Quick Links:
– Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter One Collated Quotes
– Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Two Collated Quotes
– Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Three Collated Quotes
– Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Four Collated Quotes

I see this presentation as a Yoga Mālā or a thread of pearls on Yoga from Patañjali’s Sūtra eventually arranged over four chapters. I am endeavouring to stay close to my studies, but allow a little more freedom of expression in terms of choice of rendering to facilitate a more cohesive teachings thread for the reader.

For a fuller word by word Saṃskṛta study of the Yoga Sūtra readers are advised to follow the full online edition of the Yoga Sūtra wherein every word is translated and cross-linked along with a verse translation. This online Yoga Sūtra resource is also gradually integrating commentaries from T Krishnamacharya, TKV Desikachar and S Ramaswami from my own study notes, along with personal reflections.

It is offered in the spirit of Paramparā with an appreciation for
the many years of personal learning in India with TKV Desikachar.

It is not © in the spirit of open source community commons,
though acknowledgement of the source could be appropriate.

1. Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter One – Samādhi Pādaḥ

“The Chapter on the assimilation
of what thinks it perceives,
with the source of perception.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One

“Chapter One is about the Refinement of the practice of Dhyāna.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One

Annotated through Ten Themed Sections

1. Nirodha or Containment – verses 1-4
2. Citta or Psyche – verses 5-11
3. Abhyāsa & Vairāgya or Practice & Dispassion – verses 12-16
4. Saṃprajñāta or Total Knowing – verses 17-19
5. Śraddhā or Faith – verses 20-22
6. Īśvara or the Lord – verses 23-29
7. Vikṣepa or Distraction – verses 30-31
8. Eka Tattva or One Principle – verses 32-39
9. Sabīja or With Seed – verses 40-46
10. Nirbīja or Without Seed – verses 47-51

1. Nirodha or Containment – verses 1-4

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

“In Sūtra 1.1 what does the word Atha symbolise for you
in relation to your moment to moment choices?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 1

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

“Yoga is the experience
of stillness within the
fluctuations of the mind,
rather than the experience
of stillness without the
fluctuations of the mind.”
– 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

“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

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

“Yoga is about seeking a relationship
with that which experiences,
rather than seeking experiences.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“Yoga is about refining the skill
to rest in the awareness of the Cit,
rather than nest in the nature of the Citta.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“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

“In Sūtra 1.3 how would you portray the word Avasthāna
to a person with little understanding of Yoga?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 3

“At all other times we identify with
the fluctuations within the mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“The less we act from within the field of the present moment,
the more we re-act from within the field of past memories.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“The mind modifies perception.
Though you might even say that,
the mind muddifies perception.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“Every step towards observing the play of the mind,
is a step towards observing the ploy of the mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“In Sūtra 1.4 what are the fluctuations that
we personally most often conform to?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

2. Citta or Psyche – verses 5-11

“These fluctuations fall into five groups
and all can be helpful or unhelpful.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 5

“Rāja Yoga is the relationship we have with our thoughts,
notably those that afflict, as in knockdown or weaken us.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 5

“In Sūtra 1.5 Patañjali suggests that the psychic
fluctuations will be either Kliṣṭa or Akliṣṭa.
How can we discern?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 5

“Given the at all other times in verse 4,
we need to thwart the ploys of the mind to
conform to its unhelpful fluctuations by reducing:
1. The tendency of the mind to perceive in too many ways.
2. The tendency of the mind to distort what we see.
3. The tendency of the mind to fantasize.
4. The tendency of the mind to go to sleep at inappropriate moments.
5. The tendency of the mind to get lost in memory or impose memory on reality.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 6

“When these unhelpful fluctuations take over you are not there.
So if you are not consistent with your efforts,
you will not change your state of mind.
Plus, the unhelpful aspects of the fluctuations reduce
the tendency of the mind to experience a clarity of being.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 6

“In Sūtra 1.6 Patañjali identifies the psychic
fluctuations as being fivefold.
In looking at this statement,
which of these are you engaging?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 6

“We perceive our world
through sensory contact,
building from partial contact
and what others tell us.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 7

“In Sūtra 1.7 Patañjali defines Pramāṇa as having three sources.
How do we discern that all three are not, in reality, self-selective
ascertainments and thus, just all muddled variants of Anumāna?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 7

“Wrong perception is a false knowing without support.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 8

“Viparyaya is seeing what we want to see,
or not seeing what we need to see.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 8

“Viparyaya is merely an opinion,
convincing in its rightness to exist.
A flight of fancy, posing, as if a truth.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 8

“In Sūtra 1.8 Patañjali defines Viparyaya as a false knowing.
How can we discern a right perception from a wrong perception
and can a false knowing be both Kliṣṭa and Akliṣṭa?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 8

“Imagination is knowledge
that comes from words
empty of substance.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 9

“In Sūtra 1.9 Patañjali defines Vikalpa as an
understanding arising from the spoken word.
How do we discern whether Vikalpa is actually what arises
from the spoken word from what was said to us, or what
arises from the spoken word in how what was said is heard?
In other words how to discern if there is any difference
between what is said to us and what we imagine we hear?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 9

“Deep sleep is the fluctuation of obscuration,
supporting an absence of mental activity.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 10

“In Sūtra 1.10 Patañjali defines Nidrā as a
Citta Vṛtti or, a specific type of cognition, one
where Tamas is the object, to the point where
the mind’s link with external stimuli is cut off.
How do we discern between states such as
Pratyāhāra as a disengagement, or Samādhi,
where one is as if empty of one’s own character,
and what is seen as the experience of Tamo Nidrā?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 10

“Memory is what we retain as
experience of sensory objects.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 11

“In Sūtra 1.11 Patañjali defines Smṛti as
the retention of the experience of an object.
How do we know whether Smṛti is Pramāṇa,
given the presence of Viparyaya and Vikalpa
within our parti pris shaping of an experience?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 11

3. Abhyāsa & Vairāgya or Practice & Dispassion – verses 12-16

“Jñāna Dhyānam is the dynamic yoking of
the two qualities of Abhyāsa and Vairāgya.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12

“Abhyāsa or Practice is,
the effort to remain within
the stillness of the present.
Vairāgya or Dispassion is,
the absence of thirst towards
the dance of the past.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12

“Within the effort of trying to remain there not clinging to what arises
within the effort of trying to remain there not clinging to what arises
within the effort of trying to remain there not clinging to what arises
within the effort of trying to remain there not……..”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12

“According to Patañjali, the process of Abhyāsa needs
to be in place before Vairāgya is a viable reality,
as one is an increasingly subtle developmental process
arising from the initial engagement with the other.
Hence Abhyāsa is the attentive and consistent effort
to remain there and Vairāgya is our relationship with
what arises from and within our effort to remain there.
Here is a psychological drama where the internal play
of our neuroses acts itself out on the stage of the mind.
Though at least, with our efforts with Abhyāsa, the inner
audience can look at the play, rather than from the play.
Until we embrace the skills to remain there consistently,
we cannot consistently engage within the very erratic
relationship we have with the neurotic characters
that populate the drama/mystery/romance plays we
stage on a daily basis in our mind, as if a plat du jour.
Essentially until we choose to desist from not stopping,
we cannot begin to observe how much movement there is.
Thus, firstly there needs to be a consistent effort at
Abhyāsa Dhyānam, then we have the developmental
correlative of Vairāgya to help contend with what arises.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12

“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

“Meditation is about the quality of the effort,
rather than the fruit of the time.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 13

“In Jñāna Dhyānam the most
difficult exercise for the mind
is the one of not exercising the mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 13

“In Sūtra 1.13 Patañjali succinctly
defines the aim of Abhyāsa as
the effort to remain there.
What is the ‘effort‘ mentioned here?
Where is the ‘there‘ mentioned here?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 13

“Yukta Abhyāsa or skilful practice.
How to cultivate as intimate a
relationship with our Practice,
as with our Problems.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 14

“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.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 14

“Having a meditation practice is one thing,
practicing meditation is something else.
Better not to confuse the two in terms of
the gap between intention and outcome.
Meditation is that which might or might not
arise out of our efforts at meditation practice.
The outcome depends on the extent of the intention.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 14

“In Sūtra 1.14 Patañjali outlines qualities he feels are
important in cultivating the intention within Abhyāsa.
What are these qualities and how can we
realise them within our efforts to remain there?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 14

“We never ‘give up…’,
we can only ‘stop…’,
because something
else pulls us more.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 15

“In Sūtra 1.15 Patañjali introduces Vairāgya
as dispassion arising from an absence of thirst.
Towards what and how would you interpret its
relevance towards your outer and inner life?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 15

“Yoga is about recognising change and
recognising that which recognises change.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 16

“Yoga is about cultivating a profound discernment
of the difference between
the Nature of our Being and
the Being of our Nature.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verses 16

“We can experience an absence of
thirst for the ephemeral Guṇa
when the recognition of the
eternal Puruṣa pulls us more.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 16

“In Sūtra 1.16 Patañjali introduces two concepts which are
fundamental to the philosophical foundations in Sāṃkhya.
What are they and what is their relationship to Vitṛṣṇasya
within the Sāṃkhya teachings discussing cause and effect?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 16

4. Saṃprajñāta or Total Knowing – verses 17-19

“Insight follows the aggregate
of deliberation on the gross,
to reflection on the subtle,
resulting in a feeling of happiness,
culminating in a sense of oneness.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 17

“Other than this is the practice
where only tendencies remain,
it is preceded by the
cessation of psychic activity.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 18

“However, psychic activities
will re-emerge, for those
who are discarnate,
or absorbed in the
process of matter.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 19

5. Śraddhā or Faith – verses 20-22

“In introducing the various Upāya offered within
verses 20 to 39 in Yoga Sūtra Chapter One,
Krishnamacharya talks about Das Upāya,
of which two are Śodhanam Sādhana
and eight are Śamanam Sādhana.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verses 20-39

“When you are linked through Śraddhā
you receive something from the source of that link.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 20

“Śraddhā –
A sense of confidence
arising from the source.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 20

6. Īśvara or the Lord – verses 23-29

“The Yoga Sūtra is also very helpful in guiding us around
the notion of surrendering to that which we don’t know,
through that which we do know.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 23

“The Yoga Sūtra become as if metaphysical Mantra,
when they can be an internal intonation,
as well as an external edification.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 28

“Bhakti Dhyānam uses Japa to build a bridge
over the fear bringing streams of the mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 28

7. Vikṣepa or Distraction – verses 30-31

“The use of Āsana and Prāṇāyāma is
an investigation of all the 9 obstacles
in Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 30.
Those things that come between how
we are and how we would like to be.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 30

“It is intriguing, or even at times beguiling, in what
choices we make in relation to the nine interventions
elegantly presented in Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 30.
In other words what ploys do we deploy and employ
with regard to at least living intelligently within,
even if unable to transform at this point in time,
with what appears as if a distraction between how
we feel we are and how we feel we would like to be.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 30

“The Antarāya are presented
as a guide through life’s distractions,
rather than a rationale for life’s obstacles.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 30

“It is difficult to realise the wonders of Cit
within the wanderings of the Citta.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 31

8. Eka Tattva or One Principle – verses 32-39

“Maitrī
Cultivating a feeling of friendliness
towards our own attempts,
let alone other’s demands,
to distract ourselves.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 33

“Karuṇā
Cultivating a feeling of compassion
towards our bodies and minds,
whatever state we find them in.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 33

“Muditā
Cultivating a feeling of looking,
from a joyful space in ourselves,
at what we can do well and now,
rather than what we can’t do well or now.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 33

“Upekṣā
Cultivating a feeling of holding a distance from
the self-deprecation that can so often accompany
our attempts to improve the quality of our inner life
and old responses to inner tensions and memories.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 33

9. Sabīja or With Seed – verses 40-46

“If you remove the past from the present what is left?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 43

