Dear Sri Venkataraman,
Swami was a contemplative scholar. He started the yoga work by doing classes on Swami Vivekananda's
books and trying to refine and elaborate them. These weekly lectures spanning about five years in the '70s
were recorded and archived. We worked on them after 2000. I worked with Swami after my father expired
that year. George Mraz, a Belgian engineer who had volunteered to be Swami's Assistant transcribed the
cassette tapes, but good voice transcription software was not available. I corrected as much I could, they
had to send for publication since Swami was getting old and George was also not keeping well. Swami passed
way in 2009. George passed away in 2017. George has left back two massive manuscripts on Bhaktiyoga
and Karmayoga still to be edited.
if you are familiar with yoga concepts through the Gita literature, you can start with Swami Vivekananda's
Raja Yoga lectures. They are brief and only occasionally veer through the period history.. Vivekananda was
a practitioner and so carried the power of words. Swami Sarvagatananda is a teacher, he enjoys elaboration.
Since the lectures were attended by the local public, he would repeat to reinforce. If you wish to accept yoga
as the way of life, you should read him. Learning detachment is not easy. It is in the art of practice.
There are many commentaries if you have command in Sanskrit. I recommend Hariharananda Aranya's
compilation among them. it is a scholarly work. It could be in print.
If you can read texts, go to Yogasutram directly. The text is not difficult, but it would need quality time.
Read two or three aphorisms every day early in the morning, let the words stick. The science of yoga
has its technical vocabulary. The words would reveal themselves with your aptitude and the style of living.
We fail when we fake. A huge empowerment awaits when we go slow with deliberation. You have to establish
your own inner call. Yoga wants you to be free. The world is such that we are conditioned not to be free.
Don't reject anything, be in the world and be free. You can read some of the orientation essays I wrote
Look in 2012 or so.
Best regards,
Bijoy Misra