The Doctrine and Practice of Yoga: Including the Practices and Exercises of Concentration, Both Objective and Subjective, and Active and Passive Mentation, an Elucidation of Maya, Guru Worship, and the Worship of the Terrible, Also the Mystery of Will-Force
The Doctrine and Practice of Yoga: Including the Practices and Exercises of Concentration, Both Objective and Subjective, and Active and Passive Mentation, an Elucidation of Maya, Guru Worship, and the Worship of the Terrible, Also the Mystery of Will-Force
Here is a book that arrived in the West when yoga was still a secret. Written by Swami A.P. Mukerji in the early twentieth century, this text documents the teachings that would eventually reshape global spirituality, offered here with the earnestness of someone introducing an ancient tradition to entirely new ears. Mukerji distinguishes between objective concentration (the focused mind that achieves worldly aims) and subjective concentration (the inward turn toward self-realization), arguing that true power lies in the latter. The practices he outlines range from seated meditation to what he calls will-force training, the cultivation of mental energy directed toward spiritual transformation. He also addresses the more enigmatic aspects of the tradition: Maya (the illusion that binds us to worldly suffering), Guru worship as a path to liberation, and the worship of the Terrible the fierce aspect of the divine that confronts the seeker with their own depths. This is not a polished modern manual. It is a document from a particular moment when Eastern wisdom first began crossing oceans, rendered in dense, Victorian prose that itself feels like a portal. For historians of yoga, for seekers interested in the roots of modern meditation culture, or for anyone curious about what the spiritual journey looked like before it became packaged and digestible, this text remains a strange and valuable artifact.
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“The praying mind, by its mere attitude of faith and earnest expectation, opens itself out to the tremendous inflow of Divine Energy.””
— A. P., swámi Mukerji
“Never say die. If you go down”
— A. P., swámi Mukerji
“Act Courage. Think Courage. Say Courage.””
— A. P., swámi Mukerji
“To be able to wipe off all fearfulness, anxiety and worry from your mental tablets is no easy task, but when once accomplished, it gives you a glimpse of Heavenly Joy and Superhuman Strength. And, You can be Fearless, I tell you”
— A. P., swámi Mukerji
“Focus your full attention upon the thing to be done, take a keen interest in its accomplishment to the exclusion of all else, and you will obtain wonderful results.””
— A. P., swámi Mukerji
“Concentration "without" is illustrated when you devote all your attention upon Nature, such as learning a trade, a profession, a science, an art or some form of business. This is Evolution, outgoing or positive mental energy. I shall call this Objective Concentration. Concentration "within" implies the withdrawing of attention from the external world and the placing of mind on "God," "Spirit," "Heaven," "Religion," "Peace," "Nirvana," "Eternity," etc. This is Involution, i.e., incoming or negative energy.””
— A. P., swámi Mukerji
“Failure is the stepping-stone to Success. He fails who gives up a thing in final despair. Go on, I say. You will improve from the very first day, and in a short time you will be another man. All the leaders of humanity, past or present, have studied and investigated with tireless zeal along the special lines and, in Spiritual culture, you must do the same. But you must have health, a strong will and a steady brain, and I will enable you to have these positively. Keep these instructions strictly privately. Master them by constant meditation upon same.””
— A. P., swámi Mukerji