“Yoga is about learning how to
get out of the way of the Way.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 43

“We need to be able to separate
our past from our present,
in order to move forward
within our meditational path.
The same applies as we move
forward within our life path.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 43

10. Nirbīja or Without Seed – verses 47-51

“To discern what can become knowing,
we may need to give up what can be believed.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 48

“The tendencies born from that experience
of knowing oppose other tendencies.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 50

“Yoga is about creating
new responses, especially
when experiencing familiar
arisings from old stories.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 50

“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

Thus Patañjali’s view of Yoga in the Book on Integration

– Updated 30th January 2023

Quick Links:
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter One Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Two Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Three Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Four Collated Quotes

2. Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Two – Sādhana Pādaḥ

“The Chapter on the means
to help do something for
the practitioner starting
with an agitated psyche.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two

“More usually the past dominates the present.
Through Yoga Sādhana we work towards
the present dominating the past.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two

“Chapter Two is about the
Preparation for the practice of Dhyānam.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two

Annotated through Ten Themed Sections

1. Kriyā or Activities – verse 1
2. Kleśa or Afflictions – verses 2-9
3. Dhyānam or Meditation – verses 10-11
4. Karma or Actions – verses 12-14
5. Duḥkha or Suffering – verses 15-16
6. Saṃyoga or Conjunction – verses 17-23
7. Avidyā or Illusion – verse 24
8. Kaivalya or Abstraction- verse 25
9. Viveka or Discernment – verses 26-27
10. Aṣṭāṅga or Eight Limbs – verses 28-55

1. Kriyā or Activities – verse 1

“Activities that nurture a state of Yoga involve
self-Discipline, self–Inquiry and Self–Awareness.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

“Tapas – the effort to reduce something.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

“Svādhyāya – to look at that which helps me understand.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

“Sva – To look at that
Adhyāya – Which helps me understand
– What is outside myself.
– What is inside myself.
– What is beyond myself.”
– Paul Harvey 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

2. Kleśa or Afflictions – verses 2-9

“Its purpose is to cultivate a feeling
of integration and help placate
the dominance of the afflictions.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 2

“Kriyā Yoga is more about
working with the symptoms.
Aṣṭāṅga Yoga is more about
working with their cause.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 2

“Taking care within the ‘small‘ arisings
is directly related to our capacity to
take care within the ‘big‘ arising.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 2

“Anguish arises from the illusion feeding
the conflation of I-ness and Am-ness,
the consequences of pleasure and suffering,
and underpins the fear of not feeling alive.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 3

“Illusion is the field out
of which the others grow,
though they may appear
as if asleep, or arise weakly,
be inconsistent or dominant.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 4

“Patañjali now reminds us of
the pitfalls of the illusion of
recognising psyche as awareness.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Avidyā is the illusion of recognising:
the ephemeral as the eternal,
the profane as the profound,
pain as pleasure and
the silhouette as the source.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Until we see through the illusion of life,
we will be unable to see,
through the illusion of life.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“The Yoga Sūtra says you can’t change your life,
however you can change your perception of it.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“A necessary step in Yoga is to experience
a state of complete and utter disillusionment.
Arising from that is a state of Citta prepared
to give up its conviction of being the Cit.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“The search for understanding is driven by misunderstanding,
though not always in the right direction.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“One of the artful illusions presented by the Citta,
is its ability to as if dress in disguise,
so as to appear as if the Cit.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“What keeps you away from your self?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“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

“‘Who’ is it that misidentifies?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Still subtler layers of meditative reflection
as in Samādhi, can reveal the source of this
confused sense of “I” Am-ness, as in leading us
to the roots from which the tree trunk, and then
the branches grew, namely the ultimate illusion.
These hidden roots sustain this existential illusion
where, what in reality is transient, adulterated,
infused with suffering and non-Spiritual,
is personally lived and experienced as if
everlasting, unadulterated, infused
with pleasant feelings and Spiritual.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 5

“Egoity is when the
power of the Seer
and power of Seeing
are as if one essence.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6

“That’s our starting point…
This curious conjunction
of being Human and
yet human Being.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6

“Within the sense of “I” Am-ness,
the I-ness is Prakṛti and
the Am-ness is Puruṣa.
The illusion is the sense of as if One–ness.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6

“Where there is the sense of “I am“,
so there is the power of awareness,
or where there is the power of seeing,
so there is the power of the seer.
Such is the essence of our nature.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6

“Deeper layers of meditative reflection,
as in Dhyānam, can reveal a source for the
symptoms, which we might compare to the
trunk from which these three branches grow.
Revealed is a confused sense of “I” Am-ness
in terms of what we believe to be as if one
inner essence which empowers us to perceive.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 6

“The outer layer of meditative reflection,
as in Dhāraṇā, can reveal psychic symptoms,
which we might compare to the branches
of a tree, such as confused attractions,
confused aversions and the fear of loss.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verses 7-9

“Attachment is expecting pleasure.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 7

“Rāga is more about passion
for the outcome rather than
passion for the action in itself.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 7

“Better not to mistake the feelings
arising from the movement away from
something undesirable, for the
feelings arising from the movement
towards something desirable.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verses 7-8

“Aversion is expecting suffering.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 8

“Duḥkha is the consequence
of Dveṣa from such as,
getting what you are not expecting or,
getting other than what you are expecting.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 8

“Survival is self–prevailing
and constantly underpins,
even in the wise person.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 9

“Yoga is about looking inwards,
at what we fear most.
Rather than looking outwards,
at what we desire most.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 9

“Fear and Insecurity feed on the leftovers
from the meals of past experiences.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 9

“We can build
bridges of fear,
or we can build
bridges over fear.
The choice is ours.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 9

“Āsana alone can be a support for
our outer relationship with living.
However, can Āsana alone be a support
for our inner relationship with dying?
Especially as our disposition towards
clinging to life is continuous, as well as
being deeply buried within our psyche.
This is why Yoga offers vehicles beyond Āsana
for the inner and especially the final journey.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 9

3. Dhyānam or Meditation – verses 10-11

“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

4. Karma or Actions – verses 12-14

“Our actions reveal our intentions.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 14

5. Duḥkha or Suffering – verses 15-16

“There are some who are ruled by how they perceive the world as treating them.
There are others who reflect on how they are treating the world.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 15

We see ourselves within a mirror
reflecting the opposing fluctuations
of Rajas Guṇa and Tamas Guṇa.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 15

“Better to be
creators of our future.
Rather than
curators of our past.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 16

“In our journey towards foresight
lies the quandary of whether we can
grasp our past sufferings positively,
or be negatively held within their clasp.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 16

“Duḥkha is the Space in the Heart
feeling constricted because of
‘not getting what I want’, or
‘getting what I don’t want’.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 16

6. Saṃyoga or Conjunction – verses 17-23

“We experience the world via the conjunction
of the ‘eye’ of the Cit with the ‘I’ of the Citta.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 17

“Through Avidyā we see two as if one.
Through Vidyā we know two is as if one.
Hence before there can be a state of Yoga,
there needs to be a process of Viyoga.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 17

“Yoga is not about not enjoying the world because we see it as it really is.
Rather it is seeing the world as it really is and still enjoying it.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 18

“How to relate with the inner conundrum that we are
thinking or feeling we are changing every 5 minutes.
Yet, from within that seeming flux we can observe that
we are only appearing to be changing every 5 minutes.
This implies that there is something else, not obvious,
yet constantly abiding within our psychic fluctuations.
Yoga offers a journey towards a direct experience of that
which perceives within our coalesced sense of “I” Am-ness.
In other words, how to be with that we call awareness or
the observer within the seeming seduction of the observed,
given that both mind and senses are part of the observed?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 18

“What we observe is changing,
What we observe with is changing,
Where we observe from is unchanging.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 20

“An awareness of an
absence of awareness
is in itself an awakening
in awareness of awareness.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 20

“Awareness doesn’t change,
however our awareness of our
experience of awareness does.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 20

“Yoga is about
remaining true to the Self
within the wiles of Myself.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 21

“Serve Yoga and Yoga will serve you.
That purpose of the seen is indeed for our essence.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 21

“Ātma is the source of the sunlight in the Psyche.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 21

“Are our impulses to act self serving,
as in arising from a place of Karma?
Or, are our impulses to act serving the self,
as in arising from a place of Dharma?
Furthermore, how to discern the difference
betwixt my and thy, given the facility of
Karma to proclaim itself as being Dharma?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 21

7. Avidyā or Illusion – verse 24

“Better to be clear about being confused,
rather than being confused about being clear.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 24

“Yoga is not just about engaging
with the overt symptoms,
but also engaging with the
covert cause of the symptoms.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 24

8. Kaivalya or Abstraction – verse 25

“Hāna is the giving up
of the reliance on Asmitā
being perceived as if
the heart of one’s self.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 25

9. Viveka or Discernment – verses 26-27

“Some define their experience of life by seeking Duḥkha,
some by seeking Sukha.
The Yoga Practitioner sees both as Avidyā
and defines their experience of life by seeking
what lies beyond duality through unwavering Viveka.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 26

10. Aṣṭāṅga or Eight Limbs – verses 28-55

“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

“What is it you are ready to give up?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 35

“Satya is about how we use truth
rather than truth in and of itself.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 36

“Asteya – non-stealing.
It’s not taking away that
which belongs to somebody else.
Whether Dravya, Dharma, Karma, Vidyā.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 37

“This verse is commenting on the attainment of an Āsana as
an appurtenance, or foundation for more subtle practices.
Better not to confuse the vehicle with the direction.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 46

“Āsana, according to this verse, needs to correlate the
two qualities of steady attentiveness and spacious clarity.
However, we are being offered qualities that are actually
the fruits or outcome of the practice guidelines in the next verse.
Hence this verse is a definition, but one that arises as an outcome
of an attitude around the way we go about exploring Āsana.
Although it could be added that this definition also relates
to the direction of one’s Āsana practice as a whole.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 46

“The experience known as Sthira Sukham Āsanam,
described in Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 46,
arises as a fruit of Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 47,
from melding the mastery of outer stillness in the world,
described as Prayatna Śaithilya, or relaxation of continued effort,
with the mystery of inner openness to the beyond,
described as Ananta Samāpatti, or unity in the infinite.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 47

“From Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 47
Krishnamacharya taught that the
common denominator for successfully uniting
both aspects of relaxation and the infinite
within the practice of Āsana is the breath.
He saw it as continued effort
and synonymous with giving life.
The continued effort of the breath is that which gives life.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 47

“Within the practice guidelines for Prāṇāyāma
Length and Subtlety are the fruits of a process,
they are not tools for use within this process.
The tools here are Deśa, Kāla and Sāṃkhya.
By these the breath becomes Dīrgha and Sūkṣma,
in other words the breath becomes Long and Subtle.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 50

“Some Prāṇāyāma Techniques prioritise Length.
Other Prāṇāyāma Techniques prioritise Subtlety.
While yet other Prāṇāyāma Techniques prioritise Both.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 50

“When working with the Breath in Āsana,
it’s perhaps less appealing initially,
but ultimately more attractive, satisfactory
and effective, to integrate a Bhāvana on
the Samāpatti of Śaithilya and Ananta,
within a developmental Prāṇāyāma Sādhana,
focused towards the Siddhi of Dīrgha or Length,
supported by its counterpoint, Sūkṣma or Subtlety.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 50

“Prāṇāyāma is a key to the door of Dhāraṇā.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 53

“As Prāṇāyāma dissolves the covering of the light,
fitness of the mind for concentration arises.”
– Paul Harvey on  Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 53

“Pratyāhāra is the ability of the Manas
to resist the dance of the senses.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“Pratyāhāra is a process that encourages us
to explore the means by which we can learn
to step out of the flow of the river of the senses.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“Pratyāhāra is the absence of a link
from the mind with the senses,
rather than the absence of a link
from the senses with the mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“The Dasa Indriya or ten senses of experience and action,
whilst seen as belonging to the Bāhya Aṅga or five external limbs
in the eight limb Aṣṭa Aṅga Yoga of Patañjali,
are also the gateway to the Antar Aṅga or three internal limbs.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“The ten senses or Das Indriya are the gateways
between our inner and the outer experiences,
in the twin roads of the worldly phenomena
that we call sensory knowing or bodily action.
The five senses that transport knowing from
the outer to the inner are called the Jñāna Indriya,
or the senses through which we perceive the world.
The five senses that transport action from
the inner to the outer are called the Karma Indriya,
or the senses through which we act out into the world.
The coordinator of this remarkable interface is Manas,
often referred to as the eleventh sense or internal organ.
The identifier in this remarkable process is Ahaṃkāra.
The discerner in this remarkable trinity is Buddhi.
The source of perception within this remarkable play
of knowing and action is known as Cit or Puruṣa.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“Pratyāhāra is not feeding the tendency of the Citta
to automatically form a positive, negative, or neutral
identification with whatever stimuli the senses present to it.
From that, we can begin to understand how their external gathering
activities stimulate our conscious and especially, unconscious choices.
From this, we can begin to understand how the impact
of this sensory knowing can lead us to travel in different directions
and trigger different levels of response, often without us being really
conscious of how deeply their input stimulates our psychic activities.
From these responses, there will be the inevitable re-actions,
again quite possibly unconscious and multilevelled,
according to our psychic history in terms of our memory,
habit patternings and deeper memory processes.
From those initial insight, we can begin to understand
and interact in how we can resist unconsciously slipping
into the trance states that can so often culminate with
the  Kleśa manifesting fully in the entrancing dance of
Udārā Rāga, or Udārā Dveṣa, or Udārā Abhiniveśa,
the potent and profligate children of Avidyā.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

Thus Patañjali’s view of Yoga in the Book on the Means

– Updated 20th March 2023

Quick Links:
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter One Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Two Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Three Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Four Collated Quotes

3. Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Three – Vibhūti Pādaḥ

“Chapter Three is about the Outcome of the practice of Dhyāna.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three

Annotated through Four Themed Sections

1. Samādhi or Integration – verses 1-8
2. Pariṇāma or Transformation – verses 9-15
3. Saṃyama or Complete Restraint – verses 16-48
4. Kaivalya or Abstraction – verses 49-55

1. Samādhi or Integration – verses 1-8

“Dhāraṇā has three distinct, cyclical phases,
from a placing of awareness on the focus,
to an awareness of observation wandering,
to a re-placing of awareness on the focus.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 1

“Dhāraṇā – a state of effortful attention.
Dhyānam – a state of effortless attention.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verses 1-2

“To hold the Citta for connective moments is Dhāraṇā.
To be held by the Citta for connective moments is Dhyānam”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verses 1-2

“Dhāraṇā is the process of ‘holding onto’ the object.
Dhyānā is the process of ‘linking with’ the object.
Samādhi is the process of ‘integration into’ the object.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verses 1-3

“In Meditation the most
difficult exercise for
the mind, is the one of
not exercising the mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2

“Dhyānam is the art of cultivating
a continuity of presence within
the activities in the psyche.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 2

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

2. Pariṇāma or Transformation – verses 9-15

“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

3. Saṃyama or Complete Restraint – verses 16-48

“From meditating on the Heart,
we come to know the habits of the Mind.
From coming to know the habits of the Mind,
we come to know the Intrinsic Nature of the Mind.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 34

“Intelligent Yoga practice invites you
into the field of the Heart within which
resides the mystery of its meaning.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 34

4. Kaivalya or Abstraction – verses 49-55

“The Yoga Sūtra is about reflecting on that which reflects,
in order to reflect from that which is the source of attention,
rather than from that which is the scene of inattention.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 49

“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

“Kaivalya is the outcome of the
equality of Sattva and Puruṣa.
The clarity of Sattva acquired
through our efforts with Citta,
coexisting with the eternal
abiding awareness of Puruṣa.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 55

