Even among yogis there’s disagreement!
This is an open letter to our modern day Patanjali, Edwin Bryant:
Dearest Edwin,
Congratulations on having your latest work published! I apologize for this rant in advance because I’m only on page 4!
I have NO doubt that few living beings possess your depth and breadth of knowledge and experience when it comes to yoga – especially, your beloved Bhakti Yoga, as well as “those other generic yoga traditions”!?!?
I really must beg your forgiveness, but one CAN “attain awareness culminating in ecstatic love of that which is beyond consciousness” or God, through meditation! That’s the whole point of meditating: to literally try to “touch God”!
I ABSOLUTELY agree that Bhakti is the highest of the four types of yoga but not because as you point out it’s the easiest, but simply because it is the most direct!
On page 4, you mention Bhakti (devotion) and Jana (knowledge) by name, but instead of similarly separately mentioning that yoga may also be attained through meditation and service, you lump them together with God-knows-what and use the term “GENERIC?!?!” and say that Bhakti “reveals a higher Truth than that revealed by [here we go again] other yoga paths.”
Come on. You’re literally my hero, but I want to cry Bud.
GENERIC?! Please come back to 01945 soon because obviously I’m missing something!!
Again, heartfelt congrats on Tales and Teachings from the Bhagavata Purana! It’s an honor just to write this.
On behalf of all yogis to follow whose paths to the Truth have been shortened by your life’s work – thank you.
Allan (“Skip”) Dowds
