Book excerpt: The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali are universally acknowledged as the fundamental text on yoga and meditation in the Indian classical tradition. This English translation of Yoga Philosophy of Patañjali is widely regarded as the most authoritative and authentic that has been available in recent times. It is a serious and clear presentation of Patañjali's sutras and Vyāsa's Bhāsya, providing these basic texts both in the original Sanskrit and in readable and accurate English. These classical works are augmented by the commentary of Swami Hariharananda Aranya, a scholar and yogi of great repute, who, in his lifetime, was the foremost exponent in India of the Sāṃkhya Yoga system of which the Yoga Aphorisms of Patañjali are the principal work.