James Swartz

Road Map to Enlightenment James Swartz

We practice yoga to make our bodies healthy and attractive, and sometimes, in moments of well-being, spiritual intimations bubble up from deep within and ignite the desire to know more about ourselves. If we are lucky, we somehow discover the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which speak to the universal need for transcendent freedom, and address the fundamental problem we face as we struggle to find meaning in this uncertain binary reality, the knower-doer split. Is it safe to trust this flame of freedom burning within that calls me to a higher destiny? Or should I resign myself to the shallow destiny of the crowd? Is there really a higher state of consciousness, a samadhi, that I can access with various physical, psychological and spiritual techniques that will quarantine me from the rat race and bring peace? Or is it available by knowledge because I am already free, as the ancient tradition of non-dual jnana yoga - Vedanta - contends? Perhaps a judicious combination of action and knowledge is required?In this short book I have attempted to resolve the perennial conflict between the path of action and the path of knowledge for those who seek the inner freedom that is our birthright.