Quotes About Patanjali

#1. These Sutras are reminiscent of the Four Noble Truths of Lord Buddha: the misery of the world, the cause of misery, the removal of that misery, and the method used to remove it. Patanjali tells us that pain can be avoided. He further tells us that its cause is ignorance. (115)

Swami Satchidananda

#2. Patanjali specifically says that there are three paths to the goal of yoga. And they are, control of the breath, control of posture, and light-filled herbs. It says it right there. Stanza 6 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Terence McKenna

#3. Patanjali tells us that if we practice aparigraha, (greedlessness) we will begin to understand not only where we have come from but where we are going and how our karmas have contributed to where we are now.

Sharon Gannon

#4. Truth is the same always. Whoever ponders it will get the same answer. Buddha got it. Patanjali got it. Jesus got it. Mohammed got it. The answer is the same, but the method of working it out may vary this way or that. (115)

Swami Satchidananda

#5. I spent years studying the teachings of Patanjali, and he reminded us several thousand years ago that when we are steadfast - which means that we never slip in our abstention of thoughts of harm directed toward others - then all living creatures cease to feel enmity in our presence.

Wayne Dyer

#6. The ancient rishi Patanjali defines "yoga" as "control of the fluctuations of the mind-stuff.

Paramahansa Yogananda

#7. When carving stone, the sculptor removes everything that is not the statue. [ ... ] The art of revealing beauty lies in removing what conceals it. So, too, Patanjali [in the Yoga Sutras] tells us that wholeness exists within us. Our work is to chisel away at everything that is not essence, not Self.

Judith Hanson Lasater

#8. The goal of yoga according to Patanjali I am told is citta vrtti nirodha, which means to be silent or free from mental fluctuations.

Bryan Kest

#9. For one whose thought is tranquil, mastery extends from the most minute particle to the vast expanse. -Patanjali

Barbara Stoler Miller

#10. The cause of suffering is that the unbounded Self is overshadowed by the world.

Patanjali

#11. In deep meditation the flow of concentration is continuous like the flow of oil.

Patanjali

#12. Yoga is the cessation of the movements of the mind. Then there is abiding in the Seer's own form.

Patanjali

#13. Yoga is the practice of quieting the mind.

Patanjali

#14. Sloth is the great enemy
the inspirer of cowardice, irresolution, self-pitying grief, and trivial, hairsplitting doubts. Sloth may also be a psychological cause of sickness. It is tempting to relax from our duties, take refuge in ill-health and hide under a nice warm blanket.

Patanjali

#15. The heart and mind can find peace and harmony by contemplating the transcendental nature of the true self as supreme effulgent life.

Patanjali

#16. Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence. When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded Consciousness. Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.

Patanjali

#17. The activities of the liberated soul transcend the pairs of opposites.

Patanjali

#18. A mind free from all disturbances is Yoga.

Patanjali

#19. Everything is sorrow for the wise.

Patanjali

#20. For those who have an intense urge for Spirit and wisdom, it sits
near them, waiting.

Patanjali

#21. It is not enough to have intuitions; we must act on them; we must live them.

Patanjali

#22. Knowledge born of the finest discrimination takes us to the farthest shore. It is intuitive, omniscient, and beyond all divisions of time and space.

Patanjali

#23. It is only when the correct practice is followed for a long time, without interruptions and with a quality of positive attitude and eagerness, that it can succeed.

Patanjali

#24. Yoga is the cessation of mind.

Patanjali

#25. Progress is mediation comes swiftly for those who try their hardest.

Patanjali

#26. Ignorance is the failure to discriminate between the permanent and the impermanent, the pure and the impure, bliss and suffering, the Self and the non-Self.

Patanjali

#27. Be happy for those who are happy, have compassion towards the unhappy, and maintain equanimity towards the wicked.

Patanjali

#28. Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.

Patanjali

#29. When you are steadfast in your abstention of thoughts of harm directed toward yourself and others, all living creatures will cease to feel fear in your presence.

Patanjali

#30. Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.

Patanjali

#31. Peace can be reached through meditation on the knowledge which dreams give. Peace can also be reached through concentration upon that which is dearest to the heart.

Patanjali