Tame the Kundalini: Swami Satyananda's Interpretation of the Yoga Traditions

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Tame the Kundalini analyses the core teachings of the Bihar School of Yoga, one of the most important institutions of Modern Yoga. Swami Satyananda Saraswati has carefully unpacked the significance of ancient Indian traditions for contemporary yoga practitioners. His methodology is directed towards the arousal of Kundalini energy. To this end he has interpreted and adapted practices from Vedanta, Samkhya- Yoga and Tantra philosophies. This comprehensive monograph further shows how Hatha, Bhakti, Jñana and Karma yogas, together with various meditations, Kriyas and Yoga Nidra, all contribute towards the realisation of that goal.

"I must congratulate Javier for this clear and uncompromising presentation of the teachings of Satyananda Yoga, as well as their genesis in ancient Indian traditions and contemporary yoga masters. I strongly advise those who wish to know more of the historical and cultural background of Satyananda Yoga to read this book."

Swami Nishchalananda, Founder and Spiritual Director of Mandala Yoga Ashram, Wales (UK).

"This book is both a scholarly and a personal work. It is scholarly because it began its journey as a doctoral thesis. It is personal because the author has lived through these teachings in his own life in Spain and India, where he has travelled widely. Thus, he has practised Satyananda Yoga and experienced its methods and techniques. Here too there is honesty and integrity. This important book sets a strong precedent for similar books on other teachers."

Harry Aveling, author of The Laughing Swamis: Australian Sannyasin Disciples of Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Osho Rajneesh.

JAVIER RIUTORT HEREDIA is a supervising Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at the National Distance Education University (UNED), Spain. He received the first Research Award of the Spanish Association for Interdisciplinary India Studies (AEEII) for the best Ph.D. Thesis in 2020.

During a lecture on "The Tantric Way" given in Barcelona in 1982, Swami Satyananda Saraswati said:

The purpose of human life is to experience the Divine, or the Higher Being. Everybody has given his own idea of this objective. Some say it is God realization, others say samadhi. But we have come to one conclusion and that is that the purpose of human life is to evolve in the realm of awareness. We should be able to realise something beyond matter and the mind.

This book presents a critical examination of Swami Satyananda's teachings about ways of evolving beyond "matter and the mind." It is both a scholarly and a personal work. It is scholarly because it began its journey in a Spanish university context as a doctoral thesis, comparing Swami Satyananda's teachings in an objective way with those of the Indian scriptures and commonly accepted practices - Vedanta, Samkhya-Yoga and Tantra. The author did not always find that these traditions and their modern and international expressions are compatible or equivalent.

It is personal because the author has lived through these teachings in his own life in Spain - and in India too, where he has travelled widely. Thus, he has practised Satyananda Yoga and experienced its methods and techniques. He has even taught Satyananda Yoga in yogic academies for many years. Here too there is honesty and integrity. The author has experienced how the system works on an individually meaningful level over a long period and writes as an insider, aware that there is still much more to be known about yoga and "the purpose of human life."

This important book sets a strong precedent for similar books on other teachers. Indians have known since Rawana kidnapped Sita that one should not readily trust the smooth words and pious actions of an unknown holy man. Europeans take much longer to attune their sensitivities. All are benefitted by detailed analyses of the words of authentically powerful and influential public figures. Greater awareness is not only an outcome of evolution, it is also part of the way we evolve.

The teachings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati and the Bihar School of Yoga, now known as Satyananda Yoga, have been instrumental in bringing the profound practices and philosophy of yoga and tantra to the world, both inside and outside India.

Yogic teachings in some form or another have existed in India since time immemorial. They have evolved as is indicated in the many extant yogic texts. In different forms, the teachings were (and still are) fundamental aspects of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. However, it is only since the 1960s, that yogic teachings were extensively introduced to the modern world. Different schools have proposed their own unique systems. Those reading this book will probably have started on the yogic path, perhaps at a local class, or you have gone deeper into your practice. Possibly you will be following teachings and practices of Satyananda Yoga, for example yoga nidra. In these pages, you will gain a deeper appreciation of the provenance of these teachings in the vast kaleidoscope of the spiritual science of yoga. Of course, to gain benefits, you will have to undertake or continue your practice, but this book will give you a wider understanding and perspective of the background to what you are practising.