A Brief History of Yoga: From its Tantric Roots to the Modern Yoga Studio

8 reviews for A Brief History of Yoga: From its Tantric Roots to the Modern Yoga Studio

1. 

   C. Secrest – December 17, 2024

   Thinking Outside the Box – I give many more STARS 🙂
   Looking into Ramesh Bjonnes new book “A Brief History of Yoga”, one cannot help but be surprised by the courage it takes to write such a book. He is weaving the history of yoga together, using traditional yoga, unknown yoga, the suppressed yoga, and looks at all of that from the point of view of the lower castes or the “conquered people.”Various perspectives are at play here which raises questions such as whether there was an actual Aryan invasion or not, and whether all evolving spirituality was developed by Aryans, which is a perspective the upper caste Indians often prefer. That the upper class of India may not have developed tantra, and that there may have been a blending between spiritual paths, for instance, is one point of contention. In the case of tantra (the mystical spiritual “path”), it may have been developed by dark skinned Dravidians (natives with a shamanistic background), people who spoke their own language and had their own matriarchal culture. It is of no surprise that many Indian Nationalists, those who are strongly attached to caste may feel offended by such an unusual perspective.He brings into play the research of Dr. Spencer Wells, who used genetics to trace human migration, pointing that there indeed may have been a migration into Asia from outside a long time ago. This may go against the argument made by Dr. Frawley and Georg Feuerstein who argued in their co-authored book, “The Cradle of Civilization” that Indian civilization was always indigenous and hardly any noteworthy outsiders (such as the Aryans coming from Russia and Ukraine) were contributing to the Vedas and cultural wealth of “Great Indian” unfolding. Most upper castes always thought that whatever is “noble and noteworthy” is found in the Aryan traditions. For instance, they thought that the Vedic texts came from Aryans whereas barbaric tantric cults were developed by uncivilized “Non-Aryans.”Points are made that Yoga may have been known also in the West in ancient times as yogi-like figures made of stone were found in France, carvings of yoga postures were found in Sweden, and a Viking-yogi of Norway was found, pointing that a migration of yoga may have taken place towards Europe thousands of years earlier (Armstrong, 2008). Tantra and the Vedas have had their own developments which we can see by looking at the Pashupatinath-Seal. The Lord of the Beasts (Pashupatinath) is often downplayed by some scholars whereas some different scholars think that the origin of this famous seal might have indeed been tantric. There were many interesting footnotes supporting various arguments. Interestingly, there are ways of knowing such as “perception/empiricism, inference/logic, testimony/authority” and in the mystical inner “sciences” even intuition.In Yoga, not just science matters but also what has been taught by the teachers, and in tantra some lessons are taught verbally only, and these lessons may be thousands of years old. It takes courage to write such a “politically incorrect book,” as there can be a backlash from those who are inclined to project their own conditioning through their filter system due to overrated attachment to caste, culture, language, nation, tradition and many other limitations. This book is a wise choice for all those who want to think outside of the conventional box.In addition, this text also has a benevolent unifying character as it sees ultimately all humans, animals and plants as a family to be honored, respected and loved. Certain teaching of tantra appear to be able to see the highest and deepest in every expression of the entire cosmological order. This book is in its own way an eye- and mind opener which has a mind expanding quality. Just by following the words along – reading it in a relaxed manner, it felt like a form of ideational practice to me.Also, the footnotes, the many wonderful authors Ramesh draws inspiration from, are rich in insight and all worthy of study and contemplation as well. Give it a try.

2. 

   John Meng – December 17, 2024

   Wonderfully written and easy to follow.
   I’m rather new to Yoga and after several very meaningful experiences I wanted a better understanding of where it all started. This book absolutely delivered in the insight I was searching for. Highly recommend, five stars 🌟

3. 

   D. Radick – December 17, 2024

   Great reference
   I’m somewhat familiar with the practice and theory of Tantra, so there were not any surprises in that regard. But I was totally unfamiliar with the dichotomy and arguments about Tantra vs Vedanta, and the role of the Aryans (or not!). These divisions underpin the current India caste system, and the worldwide prejudice of “lighter skinned people are smarter and the natural leaders”. That prejudice is one of the foundations of the Brahmin claim to control and lead. But as Mr Bjonnes makes clear, the transformational practice of Tantra by wide varieties of people leads to a more expansive definition of “who is my brother” and “what is my purpose in this life”. To be clear, this is not a book focused on the practice and benefits of Tantra, it is a scholarly work examining the historic conflicts between “bottom up” Tantra practice and “top down” Vedanta teachings. In that context, it is a worthy addition to any serious student’s bookshelf.

4. 

   Es – December 17, 2024

   Interesting, but not well written
   This Brief history of yoga by Ramesh Bjonnes is interesting. The author does not agree with the commonly held opinion that yoga has originated in the Vedic brahman culture, but is of the opinion that yoga is older, and originated in the Shiva/tantra culture of the Dravidians that preceded the Vedic culture and the invading Vedic Aryans (who migrated from the south of Russia to India), and that later on was integrated (or absorbed, or appropriated) in the Veda’s and into Vedanta. Bjonnes presents his alternative proposal of the history of yoga and also explains why many academics nowadays have the view that yoga is Vedic , which according to the author has to do with the hindu movement, the felt need to present the religion(s) of India as authentic Indian, and second because tantra has much longer been an oral tradition and a tradition of the lower casts as a result of which it was not written down as early as the Vedic scriptures. He also mentions some linguistic arguments and some results from genetic studies into the old peoples of India (the Vedic Aryans and Shiva/tantric Dravidians) to support his case. His explanation makes sense, and to me, an academic but not trained in the area of history and religion, it sounds like this could be true, and it certainly is interesting.However, I do have a few problems with this book. First, it is not a well structured book. There is a lot of repetition in it. Second, there are quite a few authors and books referenced in the text, and sometimes even quoted, while the source is not included the bibliography (p.e. a book by Danielou of 2003 (p54), Anandamurtii of 1979 (p101), and a quote by Andre Harvey (p117)). Another thing is that he frequently quotes Anandamurrti, a 20-century tantric master, as proof of some ideas. Now, to his defence, in the introduction when discussing ways of knowing he also discusses the intuition of great masters, and that they apparantly know things without ‘normal’ sources, but based on their insight and intuition. Maybe I am too much a product of science, but I have dificulty accepting that as proof, and certainly because Anandamurrti lived in the last century (would have been different if he lived and had written all of his texts 2000 years ago). Similarly, he cites Danielou, a French scientist from around the 1950s, to support his views, but never indicates why one should believe that Danielou was right. I also think that some evidence he presents is interesting, but I suspect there is a lot more around in these fields of investigation. For example, the genetic evidence he mentions dates from a tv-program of 2003 (although apparantly published in a book in 2017 by Wells), and another source of 2001 (but only a website mentioned, not a publication in a scientific journal). Now my guess is that the last 20 years a lot of genetic studies are performed because technology has improved so much and made this type of research much cheaper and easier to do. There may be much around in this area supporting his view or perhaps not supporting it, but either way interesting. I just think this could be presented in a much better way. The same is true for linguistic evidence he cites. This is also a research area that has developed a lot in the last 20-30 years, so I also expect that there is much more on that than he presents.I think in the end for me this book lack rigor in its writing, which Always makes me suspicious about the claims that are done. But please make up your own mind. To the authors defense: he is not an academic, but a long-time practicioner (and teacher) of trantra. The last chapter about the practices of tantra itself, I actually found best. And I expect that his book Sacred body, sacred spirit (about tantra) is a good read, because Bjonnes is a long time practioner of tantra, and seems to be very knowledgeable on that. I am going to read now Gavin Flood’s An introduction of hinduism. Seems more like a standard textbook, I am curious.

5. 

   Dipak Hojai – December 17, 2024

   This book is one of best book written in brief to know the concept and knowledge on history of Yoga.The Author has got practical knowledge on meditation and Yoga which he has been practice over an decade.I truely recommend this book for Yoga Practiceners.

6. 

   Dharmananda – December 17, 2024

   Excellent and very accessible book on the history of Yoga. In just 135 pages, author Ramesh Bjonnes presents and discusses the main theories regarding the origins of Yoga, before putting forward his own thinking which outlines a close relationship with Shaiva Tantra.What I liked best about this book is how broadminded its approach is. While many popular books on Yoga’s history, especially those written by western authors, present a theory based almost entirely on empiricism alone, Bjonnes goes deeper.’I have, in the spirit of yoga,’ he writes, ‘also relied on the great masters of yoga as well as their intuitive wisdom.’The result is a much more rounded work offering a wide variety of ideas – including most importantly those from the lineages that have preserved this practice – as opposed to relying solely on western academia.Highly recommended as a concise, readable and and yet still broadminded discussion on Yoga’s complex history.

7. 

   Amazon Customer – December 17, 2024

   Ramesh Bjonnes is definitely the Yuval Noah Harari of Tantra. His book, A Brief History of Yoga, is a thrilling, hypnotic adventure into the origins of Indian spirituality and the birth of what today is called yoga.The book blends historical revelations about the origins of yoga & Tantra together with beautiful and heartwarming memories of Ramesh’s spiritual teacher, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, as he had the rare blessing to study with a guru who was one of the few true tantric masters of the 20th century.What makes the book a must-read for all yoga teachers and Tantra adepts is that they both will be guided to a better understanding of their own spiritual practice. Ramesh beautifully reveals a world which other authors are not able to encode for the common reader. For example, most of the secret teachings of Arthur Avalon are not understandable to the modern yoga practitioner, but Ramesh guides us gently into a mysterious world beyond clean studios and yoga mats.In a world with resurfacing racism, the book also has a clear political message: Yoga and Tantra were not created by tribes inside of India alone. Cultures from Europe and Russia that settled in India had a marked influence on the more primal shamanistic teachings from the Indian Dravidian culture. Yoga and Tantra were not created just from the Vedas. It was crosspolinated over thousands of years from different cultures inside and outside of India.Ramesh is, with a warm heart, explaining the origins of Yoga all from a historical point of view, and in doing so, makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of these traditions.

8. 

   Julian – December 17, 2024

   I am reading it