Here is an attempt to trace the origin of Yoga back to the Veda millennia before the advent of Patnjali with his Yoga-sutra which ordinarily is mistaken to be the earliest source-book on the discipline. By tracing the origin of so important a discipline as Yoga to that end this work not only presents a corrective of an error of soabysmal order but also brings to the fore the discipline in its pristine purity and abundance which resulted in the elevation of Angiras, Visvamitra, Vasistha, etc., to seerhood. The mystery of the Veda at such an early stage of the human history gets cracked here through the trace of yoga to that antiquity. Besides showing sure indications to the discipline in the Vedic Samhitas, it discloses the secret yogic practices of some of the most important seers of the Vedic age. If the method of prananusandhana as developed by Angiras has resulted in the way of access to pure consciousness through control of the vital, that of nadanusandhana as epitomised by the female seer Amghrni has led to descent of Vedic mantras on the seers with all their exquisite wealth of wisdom, knowledge and aesthetic values. While the chapter on Yogic Motifs in Indus Seals confirms the literary evidence adduced here by archaeological verity, the Critique of Patanjali brings to the fore the seminal points of departure of him from the royal road of Yoga, raja-yoga, built up by the seers. Thus, if one wants to understand the secret of Spirituality in India along with the infallible way to it, one is sure to find this publication most refreshing and rewarding.

As the book is designed to confirm to course contents of Yoga, it will be of great use to graduates, diploma, degree and research students of Yoga and the teachers alike. 

Content - Table of Transliteration, Foreword, Preface, Introduction, 1. Glimpses of Yoga in the Vedic Samhitas, I. YOKE AS A SYMBOL OF YOGA IN THE VEDIC SAMHITAS, II. HRDA-MANISA AS A DIRECT INDICATOR OF SERIOUS YOGIC SADHANA, III. EVIDENCE OF THE AITAREYA UPANISAD, IV. SQUEEZING OF SOMA AS SYMBOLIC OF YOGIC SADHANA, V. TAPAS AND YOGA, 2. Yogic Motifs in Indus Seals, I. PROBLEM OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE VEDIC AND INDUS CIVILISATION, II. YOGIC MOTIFS CONCERNING ASANAS, III. THE MOTIF OF THE YOGIN IN SAMBHAVI MUDRA, IV. YOGIC MESSAGE OF THE PASUPATI SEAL, V. RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE PASUPATI SEAL AND THE CONTENT OF VEDIC MANTRAS, VI. CORROBORATION BY THE YAJURVEDIC EVIDENCE, 3. Yogic Sadhana of Vedic Seers, Visvamitra, Vamadeva, Bharadvaja, Vasistha, Dirghatamas, Agastya and the Sadhana of Reconciliation between the Vital and the Spiritual, Vatsa Kanya, Narayana and the Possibility of Transformation of the Human into the Divine, Hiranyagarbha, Vagambhrni, Patanga, Aghamarsana, 4. Yoga as the Cradle of the Vedic System of Education, I. BEARING OF YAJNA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOGA, II. UPANISADIC VIDYAS AS A LINK BETWEEN EDUCATION AND YOGA, III. INTEGRATIVE ROLE OF YOGA IN EDUCATION, 5. Consciousness and Yogic Sadhana in Saivism, I. VEDIC ORIGIN OF SAIVISM, II. SIVA AS THE AUSPICIOUS ASPECT OF RUDRA, III. DISCOVERY OF SIVA BY UPANISADIC SAGE THROUGH MEDITATION, IV. EQUIVALENCE OF MACROCOSM AND MICROCOSM AS THE BASIS OF YOGIC SADHANA IN SAIVISM, V. NADIS AND CAKRAS IN SAIVISM AS A VEDIC HERITAGE, 6. A Critique of Patanjali, I. ADVERSE EFFECT OF THE SANKHYA METAPHYSICS, II. CONSEQUENCE OF DEPARTURE FROM KAPILA'S FUNDAMENTAL STANDPOINT, III. BRAHMI-STHITI VERSUS KAIVALYA, IV. DISRUPTION OF THE INTEGRALITY OF THE TRANSCENDENTAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH DIFFERENTIATION IN THE STATES OF SAMADHI, V. CONFUSION OF KRIYA-YOGA AND RAJA-YOGA, VI. LEANING TO THE BUDDHIST ETHOS, VII. SANKARA'S CRITICISM OF PATANJALI, 7. Vedic Vision of Bondage and Liberation, Index