हठयोग प्रदीपिका (योगी स्वात्माराम - ज्योत्स्ना टीका सहित सटीक)

INTRODUCTION ix

have not been less enthusiastic in their praises of the nobility of this science, whose object they have declared to be the unravelling of the mystery of the being of man and surrounding nature. The acquisition of a knowledge of this science is fraught with abnormal difficulties, and perfectly qualified teachers are rare, and not communicative except to well-tried students. Obscurities in the treat- ment of the subject in a written work call for verbal explanation by a Guru. No substantial gift will ever purchase the knowledge desired, or alter the iron rules prescribed in the Śāstra-s. The grace of the Guru bestowed in exchange for the hard earned merit acquired by the disciple, even at the peril of his life, is alone the passport to the sanctuary of knowledge. In the Bhāgavata and other Purāṇa-s, the student who has not been able to secure a Guru, is advised to pray and worship Īśvara (as Viṣṇu or Śiva) and strive for perfect renunciation of every worldly desire, such renunciation being the only way of securing a Guru to direct the student in his further progress. The systems of Yoga have different denominations according to their methods, and known as Aṣṭāṅga, Laya, Dhyāna, Mantra, Bhakti, Tāraka, Karma, etc. All these, however, can be classed into two broad divisions: Haṭha-yoga and Rāja-yoga. These are interdependent, either of them being impracticable without the other. The venerable sage Patañjali, in his Yoga aphorisms defines Yoga as the suspension of the modification