“The Veda speak eloquently of the lotus in one’s heart, where Īśvara resides.
It is only when the mind is quiet, clear, and steady that we can
reach into and visualise this most intimate part of ourselves.
Yoga as a Saṃskāra leads to Yoga as a means to experience this.
The experience of Dhyānam, in this ideal sense,
eventually evolves into Samādhi – total absorption in Īśvara.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

“Yoga is the experience of stillness,
within the fluctuations of mind,
rather than the experience of stillness,
of the fluctuations of mind.”
– Pau Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

“In the Yoga state we experience what is beyond the mind.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“To experience the spaciousness of Cit,
Yoga says practice enclosing the Citta.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“Yoga is about seeking a relationship
with that which experiences,
rather than seeking experiences.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“Yoga is about being more with
the experience of seeing rather
than the experience of the seen.
Bhogā is about being more with
the experience of the seen rather
than the experience of seeing.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“Given the at all other times in this verse,
we need to thwart the ploys of the mind to
conform to its unhelpful fluctuations by reducing:
1. The tendency of the mind to perceive in too many ways.
2. The tendency of the mind to distort what we see.
3. The tendency of the mind to fantasize.
4. The tendency of the mind to go to sleep at inappropriate moments.
5. The tendency of the mind to get lost in memory or impose memory on reality.
When these old or other tendencies take over you are not there.
So if you are not consistent with your efforts,
you will not change your state of mind.
Plus, the unhelpful aspects of the fluctuations reduce
the tendency of the mind to experience a clarity of being.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“Even when our understanding is consistent with our perception or repeated experience,
it does not necessarily indicate a fact.
For instance,
if we assume that a person is a woman simply because that person is dressed in a woman’s clothes,
this is called Viparyaya or mental activity that is based on something other than fact.
Viparyaya, then, is comprehension based on a perceived characteristic in the observer,
which leads to false assumptions.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 8

“In Sūtra 1.10 Patañjali defines Nidrā as a
Citta Vṛtti or, a specific type of cognition, one
where Tamas is the object, to the point where
the mind’s link with external stimuli is cut off.
How do we discern between states such as
Pratyāhāra as a disengagement, or Samādhi,
where one is as if empty of one’s own character,
and what is seen as the experience of Tamo Nidrā?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 10

“Anubhūta is the change that
occurs in one’s state of mind
when it is related to external objects
through the involvement of the senses.
This is also known as experience.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 11

“Memory is what we retain as
experience of sensory objects.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 11

“When this relationship becomes strong through repeated encounters,
a unique power develops in the mind which is linked to Jīva.
This power is Saṃskāra and from it arises memory or that aspect of understanding
where objects can be comprehended without being physically present.
Based on previous experiences of objects, Saṃskāra gives rise to understanding
and in order for this to happen, Jīva must be linked to the mind.
This ability to remember, known as Asaṃpramoṣa, stays with us for a very long time.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 11

“In Sūtra 1.11 Patañjali defines Smṛti as
the retention of the experience of an object.
How do we know whether Smṛti is Pramāṇa,
given the presence of Viparyaya and Vikalpa
within our parti pris shaping of an experience?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 11

“What is Samādhi?
It is the ability to experience the true nature of the objects of Meditation,
through a mind rid of the provocation of excitability and inactivity.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 20

“The tendencies born from that experience
of knowing oppose other tendencies.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 50

“A necessary step in Yoga is to experience
a state of complete and utter disillusionment.
Arising from that is a state of Citta prepared
to give up its conviction of being the Cit.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Fear and Insecurity feed on the leftovers
from the meals of past experiences.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 9

“We experience the world via the conjunction
of the ‘eye’ of the Cit with the ‘I’ of the Citta.”
– Paulo Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 17

“Awareness doesn’t change,
however our awareness of our
experience of awareness does.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 20

“Some define their experience of life by seeking Duḥkha,
some by seeking Sukha.
The Yoga Practitioner sees both as Avidyā
and defines their experience of life by seeking
what lies beyond duality through unwavering Viveka.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 26

“The ten senses or Das Indriya are the gateways
between our inner and the outer experiences,
in the twin roads of the worldly phenomena
that we call sensory knowing or bodily action.
The five senses that transport knowing from
the outer to the inner are called the Jñāna Indriya,
or the senses through which we perceive the world.
The five senses that transport action from
the inner to the outer are called the Karma Indriya,
or the senses through which we act out into the world.
The coordinator of this remarkable interface is Manas,
often referred to as the eleventh sense or internal organ.
The identifier in this remarkable process is Ahaṃkāra.
The discerner in this remarkable trinity is Buddhi.
The source of perception within this remarkable play
of knowing and action is known as Cit or Puruṣa.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“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

“The mutual aim of Yoga and Sāṃkhya is to
experience the more discerning aspects of the psyche,
rather than just the more grasping aspects of the psyche.
In the former, the tendency of the Buddhi to discern discriminately
prevails over the tendency of Ahaṃkāra to grasp indiscriminately.
In the latter, the tendency of the Ahaṃkāra to grasp indiscriminately
prevails over the tendency of the Buddhi to discern discriminately.
The former is a state known as Buddhi Sattva,
where the clarity of discernment prevails over the
indiscriminate grasping nature of the Ahaṃkāra.
The latter is a state of Buddhi Tamas,
where the discerning clarity of the Buddhi
is obscured by the grasping nature of the Ahaṃkāra.
Thus our Yoga Sādhana has but one primary Saṃkalpa,
that of the reduction of the obscuration by Tamas in the Buddhi.
This reduction of Tamas facilitates the advent of the clarity of Sattva,
as in the metaphor of the reduction of the cloud facilitates the advent of the sun.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 49

“Saṃskāra always looks
to our past experiences
to determine our choices
for our future actions.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 9

“We observe what we experience
through the eye of the Indriya
The eye of the Indriya observes
through the I of the Manas
The I of the Manas observes
through the I of the Ahaṃkāra
The I of the Ahaṃkāra observes
through the I of the Buddhi
The I of the Buddhi observes
from the eye of the Puruṣa.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 18

“The way to Yoga is experienced
through the art of living skilfully
within the defects of translation,
rather than aspiring romantically
after the effects of transcendence.”
– Paul Harvey on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Two verse 50

“We might want to consider the notion that the
most important standing Āsana is Samasthiti.
Its role is to ensure we engage with the next Āsana
from a place of attention and aware anticipation,
and after it, return to a place of fullness and reflection.
As if we are experiencing the fullness of the aftertaste
that naturally follows the ingestion of well-cooked food.
It’s learned Bhāvana is a quality of stillness within any
moment of inaction, ere to a transition to the next action.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“It’s not until I understand how to
cultivate a space within My self
can I begin to experience that
which is the essence of the Self.”
– 108 Study Path Pointers

Links to Related Posts:

• T Krishnamacharya Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
• TKV Desikachar Yoga Sūtra Study Quotes Collected and Collated
• Paul’s Yoga Mālā – A Thread of Pearls from Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
• Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Keywords – Collected & Collated into Chapters
• Paul’s Yoga Sūtra Study Questions – Collected & Collated into Chapters
• Trying to hold onto the fleeting presence of awareness can be likened to a bird…
• Yoga can be a mystery to be resolved or a question to be solved……