108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 107 – The safest place for the mind is in the past.
The safest place for the mind is in the past.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 27
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
Posts archive: All Collected Yoga News Views & Blog Posts Timeline
When there is Śraddhā the person is not disappointed…
“When there is Śraddhā, the person is not
disappointed on failing to get immediate benefits.
They are sure that it is only a question of time
and so the failures on the path do not
reduce their enthusiasm or their efforts.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 20
Śraddhā is the source of motivation.
“Śraddhā is the source of motivation.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 20
TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Collated Quotes Chapter One verses 1-4
“The original essence of the Yoga Sūtra
was passed on by oral tradition.
First you learn the rhythm of the Sūtra.
This was in Saṃskṛta,
first learning the words or Sūtra, then the meanings.
By learning to recite the Sūtra perfectly it was clear
that you were earnest in wanting to learn their meanings.
The scheme would be to repeat it twice,
in exactly the same tone used by the teacher.
This would take many years.
Thus these days it’s difficult to expect to
understand the Sūtra from a book or a course.”
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter One – Samādhi Pādaḥ
“The beauty of the Sūtra is that they are only related to the mind.
Thus they stand above various religions
and can be studied and related to by
all types of persons from all types of religions.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One
Annotated through Ten Themed Sections
When we act unconsciously we go back into the past.
“When we act unconsciously
we go back into the past.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 27
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 106 – Hāna is the giving up of the reliance on Asmitā…
Hāna is the giving up
of the reliance on Asmitā
being perceived as if
the heart of one’s self.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 25
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Yoga Practice Pointers – 67 – Refining the relationship with mid-range movement…
Refining the relationship with mid-range movement,
refines the relationship with the spine.
A Rendition of Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapters One to Four
The Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapters One to Four
Samādhi Sādhana Vibhūti Kaivalya Pādaḥ
Offered here, as both a UK and US version PDF, is a verse by verse rendition for all four chapters of the Yoga Sūtra, each with the Romanised Saṃskṛta. Each verse is rendered more from a literal viewpoint, rather than a liberal viewpoint. This is a choice of approach whereby the aim is to stay closer to the style of composition utilised by Patañjali with its grammatical terseness outweighing communicative fluidity.
Readers wishing to complement this more literal approach with a more liberal interpretation can visit Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra where you can find a freedom of expression in terms of choice of rendering to facilitate a more free-form thread for the reader.
108 Yoga Study Path Pointers – 29 – Is the direction of our practice…
Is the direction of our practice
more concerned with self-interest or is
it more concerned with an interest in the Self?
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 105 – That’s our starting point…
That’s our starting point…
This curious conjunction
of being Human and
yet human Being.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Yoga Study Path Pointers – 28 – Rakṣaṇa Krama is a proactive process…
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 104 – More usually the past dominates the present…
More usually the past dominates the present.
Through Yoga Sādhana we work towards
the present dominating the past.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 103 – Yoga is about seeking a relationship with that which experiences…
Yoga is about seeking a relationship
with that which experiences,
rather than seeking experiences.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 102 – We can build bridges of fear…
We can build
bridges of fear,
or we can build
bridges over fear.
The choice is ours.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 9
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 101 – Yoga is about creating new responses…
Yoga is about creating
new responses, especially
when experiencing familiar
arisings from old stories.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 50
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 100 – What you are looking at is coloured by where you are looking……
What you are looking at is coloured
by where you are looking from.
Where you are looking from is coloured
by what you are looking at.
So the mind may know or not know,
where it is actually looking from,
or what it is actually looking at.
Or even not know that it doesn’t know
the nuances inherent in what and where.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 17
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Yoga Practice Pointers – 66 – Āsana is about the movement of the force…
I do feel that verses ten and eleven in Chapter Two of the Yoga Sūtra……
I do feel that verses ten and eleven in Chapter Two of the Yoga Sūtra offer a directional shift as an inspiration for undertaking the transitional commitment from Kriyā Yoga towards Aṣṭāṅga Yoga.
“These (Kleśa) are subtle and are
overcome by going back to their origin.”
Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 10“This fluctuation
(the rise and fall in their perpetual potency to ‘take over’)
is overcome by meditation.”
Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 11
For me, these two verses are an essential reflection in the transition from the integration of Bāhya Sādhana, towards the cultivation of Antar Sādhana. Furthermore, when considering this deepening of our Sādhana from Bāhya towards Antar, these verses also re-mind me of the simple yet heartfelt teaching inherent in Chapter One.
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 99 – Building banks to channel the flow of the river…
Building banks to channel
the flow of the river of
Kleśa is Kriyā Yoga.
Building a dam to block
the flow of Kleśa as
we journey upstream
going back to the source
of the flow is Aṣṭāṅga Yoga.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 10
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 98 – Kriyā Yoga is more about working with the symptoms…
Kriyā Yoga is more about
working with the symptoms.
Aṣṭāṅga Yoga is more about
working with their cause.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 2
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 97 – The Section on the means to help do something for…
The Section on the means
to help do something for
the practitioner starting
with an agitated psyche.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 96 – Satya is about how we use truth…
Satya is about how we use truth
rather than truth in and of itself.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 36
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 95 – The Section on the assimilation of what thinks it perceives
The Section on the assimilation
of what thinks it perceives,
with the source of perception.
– Paul Harvey introduction to Yoga Sūtra Chapter One
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 94 – Now, you follow what follows, the teachings of Yoga.
Now,
you follow what follows,
the teachings of Yoga.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 1
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 93 – At all other times we identify with the fluctuations within the mind.
At all other times we identify with
the fluctuations within the mind.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4
Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra