Patanjali
Maharishi Patanjali
c. 2nd century BCE • Indian
Compiler of the Yoga Sutras — the foundational text of classical yoga. In 196 terse aphorisms he mapped the structure of the mind, the eight limbs of practice, and the path to samadhi. His work has shaped two millennia of yogic practice.
Key Works
- Yoga Sutras (trans. Vivekananda 1896)
- Yoga Sutras (trans. Woods 1914)
115
quotes in library
Quotes by Patanjali
115 quotes“Then the seer abides in his own nature.”
selfYoga Sutras 1.3
“At other times, the seer is identified with the modifications.”
identificationYoga Sutras 1.4
“Practice and non-attachment are the means to control these modifications.”
practiceYoga Sutras 1.12
“Of these, practice means continuous struggle to fix the mind.”
practiceYoga Sutras 1.13
“This becomes a firm ground when continued for a long time, without break, and with reverence.”
steadinessYoga Sutras 1.14
“Non-violence, truth, non-stealing, continence, non-greed — these are the yamas.”
ethicsYoga Sutras 2.30
“Non-attachment is the consciousness of self-mastery toward objects seen or heard.”
detachmentYoga Sutras 1.15
“By making samyama on friendship, mercy, etc., one attains those qualities.”
compassionYoga Sutras 3.23
“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and equanimity toward the impure — the mind is purified.”
equanimityYoga Sutras 1.33
“By the expulsion and retention of breath, the mind is also rendered steady.”
breathYoga Sutras 1.34
“Or by the contemplation on objects which are not subject to grief, the mind becomes steady.”
steadinessYoga Sutras 1.36
“Or by meditating on the heart that has given up all attachment to sense-objects.”
detachmentYoga Sutras 1.37
“Or by the knowledge that comes from sleep and dreams.”
insightYoga Sutras 1.38
“Or by meditation on whatever appeals to one as good.”
freedomYoga Sutras 1.39
“His mind becomes capable of attaining anything, from the smallest atom to the infinite.”
masteryYoga Sutras 1.40
“The yogi whose impressions are stilled, like a clear crystal, takes on the color of whatever is near.”
stillnessYoga Sutras 1.41
“Pain — that has not yet come — is to be avoided.”
discernmentYoga Sutras 2.16
“The cause of that which is to be avoided is the union of seer and seen.”
discernmentYoga Sutras 2.17
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”
consciousnessYoga Sutras
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