“Mental activities are called Kliṣṭa when they result
in Duḥkha and Akliṣṭa when they do not.
When the three Guṇa are dominant,
Jīva is troubled and mental activities result in Duḥkha.
When the mind is free from desires, inclined toward discrimination
and seeking truth, mental activities do not result in Duḥkha.
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 5

“What is the true nature of the Citta?”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 6

“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 on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 42

“Avidyā is the illusion of experiencing
what feels real, as if it is actually true.
However, that we experience a feeling as real,
does not in fact actually mean that it is true.
So how to discern as to whether a feeling
that we experience as real, is really true?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Moha is a state of delusion, such as expressing
what is merely a self-opinion as if it is a reality.
Because expressing an opinion as if it’s a reality,
does not in fact actually mean that it will be true.
So how can we discern as to whether an opinion
that we experience as if a reality, is really true?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 34

“Follow Truth with Faith.”
– TKV Desikachar on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Twelve verse 20

“People come to study Yoga for many reasons,
however it comes into two groups.
1. They come to learn or study (Śikṣaṇa).
2. They come to us for support rather than to study (Rakṣaṇa).
So the Yoga we offer to the person who is inquiring
is not the Yoga we offer to the person seeking protection.
Therefore one can give the wrong advice (Asat viniyoga) to the right person
and vice versa (Sat viniyoga).
This can do more harm than if the person had not come.
The intention must be right as must be the execution.”
– TKV Desikachar Switzerland 1978

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

“If I don’t know what is true,
there is no question of telling the truth.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“The Ācārya has to examine the Sat viniyoga or Asat viniyoga,
the right offering or the wrong offering.
If the teacher is able to solve this problem
and establish that the students are serious,
then this is Sat viniyoga.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“To give the right thing to the right person at the right time is Sat viniyoga.
Don’t look at the file, look at the student!”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“Sat Viniyoga
is about learning to do more with less.
Asat Viniyoga
is about learning to do less with more.
Whether Āsana or Students!!”
– 108 Teaching Path Pointers

“My Āsana study with Desikachar was shaped around forming
a deep appreciation of specific core principles that underpin
the planning and practice of Āsana and their application to
the individual student’s constitution, psychology and need.
Amongst these dozen or so core principles,
the first group when looking at any Āsana in depth,
were the concepts of Nāma, Rūpa and Lakṣaṇa, or the
name, form and characteristics of that particular Āsana.
Obviously, the Nāma is a useful tag point for identification
and the Rūpa is vital as a reference point for the Sat Viniyoga,
or right application of the Āsana within overall considerations of
initial direction and outcomes through such as the Śikṣaṇa Krama,
Rakṣaṇa Krama or Cikitsā Krama application of the forms used.
However, I do feel these days that our understanding in Āsana
practice is more dominated by the Nāma and the Rūpa with
little emphasis on the Lakṣaṇa or inherent characteristics of the
Āsana and how understanding this aspect can have a profound
effect on the approach, application and outcome of the overall or
accumulative impact of the Āsana within the student’s practice.
The teachings of Krishnamacharya around Āsana included
an in-depth appreciation of the Lakṣaṇa, especially around
the thirty or so primary and secondary support Āsana such as
Uttānāsana, Jaṭhara Parivṛtti, Bhujaṅgāsana or Januśīrṣāsana.”
– 108 Teaching Path Pointers

Links to Related Posts:

• I feel reflecting on the recent three posts on Īśvara Praṇidhānā……
• Sound – A Means Beyond Āsana and Prāṇāyāma……