One of the book piles on my dining table hosts no less than nine Yogani’s books, many of which used to be quite important in my learning about yoga. Without any premeditation, this morning I pulled out his book about self-inquiry.[1] For some reason, the title intrigued me quite a bit after a long pause. On the first page I found a note of mine that the book was a gift from my former beloved on February 16, 2010. “Wow,” I grinned, “that’s six years prior to my liberation!” But I was soon surprised by the fact that there were very few checkmarks of mine in the book’s margins, as well as none of my comments. The first checkmark was in the Introduction, where Yogani repeats his hope that spiritual methods can be effectively transmitted in writing.[2] And the second one was in Chapter 1 entitled “On the Trail of Truth” in a section with an attractive title: “Self-Inquiry - The Yoga of Knowledge.”[3] It is known as jnana yoga, where jnana stands for both “knowledge” and “wisdom.” But that was all. I browsed through the book several times during the day, and with all the care I could muster, but I could not find anything about writing as an important part of self-inquiry. In my mind, though, writing is actually vital to self-inquiry, and my Residua is my witness. A few minutes ago, I jotted down my disappointment on the last page of the book. For many of those engaged in self-inquiry, writing something akin to a diary must be essential on the path to liberation, I am convinced. Many of those endowed with knowledge and wisdom had kept writing most of their lives. For some reason, Yogani’s book missed it entirely. Whence this note in the hope that some of his students will benefit from it in their own self-inquiry. In my experience, there is no better way to follow one’s own progress than writing, as well as reading what one has written with due diligence. Which is perhaps why this particular book by one of my teachers of yoga has attracted so little of my attention on my own path. Pace Yogani, but knowledge and wisdom require communicating with oneself over time, and liberation cannot but take a good chunk of time. Most important, writing makes sure you are not fooling yourself along the way.

Addendum I (June 3, 2025)

Yesterday I sent the link to this piece of writing to Yogani, and he responded in just a few hours. This was the second time that we had exchanged electronic-mail messages in the last decade (“Who Is My Book about Yoga For?” February 2, 2016). Once again, it was a joy to be in touch with him. To begin with, he agreed with me that writing could be an important part of the spiritual path. But he added that “journaling” had been mentioned as a useful tool on the path in several places in his lessons, all of which could be found in AYP publications. One more time, Yogani and I turned out to be on the same page. Hooray! Delighted, the best I could do was to add a few words to this particular piece. Three cheers for writing!

Addendum II (June 4, 2025)

With my permission, Yogani has put our electronic-mail interchange on AYP Public Forum (www.forum.aypsite.org). He has also mentioned my book about yoga, which is dedicated to him, and which can be found for free on my Residua and Ca’ Bon Gallery websites. Again and again, I am overjoyed with our interchange. Yogani is a guru very much to my liking. It is my sincere hope that a good number of his disciples will find their way to liberation by means of his many books that are available through AYP Publishing. To his credit, long ago he has undertaken a worldwide experiment to find out whether books can provide the means necessary to tread the path to liberation. And this is an experiment worthy of international acclaim. As Yogani states at the end of every message, the guru is in you. Words of wisdom!

Footnotes

1. Self-Inquiry: Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering, Nashville, Tennessee, and London, England: AYP Publishing, 2007.

2. Op. cit., p. vi.

3. Op. cit., p. 4.