older, but no one can prove it. Scholars have learned a lot more about the history of yoga in recent years, but their research can be hard to track down. Although their work is insightful…