“In this Sūtra Patañjali states that there are two ways
to discipline the five types of mental activity.
They are Abhyāsa and Vairāgya.
Abhyāsa is practice.
Vairāgya is to disconnect or sever the link
between the Citta and external objects.
These two, Abhyāsa and Vairāgya,
always go together as a pair.”
– T Krishnamacharya commentary on
Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12

“In this Sūtra,
Patañjali lists the nine kinds of obstacles that are confronted by those who,
though fit and able to meditate on Īśvara, neglect to do so.”
– T Krishnamacharya’s commentary to Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 30

“In Veda, Āyurveda and Yoga Sūtra,
various techniques are offered to aid in healing the sick.
In addition to herbs and medicines,
Patañjali suggests that Āsana, Prāṇāyāma and Vairāgya
are particularly beneficial and, as any medicine,
should be used with care and discipline.”
– T Krishnamacharya’s commentary to Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 34

“Another aspect of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra
is that he looks at the world as real.
It is Sat. It is not Asat.
It is not a mirage.
Even the mirage is real.”
– T Krishnamacharya commentary on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 42

“The Yoga of Patañjali as a complete process of learning
provides the best instrument for helping the individual
know that he is more than a money making machine.”
– TKV Desikachar 1983
– Introduction to Learning through Yoga by TV Ananthanarayanan

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

“This is what Patañjali says in that everything must be given step by step.
Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 6 reflects this idea.”
– TKV Desikachar France August 1983

“Perhaps the best explanation of Dhyāna is given by Patañjali in the Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verses One and Two, where he states that one must first fix the question (Dhāraṇā) and then link to it (Dhyāna).
One who is not able to fix the question is not able to succeed in Dhyāna.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 19th 1988

“Patañjali’s view is close to that of the Veda,
but there are significant differences such that the highest teaching of the Veda,
which is for this life and beyond this life,
cannot accept the teachings of Yoga which are for this life only.

So Hinduism rejects Yoga,
especially since Yoga does not insist on faith or belief in God.
But Hindus, so conditioned to being Hindu,
do Yoga as Hindus and therefore act in ways not consistent with Yoga teaching.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 20th 1988

“The purpose of Āsana and Prāṇāyāma are twofold,
to reduce symptoms of ill-health or,
to prepare the mind towards fulfilling the main emphasis of Patañjali,
which is Meditation.
However according to the teaching I have received,
both of these roles can be fulfilled with
relatively few Āsana postures and Prāṇāyāma techniques.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras 1996

“To define the word Yoga is very difficult, as the word is so adaptable.
A starting point would be Patañjali.
Patañjali removed all the complicated definitions and simplified it to:
‘Making the best out of the most difficult object, the mind.’
His idea was to create a situation,
where the mind becomes more faithful than it is.”
– TKV Desikachar

“I think, that all those who want to practise
Vedic Chanting must be able to do so,
provided there is no confusion
with Patañjali’s Yoga.”
– Extract from an interview with TKV Desikachar on Vedic Chanting

“Therefore one must be clear when one speaks about Yoga:
as far as we are concerned, we refer mainly to Patañjali’s Yoga.
Otherwise, quoting various texts,
one can justify almost anything in the name of Yoga.
Patañjali’s Yoga is obviously the most open, universal
and the most clearly distinct from Vedānta, which is a school in itself.”
– Extract from an interview with TKV Desikachar on Vedic Chanting

Question to TKV Desikachar:
What is the relationship between Yoga and Āyurveda?

TKV Desikachar Response:
“First of all, we believe that the same master gave us Āyurveda and Yoga: Patañjali. We worship Patañjali remembering him as the person who gave us Āyurveda for the body and Yoga for the mind.
Body and mind are so interlinked that you cannot really separate them. Since Āyurveda is a complete system, they talk also about Yoga. Yoga is defined in Āyurveda. And the language of Yoga is such that a person cannot understand the Yoga texts without understanding the concepts of Āyurveda.
At least in theory, these sciences go very well together. However, in India, the treatment given to Yoga in the Āyurveda University is very scarce, it is not even worth mentioning. So, in reality, Āyurveda people are not familiar with Yoga as much as they should be. The only exception was my father. He knew both, that is why he was able to mix both systems, according to the need.
What I would say is, what Patañjali gave for the mind through Yoga, he gave for the body through Āyurveda.”
– Extract from an interview in the Journal Viniyoga Italia on Yoga and Well Being.

“There is no style to the Yoga Sūtra.
The only style is your style.
We can see this from the number of alternatives Patañjali
proposes to give us strength of mind,
or allow us to do something we cannot do before.”
– TKV Desikachar

“Patañjali says that the only way to understand yourself
is to understand what is outside of yourself.
He also says that the more you talk about yourself
the less you know about yourself.”
– TKV Desikachar

Links to Related Posts:

• Though there are many different aspects to formal ‘home’ practice……
• Legend of Patañjali – Dhyānaṃ Ślokam for Yoga Sūtra
• I am going to explain you something else about the aphorisms…….
• Question to Krishnamacharya – “Can you explain the concept of Vinyāsa and Pratikriyā Āsana?”
• Yoga can be a mystery to be resolved or a question to be solved……
• Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar
• New Resources Page for Yoga Sūtra Chanting Practice PDF’s & Sound Files
• Sound – A Means Beyond Āsana and Prāṇāyāma……
• TKV Desikachar talks on Śraddhā in the light of the Yoga Sūtra……

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