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“All these powers are obstacles to samadhi, but accomplishments in worldly life.”
discernmentYoga Sutras 3.37
“Discriminative knowledge is the means of liberation.”
discriminationYoga Sutras 3.55
“When sattva and purusha are equal in purity — there is liberation.”
liberationYoga Sutras 3.56
“The five afflictions are: ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, clinging to life.”
afflictionsYoga Sutras 2.3
“Ignorance is the field for the others to germinate, whether dormant, attenuated, intercepted, or active.”
ignoranceYoga Sutras 2.4
“Ignorance is taking the impermanent for the permanent, the impure for the pure, suffering for happiness, the non-self for the self.”
ignoranceYoga Sutras 2.5
“Ego is the identification of the seer with the instrument of seeing.”
egoYoga Sutras 2.6
“Attachment follows pleasure.”
attachmentYoga Sutras 2.7
“Aversion follows pain.”
aversionYoga Sutras 2.8
“Clinging to life is found even in the wise — it is self-arising.”
survivalYoga Sutras 2.9
“These afflictions, when subtle, are removed by returning to their source.”
practiceYoga Sutras 2.10
“Their gross expressions are removed by meditation.”
meditationYoga Sutras 2.11
“To one steady, even pleasures appear as suffering.”
discernmentYoga Sutras 2.15
“As long as there is suffering, even pleasure tends to suffering.”
discernmentYoga Sutras 2.15
“By devotion to Ishvara, samadhi is attained.”
devotionYoga Sutras 1.23
“Ishvara is a special purusha untouched by afflictions, action, fruit, or impressions.”
IshvaraYoga Sutras 1.24
“In Him, the seed of omniscience is unsurpassed.”
omniscienceYoga Sutras 1.25
“He is the teacher of the ancients, being unconditioned by time.”
timelessYoga Sutras 1.26
“His designation is the sacred syllable Om.”
OmYoga Sutras 1.27
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