Both a renowned Sanskrit scholar and yogi, Swami Venkatesananda - like his master, Swami Sivananda - can be regarded as a sage of practical wisdom.

   Focusing on issues that concern the daily practice of all branches of yoga (Hatha, Karma, Bhakti, Raja and Jnana), it is our intension to provide materials that will enrich and enliven your own practice of yoga. 

   Our thanks to our good friends for helping us digitize the Chiltern Yoga Trust's edition of The Bhagavad Gita, Song of God, with the entire edition added to the site on June 17th, 2008.  See our MP3 Libraries for Talks on The Upanishads (mp3 audio), six talks given by Swami Venkatesananda in 1980 in Perth, Australia for the Chiltern Yoga Trust and and Gita Talks: The Sixth Chapter. 

  Thanks to the work of many friends of Swami Venkatesananda, we have been able to publish Enlightened Living, The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, (often referrred to simply as The Yoga Sutras). Here we have posted the final version, with the changes made by Swami Venkatesananda himself. He considered earlier editions to be in need of revision, and made the necessary revisions in a small printing that was published in South Africa in 1975.  The 1975 edition, available here, should be considered to superceed not only the previous versions, but even his text which appeard in publications after 1975, including a text which appeared in 1998.

   When it comes to scriptures like the Yoga Sutra of Patanajli, you'll find many blogs on the Internet dominated by those who believe that their teacher or their study has revealed the truth about Patanjali's great exploration of yoga. The same bloggers lurk in their respective forums, and wait for others to make what they consider mistatements, so that they can jump in and correct what they consider to be false.  Interestingly enough, Swami Venkatesananda  encouraged us to read as many different translations as possible, holding out the hope that rather than having an "Ah ha!" moment, we'd achieve some measure of confusion. "Confusion can be quite helpful!" he reminded us. "Confusion helps us to look more deeply, and that can only be a good thing."

    Confusion can even help us recapture what Shunryu Suzuki referred to as "Beginner's Mind."  Swami Venkatesa was very fond of Suzuki's book, and was quick to remind yoga teachers that if they wish to teach yoga, it would be best to surrender the mantle of teacher, at least inwardly, and see through the eyes of a student, always questioning, and not assuming that we understand everything before us. In such a state, vigilance becomes possible once again, and from there, the flame of attention may ignite to illumin the path before us.  May such humility grace us all. Hari Om.

        The Webmasters, August 2010.