Roots of Yoga Quotes

“these ascetic practices were not undertaken in order to cow the spirit is exemplified by the story of Purāṇ Puri himself. He chose the ūrdhvabāhu austerity and held both his arms in the air for the remaining forty-five years of his life, during which he travelled continuously, reaching as far as Malaysia in the east and Moscow in the west.”
― James Mallinson, Roots of Yoga

“Living apart, eating little, disciplined in speech, body and mind, always intent on the yoga of meditation (dhyānayoga), taking refuge in dispassion, (18.53) giving up egoism, force, arrogance, lust, anger and grasping, unselfish, peaceful: [such a one] is fit for becoming Brahman.”
― James Mallinson, Roots of Yoga

“Some see the self in the self by means of the self through meditation; others through Sāṃkhya yoga; and others through the yoga of action.”
― James Mallinson, Roots of Yoga

“(2.49) O Arjuna, action is very much inferior to the yoga of the intellect (buddhiyoga). Seek refuge in the intellect! Wretched are they who are motivated by results.”
― James Mallinson, Roots of Yoga

“The elements of eightfold systems – rules (yamas), observances (niyamas), posture (āsana), breath-control (prāṇāyāma), withdrawal (pratyāhāra), fixation (dhāraṇā), meditation (dhyāna) and samādhi – do not vary from text to text,17”
― James Mallinson, Roots of Yoga