“The mind acts in countless ways and all of them
stem from the power of past Karma Vāsanā.
This is why individuals differ from one another.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 6

“This Sūtra introduces
what Patañjali calls Kriyā Yoga.
Kriyā in the sense of action.
Take the first step.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

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

“Rāga is more about passion
for the outcome rather than
passion for the action in itself.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 7

“How we feel during the action is the quality of the action.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 13

“All actions are not rooted in Kleśa.
Those done when Kleśa are subdued produce joy.
Others produce different degrees of agony.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 14

“Our actions reveal our intentions.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 14

“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

Asteya – non-stealing.
It’s not taking away that
which belongs to somebody else.
Whether Dravya, Dharma, Karma, Vidyā.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 37

“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 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

“Even though Yoga talks about the possibility of
a state of being expressing motiveless action,
for the rest of us there is always an ulterior motive.
The issue is what it truly is, rather than just whether it
had what we believed as a white, grey or black intention.
Also, whether this intention is what we wanted to believe,
or is there another truth lurking within our sense of right?
Thus, the outcome may well differ from what we believed.
However, as many of our motives fall within the grey spectrum,
a deeper introspection into the reality of intention is important.
To at least minimise Viparyaya, existing as a flight of fancy, or
posing as if a truth convincing in its rightness to exist, when in
reality, merely an opinion, even if not its deeper partner Avidyā.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 7

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

“The first Śloka sets the saga on the field of Dharma.
Dharma is how we respond, whatever the situation,
presuming we can sustain our view within the present.
Karma is how we respond, having lost sight of our view,
because it’s become obscured by  the force of our memories.
Then Karma is the force now driving us through our memories.
So, Arjuna’s Dharma becomes obscured because of his Karma.”
– Paul Harvey on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter One verse 1

“One of the purposes of Yoga is to help us
with the challenge of discerning between
what is our Karma and what is our Dharma.
Firstly by appreciating what is and what isn’t Karma.”
– Paul Harvey Introduction to Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Three

“The movement of life is a pilgrimage of the body
and cannot be accomplished without action.”
– TKV Desikachar on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Three verse 8

“Jñāna Yoga – The Yoga of Knowing
Or linking to that we need to understand
to help refine the outcome of our actions.”
– Paul Harvey Introduction to Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Four

“Karma is the means to know oneself.”
– TKV Desikachar on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Four verse 17

“The Yoga of acting without attachment.
What should be one’s attitude in action?”
– Paul Harvey Introduction to Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Five

“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

“Svabhava is Karma Vāsanā.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Five verse 14

“God is always inside the heart.
However we are not always inside the will of God.
So actions can be right or wrong.”
– TKV Desikachar on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 18 verse 15

“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

“The practice of Yoga
only requires that we
act and at the same
time, pay attention
to our actions.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter One Page 3

“The means by which we obtain the
Yoga of result is the Yoga of action,
Kriyā Yoga.
While only part of Yoga,
Kriyā Yoga is the practical aspect of
Yoga which can initiate a change for
the better in the quality of our lives.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter One Page 12

“The mind is an accumulation of actions and memories of actions.
This conditions us to act as we have been acting.
In doing so, we cannot detect that things are changing and therefore,
our actions might go wrong.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga Chapter Six Page 85

“We must act in life,
but we should not be disappointed
by the results of our actions
for we may often act imperfectly.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga ‘Various Approaches to Yoga’ Chapter Seventeen Page 242

“Another way the mind functions is called Vikṣipta.
We act but we have doubts;
distractions come about,
there are obstacles.
The set direction does not look right
and we don’t know what to do about it.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga ‘The Way the Mind Functions and the Concept of Nirodha’ Chapter Eighteen Page 251

“What we try to do in Yoga is simply to create conditions so
that the mind becomes a most useful instrument for action.
And this can only be done gradually.
Any “short-cut method” is an illusion.
This gradual procedure may involve a number of intelligent means,
all of which come within the realm of Yoga Sādhana.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga ‘The Way the Mind Functions and the Concept of Nirodha’ Chapter Eighteen Page 253

“One’s own actions can develop or make one Guṇa prominent.
Thus we can plan or practice Āsana or Prāṇāyāma to promote one Guṇa.
The practice of Yoga can influence the Guṇa.
the room where you practice can affect the Guṇa
by photographs, colour of paint, smell.
Even Mantra are classified into Guṇa.
This needs to be considered when using Mantra for the individual.
Meditation can be related to the Guṇa.
The object of our inquiry must be related or,
in accordance with what we want to produce.”
– TKV Desikachar on Sāṃkhya and Yoga

Question to TKV Desikachar on Yama and Niyama:
“The idea behind Yama and Niyama is the attitude we have to the inside and outside.
If I don’t know what is true there is no question of telling the truth.
However there is the intention, because one day it may become a reality.
Even though some of these things are not there in the beginning, if the intention is sincere then one day it will become an action if conditions and our psychological state change.
Yama as telling the truth also means discretion.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“The relationship we have developed with the fruits of our actions is Īśvara Praṇidhānā”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“Patañjali says if we fail in our action it is because we started wrong.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“The Hindu Veda classify Dhyāna into three major but not water-tight divisions:
1. Karma – actions, the details, precise actions and results of rituals, such as the how and where you sit; considered most important for  Dhyāna.
2. Jñāna – inquiry, into anything from the lowest to the highest, such as God, myself, Prāṇa, Brahma, etc; recognising absolutely one object of inquiry, not many.
3. Bhakti – trying to connect myself with the highest force; to accept the absolute power of God – that he is Master and Teacher, the only reality.
Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra, the definitive text on Yoga, classifies Dhyāna in different yet similar terms.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 20th 1988

“A human being is made up of the three Guṇa:
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
All three are important and have their respective roles.
The role of the Rajas Guṇa is to initiate action.
Every function of the body and action of the person is
because of the operation of the Rajas Guṇa.
Even breathing requires the action of the Rajas Guṇa.
In all his teachings, my father would always insist on action.
As long as a person is alive, the three Guṇa will exist in his system
thereby making action not only necessary but inevitable.”
– Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar

“Actions either take us forwards or backwards.”
– TKV Desikachar

“In the journey of life, one meets many people,
Among the many, some become Karma Mitra.
Among the some, a few become Dharma Mitra.
This day marks the passing of one such friend,
dear Dharma Mitra Ziva Kinrot, I salute your light.”
Remembering dear friends within the passage of life and death…

Links to Related Posts:

• I do wonder if this attraction to Yoga experiences is Avidyā in……
• TKV Desikachar talks on Śraddhā in the light of the Yoga Sūtra……
• YOGA: SURGERY SANS INSTRUMENTS – Interview with TKV Desikachar 1998
• Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar