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Swami Venkatesananda was a prolific writer and translator with many works currently available. In addition to the opportunity to download some of these publications in pdf format, many others are available for sale at the Beacon Yoga Centre.
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Bhagavad Gita - Song of God
Six years after the publication of the beautiful South African edition of Swami Sivananda's translation of The Bhagavad Gita, Swami Venkatesananda himself wrote a volume of contemplations on this majestic scripture. The first edition was called Srimad Bhagavad Gita for Your Daily Life. Later editions were called The Song of God. Swamiji did not view this work as a commentary; rather he wrote: “This is not a commentary on The Bhagavad Gita, but it can serve as a supplement to the standard commentaries! This is meant as a spiritual stimulant…” He presented it in the form of Daily Readings, with 366 pages of spiritual contemplation. In his words: “The best way to use it is to study a page a day, and then meditate on the verses themselves.”
The nature of his “commentary” is less theoretical, more accessible, and exceedingly practical. While no one can argue with the statement that nothing is more practical than wisdom, one can only say that Swami Venkatesananda has taken the practical application of The Bhagavad Gita to a new level. Every daily passage offers something useful to ponder, not only in application of what is thought of as our traditional spiritual lives, but to our lives as a whole, and the daily problems we struggle with our whole life long.
No doubt, Swami Venkatesananda saw the separation of worldly and spiritual lives as artificial, and this volume of contemplations on the Bhagavad Gita takes that understanding to heart, and endeavors to make each verse more relevant to our lives as a whole.
In part, the West has embraced yoga because of its ecumenical nature; one can set foot on the yogic path without reference to religious belief or lack thereof. The purpose of yoga is to heal, to become whole, and this is similarly the focus of The Bhagavad Gita. While scholars may categorize The Bhagavad Gita as a religious dialogue between Arjuna and Sri Krishna, (the incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu) which was excised from, the Mahabharata, (a classic Hindu epic) or perhaps as the Hindu Gospel of Action (Karma), or the cream of the Vedas, (all irrefutably true), such descriptions do not credit one of its most significant aspects: its ecumenical appeal.
As Swami Venkatesananda points out on page one of his Introduction to The Song of God: “Here, then is a unique gospel which does not tamper with your station in life, distract you from your duties, disturb your faith nor lure you away from the path you have chosen but illumines your path and strengthens your faith.”
Knowing that wisdom cannot be spoon feed, Swami Venkatesananda avoids this pitfall by replacing standard commentary with a daily contemplation that explores how issued by Krishna and Arjuna crop up in the reader's own daily life. For students of yoga intent on bringing yoga into their lives, what could be more valuable?
Download this publication in PDF format
Enlightened Living - The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali
This little gem contains all of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, one of the most important texts on yoga and meditation. Right from the start, Swami Venkatesananda wants us to be aware that The Yoga Sutra provides insight into the very nature of yoga, and so, he has subtitled this book “Patanjali's Vision of Oneness.” What distinguishes this version from all the rest is that it comes to terms with the issue that has caused other translators to stumble, thereby causing readers to fail to understand Patanjali's vision: the fact that much of the ancient Sanskrit used by Patanjali, has no equivalent in modern day language, and further, that most languages in the modern world are, at their core, dualistic in nature and expression. The problem then becomes, how to understand what is essentially a non-dualistic message and unlock its meaning.
Swami Venkatesananda's radical approach is to provide an interpretive translation, guiding us with precision of an ever-vigilant yogi–an insider's perspective as it were. Thus, he manages to help us avoid the usual pitfalls that so called “classic” translations do not avoid, enabling us to sidestep the usual misdirections that readers receive. This unique version enables a new generation of students to find the true inner meaning of each and every passage within this enormously important text. By doing so, Swami Venkatesananda has managed to pass on to the modern world Patanjali's vision, a vision that has remained hidden for centuries.
Insights & Inspirations (Venkatesa Daily Readings Vol. 2)
Daily readings (similar to those found in The Song of God - Daily Readings from the Complete Bhagavad Gita), were compiled from articles by Swami Venkatesananda and written in a style that is easy to read. His wisdom, humor and insight are made accessible to all readers. Included are 100 photos of Swami taken at all ages and in different situations. At 366 pages, the readings tend to be slightly longer than in the first volume, but not so long as to discourage their intended use for daily contemplation.
Yoga
Easily readable, informative introduction to yoga, with sections on karma yoga, raja yoga, bhakti yoga, vedanta and hatha yoga (with a step-by-step description given for all the important classical postures). Illustrated with photographs of postures, pranayama techniques, mudras and bandhas. A must for all students of yoga.
Christ, Krishna and You
Lectures given in 1982 by Swami Venkatesananda on Yoga and Christianity. An in-depth look at these two major religions created in collaboration with Fr. Terence Melvin, O.S.M.
Total Love
Where is the love that is timeless? Who knows of it? In this beautifully presented little book one can begin to understand the nature of love.
Multiple Reflections
The Yoga Vasistha is the greatest help to spiritual awakening and the direct experience of the Truth. If this is what you want, you will find this book of talks by Swami Venkatesananda a wonderful introduction.
Lectures on Raja Yoga
Including a comprehensive foreword by Baba Muktananda, this volume is not a text book as such, but a handbook that contains enough material to enable the eager student to take up the practice of yoga in earnest.
The Supreme Yoga - The Yoga Vasistha
When Swami Venkatesananda was a young man he had the privilege to study a rare copy of one of the world's greatest scriptures, the Yoga Vasistha. It had last been translated about 1900 and was no longer available to the public. It became Swamiji's dream to one day translate it himself into English so that it could reach the world. Though a major scripture, it was not well known to those who could not study the original Sanskrit.In the early 1970s Swamiji decided to begin the translation. He searched the world for a copy of the English edition he had studied as a young man, but was unable to locate a copy. Thus he worked solely from the Sanskrit original. In the midst of his world travels, he translated a minimum of one page per day and formatted it as daily readings with a page per day, covering two years—a total of 732 pages. He regarded the translation of this scripture as the crown jewel of his work and devoted one of his last major lecture series (in Western Australia–1982) to a discussion of The Yoga Vasistha.
His translation of The Yoga Vasistha was first published by the Chiltern Yoga Trust in South Africa in 1976 as a hard-copy, two-volume set. Later, in response to a request from a publisher, Swami Venkatesanana condensed it into a single volume while traveling in India during the winter of 1980-82. None of the stories were omitted; only some insignificant details, such as battle scenes, were removed. This single volume Yoga Vasistha was first published as a paperback in both Western Australia and Israel (translated into Hebrew by Priya Hart).
To ensure that The Yoga Vasistha would both reach a wider readership and be in right professional hands to preserve it, Swamiji accepted an offer from SUNY Press (State University of New York) to publish it in the single volume format. Later SUNY Press published the full text, though presenting it in one hard-cover volume. Vasistha's Yoga is the SUNY Press one-volume edition of Swami Venkatesananda's Yoga Vasistha, available in both cloth and paperback. Both include an Introduction from a prestigious academic, an index and bibliography, and with page numbers substituted for the dates as in former editions. As in previous editions, the text makes extensive use of stories and allegories to convey its profound metaphysical concepts. It is regarded as the 'last word' in metaphysical teachings.
Video Series Available
The final lectures on The Yoga Vasistha given in 1982 by Swami Venkatesananda in Western Australia, and made available on seven DVDs containing roughly fourteen hours of video, with this entire set of seven DVDs (roughly 14 hours) made available for the low price of $55.00 AUD, plus low-cost air freight. If you have any questions please feel to contact Shoba Day at Sivananda/Beacon Hill Yoga Centre .