This workshop will set out to link the Yoga teachings and philosophy of the Yoga Sutras with those of the Bhagavad Gita. We will see that the Gita speaks of two types of yoga – an inaction one (which is later systematized by Patañjali in the Yoga Sutras) and an action one, which Krishna favors, even as he accepts both. This workshop will explore both paths, noting especially the common vocabulary and concepts shared between the two texts.
Saturdays and Sundays 12-2:30pm (PDT)
August 22 and 23
September 19 and 20
$70 for all 4 sessions
$20 per single session
Recordings will be available to those who are unable to attend one or more sessions.
Edwin Bryant received his PhD in Indic languages and Cultures from Columbia University, where his thesis culminated in his first book: The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture (Oxford University Press, 2001). He taught Hinduism at Harvard University for three years and is presently the professor of Hinduism at Rutgers University where he teaches courses on Hindu philosophy and religion. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, published eight books, and authored a number of articles on the earliest origins of the Vedic culture, yoga philosophy, and the Krishna tradition.
Edwin’s translation of and commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2009) is specifically dedicated to contributing to the growing body of literature on yoga by providing insights from the major pre-modern commentaries on the text with a view to grounding the teachings in their traditional context.
As a personal practitioner of bhakti yoga for over 40 years, a number of them spent in India studying with traditional teachers, where he returns yearly, Edwin strives to combine academic scholarship and rigor with appreciation towards traditional knowledge systems.
Edwin is presently working on a translation of the Bhagavad Gītā with a commentary based on the insights of the principle traditional commentators.
