“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

“Abhyāsa, when performed with reverence,
without interruption, over a long period of time, will result
in a healthy body, acute senses and extraordinary alertness.
This kind of Abhyāsa is a solid foundation that nothing can disturb.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 14

“All mental distractions arise from the free play of the senses
and only through continuing practice can one keep their power in check.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 18

“The power of the breath,
the power of the senses and
physical strength of the body are each distinct properties.
They should not work against each other
but rather contribute to each others well being.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 30

“From this, the role of senses and sense objects
in causing a ground for disease becomes evident.
They are chiefly responsible for creating disturbance in the mind.
Hence the value of Vairāgya insisted as an aid to help the student.
Otherwise the whole system is sure to reach a state of chaos
because of the erratic movement of vital energy all over the body.
To put it another way, disease results from excess of contact
with objects not conducive to the individual system.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 34

“Sometimes we should examine how we relate to objects through the senses.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 35

“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

“What is the nature of the Dṛśya or what can be perceived?
It has three qualities; it reveals, it acts, it has substance.
It has many components, the objects known and the means to know them.
They serve two roles.
When in strong association with the perceiver they produce pleasure or pain –
when this association is absent they let the perceiver visualise its own nature.
Experience of pleasure or pain is by the perceiver.
Freedom from them is also its fundamental situation.
This freedom is no different from Mukti.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 18

“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

“Tapas
– Good, limited food
– The ability to listen
– Sharpening the senses
– Building resistance to Dvandva”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 43

“Pratyāhāra is a process that encourages us
to explore the means by which we can learn
to step out of the flow of the river of the senses.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“Pratyāhāra is the ability of the Manas
to resist the dance of the senses.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“Pratyāhāra is the absence of a link
from the mind with the senses,
rather than the absence of a link
from the senses with the mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“Pratyāhāra is not feeding the tendency of the Citta to
automatically form a positive, negative, or neutral identification
with whatever stimuli the senses present to it.
From that we can begin to understand how
their external gathering activities stimulate our conscious
and especially, unconscious choices.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“The Das 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 senses can be faster than
the mind in triggering Saṃskāra.”
– TKV Desikachar on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Three verse 41

“Another obstacle is when our senses seem to take over.
They reassert themselves as masters,
sometimes without our knowing it.
This is not surprising since we are trained from birth
to look here, see there, hear this, touch that, etc.
So sometimes, because of their habitual action of always looking for things, etc.,
The senses take over and our direction slowly shifts in the wrong way.”
– TKV Desikachar ‘Antarāyāḥ, Obstacles to progress, Techniques to Overcome them’
Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Fourteen Page 209

“Prāṇāyāma leads to this.
Pratyāhāra, to see without the senses distracting or pulling the mind, and
Dhāraṇā, to see without the mind losing itself, because of colouring or expectations.
Dhyānam arises out of this.”
– TKV Desikachar

“There are categories of Sādhana relating to Body, Breath, Senses and mind.”
– TKV Desikachar France August 1983

“Continuing the idea of Śikṣaṇa,
it is possible to put further categories into Sādhana.
It is important,
as often people have little distinction between exercise and Yoga.
According to texts and great masters Sādhana is not just at the body level,
but at the Indriya level, the mind level and possibly even further.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“Saṃyama can be on the physical, as in Hasta on the strength of an elephant.
Or Saṃyama on Saṃskāra,
an investigation of mental tendencies leading to an understanding of past traits.
Or on Grahaṇa,
going into the idea of how the senses hold objects,
what is the basis inside for sense perceptions.
This leads to Indriya Jaya.
Patañjali is giving indications that these practices are possible.
Īśvara Praṇidhāna is quoted more than once, through investigation of this idea he tells us that it is this that makes a person aware of their true self
– Tataḥ Pratyak Cetanā Adhigamaḥ (YS Chapter One verse 29).
Sādhana can be physical, senses, mental, spiritual.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“Holding the body steady, with the three upper parts erect,
causing the senses and the mind to enter the heart,
the wise person should cross by the boat of Mantra,
all the fear bringing streams of the mind.”
– Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad Chapter 2 verse 8
– 108 Chanting Practice Pointers

“There are special times
when we need to disconnect
from the sensory external in order
to connect with the psychic internal.”
– 108 Dhāraṇā Practice Pointers

“Prāṇa is the élan vital.
It is the mover and the sustainer of the body in all living beings.
Because of this all pervasive movement and irrepressible vitality,
it is also hard to keep reined in through the ten sensory horses.
When the personalised field of Prāṇa becomes unreined,
it transforms into Vāta and the system becomes disturbed.
The primary practice in Yoga to minimise the conversion of Prāṇa into Vāta is Prāṇāyāma.”
– 108 Yoga 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

“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

“Ere to our Yoga Sādhana turning inwards towards engaging
the Antar Aṅga and the Ātma–Buddhi relationship,
we are advised to first turn outwards towards engaging
the Bahya Aṅga and the Manas–Indriya relationship.”
– 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

Links to Related Posts:

• Pratyāhāra is not feeding the minds identification with the senses……
• Sometimes Yoga is called Darśana Vijñāna……
• The Ten Senses or Das Indriya are the gateway between…….
• We can learn how we can fine tune our practice according to our basic nature…