√cit

Devanāgarī: चित् Translation: awareness, consciousness; to be aware of; to cause to comprehend, to observe; perceive; to understand, know Similar words:ātman, cetanā, dṛś, draṣṭṛ, puruṣa Opposite words:anātman, citta, manas, dṛśya, acit Related concepts:avidyā, īśvara, sat, ānanda, kaivalya, puruṣa Related to root:citta

Appears in

Yoga Sūtra:

Chapter 4: 22 , 34

Sāṃkhya Kārikā:

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Commentaries around

Links to Related Resources & Longer Articles:

Collated Related Short Posts & Quotes:

“Cit is always the same.
Nirodha always refers to Citta.
Thus Cit is a witness.
What changes is only Citta.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

“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

“When we say our name we relate to our mind and not Cit.
However, we are not able to separate mind from Cit.
They are so close – mind and not mind.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

“To experience the spaciousness of Cit,
Yoga says practice enclosing the Citta.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verses 2-3

“During such a moment, without distractions,
the power of the source of perception,
full of clarity and completeness, shines forth.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“Yoga is about refining
the skill to rest in the
awareness of the Cit,
rather than nest in the
nature of the Citta.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verses 3-4

“The less we act from within the field of the present moment,
the more we re-act from within the field of past memories.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verses 3-4

“It is difficult to realise the wonders of Cit
within the wanderings of the Citta.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“Meditating on the source of Awareness,
can lead the meditator to the experience of
meditation, as if from the source of Awareness.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 13

“Or, from a respectful attitude
when mediating between the
immutability of awareness and
the mutability of the psyche.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 23

“The self is special in
that it is awareness,
untarnished by
afflictions, actions,
fruits and seeds.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 24

“One of the artful illusions presented by the Citta,
is its ability to as if dress in disguise,
so as to appear as if the Cit.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“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

“Where there is the sense of “I am“,
so there is the power of awareness,
or where there is the power of seeing,
so there is the power of the seer.
Such is the essence of our nature.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6

“In Yoga freedom is in reality releasing the Citta,
from the illusion that, it is the release of the Cit
from the illusion that, it is that which is bound.
This illusion that it is the Cit that is bound,
blinds the Citta from looking at itself as a
source of the bondage. Within this illusion
there arises a consequent lack of insight into
the symptoms and cause of the confusion in
the reality of any relationship between the two.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6

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

“How to relate with the inner conundrum that we are
thinking or feeling we are changing every 5 minutes.
Yet, from within that seeming flux we can observe that
we are only appearing to be changing every 5 minutes.
This implies that there is something else, not obvious,
yet constantly abiding within our psychic fluctuations.
Yoga offers a journey towards a direct experience of that
which perceives within our coalesced sense of “I” Am-ness.
In other words, how to be with that we call awareness or
the observer within the seeming seduction of the observed,
given that both mind and senses are part of the observed?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 18

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

“An awareness of an
absence of awareness
is in itself an awakening
in awareness of awareness.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 20

“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

“Dhāraṇā has three distinct, cyclical phases,
from a placing of awareness on the focus,
to an awareness of observation wandering,
to a re-placing of awareness on the focus.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1

“According to TKV Desikachar,
the process of cultivating a
state of meditation involves a
connective triad consisting of:
1. Dhyāta
Or, that which initiates the link,
namely the source of our awareness
as in Cit, Ātman, or Puruṣa, in other
words, something other than the mind.
2. Dhyeya
What it is I choose to link with, as in
the place, point, object or Deśa, as in
the Yoga Sūtra of Chapter Three verse 1.
3. Dhyāna
The activities of the psyche or Citta,
as in that which acts as the link or
connection between, for better
or for worse, the Dhyāta or the
meditator, and the Dhyeya or
that which is meditated upon.
Thus, according to this teaching,
the continuity and quality of the link
between the Dhyāta and the Dhyeya,
is dependent on the consistency
and clarity of the mind which links
the meditator and the meditated.
Hence, acccording to the teachings of
T Krishnamacharya, you must first
change the mind In order to meditate,
rather than trying to meditate in
order to change the mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2

“The Yoga Sūtra is about reflecting on that which reflects,
in order to reflect from that which is the source of attention,
rather than from that which is the scene of intention.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 49

“Kaivalya is the outcome of the
equality of Sattva and Puruṣa.
The clarity of Sattva acquired
through our efforts with Citta,
coexisting with the eternal
abiding awareness of Puruṣa.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 55

“The witness cannot be witnessed.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 18

“Awareness is a quality not a quantity.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 34

“Cit or awareness is
the heart of Yoga.
Neither fullness
nor emptiness,
nor mine nor yours.
Awareness is as it is
and is as it isn’t.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 34

“Yoga is when the mind is completely absorbed in the great force within.”
– TKV Desikachar France August 1983

“Yoga is awareness,
a type of knowing.”
– T Krishnamacharya 1988

“Whatever is the source of life is surely the source of freedom,
a source which knows us and cares for us.
It is everybody’s right, and is not beyond us, but within us.”
– TKV Desikachar from unedited manuscript for ‘What are We Seeking?’

