“Through devotion and surrender to Īśvara
and by following the eight limbs of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga,
the benefits of Samādhi are realised with as little effort
as it takes to hold a pea in the palm of your hand.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 24

“Can these four Yoga Aṅga – Yama, Niyama, Āsana, Prāṇāyāma
– be practiced by everyone at every stage of life?
How often and how long should one practice?
How can we adapt our practice to changing circumstances?
These questions and others like them must be answered by a competent teacher,
according to each student’s individual circumstances.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 30

“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

“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

“The arrangement of Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two involves four components:
1. Duḥkha – What is it that I want to avoid?
2. Avidyā/Saṃyoga – Association or from where has this come?
3. Kaivalya/Viveka – Where should we be in order to be free from this association?
4. Viveka/Aṣṭāṅga – What is the way?
What is the discipline that will give Viveka, not just for a moment, but there all the time?
This is the place of Yoga.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verses 16 – 28

“The Dasa Indriya or ten senses of experience and action,
whilst seen as belonging to the Bāhya Aṅga or five external limbs
in the eight limb Aṣṭa Aṅga Yoga of Patañjali,
are also the gateway to the Antar Aṅga or three internal limbs.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“The practice which is Śodhana for the Antar Aṅga
is Antaraṅga Sādhana.”
– T Krishnamacharya introduction to Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three

“Dhyānam is the seventh Aṅga of the Aṣṭāṅga Yoga.
In order to experience Dhyānam, the sixth step,
Dhāraṇā, should have been practiced thoroughly.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1

“Before launching on Antar Aṅga Sādhana,
one should be a Niṣṭhāvān in Bāhya Aṅga Sādhana.
If this earlier stage is very well established,
then only a teacher may teach Dhyāna.”
– T Krishnamacharya 1984

“There are also fundamental differences between Yoga and Vedānta.
And, if at all we can link them, it is as follows:
Yoga is a means towards Vedānta for those who are interested.
Vedānta involves a lot of enquiry and reflection, and also demands the development of Bhakti, and, for both the mind and for the individual, Yoga is the means towards Bhakti.
Also, Vedānta is JñānaMārga, and a state of mind that is necessary for Jñāna can only come through the practice of Aṣṭāṅga.”
– TKV Desikachar from lectures on ‘The Yoga of T Krishnamacharya’, given at Zinal, Switzerland 1981.

“Often Dhyāna fails because one is not able to reach the first stage,
the Pūrva Aṅga.
Often one wants to go to the second stage
without going through the first one,
and that is not possible.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 19th 1988

“The arrangement of Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two involves four components:
1. Duḥkha – What is it that I want to avoid?
2. Avidyā/Saṃyoga – Association or from where has this come?
3. Kaivalya/Viveka – Where should we be in order to be free from this association?
4. Viveka/Aṣṭāṅga– What is the way?
What is the discipline that will give Viveka, not just for a moment, but there all the time?
This is the place of Yoga.”
– TKV Desikachar January 9th 1999

“The First and Second Chapters of the Yoga Sūtra
can be linked to the teaching concepts of
Śikṣaṇa, Rakṣaṇa and Cikitsā Krama.
In that the Samādhi Yoga in Chapter One
can be seen as apt for a Śikṣaṇa situation,
whereby the primary aim is discernment, as in
exploring what lies within the sense of I-Am.
Whereas in Chapter Two, the Kriya Yoga section
can be seen as being apt for a Cikitsā situation,
whereby the primary aim is recovering, as in
reducing agitation through lifestyle changes.
and the Bāhya Aṅga section of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga
can be seen as being apt for a Rakṣaṇa situation,
whereby the primary aim is establishing stability,
through a formal practice within a Yoga Sādhana.”
– 108 Teaching Path Pointers

“Duḥkha is the starting point for the
Yoga journey of four junctures from:
the symptom, as in Duḥkha or suffering,
to the cause, as in Avidyā or illusion,
to the goal, as in Kaivalya or independence;
via the tools, as in Aṣṭāṅga or 8 limbed path,
for the means, as in Viveka or discernment.
This ancient fourfold process is at the heart of
the teachings in Yoga, Āyurveda & Buddhism.”
– 108 Study Path Pointers

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