“Meditation also depends on the meditator.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 6
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“How can we distinguish
the actual state of Dhyāna
from infatuation with an object
that pleases and fills the mind?”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“Since Dhyāna cannot occur without an object of concentration,
there must be an area where you fix your mind.
So, first you have to fix or bind your mind
on a particular place, a chosen object;
this is known as Deśa Bandha.
And second, the mind should establish
a relationship with this object which
should last, at least, for a moment.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“Dhyāna is not simply to still the mind.
It involves our ability to reflect afresh,
to discover what we had not known before.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“Meditation must elevate the mind.
That is its basic purpose, to be where I was not.
This involves an ascent of the individual’s mind.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 5
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“Action is best performed when
it is for the good of the society,
with the spirit of dedication to the lord
and with freedom from the attitude of
being the doer and the beneficiary.”
– TKV Desikachar on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Seven
(Yāmunācārya commentary on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Three)
View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes Collected & Collated
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated
“The Yoga of Patañjali, presented in very brief pithy statements,
asserts that all human problems emanate from the mind
and can be resolved by changing the quality of this mind.
Not only can they be resolved, but a person can also
utilise this refined mind for every use possible,
including comprehending the divine mystery.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras 1996
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“Ekāgratā is compared to the sharp tip
of the steady flame of a Ghee Lamp
when not exposed to any wind.
In other words,
the mind should not move
anywhere else other than in the
direction fixed for Dhāraṇā.
Obviously the Viṣaya for Dhāraṇā
and Dhyānam should be the same.
The stronger the Dhāraṇā,
the steadier the Dhyānam.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Six verse 19
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated
“Fixing the Manas in a particular place,
disciplining the senses,
seated in a proper posture,
a person begins Yoga for Citta Śuddhi.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Six verse 12
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated
“Then what is required is
the clarity that is stable in
the midst of provocation and
the ability to do ones duty
with complete dedication,
without insisting on results.”
– TKV Desikachar on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Six
(Yāmunācārya commentary on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Two)
View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes Collected & Collated
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated
“Yoga is that which enables us
to sustain what is required and
reduce that which is not required.”
(Here Yoga is Avasthā)
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 13
“When I do something is it
because I want to do it,
or am I being led to
do it by the mind?”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 9
“The Bhagavad Gītā is addressed to those seekers
who are suffering because of lack of clarity with
regard to friendship, compassion and Dharma.”
– TKV Desikachar on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Five
(Yāmunācārya’s commentary on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter One)
View All Gītārtha Saṃgraha Quotes Collected & Collated
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated
“It is not the request but where it is coming from.”
– TKV Desikachar on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Two verse 7
View All Bhagavad Gītā Quotes Collected & Collated
“To practice Dhyāna
there are two questions
we need to ask,
Can I hold an object?
Can I sustain that hold?”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“If there is no Dhāraṇā,
there is no Grahaṇa or grasping.
Mind itself cannot do Dhāraṇā.
Something else is required.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“Deśa – Place
Bandha – Fixing
Who is going to decide the place,
and who is going to say go there?
Or something else is telling the
mind to go there and stay there?”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“Here the word Citta is used rather than Manas.
Citta is not used in Chapter Two,
except with regard to Pratyāhāra in verse 54.
Otherwise the term Manas is used,
as in when the mind is automatically
pulled out by external forces.
Therefore for many of us mind is Manas.
Unless there is a shift from Manas to Citta,
it is not possible to do Dhāraṇā.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
”A busy mind is always telling you where to go.
A quiet mind can be told where to go.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
“Vibhūti –
Something special
within each of us,
as in Aiśvaryam.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three
– TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
– T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
