Antaranga Yoga: The Foundation of Indian Psychology

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Antaranga Yoga is about the often excluded middle, the space between the more popular idea of Asana and Pranayama and the esoteric idea of Samadhi. One's mind that is outward focused, generates a sense of self that identifies with the world of tangible objects and the joys and sorrows of life. It does not possess the subtleness and balance that is essential for deep contemplation and meditative insight.

It is the practice of Antaranga Yoga as enunciated in Patañjali's Yogasütra-s that enables one to traverse the space between the outer and the inner. Yogtatrya Sri Krishnamacharya's extraordinary insights into the all-important praxis of profound psychological transformation has been explicated in a simple and elegant manner by the authors of this book. It also brings attention to the fact that the Yogasûtra-s are the foundation of Indian psychology.

This book is the outcome of a rigorous study of Antaranga Yoga undertaken by Ritambhara Ashram and the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. The dialogues on the process of introspection and inner transformation between Sri TKV Desikachar and Dr Pulin Garg formed the basis of the study.

One of the most critical Rea that one needs to fulfil is Guru Rana. With the completion of this work I feel that I have come a full circle in a journey that began decades back. I am reminded of a proverb in Tamil that says, "When the chick is ready, the mother hen breaks the shell." It is my great good fortune that I was Invited by the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram to collaborate with some of my former colleagues and bring to fruition the seeds my Guru-s planted in me. There is deep joy in living up to the promise I had made to Śrt TKV Desikachar when I became his disciple.

The inception of this work that focuses on the Antaranga aspects of the Yogasütra happened with great intensity. Prof. Pulin Garg spent three months in deep dialogue with Śrt Desikachar, and then we initiated the process of working on the notes. As the project and the first book draft were taking shape, Prof. Garg fell ill, and other uncontrollable issues left the project in suspended animation. Although Srt Desikachar continued the exploration of Yoga psychology in our private lessons, the project stayed incomplete. When Mr Madhavan Nambiar invited me to take up the work and complete it, I heard the voice of Śrt Desikachar speaking through him and encouraging me. The dialogues with Dr Latha Satish, Dr M. Jayaraman, Mr S. Sridharan and Dr Anita Balasubramanian rekindled the spirit with which we had started the work decades back. We undertook a project called "Self According to the Yogasutras of Patanjali," where we delved into the manuscript I had started.