Glimpses of Raja Yoga is based on a series of talks given by Vimala Thakar at a retreat for yoga teachers conducted in Italy in 1989. First published in India in 1991, the book serves as an informal introduction to Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, which many yogis regard as the ultimate authority on yoga practice and philosophy. The Yoga Sutras are comprised of 196 densely-packed aphorisms, divided into four chapters, which for the past fifteen hundred years have been the subject of numerous commentaries that often obscure rather than reveal their meaning. Yoga practitioners easily lose their way in the labyrinth of these commentaries and find Patanjali daunting and inaccessible. In Glimpses of Raja Yoga, Vimala Thakar cuts through the mystique that surrounds the Yoga Sutras by clarifying some of the basic concepts of Raja Yoga. Her iconoclastic approach reminds us of her mentor, J. Krishnamurti, but the depth of her understanding of yoga tradition is thoroughly her own.

In Chapter 1, Vimala describes the ancient Indian culture that gave rise to the Upanishads and the Yoga Sutras. In Chapter 2, we glimpse the endpoint of practice—the dimension of Silence that lies beyond meditation. In Chapters 3-6, Vimala addresses the ethical basis of yoga practice—the yamas (restraints) and niyamas (observances)—and challenges the moralistic translations of such concepts as tapas and brahmacharya. By returning to the root meaning of these Sanskrit words, she offers a radically different interpretation that opens our spiritual horizons and invites us to practice.

Chapter 7 deals with the main obstacles to spiritual practice known as the kleshas—ignorance, egotism, desire, aversion, and the fear of extinction. Chapter 8 distinguishes between two different stages of meditation—dharana (which involves conscious effort) and dhyana (which is effortless). Chapter 9 discusses the philosophical basis of Patanjali's system, the interplay of prakriti (matter) and purusha (spirit). Chapters 10-12 consider the final stages of the eightfold path of Raja Yoga, culminating in the experience of samadhi.