# Patañjali

Patañjali (Devanāgarī पतञ्जलि) (fl. 2nd c. BCE) was a sage in ancient India, thought to be the author of a number of Sanskrit works. The greatest of these are the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a classical yoga text.

## Quotes

* Yoga is the cessation of movements of the mind. Then there is abiding in the seer's own form.
** Patanjali, in “Yoga and You”
* Asanas bring perfection in body, beauty in form,grace, strength, compactness, and the harness and brilliance of a diamond.
** Patanjali, in “The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom”, p. 135.
* The Yoga of action, leading to union with the soul is fiery aspiration, spiritual reading and devotion to Ishvara.
** Patanjali, in “The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom], p. 24.
* When right posture (asana) has been attained there follows right control of prana and proper inspiration and expiration of the breath.
** Patanjali, in “The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom”, p. 136.
* The posture assumed must be steady and easy
** Patanjali, in “The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom”, p. 133.
* Perfection in asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached.
** Patanjali, in “The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom”, p. 133.
* Stirum sukham asanam. Meaning: Seated posture should be steady and comfortable.
** Patanjali, in “The Little Red Book of Yoga Wisdom”, p. 134.
* 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, in East of existentialism: the Tao of the West, p. 266.
* The wisdom obtained in the higher states of consciousness is different from that obtained by inference and testimony as it refers to particulars.
** Patanjali, in Hinduism, p. 63.
* 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, in Being Consciousness Bliss: A Seeker's Guide, p. 205.
* Yoga takes you into the present moment, the only place where life exists.
** Patanjali, in "Being Consciousness Bliss: A Seeker's Guide", p. 205.
* One becomes firmly established in practice only after attending to it for a long time, without interruption and with an attitude of devotion.
** Patanjali in Ashtanga Yoga Sutra I.14, in Ashtanga Yoga: Practice & Philosophy, p. 154.
* 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, in The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice, p. 133.

### Yoga Sutras of Patañjali

    Main article: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

### The Mahābhāṣya

* In deep meditation the flow of concentration is continuous like the flow of oil.
* 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.
* Progress in meditation comes swiftly for those who try their hardest.
* When a gifted team dedicates itself to unselfish trust and combines instinct with boldness and effort, it is ready to climb.
* When a man becomes steadfast in his abstention from harming others, then all living creatures will cease to feel enmity in his presence
* When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
** Attributed to Patanjali by Wayne Dyer, but not cited or sourced

## Quotes about Patanjali

* Patanjali was a compiler of teaching which, up to the time of his advent, had been given orally for many centuries... The Yoga Sutras are the basic teaching of the Trans Himalayan School to which many of the Masters of the Wisdom belong, and many students hold that the Essenes and other schools of mystical training and thought, closely connected with the founder of Christianity and the early Christians, are based upon the same system... the Sutras have been dictated and paraphrased by the Tibetan Brother and the commentary upon them has been written by myself, and subjected to revision and comment by the Tibetan.
** Alice Bailey Introduction to ''The Light of the Soul: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Lucis Trust Publishing (1927)
* The world I knew, the "real" world, was ruled by money and desires. But the words in Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms struck a deep chord. Unlike Christianity and Judaism, which insist on unquestioning faith, Patanjali tells us to believe nothing without first testing it. This was just right for me. It was the way I had chosen long ago, when I was still a child. (Chapter Nineteen)
** Nina Graboi One Foot in the Future: A Woman's Spiritual Journey (2000)
* Patañjali wrote when theism was at a low ebb. In modern self-presentations of Hinduism, you would not know that it was ever anything else than devotional-theistic... Nowhere does Patañjali say that “union” is sought with God nor with anything else. On the contrary, the stated goal of his system is kaivalya, “isolation, separation”, the very opposite of “union”, and equivalent with the notion kevala of the atheistic Jaina system. Patañjali accommodates the devotee yet avoids burdening the unbeliever with a requirement to believe.... The proper and intended meaning of yoga in Patañjali’s system is the one suggested by its English cognate “yoke”, viz. “subjection, disciplining, control, restraint”.... Unfortunately, in his word-for-word explanation, Chapple forgets his own translation of this definition and explains yoga as “union, connection, joining”, without problematizing this common interpretation. With this, I must find fault, even if it is the majority view by far.
** Elst, Koenraad (2012). The argumentative Hindu. New Delhi : Aditya Prakashan. p.34-37

## See also

* Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
* Ageless Wisdom teachings
* Bhagavad Gita
* Bhakti yoga
* Four Noble Truths
* Meditation
* Yoga

## External links

* English translation of the Yoga Sutras by T.K.V.Desikachar, with links to 6 additional English translations and word-by-word definitions of included source text
* Cultivating Loneliness: The Ethical Fragrance of Yoga - A Commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, by Sri Nitin Kumar.
* Works by Patañjali at Project Gutenberg