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Sure Ways to Self-Realization
Sure Ways to Self-Realization is a practical and informative text on systems of meditation from cultures all over the world. To assist today’s seekers to find a suitable path back to the source, the real self, and to find stability of mind in a rapidly changing world, Swami Satyananda Saraswati describes the path of meditation, the obstacles confronting the practitioner and the means to overcome them.
Both theory and practical instructions for a vast range of age-old meditation practices are presented, including yogic techniques such as antar mouna, yoga nidra and ajapa japa, as well as meditations from ancient Egypt and Greece, the Celtic and Taoist traditions, Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, Sufism and alchemy. Moving meditations as well as meditation techniques for children and for the dying are included.
Sure Ways to Self-Realization is suitable for all levels from beginners to advanced and is an ideal reference book for yoga teachers.
Both theory and practical instructions for a vast range of age-old meditation practices are presented, including yogic techniques such as antar mouna, yoga nidra and ajapa japa, as well as meditations from ancient Egypt and Greece, the Celtic and Taoist traditions, Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, Sufism and alchemy. Moving meditations as well as meditation techniques for children and for the dying are included.
Sure Ways to Self-Realization is suitable for all levels from beginners to advanced and is an ideal reference book for yoga teachers.
461 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2002
69 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
About the author
Satyananda Saraswati
261 books238 followersSwami Satyananda Saraswati was a sannyasin, yoga teacher and guru in both his native India and the West. He founded the International Yoga Fellowship in 1956 and the Bihar School of Yoga in 1963. He has authored over 80 books, including the well-known Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha, recognised internationally as one of the most systematic yoga manuals today. Since its first publication by the Bihar School of yoga in 1969 it has been reprinted seventeen times and translated into many languages.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 13, 2018
This book is one-stop shopping for the yogic meditator. The first half of the book explores many of the most common yogic practices of dharana (concentration) and dhyana (meditation) in step-by-step detail. The second half of the book situates yogic meditation in a global context of meditation by introducing various techniques of meditation and mind science seen around the world. This allows the reader to compare and contrast the yogic approach to that of other systems -- be they closely related systems such as Buddhism or Jainism or more remote ones such as hypnosis or moving meditations like dance or the martial arts.
I found this book to be incredibly useful. While there are mountains of books on yoga, there are relatively few that shine a light on the practices of the mind, and among those that do only very few are nonsectarian. Many books look at meditation solely as a spiritual practice and a few others present it exclusively as a secular scientifically-grounded practice. This book skillfully bridges between, and does its level best to get the accounts of different systems right. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few oversimplifications or minor misunderstandings here and there, but the good overshadows them by far. It should be noted that even within the domain of yoga, many authors warp concepts such as jnana yoga and tantric yoga to fit their worldview or sect instead of reporting on how practitioners of those systems would see them. This book seemed to me to be much fairer than many in this regard.
The book consists of an Introduction and seven chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss tools and aids used in meditation. The primary difference between the two chapters is that the first looks at traditional aids such as mantra, mandalas, and symbology, and the second discusses more modern scientific aids such as biofeedback, drugs, and sensory deprivation tanks.
Chapter 3 is one of the largest (more than a quarter of the book) and it explores the many yogic meditation techniques, including: antar mouna, japa, ajapa japa, chidakasha dharana, yoga nidra, prana vidya, trataka, nada meditation, jnana yogi meditations, kriya yoga techniques, and tantric techniques. While the later discussion of non-yogic approaches generally includes instructions for basic exercises, the descriptions in this section are much more detailed, and some include variations on the primary practice.
Chapter 4 is about the same length as chapter 3, and it investigates many of the other systems of meditation from around the world. These include religious systems such as those in: Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism, various sects of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, the mystical branches of Christianity and Islam (Sufi,) and Native American animist traditions. It also includes secular systems such as hypnosis and autogenic therapy.
Chapter 5 delves into how movement of the body is used as an anchor point in meditation in yoga, on pilgrimage, in Tibetan Buddhism, in Zen Buddhism, in the martial arts, in dance, and in sports. This is where I saw those few of the aforementioned minor oversimplifications and misunderstandings (e.g. referring to all martial arts under the rubric “karate.”) However, I greatly appreciated that the authors included discussion of this important topic, and so I can’t say that there was anything that detracted from my enjoyment of coverage of the topic.
The penultimate chapter is a catch-all for miscellany not covered earlier in the book. It includes meditations for kids (who require a very special approach, I can attest.) It also has a section on meditation on death, which I believe to be an immensely important topic for helping people shed their fear so they can get the most out of their lives. The other two sections are on nature and sensory meditations, respectively. The last chapter is short and discusses Samadhi as the goal of meditative practice.
There are only a few graphics in the book, mostly symbology, but there is a glossary and a bibliography.
I would highly recommend this book for yoga practitioners and those who have a broad interest in meditative and mind science practices.
