Shiva: The Lord of Yoga

by David Frawley

Lord Shiva is the personification of all the main practices of Yoga, as the origin and ruling power over asana, prana, mantra, inner seeing and meditation. He is the ultimate Yoga guru reflecting the highest Self-awareness. The current book unfolds the presence, light, energy and consciousness of the Supreme Shiva to take us beyond all death and duality.

Genres: Hinduism, Spirituality

296 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2015

About the author

David Frawley (or Vāmadeva Śāstrī वामदेव शास्त्री), b. 1950, is an American Hindu teacher (acharya) and author, who has written more than thirty books on topics such as the Vedas, Hinduism, Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedic astrology, published both in India and in the United States. He is the founder and director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which offers educational information on Yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and Vedic astrology. He works closely with the magazine Hinduism Today, where he is a frequent contributor.[1] He is associated with a number of Vedic organizations in several countries. He is a Vedic teacher (Vedacharya), Vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor), and a Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer).

Reviews

[Jason Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Frawley has provided an extreme service to humanity in writing this book on Shiva. He explores the culture and spiritual significance of Shiva to its nth degree. The most minute detail about Shiva is explained in this book. In this book you will come to understand the connections Shiva has to such great Hindu traditions as Advaita Vedanta. Most people new to Vedanta or Yoga would not know why understanding Shiva is significant for their practice and spiritual liberation. But this book helps you understand the depths of Shiva to further your practice in either Vedanta and Yoga. As Frawley points out in the book, Shiva is both knowingly and unknowingly, especially through the practice of Yoga, spreading to every corner of the planet influencing the future of humanity to reclaim our innate spirituality, bringing Shiva's peaceful grace to our minds and hearts. OM Namah Shivaya!

[Srikanth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without experience of Siva it's impossible to write book like this

The writer isn't just collecting matter from different books. He had experience of Shiva. His guru Sadguru Kandukuri Shivananda Murthy is considered incarnation of Lord Shiva. One can check this fact just by listening to his talks.

[Zorya]

I think that you must be a devoted worshipper of Shiva to fully comprehend the essence of this book. This is not a scholarly work, it’s a complex compendium of Shaivism, its lore and practices. Highly informative and detailed, however not in an academic sense. You must “feel it” in order to understand it.

Frawley’s language is very exalted, lofty and “mystical”. There is no doubt that he meant to arouse deep religious feelings and devotion in the reader. Some parts of this book might appear elusive and vague if you are not a devotee, they are too abstract for a novice to grasp.

My favourite chapter was about the great cosmic duality of Shiva and Shakti and I will certainly reread it in the future. I feel like so many scholars fail to explain it in a simple and clear way, often overintellectualizing, overcomplicating or simply not getting it, yet Frawley managed to do it in a very refreshing and captivating manner. I recommend it to everyone interested.

In conclusion: if you are a Western reader interested in Hindu doctrine and beliefs (but not a practitioner!), I doubt you’ll get much out of this book. I encourage you to try, but you will probably want to go for more specific and academic literature. If you are a Shaivite or at least a very spiritual person leaning towards this path, I am sure it will greatly inspire you and make a wonderful read.