Self-help ✦ Penny’s Take
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Charles Johnston · 2017
63/100
👎 Skip It
Johnston's 1912 translation opened Patanjali to English readers at a time when almost nothing else existed, and the accessible prose still has charm. But the theosophical interpretive layer distorts the text in ways modern readers deserve to know about, and more accurate translations are readily available today. Fine as historical curiosity; not the best starting point for someone who actually wants to understand Patanjali.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: occult/esoteric content — theosophical framework blends Hindu philosophy with Western esoteric tradition; not compatible with strictly biblical faith frameworks. We still scored it 63; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
safety72
substance62
craft68
originality60
accuracy48
hype65
age-fit75
human-eye58
Penny’s verdict63
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