I found this book to be incredibly useful. While there are mountains of books on yoga, there are relatively few that shine a light on the practices of the mind, and among those that do only very few are nonsectarian. Many books look at meditation solely as a spiritual practice and a few others present it exclusively as a secular scientifically-grounded practice. This book skillfully bridges between, and does its level best to get the accounts of different systems right. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few oversimplifications or minor misunderstandings here and there, but the good overshadows them by far. It should be noted that even within the domain of yoga, many authors warp concepts such as jnana yoga and tantric yoga to fit their worldview or sect instead of reporting on how practitioners of those systems would see them. This book seemed to me to be much fairer than many in this regard.
The book consists of an Introduction and seven chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss tools and aids used in meditation. The primary difference between the two chapters is that the first looks at traditional aids such as mantra, mandalas, and symbology, and the second discusses more modern scientific aids such as biofeedback, drugs, and sensory deprivation tanks.
Chapter 3 is one of the largest (more than a quarter of the book) and it explores the many yogic meditation techniques, including: antar mouna, japa, ajapa japa, chidakasha dharana, yoga nidra, prana vidya, trataka, nada meditation, jnana yogi meditations, kriya yoga techniques, and tantric techniques. While the later discussion of non-yogic approaches generally includes instructions for basic exercises, the descriptions in this section are much more detailed, and some include variations on the primary practice.
Chapter 4 is about the same length as chapter 3, and it investigates many of the other systems of meditation from around the world. These include religious systems such as those in: Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism, various sects of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, the mystical branches of Christianity and Islam (Sufi,) and Native American animist traditions. It also includes secular systems such as hypnosis and autogenic therapy.
Chapter 5 delves into how movement of the body is used as an anchor point in meditation in yoga, on pilgrimage, in Tibetan Buddhism, in Zen Buddhism, in the martial arts, in dance, and in sports. This is where I saw those few of the aforementioned minor oversimplifications and misunderstandings (e.g. referring to all martial arts under the rubric “karate.”) However, I greatly appreciated that the authors included discussion of this important topic, and so I can’t say that there was anything that detracted from my enjoyment of coverage of the topic.
The penultimate chapter is a catch-all for miscellany not covered earlier in the book. It includes meditations for kids (who require a very special approach, I can attest.) It also has a section on meditation on death, which I believe to be an immensely important topic for helping people shed their fear so they can get the most out of their lives. The other two sections are on nature and sensory meditations, respectively. The last chapter is short and discusses Samadhi as the goal of meditative practice.
There are only a few graphics in the book, mostly symbology, but there is a glossary and a bibliography.
I would highly recommend this book for yoga practitioners and those who have a broad interest in meditative and mind science practices.
July 6, 2020
If you are into yoga, this book is a must at some point of your journey. It's very complete and well structured. It's not easy read though. It's like reading an enciclopedia, you learn a lot but it's not easy to move from page to page. I got it for Kindle but it would have been better in paper to go back to specific chapters in the future.
May 10, 2020
Great book for self realization
It's a excellent book detailing all the paths to realization through meditation
All bihar school of yoga books
Are a must read
Better to go there and do a few practical
Courses
It's a excellent book detailing all the paths to realization through meditation
All bihar school of yoga books
Are a must read
Better to go there and do a few practical
Courses
November 24, 2020
Great book
Lots of insightful powerful and practical knowledge on how to live. It made it feel real where everything is usually on the mystical realm
Lots of insightful powerful and practical knowledge on how to live. It made it feel real where everything is usually on the mystical realm
February 7, 2020
A fantastic read, for any spiritual aspirant
Explores a comprehensive range of techniques that have been employed throughout the ages to progress on the spiritual path. From the Egyptians, Christianity, Buddhism to biofeedback, sex and psychedelics. Excellent for yoga/meditation teachers to understand what systems exist / have existed and how they compare and fit together.
Explores a comprehensive range of techniques that have been employed throughout the ages to progress on the spiritual path. From the Egyptians, Christianity, Buddhism to biofeedback, sex and psychedelics. Excellent for yoga/meditation teachers to understand what systems exist / have existed and how they compare and fit together.
May 18, 2022
No matter what type of sadhna you do, you will attain samadhi or realisation one day.
Author did his best to find out and wrote about all the possible ways of self realisation being practiced or ever practiced in the world. Some of them seems easy and some seems hard but as a seeker's perspective one should read it atleast once to know about all the possible ways for realisation.
Author did his best to find out and wrote about all the possible ways of self realisation being practiced or ever practiced in the world. Some of them seems easy and some seems hard but as a seeker's perspective one should read it atleast once to know about all the possible ways for realisation.
March 20, 2016
This is an amazing book on meditation! It's like a text book on various forms, traditions and cultures of meditation and how meditation effects the mind and life of the practitioner and which meditations do what. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews