The Supreme Journey of Life – Quotes by B.K.S. Iyengar

With this blog post, we continue our series of quotes from renowned yoga masters, who have devoted their life to the practice of yoga and meditation. We hope you, as we have, will find inspiration and guidance for your yoga practice and life from their wisdom and insights.

Yogacharya B.K.S.Iyengar is a living legend, who has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He is widely credited as one of the foremost yoga masters in the world, and through his emphasis on the fine details of alignment in yoga asanas, he has helped millions deepen their experience and practice of hatha yoga.

“Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it.” ~B.K.S.Iyengar

“It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.”  ~B.K.S.Iyengar

“He who has conquered his mind is a Raja Yogi. . . . .It is generally believed that Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga are entirely distinct, different and opposed to each other, that the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali deal with Spiritual discipline and that the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of Swatmarama deals solely with physical discipline. It is not so, for Hathy Yoga and Raja Yoga complement each other and form a single approach towards Liberation.

As a mountaineer needs ladders, ropes and crampons as well as physical fitness and discipline to climb the icy peaks of the Himalayas, so does the Yoga aspirant need the knowledge and discipline of the Hatha Yoga of Swatmarama to reach the heights of Raja Yoga dealt with by Patanjali.”   ~B.K.S. Iyengar -Light on Yoga, p. 23.

“The supreme adventure in a man’s life is his journey back to his Creator. To reach the goal he needs well developed and co-ordinated functioning of his body, senses, mind, reason and Self.” ~B.K.S. Iyengar –Light on Yoga

“It took me whole decades to appreciate the depth and true value of yoga. Sacred texts supported my discoveries, but it was not they that signposted the way. What I learned through yoga, I found out through yoga.”  ~B.K.S. Iyengar –Light on Life, p. x

“Yoga recognizes that the way our bodies and minds work has changed very little over the millennia. The way we function inside our skin is not susceptible to differ either in time or from place to place. In the functioning of our minds, in our way of relating to each other, there are inherent stresses, like geological fault lines that, left unaddressed, will always cause things to go wrong, whether individually or collectively. The whole thrust of yogic philosophical and scientific inquiry has therefore been to examine the nature of being, with a view to learning to respond to the stresses of life without so many tremors and troubles.” ~B.K.S.Iyengar -Light on Life, p. xv.

“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.”  ~B.K.S. Iyengar

“If you take up any noble line and stick to it, you can reach the ultimate. Be inspired, but not proud. Do not aim low; you will miss the mark. Aim high; you will be on the threshold of bliss.” ~B.K.S. Iyengar  – Light on Life, p. x.

“Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one’s being, from bodily health to self-realization. Yoga means union — the union of body with consciousness and consciousness with the soul. Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one’s actions.”  ~B.K.S. Iyengar

“Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forward to become the person they’re meant to be.”  ~B.K.S. Iyengar

“In order to find out how to reveal our innermost Being, the sages explored the various sheaths of existence, starting from body and progressing through mind and intelligence, and ultimately to the soul. The yogic journey guides us from our periphery, the body, to the center ofour being, the soul. The aim is to integrate the variouslayers so that the inner divinity shines out as through clear glass.” ~B.K.S. Iyengar  –Light on Life