Royal Yoga offers a clear and systematic exploration of Raja Yoga as outlined in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Based on a series of lectures delivered between 2020 and 2021, the book presents the eightfold path (Ashtanga Yoga)-from ethical foundations to meditative absorption as a practical framework for cultivating inner clarity and self-awareness. Rather than portraying yoga as a set of external techniques, the author emphasizes its deeper psychological and spiritual dimensions, rooted in silence, discipline, and insight.
Drawing on classical teachings and personal experience, the book bridges the timeless wisdom of the Yoga tradition with contemporary perspectives. In his foreword, Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) writes: "This is one of the most experiential and authentic commentaries on the Yoga Sutras in recent decades. It corrects many modern misunderstandings while staying rooted in yogic practice."
BORZOU GHADERI is a renowned thinker, philoso-pher, and scholar of Eastern studies, with deep expertise in Vedic sciences and philosophy. Born on May 9, 1970, in Tehran, Iran, his early passion for mysticism and self-exploration led him to immerse himself in both Sufism and the ancient wisdom of India. Ghaderi's education encompasses both traditional and academic paths; he studied under esteemed teachers across various yoga traditions and earned a university degree in philosophy. With over three decades dedicated to teaching, writing, and research, he has worked to make ancient wisdom accessible to modern readers while remaining faithful to its original spirit.
The ancient art and knowledge of yoga, whose shadow has stretched across millennia over the land of Bharata and profoundly influenced the great religions of history, remains a source of inspiration even in our modern era. It continues to captivate scholars and thinkers in the fields of psychology and philosophy. It seems that diverse interpretations and contemporary analyses of this timeless wisdom can offer profound value not only to today's yoga practitioners but also to any seeker of life's meaning who turns to ancient traditions for guidance.
The present work, a reflection on Royal Yoga and its renowned eightfold path, is a compilation of my lectures delivered during nine sessions between 2020 and 2021, aimed at introducing yoga instructors to the philosophy and principles of Aşțānga-yoga. With the devoted efforts of my cherished friend, Ms. Maryam Motallebipour, these lectures have been curated into the text now before you.
It is my hope that this work serves as a humble window into the vast expanse of yoga's profound wisdom for its readers. I humbly apologize in advance for any shortcomings in this endeavor.
Raja Yoga literally means the Royal Yoga. Its prime text is the Yoga Sutras of the Rishi Patanjali, though there are a number of texts on it and other references to it. The boo Royal Yoga by Borzou Ghaderi is an important addition to the deeper scholarship and research into the Yoga Sutras.
The Raja Yoga of Yoga Sutras begins by emphasizing Yoga as Samadhi, which is defined as the silencing, negating, disidentifying with or going beyond the mind (chitta vritti nirodhah) and its functions to the state of the Seer (Drashta), the Purusha/Atman beyond all the gunas and elements of Prakriti or the qualities of the outer world. The Royal or Raja Yoga is the way to discover and abide in the highest Samadhi or unitary consciousness of Purusha/Atman, the Self of all. To reach this supreme transcendent state it teaches a detailed eightfold path (Ashtanga) for guiding the sadhak stage by stage to this Self-realization.
Raja Yoga includes aspects of the other types of Yoga like Bhakti/Devotion, Karma (Action), Hatha (Asana and Pranayama), Mantra and notably Jnana/Knowledge, the Yoga of direct Self-realization, with which it is often identified. We could therefore call it an Integral Yoga aiming at the highest. It is often combined with Vedanta as Yoga-Vedanta or followed along with Tantric and Shaivite Yoga. Raja Yoga differs from Hatha Yoga in that though it deals with physical asanas briefly, its main goal is to take us beyond the body and mind to the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi that is the basis of the Yoga of Knowledge as a way of direct insight in which the body is forgotten.
The text of the Yoga Sutras has four parts or padas. The first is Samadhi Pada which introduces and describes Samadhi as the goal of Yoga. The second is Sadhana Pada, which introduces and describes the practices and purification of the mind necessary to reach Samadhi. This section brings in the Eightfold Path of Raja Yoga. The third is Vibhuti Pada, which describes the higher powers and insights arising from Samadhi. The fourth is Kaivalya Pada referring to the highest state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, which is called Kaivalya, full Self-realization or unbroken realization of the Purusha, the true nature of Self or Atman.
The book Royal Yoga contains Ghaderi's excellent translation and profound commentary on the Yoga Sutras, one of the best done in recent decades. The book helps correct many distortions and misleading modern interpretations and translations by commentators not rooted in deeper yogic practices and realizations. It reflects his deep study and profound practice of great Yoga traditions and lineages including Gorakhnath and the great Nath Yogis.
I have known Borzou Ghaderi (Swami Ananda Siddhartha Giri) for more than twenty years, having met him several times, and remained in regular contact with him, including relative to his understanding of Vedic knowledge that is rare and comprehensive. His dedication to Yoga is extraordinary integrating into all aspects of his life.
Asana (101)
Bhakti Yoga (21)
Biography (52)
Hatha Yoga (93)
Kaivalyadhama (58)
Karma Yoga (33)
Kriya Yoga (85)
Kundalini Yoga (60)
Massage (2)
Meditation (341)
Patanjali (139)
Pranayama (70)
Women (33)
Yoga for Children (13)
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