Thus Patañjali’s view of Yoga in the Book on the Fruits

– Updated 22nd March 2023

Quick Links:
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter One Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Two Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Three Collated Quotes
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Four Collated Quotes

4. Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali Chapter Four – Kaivalya Pādaḥ

“Chapter Four is about the Goal of the practice of Dhyāna.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four

“The Book on Freedom”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four

Annotated through Eleven Themed Sections

1. Siddhi or Accomplishment – verse 1
2. Nimitta or Instrumental Cause – verses 2-3
3. Asmitā or the Sense of ‘I’ am-ness – verses 4-7
4. Vāsana or Latent Impressions – verses 8-11
5. Guṇa or Attributes of Nature – verses 12-14
6. Vastu or Substance – verses 15-17
7. Puruṣa or the Animating Principle – verses 18-22
8. Citta or Psyche – verses 23-24
9. Viveka or Discernment – verses 25-29
10. Nivṛtti or Cessation – verses 30-33
11. Kaivalya or Abstraction – verse 34

1. Siddhi or Accomplishment – verse 1

“There are five ways that Powers are produced.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 1

2. Nimitta or Instrumental Cause – verses 2-3

3. Asmitā or the Sense of ‘I’ am-ness – verses 4-7

“Even though Yoga talks about the possibility of
a state of being expressing motiveless action,
for the rest of us there is always an ulterior motive.
The issue is what it truly is, rather than just whether it
had what we believed as a white, grey or black intention.
Also, whether this intention is what we wanted to believe,
or is there another truth lurking within our sense of right?
Thus, the outcome may well differ from what we believed.
However, as many of our motives fall within the grey spectrum,
a deeper introspection into the reality of intention is important.
To at least minimise Viparyaya, existing as a flight of fancy, or
posing as if a truth convincing in its rightness to exist, when in
reality, merely an opinion, even if not its deeper partner Avidyā.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 7

4. Vāsana or Latent Impressions – verses 8-11

“Vāsanā is an unconscious motivation directed towards
satisfying a physiological or psychological need.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 8

“Saṃskāra always looks
to our past experiences
to determine our choices
for our future actions.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 9

5. Guṇa or Attributes of Nature – verses 12-14

6. Vastu or Substance – verses 15-17

“We look at the world through the eyes of
our needs and expectations.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 17

“What you are looking at is coloured
by where you are looking from.
Where you are looking from is coloured
by what you are looking at.
So the mind may know or not know, 
where it is actually looking from,
or what it is actually looking at.
Or even not know that it doesn’t know
the nuances inherent in what and where.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 17

7. Puruṣa or the Animating Principle – verses 18-22

“The witness cannot be witnessed.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 18

“‘What’ is it that identifies
that we misidentify?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 18

“We observe what we experience
through the eye of the Indriya
The eye of the Indriya observes
through the I of the Manas
The I of the Manas observes
through the I of the Ahaṃkāra
The I of the Ahaṃkāra observes
through the I of the Buddhi
The I of the Buddhi observes
from the eye of the Puruṣa.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 18

8. Citta or Psyche – verses 23-24

9. Viveka or Discernment – verses 25-29

“What is it we are prepared to give up,
in terms of that we know we know?
In order to be open to experiencing,
that which we don’t know we know.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 25

“Initially, our relationship with Yoga is more
concerned with what we get out of our practice.
From this point, it can evolve into us being more
concerned with what we put into our practice.
Ultimately, it is neither what we get out nor what we
put in, as there is a cessation of intentions in practice.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 25

“Feelings from the past remain eternally potent ravagers,
especially pervasive within the illusion of our present and
with it a tendency to recreate an old shape from our past,
whilst we are believing it to be a new shape for our future.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 27

The safest place for the mind is in the past.
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 27

10. Nivṛtti or Cessation – verses 30-33

11. Kaivalya or Abstraction – verse 34

“Awareness is a quality not a quantity.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 34

Thus Patañjali’s view of Yoga in the Book on the Goal

– Updated 14th July 2022