“Now,
you follow what follows,
the teachings of Yoga.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 1

“Yoga is about being more with
the experience of seeing rather
than the experience of the seen.
Bhogā is about being more with
the experience of the seen rather
than the experience of seeing.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“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

“The mutual aim of Yoga and Sāṃkhya is to
experience the more discerning aspects of the psyche,
rather than just the more grasping aspects of the psyche.
In the former, the tendency of the Buddhi to discern discriminately
prevails over the tendency of Ahaṃkāra to grasp indiscriminately.
In the latter, the tendency of the Ahaṃkāra to grasp indiscriminately
prevails over the tendency of the Buddhi to discern discriminately.
The former is a state known as Buddhi Sattva,
where the clarity of discernment prevails over the
indiscriminate grasping nature of the Ahaṃkāra.
The latter is a state of Buddhi Tamas,
where the discerning clarity of the Buddhi
is obscured by the grasping nature of the Ahaṃkāra.
Thus our Yoga Sādhana has but one primary Saṃkalpa,
that of the reduction of the obscuration by Tamas in the Buddhi.
This reduction of Tamas facilitates the advent of the clarity of Sattva,
as in the metaphor of the reduction of the cloud facilitates the advent of the sun.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 49

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

“Yoga directs the mind to what is happening now.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“Yoga presumes for most people that mind is the same,
always planning ahead or basing itself on what has happened.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“People often ask me if I teach Āsana.
When I say “Yes, I do.” they say,
“Oh you are a Haṭha Yogi.”
If I talk about the Yoga Sūtra
they say, “You are a Rāja Yogi.”
If I say I am chanting the Veda,
they say, “You are a Mantra Yogi.”
If I say I just practice Yoga,
they can’t understand.
They want to put a label on me.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 247-248

“Has the word Yoga lost its meaning?”
– Question posed by TKV Desikachar August 1983 
(over three decades ago!)

“Words have meanings based on roots and on usage, its origin and how it is utilised.
Yoga is a good example of a word based on its original meaning and convention.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“Even though we feel good about Yoga and we have some understanding,
we have problems relating this to others.
Even before saying anything they have one idea or another.
We have problems communicating with people when it comes to Yoga.
Not so with Art, etc.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“Yoga  is often attributed to Āsana practice alone,
which is only the part of Yoga focusing on the physical body or servicing the body.”
– From study notes with TKV Desikachar England 1992

“Yoga – To Link to myself.
Hinduism – To Link to God.”
– TKV Desikachar Introduction
to the Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2001

“My belief in Yoga is not
dependant on a belief in God,
whereas in Vedānta it is.”
– TKV Desikachar Introduction
to the Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2001

“The current world of Yoga seems to be made up of many small parts,
each one competing with and often confusing the other.
This is not consistent with the spirit of Yoga,
whose very meaning is ‘to unite’.”
– TKV Desikachar May 2002

“Yoga is the pursuit of the unpursuable.”
– TKV Desikachar

“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 Teaching Path Pointers

“Before there can be Yoga or linking there must be Viyoga or unlinking.
What are we prepared to unlink from in order to link?”
– 108 Study Path Pointers

“Yoga Practice is an essential part of Yoga Study.
Rather than Yoga Study being an essential part of Yoga Practice.”
– 108 Study Path Pointers

“One of the aims in Yoga is to yoke to
the more discerning aspects of the psyche,
rather than to the more distracting aspects of the psyche.”
– 108 Study Path Pointers

“Duḥkha is the starting point for the
Yoga journey of four junctures from:
the symptom, as in Duḥkha or suffering,
to the cause, as in Avidyā or illusion,
to the goal, as in Kaivalya or independence;
via the tools, as in Aṣṭāṅga or 8 limbed path,
for the means, as in Viveka or discernment.
This ancient fourfold process is at the heart of
the teachings in Yoga, Āyurveda & Buddhism.”
– 108 Study Path Pointers

Links to Related Posts:

• The View of Rāja Yoga, Practice of Haṭha Yoga and Tool of viniyoga of Yoga
• What is Yoga? – An interview with Paul Harvey on BBC Radio Bristol 1986.
• Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool – Part One
• Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool – Part Two
• Yoga as a View, Practice and Tool – Part Three
• Yoga can be a mystery to be resolved or a question to be solved……
• Yoga Practice and Study was seen by T Krishnamacharya as……