“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

“Kriyā Yoga means to have certain qualities in our actions.
e.g. listening to this lecture
Natural for people with a stable mind.
So something has to be done for others.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

“No medicine can reduce Duḥkha, only Kriyā Yoga.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

‎”It is not enough to clean a vessel,
you must put something in.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

“The order is important
– from gross to subtle,
we need one to appreciate the next.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

Kriyā Yoga is about how to engage with our challenges,
especially whilst feeling disengaged by them.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

“In Yoga Sutra Chapter Two, the role for
Īśvara Praṇidhānā in the Kriya Yoga section, can
be as an appropriate Upāya for a Cikitsā situation.
Here, as one of a triad in the cultivation of helpful
lifestyle habits, its purpose is in reducing agitation.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

“Kriyā Yoga emphasises that the Kleśa cannot be reduced instantly.
It is a gradual process.
Further Kleśa can only be reduced to the limit they become ineffective.
They cannot be destroyed.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 2

“What are the effects of Kriyā Yoga?
Samādhi Bhāvana –
The ability to pursue the right practice that brings one closer to Īśvara.
Kleśa Tanū Karaṇa –
Reduction of those obstacles that we have somehow acquired through wrong actions,
leading to undesirable and bitter experiences.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 2

“Kleśa are not always dominant.
Through Kriyā Yoga they become weaker and weaker.
How is it possible to completely subdue them?
No mental effort can help as Mind is the storehouse of the Kleśa.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 10

“Building banks to channel
the flow of the river of
Kleśa is Kriyā Yoga.
Building a dam to block
the flow of Kleśa as
we journey upstream
going back to the source
of the flow is Aṣṭāṅga Yoga.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 10

“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

Question to TKV Desikachar:
How rigorous should we be in the practice of Tapas?
“Tapas is not the rejection of everything around us.
In the Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1,
Tapas means to be able to discipline oneself.
So if you are too fat eat less.
If you are too thin eat more.
Tapas which harms the mind should be rejected.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 21st 1988

“In the Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1 Patañjali introduces the term Kriyā Yoga,
a Yoga that anyone can practice,
as distinct from the Yoga practiced by those who devote themselves totally to Yoga,
those whose only concern in life is too reach the highest.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 20th 1988

“Patañjali has proposed 3 approaches to verify the indications.
Tapas – Process of action
Food, Āsana, Prāṇāyāma.
You will be doing something that you will not be habitually doing.
For example one day no salt, cigarettes, Prāṇāyāma.
Tapas is from the root to create thirst.
It means to deprive.
It will tell us about ourselves.
It will reveal our Saṃskāra and Pariṇāma or changes in ourselves.
From this Tapas we will start to get an indication of our individual nature.
For example active or lazy.
Tapas indicates the the beginning of the Bheda, through the Bhāva.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“The First and Second Chapters of the Yoga Sūtra
can be linked to the teaching concepts of
Śikṣaṇa, Rakṣaṇa and Cikitsā Krama.
In that the Samādhi Yoga in Chapter One
can be seen as apt for a Śikṣaṇa situation,
whereby the primary aim is discernment, as in
exploring what lies within the sense of I-Am.
Whereas in Chapter Two, the Kriya Yoga section
can be seen as being apt for a Cikitsā situation,
whereby the primary aim is recovering, as in
reducing agitation through lifestyle changes.
and the Bāhya Aṅga section of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga
can be seen as being apt for a Rakṣaṇa situation,
whereby the primary aim is establishing stability,
through a formal practice within a Yoga Sādhana.”
– 108 Yoga Teaching Path Pointers

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