“In each one of us there is something that experiences.”
– TKV Desikachar introducing the Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2001

“Yoga is the pursuit of the unpursuable.”
– TKV Desikachar

Bhāvana on Śavāsana within a Śikṣaṇa Āsana practice.
“Inherent within the application of Śavāsana
as an Āsana within a Śikṣaṇa Krama practice,
is the active cultivation of a quality of Nirodha,
or what can be described as ‘witness awareness’.
As in the notion of the Cit observing the Citta.
Thus, a key to directing the attention in
Śavāsana, is to intentionally cultivate
a quality of passive observation.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“Uttānāsana is an intense standing forward bend.
It is often used to begin a sequence of Āsana.
Its use can improve mobility in the primary joints
and extend muscles, primarily on the back of the body.
Its form respects the movements adapted in daily life.
The use of an intense closing Āsana implies
some cautions in the stretched areas of the body,
such as the lower back, sacrum, hips and legs.
The awareness can be placed on the abdomen
leading to a longer, smoother exhalation and
counterbalancing, with this inner work, the
physical effort required by its dynamic approach.
There are a number of adaptations to support
the student experiencing a feeling of melding
between the energetic flow of the movement
and the depth and stillness of the breath.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“In the Indian tradition some Mantra
are known as Mahāvakya or great sayings.
They express and re-mind us, in both
a mystical and poetical way, of the
presence of the eternal Awareness
within the everyday flux of existence.
There is one such Mahāvakya, renowned
and beautiful in its profound simplicity as
a heuristic means for revelation, whether
your Sādhana traverses either of two paths.
Either, the Sādhana path of Jñana Dhyānam
or, the Sādhana path of Bhakti Dhyānam.
Namely:
तत् त्वम् असि
Tat Tvam Asi ॥
“That Thou Art”
from the Chāndogya Upaniṣat VI.8.7
– 108 Dhāraṇā Practice Pointers

A third factor, that of Respect for Responses
“Āsana are not automatic but can become so.
The inevitability of voluntary actions is that we
get used to them and they become involuntary.
With this, the risk factor is increased as well.
So what is voluntary and what is involuntary is
completely different when there is a ‘new’ response.
However, such a response needs to be linked to
something deeper than just merely a ‘tweaking’,
or ‘inventive’ variation within the form of the body.
Given, that in Yoga the breath is that which gives life.
By cultivating a role for, and the purpose of the breath,
we are creating and re-creating a situation for, not just new,
but also more subtle responses to occur and reoccur.
Within this field for enhancing awareness,
through our relationship with the breath,
the risk factor is reduced as well.”
– 108 Yoga Planning Pointers
– The Viniyoga of Planning Principles Guidelines – Collected & Collated

“Āsana is an interface between the body
and the systemic energy processes.
Prāṇāyāma is an interface between the
systemic energy processes and the psyche.
Dhyāna is an interface between the psyche
and the awareness that pervades our sense of being.”
– 108 Yoga Practice Pointers

“Constancy of the body
reveals the inconstancy of the breath.
Constancy of the body and breath
reveals the inconstancy of the mind.
Constancy of the body, breath and mind
reveals the constancy of awareness.”
– 108 Yoga Practice Pointers

“Amongst other roles Ujjāyī
is a breathing technique that
can facilitate the ability to remain
in the doorway of awareness,
neither going in and introverting, when
tempted by the manoeuvring of the mind,
nor going out and extroverting, when
tempted by the shimmering of the senses.”
– 108 Yoga Practice Pointers

“Ultimately,
Yoga Practice is a Yajña to Cit.
So we practice,
as an offering to Awareness.”
– 108 Yoga 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 Yoga Study Path Pointers

“When seeking the light better to verify
that it is the power of the light
rather than the light of power.”
– 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

“Breath
a gift from the highest
a vehicle for awareness
a proof of existence
a source of life”
– 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

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