Path to the Awakened Heart: the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali  is an important new book on  meditation, the process of inner transformation that occurs in the practice of yoga, and the integration of spiritual practice into one's life.  The author, Robert Jacobs, was among the wave of enthusiastic Westerners who traveled to India in the early 1970s to plumb the depths of the Indian mystical tradition. He spent several years living in ashrams in India and the United States under the guidance of his illumined teachers, studying and practicing the deeper levels of yoga and meditation. Author of the spiritual memoir  Journey to the Awakened Heart,  he now teaches meditation and yoga studies at Awakened Heart Yoga and Meditation in Gainesville, Florida.  This comprehensive interpretation and analysis of one of the fundamental scriptures in the Indian yoga tradition allows the reader to become steeped in the practices and understandings of the deep wisdom tradition of India. In his rendering, the author points to the universality of the teachings and practices in the Yoga Sutras, explaining how they form foundational elements of many spiritual paths.  Apart from his thoughtful analysis, Jacobs provides contemplations with each sutra that allow the reader to experience their subtleties and depth. From the book, readers should gain the following: ·      A deep understanding of how to meditate using the breath and mantra. ·      An understanding of one's mind and its relationship to universal Consciousness. ·      An understanding of karma, how it is created, balanced and finally overcome. ·      An understanding and experience of what spiritual masters call "emptiness."  ·      An understanding of the origins of the powers of Consciousness: will/intention, understanding, and action. ·      For hatha yoga teachers, the book offers an in depth understanding of the full teachings of yoga and the part played by hatha yoga. ·      For teachers of the Yoga Sutras, the book serves as an excellent text to impart the teaching of Patanjali to students of yoga. The Yoga Sutras is one of the most comprehensive guidebooks written about walking a spiritual path. Jacobs' rendering offers meditators a unique opportunity to explore the intricacies of their own spiritual practices and paths.