Patanjali Quotes on Mind
The Yoga Sutras attributed to Patanjali make the mind their central subject, and the quotes gathered here state the work's defining teaching. Yoga itself is defined at the outset as the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind, the settling of consciousness into silence, and when the mind is stilled, the seer abides in his own true nature, an unbounded consciousness ordinarily overshadowed by mental activity. Patanjali also offers practical counsel for steadying the mind in daily life: cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and equanimity toward the wicked. The text distinguishes the wisdom reached in deep meditative states from knowledge gained by inference or testimony. Several of these closely related sayings appear here in more than one translation, and the most condensed formulations are marked as attributed.
Quotes
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Attributed to Patanjali:
“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.”
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Attributed to Patanjali:
“Then the seer abides in his own true nature.”
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Attributed to Patanjali:
“Practice and detachment are the means to still the movements of consciousness.”
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Attributed to Patanjali:
“By cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, joy toward the virtuous, and equanimity toward the non-virtuous, the mind retains its undisturbed calmness.”
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“Yoga is the cessation of movements of the mind . Then there is abiding in the seer 's own form.”
Patanjali , in “Yoga and You” [ citation needed ] -
“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. -
“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. -
“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.