“The Saṃskāra of Yoga prepares one for Ātma Vidyā and is open to everyone.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 1

“The mind depends on Cit.
It is like a stone,
it depends on Ātman or Cit to give it life.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

“If Śarīra leads Ātma, there is Kleśa.
The cause of this is Karma Vāsana and Mithyā Indriya.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 2

“When something is understood differently from what it truly is, it is called Avidyā.
What is changing is taken to be non-changing. For example the mind.
What is subjected to decay is assumed to be pure. For example the body.
What is leading to suffering is taken to be the source of pleasure.
What is not conscious is assumed to be conscious.
All these errors in perceptions have many possibilities.
But the ultimate stage of Avidyā is to assume that we are the Masters, not Īśvara.”
T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Patañjali reminds us of
the pitfalls of the illusion of
recognising psyche as awareness.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“What keeps you away from your self?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Still subtler layers of meditative reflection
as in Samādhi, can reveal the source of this
confused sense of “I” Am-ness, as in leading us
to the roots from which the tree trunk, and then
the branches grew, namely the ultimate illusion.
These hidden roots sustain this existential illusion
where, what in reality is transient, adulterated,
infused with suffering and non-Spiritual,
is personally lived and experienced as if
everlasting, unadulterated, infused
with pleasant feelings and Spiritual.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Yoga is about remaining true to the Self
within the wiles of Myself.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 21

Ātma is the source of the sunlight in the Psyche.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 21

“Serve Yoga and Yoga will serve you.
That purpose of the seen is indeed for our essence.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 21

“Are our impulses to act self serving,
as in arising from a place of Karma?
Or, are our impulses to act serving the self,
as in arising from a place of Dharma?
Furthermore, how to discern the difference
betwixt my and thy, given the facility of
Karma to proclaim itself as being Dharma?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 21

“Dhyānam is an activity of a mind
dominated by Sattva linked to Ātma.
So Ātma and Sattva required for Dhyānam to occur.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2

“In the Bhagavad Gītā, Karma is defined as a Śodhana Kriyā where,
as actions are performed, they also offer a chance to refine oneself.
Thus, whatever I do and whatever happens is a chance to refine myself.
The Bhāvana here is Ātma Śuddha where all actions are an opportunity
for purification of that which inhibits the expression of our essence.”
– Paul Harvey on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Five verse 11

“Ātma – That which nourishes.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Ten verse 20

“The first six chapters of the Gītā
deal with Karma and Jñāna that
reveal the true nature of oneself.”
– TKV Desikachar on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Two

“The next six chapters emphasise that
devotion is the basis for seeing the truth.
This truth is, the Lord.
But devotion must grow from following ones duty
in a spirit of selflessness and search.”
– TKV Desikachar on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Three

“In each one of us there is something that experiences.”
– TKV Desikachar introducing the Taittirīya Upaniṣad

“Union of Jīva Ātman and Parama Ātman is a Siddhi not a Sādhana when it is felt or realised.
If this is clear then Rāja Yoga is a Siddhi.
However one has to work for it in Sādhana.
Anything that takes you in this direction is a Sādhana.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“The Yoga Sūtra says so much about the mind,
but little about the self.
What can be shared can be expressed,
what cannot be shared cannot be expressed.”
– TKV Desikachar

“The self born creator bored the sense openings outwards,
so the self looks out at the world rather than inwards.
A wise person, wanting to taste the state of immortality,
stops the senses from moving outwards and turns within to the essence.”
– Kaṭha Upaniṣaṭ 2.1.1.

“Yoga Sūtra Chanting for the Mind.
Veda Mantra Chanting for the Soul.”
– 108 Chanting Practice Pointers

“Is our Yoga Practice,
an offering to the Ātma–Buddhi Dynamic or,
a gratification for our Manas–Indriya expectations?”
– 108 Yoga Practice Pointers

“The irony of seeking well being,
is that our being is always well.”
– 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

“Is the direction of our practice
more concerned with self-interest or is
it more concerned with an interest in the Self?”
– 108 Yoga Study Path 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 to Related Posts:

• Yoga can be a mystery to be resolved or a question to be solved……
• Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar