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The Art of Personal Sādhana

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    nirodha

    Devanāgarī: निरोध Translation: to contain, enclose; cover; confine, restrain; quell, surpress; quiesce Opposite words:vyutthāna, vikṣipta, kṣipta Related concepts:samādhi, samāpatti, virāma, ekāgra, mūḍha, ekāgratā

    Appears in

    Yoga Sūtra:

    Chapter 1: 2 , 12 , 51
    Chapter 3: 9

    Bhagavad Gītā:

    Chapter 6: 20

    Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā:

    Chapter 2: 2

    Yoga Rahasya:

    Chapter 1: 45


    Click here for complete Saṃskṛta Index

    Commentaries around

    “What is Yoga?
    Yoga is Nirodha of the different activities and fluctuations of the mind,
    the leader of the senses.
    Nirodha is to completely cover.
    Thus this Sūtra implies the Nirodha of involvement of the mind in objects
    that distract from a chosen direction of contemplation.”
    – T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    ”Citta Vṛtti Nirodha, the state of mind in which no distractions arise from undesirable external stimuli and the individual is able to choose an object of focus, ideally Īśvara.”
    – T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    ”Another term for Citta Vṛtti Nirodha is Dhyānam,
    the state of mind in which an individual focuses on,
    visualises and remains with Īśvara.”
    – T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    “The mind is like a fluid,
    which can modify into different things.
    A sense of change.
    Thus restraining modifications is channelising.”
    – TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    “Yoga is stopping the mind,
    from becoming involved,
    in activities that distract,
    one from a chosen direction.”
    – TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    “Nirodha is a restraining of OTHER things,
    not a cessation of activity.”
    – TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    “Restraint is in the sense of if I am here I am not elsewhere.”
    – TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    “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

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

    Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2 is a Lakṣaṇa Sūtra in that it
    describes the characteristics of Yoga as Citta Vṛtti Nirodha.”
    – TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    “Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2 is not Yoga Sarva Citta Vṛtti Nirodha.
    This is a relative Sūtra, which allows for a gradual evolution.”
    – TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    “Yoga arises from
    the containment of,
    our propensity to fluctuate.”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

    “In Sūtra 1.2 what does the word Nirodha signify for you
    in terms of choosing both what to keep in and to keep out?”
    – Paul Harvey 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 verse 2

    “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

    “From this state,
    a clarity of being,
    as seeing is from the
    source of perception.”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

    “In Sūtra 1.12 Patañjali defines Abhyāsa
    and Vairāgya in relation to Nirodha.
    A question we can explore as
    an avenue towards grasping this
    Sūtra is, what is the relationship
    of these two seeming polarities?
    Namely, what are the qualities of
    Abhyāsa, in relation to the qualities
    of its seeming counterpart, Vairāgya?”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12

    “The greater the Śraddhā, the more meaning there is in the techniques such as Āsana, Prāṇāyāma, Dhyānam, Bhāvana and all the others. Without Śraddhā, these techniques have little effect on the state of the mind and the progress to Citta Vṛtti Nirodha.
    However, sometimes some minor benefits that we get through Āsana or Prāṇāyāma practice, open up the Śraddhā within us. Śraddhā is within each of us but is covered. It could be any experience that uncovers it.”
    – TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 20

    “It can be said that sickness is Citta Vikṣepa and health is Citta Nirodha.”
    –  T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 34

    “When even the tendency of insight
    is contained, all is contained;
    this is integration without seed.”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 51

    “From Meditation
    arises Integration.
    The Splendour of Knowing
    Connective Moments of
    Containment within the Psyche.”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 3

    “Dispersion is a habit
    that pulls us away from
    the habit of containment.”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 9

    “The paradox of being in a state of distraction
    is that we are actually in a state of focus.
    Its just that we are focused on being turned outwards,
    as in the tendency of being scattered,
    as in Vyutthāna Saṃskāra,
    rather than being focused on being turned inwards,
    as in the tendency of being contained,
    as in Nirodha Saṃskāra.
    Both Saṃskāra are acquired tendencies
    and thus we can cultivate a choice within our oscillations.”
    – Paul Harvey on  Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 9

    “Without Āsana,
    Prāṇāyāma cannot become accomplished.
    Without containing Prāna,
    the mind cannot achieve steadiness.”
    – From T Krishnamacharya’s composition,
    The Yoga Rahasya Chapter One verse 45

    “The word Nirodha also means “restraint”.
    It is not by restraining the mind that it will move and
    become involved in a particular direction of choice.
    It is the other way round; that is,
    so strongly and intensely the mind has moved toward
    one area and has become absorbed in one area
    that there is no “infiltration”.
    Therefore Nirodha meaning “restraint”,
    is just an effect of Nirodha meaning “complete absorption”.
    – TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
    ‘The Way the Mind Functions and the Concept of Nirodha’
    Chapter Eighteen Page 252

    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

    “Who does not seek a situation where he is able to
    understand things clearly, discover new things,
    and remove or clear away wrong perceptions?
    If there is one thing that can be said about
    what happens in the state of Nirodha it is this:
    one sees and one knows.”
    – TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
    ‘The Way the Mind Functions and the Concept of Nirodha’
    Chapter Eighteen Page 254

    “What defines the transition between
    Cikitsā Krama, Rakṣaṇa Krama and
    Śikṣaṇa Krama is the desire to practice
    Prāṇāyāma for the sake of Prāṇāyāma,
    rather than for purposes such as recovery, or
    preventative health, or constitutional support,
    or reducing agitation, or promoting relaxation.
    Exploring Prāṇāyāma as Prāṇāyāma offers the
    potential to propagate a fresh perspective into
    the relationship between Prāṇa and Nirodha.”
    – 108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers

    “The place of learning is in the space between the Āsana.
    In that Āsana practice is a movie, not a series of pictures.
    A marker towards Nirodha is not leaking between Āsana.
    Thus containing energetic itches on coming back to stillness.”
    – 108 Yoga Practice Pointers

    Different Types of Postural Activity in Āsana Practice
    “Finally, the consideration of movement
    or stasis sits within a relationship to the
    deeper purpose of Āsana within our journey
    through the body and the breath, to the mind
    and beyond, through considerations such as:
    In relation to the psychological ideal of remaining there.
    According to the definition in  Chapter Three verse 2 of
    the Yoga Sūtra, a continuity of psychic activity is the ideal.
    This is seen as the ability to stay, as if in the same moment, as
    one moment melds into the next moment and the next moment.
    In other words, the ability to internally maintain a continuity of
    experience as if maintaining an apparent stillness of movement.
    Access to such subtle states requires a containment of movement
    that ultimately extends from the body to the breath to the mind.”
    – 108 Yoga Planning Pointers
    – The Viniyoga of Planning Principles Guidelines – Collected & Collated

    “Containing the Body,
    or Kāya Nirodha
    doesn’t always imply that…
    you can contain the Breath.
    Containing the Breath,
    or Prāṇa Nirodha
    doesn’t always imply that…
    you can contain the Mind.
    Containing the Mind
    or Mano Vṛtti Nirodha.
    doesn’t always imply that…
    you can contain the Psyche.
    Containing the Psyche,
    or Citta Vṛtti Nirodha
    doesn’t always imply that…”
    – 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

    “The first four verses of Chapter One of the Yoga Sūtra are said to encapsulate the essence of the whole chapter.
    Summarise them in a way so as to interest someone who knows little about Yoga.”
    To Download or View this Question as a PDF Study Sheet

    Links to Related Posts:

    • Exploring Prāṇāyāma within Cikitsā, Rakṣaṇa and Śikṣaṇa Krama…
    • TKV Desikachar talks on Śraddhā in the light of the Yoga Sūtra……
    • Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verses 1-4 epitomise our Yoga Journey in……

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