Summary of B. K. S. Iyengar's Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The word citta has been translated as mind in the West. In India, it is considered that mind not only has the power of conation or volition, but also of discrimination. But citta really means consciousness.

#2 The first chapter of the Yoga Sutras is dedicated to the analysis of consciousness and its behavioral patterns. It explains how its fluctuations can be stilled in order to achieve inner absorption and integration. The second chapter reveals the whole linking mechanism of yoga, by means of which ethical conduct, bodily vigor, and health and physiological vitality are built into the structure of the human evolutionary progress towards freedom.

#3 Yoga is the control of the movement of consciousness, which leads to their complete cessation. It is extremely difficult to convey the meaning of the word citta because it is the subtlest form of cosmic intelligence.

#4 The practice of yoga integrates a person through the journey of intelligence and consciousness from the external to the internal. It unifies him from the intelligence of the skin to the intelligence of the self, so that his self merges with the cosmic Self.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669398899

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Insights on B. K. S. Iyengar's Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The word citta has been translated as mind in the West. In India, it is considered that mind not only has the power of conation or volition, but also of discrimination. But citta really means consciousness.

#2

The first chapter of the Yoga Sutras is dedicated to the analysis of consciousness and its behavioral patterns. It explains how its fluctuations can be stilled in order to achieve inner absorption and integration. The second chapter reveals the whole linking mechanism of yoga, by means of which ethical conduct, bodily vigor, and health and physiological vitality are built into the structure of the human evolutionary progress towards freedom.

#3

Yoga is the control of the movement of consciousness, which leads to their complete cessation. It is extremely difficult to convey the meaning of the word citta because it is the subtlest form of cosmic intelligence.

#4

The practice of yoga integrates a person through the journey of intelligence and consciousness from the external to the internal. It unifies him from the intelligence of the skin to the intelligence of the self, so that his self merges with the cosmic Self.

#5

When the waves of consciousness are stilled and silenced, they no longer distort the true expression of the soul. When the mind is restrained and regulated, a reflective state of being is experienced. In this state, knowledge dawns clearly.

#6

When the seer identifies with consciousness or with the objects seen, he unites with them and forgets his grandeur. The natural tendency of consciousness is to become involved with the object seen, draw the seer towards it, and move the seer to identify with it.

#7

The five fluctuations of the mind are explained in the next sutra. They may be painful or non-painful, cognizable or non-cognizable. The mind may take the lead and invite these fluctuations, or consciousness may see objects in relation to its own idiosyncrasies, creating fluctuations and modifications in one’s thoughts.

#8

The citta acts as the wheel, while klista and aklista states are like the two spokes of the