23/06/2023
There are differences of opinion regarding the science of yoga, though in recent times, and to some
extent, the situation has altered. There are those, for example, who say that its practice is only a form of
physical exercise, with little else to recommend it; according to others, it is useful only to sannyasins, or
people living an absolute celibate life, and family men should thus abstain from it. Some people even have
a fear of practicing it altogether. But this is little different from the opinion of those who look for the faults
of sugar without knowing its sweetness. Once they taste it, its sweetness becomes apparent. Similarly,
once we practice yoga, we come to realize its ananda [bliss].
And yet the practice of yoga still leaves us subject to doubts and misconceptions, which weaken our
minds and sense organs. Consequently, we plunge ourselves into the torments of birth and death, and
experience various forms of suffering without ever seeing material or spiritual prosperity. Yet we should
accept scriptural authority, as the Lord in the Bhagavad Gita has ordained: “Tasmat shastram pramanam
te karya akarya vyavasthitau [Therefore, the sacred teaching (shastra) is your measure in determining
what is to be done and what is not to be done].” If we practice the science of yoga, which is useful to the
entire human community and which yields happiness both here and hereafter—if we practice it without
fail, we will then attain physical, mental, and spiritual happiness, and our minds will flood toward the Self.
It is with this great desire that I have written this book.
With gratitude,
K. Pattabhi Jois
Mysore, September 1997
